All Of Grace

Chapter 8

What Is Faith?

What is this faith concerning which it is said, By grace you are saved, through faith? There are many descriptions of faith, but almost all the definitions I have heard have made me understand it less than I did before I saw them. Someone said when he read the chapter that he would confound it, and it is very likely that he did so, though he meant to expound it. We may explain faith till nobody understands it. I hope I shall not be guilty of that fault. Faith is the simplest of all things, and perhaps because of its simplicity it is the more difficult to explain.

What is faith? It is made up of three things-knowledge, belief, and trust. Knowledge comes first. How shall they believe in Him of Whom they have not heard? [ROM 10:14]. I want to be informed of a fact before I can possibly believe it. Faith comes by hearing [ROM 10:17]; we must first hear in order that we may know what is to be believed. Those who know Your name will put their trust in You [PSA 9:10]. A measure of knowledge is essential to faith, hence the importance of getting knowledge. Incline your ear, and come unto Me: hear, and your soul shall live [ISA 55:3]. Such was the word of the ancient prophet, and it is the word of the Gospel still. Search the Scriptures and learn what the Holy Spirit teaches concerning Christ and His salvation. Seek to know God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him [HEB 11:6]. May the Holy Spirit give you the spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord! Know the Gospel; know what the Good News is, how it talks of free forgiveness and of change of heart, of adoption into the family of God, and of countless other blessings. Know especially Christ Jesus the Son of God, the Savior of men, united to us by His human nature, and yet one with God. And thus He was able to act as Mediator between God and man, able to lay His hand upon both and to be the connecting link between the sinner and the Judge of all the Earth. Endeavor to know more and more of Christ Jesus. Endeavor especially to know the doctrine of the sacrifice of Christ, for the point upon which saving faith mainly fixes itself is this: God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself not imputing their sins unto them [2CO 5:19]. Know that Jesus was made a curse for us: for it is written, ‘Cursed is every one who hangs on a tree’ [GAL 3:13]. Drink deep of the doctrine of the substitutionary work of Christ, for therein lies the sweetest possible comfort to the guilty sons of men, since the Lord made Him to be sin for us . . . that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him [2CO 5:21]. Faith begins with knowledge.

The mind goes on to believe that these things are true. The soul believes that God is and that He hears the cries of sincere hearts, that the Gospel is from God, that justification by faith is the grand truth which God has revealed in these last days by His Spirit more clearly than before. Then the heart believes that Jesus is truly and in truth our God and Savior, the Redeemer of men, the Prophet, Priest, and King of His people. All this is accepted as sure truth, not to be questioned. I pray that you may at once come to this. Firmly believe that the blood of Jesus Christ His [God’s] Son cleanses us from all sin [1JO 1:7], that His sacrifice is complete and fully accepted of God on man’s behalf, so that he who believes on Jesus is not condemned. Believe these truths as you believe any other statements, for the difference between ordinary faith and saving faith lies mainly in the subjects in which it is placed. Believe the witness of God just as you believe the testimony of your own father or friend. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater [1JO 5:9].

So far you have made an advance toward faith; only one more ingredient is needed to complete it–trust. Commit yourself to the merciful God; rest your hope on the gracious Gospel. Trust your soul on the dying and living Savior, wash away your sins in the atoning blood, accept His perfect righteousness, and all will be well. Trust is the lifeblood of faith; there is no saving faith without it. The Puritans were accustomed to explain faith by the word "recumbency." It meant leaning upon a thing. Lean with all your weight upon Christ. It would be a better illustration still if I said, fall at full length and lie on the rock of ages. Cast yourself upon Jesus. Rest in Him. Commit yourself to Him. That done, you have exercised saving faith. Faith is not a blind thing, for faith begins with knowledge. It is not a speculative thing, for faith believes facts of which it is sure. It is not an impractical, dreamy thing, for faith trusts and stakes its destiny upon the truth of revelation. That is one way of describing what faith is.

Let me try again. Faith is believing that Christ is what He is said to be and that He will do what He has promised to do, and then to expect this of Him. The Scriptures speak of Jesus Christ as being God in human flesh, as being perfect in His character, as being made a sin offering on our behalf, as bearing our sins in His own body on the tree. The Scripture speaks of Him as having finished transgression, made an end of sin, and brought in everlasting righteousness. The sacred records further tell us that He rose again [1CO 15:4] from the dead, that He ever lives to make intercession for us [HEB 7:25], that He has gone up into glory and has taken possession of Heaven on the behalf of His people, and that He will shortly come again to judge the . . . world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity [PSA 98:9, ASV]. We are most firmly to believe that it is so, for this is the testimony of God the Father when He said, This is My beloved Son; hear Him [LUK 9:35]. This also is testified by God the Holy Spirit, for the Spirit has borne witness to Christ, both in the inspired Word and by divers miracles and by His working in the hearts of men. We are to believe this testimony to be true.

Faith also believes that Christ will do what He has promised; that since He has promised to cast out none that come to Him, it is certain that He will not cast us out if we come to Him. Faith believes that since Jesus said, The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life [JOH 4:14], it must be true; and if we get this living water from Christ, it will abide in us and will well up within us in streams of holy life. Whatever Christ has promised to do He will do, and we must believe this in order to look for pardon, justification, preservation, and eternal glory from His hands, according as He has promised them to believers in Him.

Then comes the next necessary step. Jesus is what He is said to be. Jesus will do what He says He will do. Therefore, we must each trust Him, saying, "He will be to me what He says He is, and He will do to me what He has promised to do. I leave myself in the hands of Him who is appointed to save, that He may save me. I rest upon His promise that He will do even as He has said." This is saving faith, and he that has it has everlasting life. Whatever his dangers and difficulties, whatever his darkness and depression, whatever his infirmities and sins, he who believes thus on Christ Jesus is not condemned, and shall never come into condemnation.

May that explanation be of some service! I trust it may be used by the Spirit of God to direct you into immediate peace. "Be not afraid; only believe." Trust, and be at rest.

My fear is lest you should rest content with understanding what is to be done, and yet never do it. Better the poorest real faith actually at work than the best ideal of it left in the region of speculation. The great matter is to believe on the Lord Jesus at once. Never mind distinctions and definitions. A hungry man eats though he does not understand the composition of his food, the anatomy of his mouth, or the process of digestion; he lives because he eats. Another far more clever person understands thoroughly the science of nutrition, but if he does not eat he will die with all his knowledge. There are, no doubt, many at this hour in Hell who understood the doctrine of faith but did not believe. On the other hand, not one who has trusted in the Lord Jesus has ever been cast out, though he may never have been able intelligently to define his faith. Oh, receive the Lord Jesus into your soul, and you shall live forever! He who believes on the Son has everlasting life [JOH 3:36].

Next Chapter

Return To Main Index

This Page Last Updated: 12/10/98 A. Allison Lewis aalewis@christianbeliefs.org