Part 34

I. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DOCTRINE.

II. THE DEFINITION OF FAITH.

1. IN GENERAL:

a) Knowledge.

b) Assent.

c) Appropriation.

2. IN PARTICULAR:

a) Towards God.

b) Towards Christ.

c) In Prayer.

d) In the Word of God.

3. RELATION OF FAITH TO WORKS.

III. THE SOURCE OF FAITH.

1. THE DIVINE SIDE.

2. THE HUMAN SIDE.

3. MEANS USED.

IV. SOME RESULTS OF FAITH.

1. SAVED.

2. JOY AND PEACE.

3. DO GREAT WORKS.

B. FAITH.

I. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DOCTRINE.

Faith is fundamental in Christian creed and conduct. It was the one thing which above all others Christ recognized as the paramount virtue. The Syrophoenician woman (Matt. 15) had perseverance; the centurion (Matt. 8), humility; the blind man (Mark 10), earnestness. But what Christ saw and rewarded in each of these cases was faith. Faith is the foundation of Peter's spiritual temple (2 Pet. 1:5-7); and first in Paul's trinity of graces (1 Cor. 13:13). In faith all the other graces find their source.

II. THE DEFINITION OF FAITH.

Faith is used in the Scriptures in a general and in a particular sense.

1. ITS GENERAL MEANING:

a) Knowledge.

Psa. 9:10--"And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee." Rom. 10:17--"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Faith is not believing a thing without evidence; on the contrary faith rests upon the best of evidence, namely, the Word of God. An act of faith denotes a manifestation of the intelligence: "How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?" Faith is no blind act of the soul; it is not a leap in the dark. Such a thing as believing with the heart without the head is out of the question. A man may believe with his head without believing with his heart; but he cannot believe with his heart without believing with his head too. The heart, in the Scriptures, means the whole man--intellect, sensibilities, and will. "As a man thinketh in his heart." "Why reason ye these things in your hearts?"