Faith. In one sense, faith in Christianity is often discussed in terms of believing God's promises, trusting in his faithfulness, and relying on God's character and faithfulness to act. Some of the definitions in the history of Christian theology have followed the biblical formulation in: the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. As in other Abrahamic religions, it includes a belief in the existence of God, in the reality of a transcendent domain that God administers as his kingdom and in the benevolence of the will of God or God's plan for humankind. Christianity differs from other Abrahamic religions in that it focuses on the teachings of Jesus, and on his place as the prophesied Christ. It also includes a belief in the New Covenant. According to most Christian traditions, Christian faith requires a belief in Jesus' resurrection from the dead, which he states is the plan of God the Father. Since the Protestant Reformation the meaning of this term has been an object of major theological disagreement in Western Christianity. The differences have been largely overcome in the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification.The precise understanding of the term faith differs among the various Christian traditions. Despite these differences, Christians generally agree that faith in Jesus lies at the core of the Christian tradition, and that such faith is required in order to be a Christian. The word faith, translated from the Greek, was primarily used in the New Testament with the Greek perfect tense and translates as a noun-verb hybrid; which is not adequately conveyed by the English noun. The verb form of pi'stis is pisteuo, which is often translated into English versions of the New Testament as believe. The adjectival form, pistos, is almost always translated as faithful. The New Testament writers, following the translators of the Septuagint rendered words in the Hebrew scriptures that concerned faithfulness using pi'stis-group words. The pi'stis-group words are most appropriately translated into English by a range of words, depending on the context in which they occur. In both the New Testament and other Greek texts, pi'stis describes connections of firmness that can form between a wide variety of entities: people, traditions, practices, groups, purposes, facts or propositions. The appropriate English translation is often evident from the relationship between the two entities connected by pi'stis. The pi'stis-group words in the New Testament can thus be interpreted as relating to ideas of faithfulness, fidelity, loyalty, commitment, trust, belief, and proof. The most appropriate interpretation and translation of pi'stis-group words in the New Testament is a matter of recent controversy, particularly over the meaning of pi'stis when it is directed towards Jesus. In the Protestant tradition, faith is generally understood to be closely associated with ideas of belief, trust, and reliance. This understanding is founded in the doctrinal statements of the Reformers. One of their confessional statements explains: the principle acts of saving faith are accepting, receiving, and resting upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life. The Reformers contrasted faith with human efforts to do good works as a means of justification. This understanding of saving faith has remained within the Protestant tradition. Saving faith is generally understood in terms of a belief of, trust in, and reliance on the person of Jesus and his work of atonement accomplished through his death on the cross. In a more everyday sense, faith is often discussed in terms of believing God's promises, trusting in his faithfulness, and relying on God's character and faithfulness to act. Yet, many Protestants stress that genuine faith is also acted on, and thus it brings about different behaviour or action and does not consist merely of mental belief, trust or confidence or outright antinomianism. Hence, having authentic faith in Jesus is generally understood to lead to changes in how one thinks and lives. However, the Protestant tradition holds that these changes in character and conduct do not have any value for obtaining a positive final judgment, but that a positive final judgment depends on faith alone. In recent decades, scholars have researched what pi'stis meant in the social context of the New Testament writers. Several scholars who have studied the usage of pi'stis in both early Greek manuscripts and the New Testament have concluded that faithfulness is the most satisfactory English translation in many instances.