Faith and Repentance
ARTICLE 4-We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance…
Faith
Nature of Faith-The predominating sense in which the term faith is used throughout the scriptures is that of full confidence and trust in the being, purposes, and words of God. Such trust, if implicit, will remove all doubt concerning things accomplished or promised of God, even though such things be not apparent to or explicable by the ordinary senses of mortality; hence arises the definition of faith given by Paul: “Now faith is the substance [i.e., confidence, or assurance] of things hoped for, the evidence [i.e., the demonstration or proof] of things not seen.” It is plain that such a feeling of trust may exist in different persons in varying degrees; indeed, faith may manifest itself from the incipient state which is little more than feeble belief, scarcely free from hesitation and fear, to the strength of abiding confidence that sets doubt and sophistry at defiance.
Belief, Faith, and Knowledge-The terms faith and belief are sometimes regarded as synonyms; nevertheless each of them has a specific meaning in our language, although in earlier usage there was little distinction between them, and therefore the words are used interchangeably in many scriptural passages. Belief, in one of its accepted senses, may consist in a merely intellectual assent, while faith implies such confidence and conviction as will impel to action. Dictionary authority justifies us in drawing a distinction between the two, according to present usage in English; and this authority defines belief as a mental assent to the truth or actuality of anything, excluding, however, the moral element of responsibility through such assent, which responsibility is included by faith. Belief is in a sense passive, an agreement or acceptance only; faith is active and positive, embracing such reliance and confidence as will lead to works. Faith in Christ comprises belief in Him, combined with trust in Him. One cannot have faith without belief; yet he may believe and still lack faith. Faith is vivified, vitalized, living belief.
Certainly there is great difference in degree, even if no essential distinction in kind be admitted between the two. As shall be presently demonstrated, faith in the Godhead is requisite to salvation; it is indeed a saving power, leading its possessor in the paths of godliness, whereas mere belief in the existence and attributes of Deity is no such power. Mark the words of James, in his general epistle to the saints wherein he chided his brethren for certain empty professions. In substance he said: You take pride and satisfaction in declaring your belief in God; you boast of being distinguished from the idolaters and the heathen because you accept one God; you do well to so profess, and so believe; but, remember, others do likewise; even the devils believe; and so firmly that they tremble at thought of the fate which that belief makes plain to them. Satan and his followers believe in Christ; and their belief amounts to knowledge as to who He is, and as to what constitutes His part, past, present, and to come, in the divine plan of human existence and salvation. Call to mind the case of the man possessed by evil spirits in the land of the Gadarenes, a man so grievously tormented as to be a terror to all who came near him. He could be neither tamed nor bound; people were afraid to approach him; yet when he saw Christ, he ran to Him and worshiped, and the wicked spirit within him begged for mercy at the hands of that Righteous One, addressing Him as “Jesus, thou Son of the most high God.” Again, an unclean spirit in the synagogue at Jerusalem implored Christ not to use His power, crying in fear and agony: “I know thee, who thou art, the Holy One of God.” Christ was once followed by a multitude made up of people from Idumaea and Jerusalem, from Tyre and Sidon; among them were many who were possessed of evil spirits, and these, when they saw Him, fell down in the attitude of worship, exclaiming: “Thou art the Son of God.” Was there ever mortal believer who confessed more unreservedly a knowledge of God and His Son Jesus Christ than did these servants of Satan? Satan knows God and Christ; remembers, perchance, somewhat concerning the position which he himself once occupied as a Son of the Morning; yet with all such knowledge he is Satan still. Neither belief nor its superior, actual knowledge, is efficient to save; for neither of these is faith. If belief be a product of the mind, faith is of the heart; belief is founded on reason, faith largely on intuition.
