When we consider the gospel, ‘faith’ is referred to, as part of the message. But in the New Testament, the word ‘faith’ is used in two different ways. When it speaks of ‘the faith’ with the definite article, it is referring to the content of what is believed in the apostolic message of God’s love and grace revealed in Jesus Christ. Hence, believers are called to contend for the faith as in Jude 3, or defend the faith as when we need to defend what we believe as Christians and what we stand for.
But more commonly, the word ‘faith’ is used to describe not what we believe but rather the means by which we believe the gospel message. For instance, in Ephesians 2:8, we read “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” However, both meanings of the word “faith” are very important, indeed essential for the Christian life.
Perhaps, a helpful approach to help us understand the meaning of ‘faith’ is to look at what faith isn’t. When we see clearly what ‘faith’ is not, then we are in a position to appreciate what faith is.
(a) Faith is not merely mental assent
When various ones listen to the story of Jesus; when they read of the life of Jesus, His death on the cross, and His resurrection from the dead, they may agree with the historical facts. But by itself, it is not enough to lead someone to living faith in Him. The problem is not lack of facts or information, but a need for an inner transformation. Merely agreeing with the facts cannot by itself bring about a change of heart and will.
(b) Faith is not the same as loyalty to a church or denomination
To know Jesus Christ is not the same thing as belonging to the church. Jesus Christ is a real person not just an idea or a doctrine. We come to know Him personally through personal encounter, in a relationship that begins by acknowledging who He is.
In the same way, faith is not hereditary endowment; we are not automatically Christians by virtue of our family connections i.e. we are not believers just because our parents or grandparents are.
(c) Faith is not an emotional state
Some may equate the Christian life with a certain emotional state, a heightened emotional religious consciousness or a sense of feeling good about oneself. Feelings may not be bad in themselves, but they are flimsy; our emotions may ebb and flow with the circumstances in our lives. Godly feelings flow from faith but they can never be the foundation for it.
(d) Faith is not a system of good works
Faith is sometimes equated with outward behaviour, a code of ethics, a life lived by high moral principles. Indeed, the BIble does teach that there is a close relationship between faith and works; good works are to spring from a life of faith, just as fruit appears on the branches of a well-planted tree. But the sequence of this analogy is important – first the roots, then the fruits. The problem is that none of us can live a life good enough, free enough from sin and selfishness, to be accepted by God on the basis of our meritorious behaviour. In the study of Galatians, we saw clearly that we are not saved by our works or by keeping the law, but rather, we are saved by faith.
To believe on the Lord Jesus Christ means to cast ourselves on His mercy, to trust in His atoning sacrifice on the cross, to surrender ourselves to His will, and to embrace His lordship over our lives. On the basis of this relationship, we learn to walk in the light and to grow more fully into the kind of person God wants us to be.
There is a real danger of treating faith itself as though it were some kind of good work, a meritorious act we can perform to bring ourselves into right standing before God; nothing is further from the truth. This is why the Bible emphasises so strongly that faith itself is a gift, something we have received directly from God, not a service we render to God to secure His mercy or favour on us. Only when we realise that grace is the unmerited, unprovoked favour of God and that faith is a free gift bestowed by the Lord apart from anything we do to deserve it, can we truly appreciate the extent of God’s amazing love for us. Otherwise, we may then end up with the Semi-Pelagius teaching that salvation is contributed partly by God (God’s part) and partly by our faith (our part), making ‘faith’ a kind of good work, a meritorious act on the part of the one who responds positively to the gospel message, and hence giving room for boasting on the part of one who believes. Ephesians 2:8-9 clearly teaches that by grace we are saved through faith..it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
To become a Christian involves a twofold movement on our part, both prompted and enabled by the Holy Spirit: repentance and faith. To repent is to turn around, to change direction, to forsake our way of thinking for another. Faith is the positive side of this movement – to embrace Jesus Christ, to trust in Him alone, to cling to His cross, to rest in His promise of forgiveness and new life. So the object of faith is significant; our faith is in Christ, not in ‘faith’ itself.
Even though we receive faith as a radical gift from God, faith itself is not a passive inert condition that leaves us unmoved and unchanged. Faith is an active, dynamic reality that propels us forward into the Christian life – hence the just shall live by faith. Faith belongs to the triad of Christian virtues – faith, hope, and love, Take note – none of these are self-generating qualities or mere human possibilities. They are gifts of God actualised in the lives of His children by the process of His Spirit in their hearts. It is the Holy Spirit and His ministry that make these qualities possible and growing in the lives of Christians; hence the importance of walking in the Spirit and keeping step with the Spirit for the believers. And faith is in God, in Christ, in trusting Him alone, in clinging to His promise, in resting in Him, in hoping in Him, in persevering in Him until we see Him face to face. This is what faith looks like – it is in the Triune God, not in ourselves, and in the exercise of our spiritual ‘prowess’ such that we can boast.
As one godly Christian wrote: “Faith is our act, but not our work; it is an instrument of reception without being a means of merit; it is the work of the Holy Spirit, who both evokes it and through it ingrafts us into Christ in such a sense that we know at once the personal relationship of sinner to Saviour and disciple to Master….An unhealthy feature of Protestant theology today is its preoccupation with faith – faith, that is, viewed man-centredly as a state of existential commitment. Inevitably this preoccupation diverts thought away from faith’s object.. faith is not a relationship to oneself, but to the living Christ of the Bible.. and faith is fed by concentrating on Christ as the Saviour and Lord by whom our whole life must be determined”.