The problem of faith, hope, belief and knowing

So, we had an interesting discussion in a class about the differences between faith, hope, belief and knowing. The basis for the discussion was how can we "know" something that Paul, the Apostles, and others of that time only had "hope" for? The context of the discussion was on how Christians with stronger faith talk with each other, as opposed to talking with non-Christians or new Christians whose faith isn't so strong.

Part of the issue has to do with what we read below from Baker's encyclopedia of the Bible -

Christianity has often been considered in discussions concerning hope. Unfortunately, Christianity has not always received “good press” in this regard. In the early centuries of church history stress on the disparity between this world and the next seemed to create an attitude of escapism, futility, or indifference toward the problems and pains of human existence.  ¹McAlister, P. K. (1988). Hope. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 1, p. 996). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

The concern here is that when we say things like we "know" certain things because the Bible says so, we run the risk of turning people off to the message we are trying to give.  Something that was meant to be caring and loving can be construed as something that sounds uncaring and insensitive.  It may sound like splitting hairs or getting very much in the weeds of what words mean - but I think we need to remember that we believe God meets us where we are, and so when we talk with others who faith isn't as strong as our or maybe have no faith at all, we also need to meet them where they are - not where we are.

Definitions

Let's start by looking at each of the four title words - both the current definition and what they meant in Biblical times.

faith

Current definition from dictionary.com

noun

1. confidence or trust in a person or thing:
faith in another's ability.

2. belief that is not based on proof:
He had faith that the hypothesis would be substantiated by fact.

3. belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion:
the firm faith of the Pilgrims.

4. belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit, etc.:
to be of the same faith with someone concerning honesty.

5. a system of religious belief:
the Christian faith; the Jewish faith.

6. the obligation of loyalty or fidelity to a person, promise, engagement, etc.:
Failure to appear would be breaking faith.

7. the observance of this obligation; fidelity to one's promise, oath, allegiance, etc.:
He was the only one who proved his faith during our recent troubles.

I think the most interesting thing from the current definition was #2, where it says that faith is belief that is not based on proof:  Furthermore, there was the example given there about having faith that the hypothesis would be substantiated by fact. We'll get more into that thought in a while.

Biblical definition 

Faith lies at the very heart of Christianity, and its importance for today’s Christian is clear from the fact that Protestantism was born through the rediscovery of the great words “The just shall live by faith” (Rom 1:17 KJV).

Obviously, faith is a big deal for Protestants.  As such, it's important for us to know what the Bible means when we read the word "faith".  As we're about to see though - it covers a very broad spectrum of things, depending on context and even the author.

Definition. Faith in the OT and NT carries several meanings. It may mean simple trust in God or in the Word of God, and at other times faith almost becomes equivalent to active obedience. It may also find expression in the affirmation of a creedal statement. Thus it also comes to mean the entire body of received Christian teaching or truth. So in Colossi ans 2:7, the term suggests something to be accepted as a whole and embodied in personal life. In 2 Timothy 4:7 Paul witnesses to having “kept the faith.”

Here we see the huge difference between "simple trust" where we believe something - and "active obedience" where we begin to live our lives based on the things we believe.  We'll see later that Jewish people tie together trust and active obedience.  James makes this quite clear for Christians as well -

Faith and Deeds