Faith is essential.
According to the Christian religion, faith is the great essential thing. “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” Whatever we may do or may be, we cannot be acceptable with the Most High unless we believe in him. Even prayer can only be a mockery if it be not the prayer of faith. “He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently him,” or else he does not really pray. The Lord Jesus Christ died to save men but it is certain that no man will be saved without faith. Even the blood of Jesus Christ does not save any except those who believe in it. “God so loved the world” is a very wide expression, but remember how the verse goes on, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Without faith, Christ is not ours. His blood cannot cleanse us; his life cannot quicken us. We must have faith to get at the blessings of salvation.
Faith is continuous.
Suppose we could be brought into touch with Christ without faith for a while, yet, if we had not continuous faith, we should not have a continued connection with the Savior, and consequently should not abide in eternal life; for it is written: “the just shall live by faith.” They not only begin to live by faith, but continue to live in the same manner. In our holy religion, everything is by faith, faith for life, and faith for death. Even the first tears of repentance must be salted with faith, and the last song on earth shall be full of faith. Ye must have faith, or ye must perish. “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned,” is the declaration of Jesus Christ the Savior Himself.
Faith is relying on Christ.
We have [already] seen that it is essential. It is [also] very important to understand its nature. Well, faith with regard to God is the same as faith with regard to anything else. It is the same act of the mind, though it differs as to its object. When I believe in God, it is the same kind of mental act as when I believe in my friend. I believe with the same mind. Tis true that all saving faith is the work of the Holy Ghost in us; but be it always recollected that we ourselves believe, and that the Holy Ghost does not believe for us. What has the Holy Ghost to believe about? It is not written that he is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. No, but we are to believe in him. He leads us to faith, but the faith is our own act and deed. If I understand aright the faith which saves, it is just this. God has revealed such-and-such truth, I believe it to be true, and I so believe it to be true that I act upon it. God has said that he has laid sin upon Christ; I believe he has done so. He tells me that, if I trust Christ, I may be assured that my sin was laid upon Christ. I trust Christ, that is, I rely upon him, and the reliance which springs out of belief is the essence of faith.
Faith is evidenced by its actions.
When a man believes a bank to be safe, he will put his money into it if he has need to do so; when a man believes in the honesty of another, the practical issue of it is [that] he takes his word and trusts him. Now, mark, if I really do rest in Christ, I shall do what Christ bids me. Faith must lead to obedience. He bids me forsake sin, and I do it by his help. He bids me follow him, and I shall do it if I really believe in him. A doctor says, “Now, trust me, my man, and I will cure you.” I trust him. He sends me medicine and I take it. But suppose I do not take the medicine; well, then, I never trusted him; my neglect proves I have not done so.
Faith includes obedience.
The only trust that saves the soul is that practical trust which obeys Jesus Christ. Faith that does not obey is dead faith—nominal faith. It is the outside of faith, the husk of faith, but it has not the vital corn of faith in it. Sinner, if thou wilt be saved, thou must give thyself up to Jesus Christ to be his servant, and to do all that he bids thee. Thou must rely alone upon him; trust not in fiction, but in reality, not by profession merely, but with thy whole heart; and thou must continue to lean, rest, and lie upon him, trusting alone in him. This is what saving faith is.
Faith is a gift of God.
Now, there are some who say they wish they could get this faith; they declare that they would do anything to get it. They earnestly long to believe, but somehow they cannot get a grip of faith, cannot quite make out what it is; or if they know what it is, they are still puzzled, they cannot exercise it.
Albeit faith is the gift of God, it is always the act of man— while faith is a privilege, it is always a natural duty. Men are bidden to believe in Jesus, and are sinful if they do not believe in Jesus. Where faith does exist, it is the gift of God; but where it does not exist, it is because men will not believe in him, but shut their eyes to his light. If they would but see it, that light would convince them.
Copyright (reformatting) Jim Ehrhard, 1999. You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author; (2) any modifications are clearly marked; (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction; and (4) you do not make more than 100 copies without permission. If you would like to post this material to your web site or make any use other than as defined above, please contact Teaching Resources International
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