Saving Faith

Matthew 7:21-23 Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

I remember the shock that I experienced when I first read this passage, spoken by our savior and Lord Jesus Christ. It followed another shocking passage by Jesus in Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” The Lord was dismantling misconceptions about who was going to heaven and how they were getting there, and the message was exactly opposite from my understanding that just about everyone (except bad guys) was going to heaven. These folks in verses 21-23 were obviously Christ followers, yet somehow did not have a “saving” faith and lived believing in a “false” salvation. I didn’t want to get it wrong. So, what is “saving” faith? Knowing what saving or justifying faith looks like will help keep us from making a false profession of trust in the Savior.

James 2:19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!

This short study on “justification by faith” that I’ve been reading states that because faith is the only instrumental means by which we receive the righteousness of Christ and so are declared righteous heirs of eternal life, it is critical that we understand what “saving” or “justifying faith is. After all, our Lord Himself warns (above) that on the last day before Judgment Day, some will believe that they have been servants of Christ but in fact will be cast out of the kingdom because they never actually believed in Him and hence never did His will. The trusty 1828 Webster’s dictionary defines this faith this way: Evangelical, justifying, or saving faith, is the assent of the mind to the truth of divine revelation, on the authority of God's testimony, accompanied with a cordial assent of the will or approbation of the heart; an entire confidence or trust in God's character and declarations, and in the character and doctrines of Christ, with an unreserved surrender of the will to his guidance, and dependence on his merits for salvation. In other words, that firm belief of God's testimony, and of the truth of the gospel, which influences the will, and leads to an entire reliance on Christ for salvation.

John 7:38 “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

We find in Holy Scripture three aspects that are essential for “true” faith. The first is notitia (knowledge), which is the intellectual context of what we believe. Saving faith is faith in the person and work of Christ, so we must know something about Jesus and what He has done if we are to have actual faith in Him. The second component of saving faith is assensus (believe), or belief that the content of the Christian gospel is true. It is possible to know something and not believe it is true, and in fact we know many things that we do not believe are true, such as the content of other religions. We must not only know that Christianity proclaims the content of Christ’s historical birth, death and resurrection, but we must also believe that the events happened. Third, saving faith includes fiducia (trust/confidence/assurance), which is placing trust in the One revealed in the content that is believed to be true. Knowing what God has revealed and believing it to be true is a good thing, but it is not enough. Even demons know and assert to the truth of God’s revelation, so merely knowing and believing necessary truths for salvation such as the oneness of God are insufficient for redemption. We also need to place our trust in Christ personally to save us. We must believe that Jesus came to save us personally. We must place our lives in His hands, pledging ourselves to follow Him no matter the cost.

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Using two chairs as an illustration – the first has our name on it and it’s the chair of “good words”. We were all born in this chair. The second chair is labeled Christ and it is the chair of the work of Christ on the Cross for our forgiveness and our salvation. We actually must get up out of our chair of good works and sit down in the chair of Christ’s finished work. In Saving faith we must understand the need to cease trusting in themselves and to transfer their trust to Jesus Christ alone. In placing ourselves in Christ’s hands for salvation, we are not denying that “saving” faith is essentially something that one receives. We are saying, “Lord, we have nothing and are owed nothing; please take us and use us as you will.” In giving ourselves to Christ, we are still asking for Him to give us everything for we have nothing.

Blessed in Christ