The Nature of Saving Faith

The Nature of Saving Faith
By John Woodward
September 27, 1999

My wife, Linda, just returned from singing at three ladies' retreats. We rejoice in how God used the ministry team there and expressed His presence. In addition to the attenders resolving spiritual conflicts and growing in grace, several women received Christ as their personal savior! Many tears of joy were shed during the week.

This leads us back to the topic of the nature of saving faith. How does one truly become "saved"? Surely there is no more important question, for the Scripture warns, "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him?"(Heb 2:3).

This question was framed by the Philippian jailer in Acts 16. After the earthquake opened the doors of the jail where Paul and Silas were imprisoned, he was about to commit suicide. Since the missionaries loved their enemy, Paul called out, "'Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.' Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and said, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?' So they said, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.'(Acts 16:28-31). How wonderful that the jailer and his family believed! They gave evidence of their new faith by tending to the missionaries and being baptized in water.

Throughout the New Testament we learn that salvation is by grace through faith. The Gospel of John was expressly written to show the way of gaining eternal life. "These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name."(John 20:31). Therefore, "belief" is a major theme in this book. (John 1:7,12,50,2:11,22,23,3:12,15,16,18,36...).

However, some other passages appear to require something more. In the episode of the rich young ruler, he leaves Jesus with sadness and unbelief because he would not sell his possessions, give to the poor, and follow Him (Matt 19:16-26). Later in this article, we will seek to put this story in the context of salvation by grace alone.

How are we to understand and communicate our answer to the "Philippian Jailers" of our day? What is the nature of saving faith? As we seek to answer this question in a biblically balanced way, it is valuable to notice how faith corresponds to three functions of the soul--the mind, the emotions, and the will.

How does the mind respond positively to the gospel?-- by BELIEVING the gospel is true. This good news is summarized in 1 Corinthians 15:3,4: "For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures."(cf. 1 Pet 3:18; Rom 10:9,10).

How do the emotions respond positively to the gospel?--by TRUSTING in Christ alone. As Ephesians 2:8,9 declares, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." (cf. Rom 4:5; 5:1). Religion says "do!"; the gospel says "done!"

How does the will respond positively to the gospel?--by COMMITTING oneself to Christ as personal Lord and Savior. Salvation is not just a pill we take or a doctrine we acknowledge; salvation is a personal relationship with God. Notice the role of the will: "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name." (John 1:12). "For ' whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.'"(Rom 10:13). We thereby accept the terms of the New Covenant (Matt 26:28).

Since conversion is compared to marriage (Eph 5:32), the bride (the believer) needs to say "I do" to the bridegroom (Christ). Commitment is not promising our efforts to maintain salvation, but the glad surrender of ourselves to God's safekeeping in Christ (2 Tim 1:12). The life of discipleship summons us to cooperate with God's purpose to conform us to the image of His Son (Rom 8:28,29).

Belief, trust, and commitment are nothing more or less than aspects of saving faith.

Recalling the episode of the rich young ruler--why did he walk away? (Matt 19:16-26). He may have believed in Christ as a good teacher (notice how Christ redefined "good" for him), but he did not believe in him as Messiah and Savior. Instead of trusting in the Redeemer, he depended on his obedience to the law, which he thought he had kept (contra Gal 2:16). When he was invited to respond in commitment, he was unwilling to bow the knee to Christ, which for him meant turning from the idol of material wealth. So the rich young ruler walked away, not because the conditions for salvation were harder than those given to the Philippian jailer, but because he did not respond in saving faith.

There may be some readers of this issue who have assumed that they were a child of God because of being raised in a Christian family, belonging to a church, or acknowledging the facts of the gospel. Why not take time now to review the nature of saving faith. Be sure you have truly received Christ as your Lord and Savior. As the apostle Peter counseled, "Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble." (2 Peter 1:10).

For readers who are looking for the implications of salvation by grace for a deeper experience of Christ as life, reflect on these observations by Roy Hession. This author of The Calvary Road (which has blessed many believers around the world, being translated into forty languages) speaks of the foundational importance of salvation. "My Calvary Road began. . ., as it does with all of us, when we first experienced the cross of Calvary as sinners. All the elements of later and fuller experience in the Christian life are implicit in that first experience of grace, 'I am a sinner, but Jesus is my Saviour.' Indeed, we may be suspicious of any emphasis, teaching or experience which is not at the bottom merely an extension of these simple truths. To go deeper in the Christian life is simply to realize that we are bigger sinners than we ever thought and that Jesus is a bigger Saviour than we ever conceived Him to be." (Hession's autobiography--My Calvary Road, p.18).

Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Our awesome God, we examine ourselves in light of our responsibility to truly believe in the Lord Jesus. Convict any professing Christian who only has mental assent toward the gospel, yet has not repented and received Your Son. Thank You for paying our sin debt for us through Christ's death and resurrection. We affirm and reaffirm our full trust in our Redeemer. In Christ's name, amen.

JBW

September 27, 1999 Vol.2 # 39

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