We frequently hear it said that faith is imperfect knowledge; that the first disappears as the second takes its place; that now we walk by faith but some day we shall walk by the sure light of knowledge. In a sense this is true; yet it must be remembered that knowledge may be as dead and unproductive in good works as is faithless belief. Those confessions of the devils, that Christ was the Son of God, were based on knowledge; yet the great truth, which they knew, did not change their evil natures. How different was their acknowledgment of the Savior from that of Peter, who, to the Master’s question “Whom say ye that I am?” replied in practically the words used by the unclean spirits before cited: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Peter’s faith had already shown its vitalizing power; it had caused him to forsake much that had been dear, to follow his Lord through persecution and suffering, and to put away worldliness with its fascinations for the sacrificing godliness which his faith made so desirable. His knowledge of God as the Father, and of the Son as the Redeemer, was perhaps no greater than that of the unclean spirits; but while to them that knowledge was but an added cause of condemnation to him it was a means of salvation.
The mere possession of knowledge gives no assurance of benefit therefrom. It is said that during an epidemic of cholera in a great city, a scientific man proved to his own satisfaction, by chemical and microscopic tests, that the water supply was infected, and that through it contagion was being spread. He proclaimed the fact throughout the city, and warned all against the use of unboiled water. Many of the people, although incapable of comprehending his methods of investigation, far less of repeating such for themselves, had faith in his warning words, followed his instructions, and escaped the death to which their careless and unbelieving fellows succumbed. Their faith was a saving one. To the man himself, the truth by which so many lives had been spared was a matter of knowledge. He had actually perceived, under the microscope, proof of the existence of death-dealing germs in the water; he had demonstrated their virulence; he knew of what he spoke. Nevertheless, in a moment of forgetfulness he drank of the unsterilized water, and soon thereafter died, a victim to the plague. His knowledge did not save him, convincing though it was; yet others, whose reliance was only that of confidence or faith in the truth that he declared, escaped the threatening destruction. He had knowledge; but, was he wise? Knowledge is to wisdom what belief is to faith, one an abstract principle, the other a living application. Not possession merely, but the proper use of knowledge constitutes wisdom.
Foundation of Faith-Primarily, and in a theological sense, we are considering faith as a living, inspiring confidence in God, and an acceptance of His will as our law, and of His words as our guide, in life. Faith in God is possible only as we come to know that He exists, and moreover, that He is a Being of worthy character and attributes.
Upon such knowledge of God’s existence, the worthiness of His character, and the perfection of His attributes, is man’s faith in Him established. Faith in God then cannot be exercised in the absence of all knowledge of Him; yet even the benighted heathen show some of the fruits of faith, for they have at least the inborn conviction that arises from man’s natural intuition as to the existence of a supreme power. In every human soul, even in that of the savage, there is some basis for faith, however limited and imperfect the darkness of heredity or of wilful sin may have made it. The heathen’s faith may be weak and imperfect, for his ability to recognize the evidence upon which belief in God depends may be small. While the first promptings of faith toward God may be the result of natural intuition, the later development will be largely the result of unprejudiced and prayerful investigation and search for truth.
From trustworthy evidence, rightly interpreted, true faith will spring; from false evidence, only distorted and misplaced faith can arise. Our conclusions concerning any question under test will be governed largely by the number and credibility of witnesses, or the weight of evidence as we investigate for ourselves. However improbable a declaration may appear to us, if the truth of it be affirmed by witnesses in whom we have confidence we are led to admit the statement, at least provisionally, as true. If many credible witnesses testify, and moreover, if collateral evidence appear, we may consider the statement as proved. Nevertheless we would still be incompetent to affirm the truth of it on our personal knowledge until we had seen and heard for ourselves, until in fact each of us had become a competent witness through personal observation. To illustrate: Relatively few of the citizens of this country have visited the seat of government; the masses know nothing by actual observation of the capitol, the executive mansion and other buildings of national interest and importance; very few have personally met the President of the United States who resides there. How does any one of the multitude who have not seen for themselves know of the city of Washington, of the capitol, and of the president? Through the testimony of others. He may have among his acquaintances many who have been in Washington and whose statements he accepts as true; assuredly he has heard or read of those who do know for themselves. Then he learns of laws being framed there, and of edicts issuing from the nation’s headquarters; his studies in school, his use of maps and books, and many other incidents add to the evidence, which soon becomes decisive. His inferences multiply, and develop into a positive conviction. He acquires faith in the existence of a center of national government and regard for the laws which emanate therefrom.