In 1925, Machen penned this shorter work to discuss the question of faith over against the modernists of his day. He mentions in the preface that the majority of the work was taken from lectures he had given at Grove City Bible School earlier that year, and he borrowed pieces of other articles he had written as well.
Throughout the work, Machen consistently argues for faith as being placed in persons, founded upon knowledge. We cannot, he strongly states, have faith without an object, or faith in an individual whom we do not trust. Although personal experience may help strengthen faith, it cannot be the mainstay of belief. The facts of the life, death and resurrection of Christ exist in the realm of science, and when honestly considered, prove themselves true.
“What Is Faith” is written at a layman's level. There is no use of foreign language in the work whatsoever, and while precise theological terms are present, they are not overwhelming. This book, along with his classic “Christianity and Liberalism” should be standard issue to students about to enter college. The arguments which Machen here seeks to disassemble run rampant on college campuses today, and being acquainted with this work is a good way to inoculate oneself against their influence.

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Roman numerals for chapters and Bible quotations have been updated to modern numbers. Footnotes have been converted to end notes connected by hyperlinks.