Charles Stanley · Faith

Charles Stanley on Faith

Stanley's teaching on faith is best understood through his 30 Life Principles, the framework he built across decades at First Baptist Atlanta and In Touch Ministries — faith, in his consistent teaching, means obeying God and trusting him regardless of feelings or visible outcomes.

Charles Stanley pastored First Baptist Church of Atlanta for more than four decades and founded In Touch Ministries, which continues to broadcast his teaching. Across that ministry, faith was not a topic he addressed occasionally — it sat near the center of his most repeated framework, the 30 Life Principles, a set of practical convictions he distilled from his own preaching and taught as a body of material in its own right.

This page draws on that well-documented framework and Stanley's broader, consistent teaching emphasis to describe what he actually taught about faith, rather than attributing a specific sermon title to him that cannot be verified.

What Charles Stanley Actually Taught

Central to Stanley's teaching, expressed across his Life Principles material and his broader preaching, is a definition of faith as obedience: trusting and obeying God's Word regardless of feelings, circumstances, or the presence or absence of visible results. This shows up directly in Life Principle statements like "Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him" — a formulation Stanley used and repeated across decades of teaching as a practical test of what real faith looks like in a specific decision.

Stanley consistently distinguished faith from mere positive feeling or optimism. His recurring emphasis was that faith is demonstrated in the moment obedience is costly or the outcome is unclear — not in moments when trusting God happens to be easy. That emphasis is consistent with his broader pastoral reputation: In Touch's teaching material repeatedly frames faith as a decision of the will rather than a feeling that arrives on its own.

Stanley's teaching also connected faith closely to prayer and to daily dependence on Scripture, consistent themes across In Touch's decades of daily devotional material — faith, in his framing, is sustained by ongoing engagement with God's Word rather than a one-time decision made and then set aside.

A Closer Look at Faith

Hebrews 11:1 — "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" — is the classic definitional text for biblical faith, and it frames faith as confident action based on God's character and promises rather than on visible proof. The chapter that follows catalogs figures who acted on that kind of faith before seeing the outcome.

James 2:14-26, which argues that "faith without works is dead," is often preached alongside Hebrews 11 to round out a full biblical picture: faith is not only inward conviction but something that shows itself in action — a pairing that lines up closely with Stanley's consistent framing of faith as obedience rather than only belief.

Romans 10:17 — "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" — is frequently used to explain where faith comes from and how it grows: not as a feeling generated internally, but as a response cultivated through repeated exposure to Scripture, which lines up with the daily-engagement emphasis common across In Touch's devotional material.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Charles Stanley teach about faith?

Stanley consistently taught faith as obedience: trusting and acting on God's Word regardless of feelings or visible outcomes. This is summarized in one of his most repeated Life Principles, "Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him," and is a consistent thread across his decades of preaching at First Baptist Atlanta and In Touch Ministries.

What are the 30 Life Principles?

The 30 Life Principles are a set of practical, Scripture-based convictions Stanley distilled from his own teaching over decades of ministry, covering topics like obedience, prayer, and trust in God. They function as a summary framework for his broader preaching, including his teaching on faith.

How do you grow in faith?

Stanley's teaching consistently points to regular engagement with Scripture and prayer as the means faith grows through, consistent with Romans 10:17's teaching that faith comes through hearing God's Word — an emphasis reflected across In Touch Ministries' daily devotional material.

What is the difference between faith and belief?

In the framework Stanley taught, belief is intellectual agreement, while faith is belief acted on — obedience regardless of feelings or outcome. That distinction lines up with James 2's teaching that faith without works is dead, a text frequently paired with Hebrews 11 in teaching on this topic.

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