If I was a doctor, and you had never met me or heard of me, and someone points to me and asks you; 'do you have faith in Dr. Lion as a healer'? An honest answer would most likely be that you do not (know) have sufficient knowledge to render a judgment of yes or no. If you were furnished with more knowledge, you could present a comprehensive and substantive answer of yes or no. Suppose you had heard from random people that Dr. Lion was and is a great healer. Then your faith in Dr. Lion would present itself automatically, based on the knowledge you have, and you could give a somewhat substantive answer of yes or no, depending on how much you trust and rely on the opinion of random people. However, if you heard from your mother, that Dr. Lion is a great healer, wouldn't that create faith in Dr. Lion, or strengthen any faith you already had in him? This strengthening of faith comes as a result of the reliable source of knowledge about Dr. Lion, namely your mother. It's not just the knowledge, but also knowing you can count on it, that makes faith strong. The last scenario is, what if you had previously been healed by Dr. Lion on numerous occasions? That would make the knowledge you have of Dr. Lion to be most sound, and you would unequivocally tell the person that you have complete and total faith in Dr. Lion. What this shows us is that for faith to even be present, there has to be knowledge present, and the more reliable the source of knowledge is, the stronger the faith is. Experience is one of the most reliable sources of knowledge.
This is how Jesus saves us from our sins. He reacquaints us with God, so we may know Him again, and have total faith in Him through that knowledge. The world is addicted to sin (transgression of the law of God, submitting to your own will rather than the will of God). Humanity can't stop sinning, no matter how hard we try. Thanks to God, Jesus is reliable, and he comes with heavy, irrefutable knowledge, which when he gives it to you and you apply it to your life, it strengthens your faith, and you can now use that knowledge to resist sin. Thus, we are saved through knowledge, which is truth, which is Jesus (the way, the truth and the life). Truth is information that is consistent with facts and reality. Truthful information is knowledge. Knowledge is power. Test the information you receive from anyone or any thing, to see if it is consistent with facts and reality (1Th 5:19-22). If you keep getting more and more information, yet you consistently have no power to fight your own desires which oppress you, let alone an external oppressor, then the source of that information cannot be God, but is actually a false prophet. We all need knowledge in order to avoid engaging in evil activities, as the blind leading the blind will have all men and women sinning.
Read
Daniel 11:32 - Those who have knowledge of God (truth), have power to resist evil and oppression.
Proverbs 8:10-11 and 9:10 - Knowledge is priceless, as it is the path to understanding. Understanding, through reasoning, builds faith. Faith gives you power to move mountains in you life.
Hosea 4:6 - Lack of knowledge destroys people and nations.
John 8:32 - When you have truth, and by implication, have knowledge, you will also have faith, which will set you free from material and physical desires. (Evidently, most people on the earth don't know the truth)
2 Peter 1:2-7 - Self explanatory.
Peace and Love
