Day 208

Of Saving Faith.

Chapter 14, Paragraph 2.

“By this Faith, a Christian believeth to be true, whatsoever is revealed in the Word, for the Authority of God himself; and also apprehendeth an excellency therein, above all other Writings; and all things in the world: as it bears forth the Glory of God in his Attributes, the excellency of Christ in his Nature and Offices; and the Power and Fullness of the Holy Spirit in his Workings, and Operations; and so is enabled to cast his soul upon the truth thus believed;…”

Scripture Lookup

Acts 24:14
Psalm 19:7-10; 119:72
2 Timothy 1:12

Reflection

The beauty of the Bible is revealed to the beholder who is granted saving faith. She sees Scripture for what it is, the Word of God. She recognizes the excellencies of its words, for they tell of the triune God. By faith she trusts what His word says.

The Christian will believe that the Bible is God’s word. How can she not, for faith shows the Lord’s ownership of that book throughout all its pages? As the Holy Spirit guides her into all truth, He does so through the authoritative Scriptures. As it is God’s word, it must not be dismissed.

Through faith the Christian sees not only the authority of Scripture, but the excellencies of it as well. Not because of the form of its words, but because of the One of whom it speaks. Scripture does not mention God in passing, but displays His glory from beginning to end. It speaks of who Christ is, what He has done for sinners, and what He continues to do on behalf of His people. It reveals to us the work of the Spirit, demonstrating His power throughout history, testifying of His involvement in the lives of the elect. It calls us to gaze upon Him, and by faith we see how how beautiful He is.

Saving faith enables the Christian to believe these truths revealed in Scripture. Furthermore, she is not only enabled to understand and acknowledge these truths, but is able to trust them, or as the Confession puts it “cast his soul upon the truth”. It is one thing to believe a truth; it is another thing to trust in that which we know to be true. Because of faith, we can say that the Lord will provide and trust Him to actually do it. What a wonderful grace saving faith is! May we pray that the Lord would increase our faith, that we may trust Him more.

Questions to Consider

• Does an increase in faith mean an increased appreciation and reliance upon the Scriptures?