What do you think about the following bulleted assertions?
• The nature of faith / trust:
1) It always describes someone's reliance upon something or someone.2) It is impossible to know how this reliance is to be expressed without
knowing the context.
• All groups within Christendom must tell a potential convert how to trust in Jesus. Without this information, the gospel remains a grace laden message on the far side of a wide canyon with no connecting bridge to an individual's life.
The Nature of Faith
The Greek word pistis is translated in English as "faith" or "trust." Faith / trust always describes the reliance which someone places upon something or someone. Hence, the definition of faith / trust always remains the same.
However, how a person expresses faith will change dramatically depending upon the object of faith and the context. In other words, to say that a person must have faith in a particular situation is to claim that there is the need for reliance, but this does not say anything about how the person must rely upon someone or something in that given context.
When an unconditional promise is given, the obedience of faith simply demands believing the promise. But in other situations, the obedience of faith may also require action. Consider these following examples:
• If a skydiver has faith that the parachute has been properly prepared, he or she will jump out of an airplane.• If those standing at the bottom of a cliff wall have faith in the suspended rope hanging down before them, they will grab hold and start to climb up.
• If a man interested in short term investments has faith in the stock market to rise, he will invest his money in the market.
• If a little boy who is stuck in a tree trusts in his daddy's outstretched arms, he will jump.
• If a farmer believes that a certain brand of seed will better suit his purposes, he will purchase that one.
• Since Noah had faith in God that God would destroy the world, he obeyed God's message by building an ark. Hebrews 11:6
• Since Abram had faith in God's call for him to leave his family, he packed his bags and set out for an unknown land. Hebrews 11:8
• Since Abram had faith in God that God would make his offspring like the number of stars, he believed God's promise. Genesis 15:5-6
From these examples we can see that how a person is required to express or demonstrate his reliance upon someone or something in any given situation is determined by that situation. It is impossible for a person to know how he is to have faith if he does not first know the message or the situation.
If you doubt that the preceeding principle is true, then consider this. When God's people were told to not fear, but to "have faith in the LORD your God and you will be established,"(2 Chronicles 20:20) how were they required to trust in God? If they were going to trust in God, what should they believe and/ or do? Until you know the context of 2 Chronicles 20:15f., you do not know how God's people were being called to rely upon God.
Responding With Faith in Jesus
Whether a preacher tells people to put their hands on the TV set, say a sinner's prayer or be baptized, the evangelist must teach people how to trust in Jesus. Since there is a divergence of opinion about how people are required to respond to the gospel, the question today should be - "how did the original gospel message call people to rely upon Jesus in order that they might be saved?"
The Biblical answer is consistently unanimous in supporting Jesus' teaching: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, ..." Matthew 28:19. As a representative sample:
• The Samaritans believed the message about the kingdom and Jesus and so were baptized. Acts 8:12
• Upon hearing Jesus preached, the Ethiopian eunuch asked what prevented him from responding by being baptized. Acts 8:35-36
• While discussing some other doctrinal point, Paul referred to how the Galatians had responded in faith to Jesus resulting in them becoming sons of God. "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus for as many as have been baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." Galatians 3:26-27
Within Acts there are some historical accounts of conversion where the details of how people relied upon Christ are omitted. In these texts, the emphasis is upon that fact that they were converted and this is described in the language of "became obedient to the faith," "believed," "believed and turned to the Lord," etc. Acts 4:4; 5:14; 6:7; 11:21; 14:21 It would be a mistake to understand these verses to be descriptive of the details regarding how these people trusted in the Lord.
Yes, those who are going to have a biblical faith in Christ need to repent (Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38) and confess his name (Romans 10:9-10; 1 Timothy 6:12 ). My point here is simply this. To be biblical, a person can not look at the word faith or trust and falsely assume that from this word alone he has discovered the specifics regarding how the gospel calls people to rely upon Christ for salvation.
When the New Testament teaches that salvation comes by faith, it is teaching us that salvation comes through reliance upon Christ. For the sinner, there is still the need to ask, "what must I do to be saved?" And it is the answer to this question which provides God's bridge from the wonderful message of grace to intersect with the seeker's life.
Other related articles which might be of interest:
Baptism, Obedience and Justification by Faith: Forcing Square Pegs Through A Round Hole?
Understanding Justified by Faith
What About the Thief on the Cross?
Barry Newton © 2000