Part 22 (1/2)
1. SAVED.
2. JOY AND PEACE.
3. DO GREAT WORKS.
B. FAITH.
I. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DOCTRINE.
Faith is fundamental in Christian creed and conduct. It was the one thing which above all others Christ recognized as the paramount virtue. The Syrophoenician woman (Matt. 15) had perseverance; the centurion (Matt. 8), humility; the blind man (Mark 10), earnestness.
But what Christ saw and rewarded in each of these cases was faith.
Faith is the foundation of Peter's spiritual temple (2 Pet. 1:5-7); and first in Paul's trinity of graces (1 Cor. 13:13). In faith all the other graces find their source.
II. THE DEFINITION OF FAITH.
Faith is used in the Scriptures in a general and in a particular sense.
1. ITS GENERAL MEANING:
a) Knowledge.
Psa. 9:10--”And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee.” Rom. 10:17--”So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of G.o.d.” Faith is not believing a thing without evidence; on the contrary faith rests upon the best of evidence, namely, the Word of G.o.d. An act of faith denotes a manifestation of the intelligence: ”How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?” Faith is no blind act of the soul; it is not a leap in the dark. Such a thing as believing with the heart without the head is out of the question. A man may believe with his head without believing with his heart; but he cannot believe with his heart without believing with his head too. The heart, in the Scriptures, means the whole man--intellect, sensibilities, and will. ”As a man _thinketh_ in his heart.” ”Why _reason_ ye these things in your hearts?”
b) a.s.sent.
Mark 12:32--”And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth.” So was it with the faith which Christ demanded in His miracles: ”Believe ye that I am able to do this?” ”Yea, Lord.”
There must not only be the knowledge that Jesus is able to save, and that He is the Saviour of the world; there must be also an a.s.sent of the heart to all these claims. Those who, _receiving_ Christ to be all that He claimed to be, _believed_ in Him, became thereby sons of G.o.d (John 1:12).
c) Appropriation.
John 1:12; 2:24. There must be an appropriation of the things which we know and a.s.sent to concerning the Christ and His work.
Intelligent perception is not faith. A man may know Christ as divine, and yet aside from that reject him as Saviour. Knowledge affirms the reality of these things but neither accepts nor rejects them. Nor is a.s.sent faith. There is an a.s.sent of the mind which does not convey a surrender of the heart and affections.
Faith is the consent of the will to the a.s.sent of the understanding.
Faith always has in it the idea of action--movement towards its object. It is the soul leaping forth to embrace and appropriate the Christ in whom it believes. It first says: ”My Lord and my G.o.d,”
and then falls down and wors.h.i.+ps.
A distinction between believing about Christ and on Christ is made in John 8:30, 31, R. V.--”Many believed _on_ him.... Jesus therefore said to those Jews that had believed _him_.”
S. THE MEANING OF FAITH IN PARTICULAR:
a) When Used in Connection with the Name of G.o.d.
Heb. 11:6--”But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to G.o.d must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Also Acts 27:22-25; Rom. 4:19-21 with Gen. 15:4-6. There can be no dealings with the invisible G.o.d unless there is absolute faith in His existence. We must believe in His reality, even though He is unseen. But we must believe even more than the fact of His existence; namely, that He is a rewarder, that He will a.s.suredly honor with definite blessing those who approach unto Him in prayer. Importunity will, of course, be needed (Luke 11:5-10).
There must be confidence in the Word of G.o.d also. Faith believes all that G.o.d says as being absolutely true, even though circ.u.mstances seem to be against its fulfillment.
b) When Used in Connection with the Person and Work of Christ.
Recall the three elements in faith, and apply them here.