# Faith



## ladodgers6 (Dec 30, 2011)

Is Faith a righteous act by believers?


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## Contra_Mundum (Dec 30, 2011)

Faith is unique.

Faith is something we do. However, faith is also essentially a "passive" action which we perform. There isn't anything "meritorious" about faith.

The Apostle John uses the principle of "sight" as a kind of metaphor and parallel for faith, e.g. Jn.3:3, "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot *see *the kingdom of God." cf. Jn.6:62, Jn.8:56; Jn.9:1ff, esp.v41; Jn.12:40; Jn.14:19; Jn.20:29. Paul uses the same idea antithetically, in 2Cor. 5:7, "For we walk by faith, not by sight," by which he means that we need "spiritual sight" rather than earthly; thus we walk the Christian Way by faith-seeing.

To flesh out the metaphor, consider that first of all, I see--no one sees for me. But in order to see, I need the following: 1) a life; 2) a functioning eye; 3) light, an indispensable element that comes entirely from the outside, cf. Mt.6:23. I can give myself none of those three things. A baby comes into the world, having seen nothing in his dark womb. But as soon as he is born, his eyes open and he begins to process the world through vision, and his other senses--indeed vision will soon outstrip all the other senses in helping him navigate and understand the world (barring a dysfunction). The light comes in, and he sees.

No one has to tell you--you don't even have to tell yourself--to "start seeing" when you awake from sleep; it is as natural as breathing. But you are essentially passive in the act of seeing, despite the fact that you do intentionally focus on various things to investigate or to navigate your world. You take in far more than you can effectively process, which is why the normal brain "filters" the total data stream (from all the senses). Makes one wonder what an "unfallen mind" might have been like.

Faith is a gift of the NEW birth. When you are "born again," you start "seeing" God, his Word, and his world, aright. You "believe" or "have faith" because that's what a soul with new life, in a new kingdom, does by nature. "The entrance of thy Word giveth light" Ps.119:130. "I am the Light of the world" Jn.8:12; 1:9, etc.

Faith, in this way, is made the "instrumental means" of our salvation. It is by faith that we apprehend Christ, and cling to him alone for our salvation (like a child to its mother).

We are saved BY Christ; BECAUSE of the life, death and resurrection of Christ; and THROUGH _faith _in Christ.


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## Dennis1963 (Dec 30, 2011)

Excellent answer! God bless.


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## J. Dean (Dec 30, 2011)

Contra_Mundum said:


> Faith is unique.
> 
> Faith is something we do. However, faith is also essentially a "passive" action which we perform. There isn't anything "meritorious" about faith.
> 
> ...


Yeah... what he said...

Now, would you say the same thing about repentance (ie-that it's more of a reaction to regeneration)?


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## dudley (Dec 30, 2011)

Contra_Mundum said:


> Faith is unique.
> 
> Faith is something we do. However, faith is also essentially a "passive" action which we perform. There isn't anything "meritorious" about faith.
> 
> ...



I say Amen to Rev Bruce, and also will add "Roman Catholic justification equals: justification by faith, and works, including due acceptance and appropriation of the role of the sacraments. 
Protestant Justification equals: Justification by Faith - That's it - end of story. "

I became a protestant by the grace of God, I was born again. I was given faith and accepted Christ as my savior. I did not Merit the faith however it was a gift to me by God.The Reformers came to support a view of justification by an alien or extrinsic righteousness, that is to say, they did not accept that the man or woman who comes to Christ is saved by becoming internally righteous but, rather, that it was a case of the imputation of Christ's righteousness to the repentant and faithful believer (Romans 3:21-31; Romans 4: the entire chapter). The new believer will later grow in grace and knowledge but, for Protestantism, Justification happens right at the beginning where genuine and God-granted faith is present.


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## ladodgers6 (Dec 31, 2011)

> Faith is unique.
> 
> Faith is something we do. However, faith is also essentially a "passive" action which we perform. There isn't anything "meritorious" about faith.




Can you elaborate more about this thought? How is faith passive.Why is not faith considered a righteous act when in Romans it says,faith will be reckoned as righteousness? And why is not Faith considered a meritorious act? 

I am Reformed and a convinced Calvinist.I do believe that faith is the instrument which believes and receives the benefits and all the blessings in Christ.I do not believe Faith is itself a righteous act or a meritious act.I believe that faith is not the basis or the ground our salvation.Its the object of our faith that saves.And this is through faith not on the basis of faith that it is reckoned as righteousness because of Christ ALONE;in Christ's active and passive obedience that merited the perfect righteousness that is imputed to us THROUGH faith in Christ Alone!

What are your thoughts on this topic?


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## Rich Koster (Dec 31, 2011)

An old radio preacher used to describe faith like this:

An action, based upon a belief, sustained by confidence (that what God said is true).

What do you think of this?


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## Dennis1963 (Jan 1, 2012)

> Faith is unique.
> Faith is something we do. However, faith is also essentially a "passive" action which we perform. There isn't anything "meritorious" about faith.






ladodgers6 said:


> Can you elaborate more about this thought?


I'll add my two cents. Hope you don't mind. 



> How is faith passive.Why is not faith considered a righteous act when in Romans it says,faith will be reckoned as righteousness? And why is not Faith considered a meritorious act?


A lively faith is not something the natural man has, it does not exist in him, it is dead. Through regeneration, man receives the new nature (restored), and with this new nature comes a lively faith. If I may use the words, "a package deal," the new nature also contains a lively faith. Faith is reckoned as righteousness because it is now natural from the new man, it is received from God Himself. It is not a meritorious act because we do not work for it, it belongs to us now, through Christ, who is our Head, from whom all good things flow. We just exorcise it naturally, naturally from the new nature.


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## moral necessity (Jan 1, 2012)

ladodgers6 said:


> [Why is not faith considered a righteous act when in Romans it says,faith will be reckoned as righteousness? And why is not Faith considered a meritorious act?



I would defer to William Pemble's answer: 

We dare not "despise the New Covenant, attributing that to the merit of faith which belongs only to the merit of Christ...we seek such an interpretation of those places as may not contradict other Scriptures, which testify that we are justified by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ (Romans 3:25), that all sin is purged by the blood of Christ, that by the sacrifice of Himself He has put away sin, and that with His offering He has consecrated forever those who are sanctified (Hebrews 1:3). We dare not without horrible sacrilege ascribe the grace of our justification unto the work and worth of anything whatsoever in ourselves, but wholly to the righteousness of Christ. And therefore when the Scriptures say we are justified by faith, we do not take the word "by" in the formal and legal sense that we are justified by the efficacy of our faith, or for the worth of our faith, according as it is understood in justification by works. Rather, we take it relatively and instrumentally, that we are justified by faith, that is, by the righteousness of Christ, the benefit whereof unto our justification we are made partakers of by faith as the only grace which accepts the promise and gives us assurance of the performance. He who looked to the brazen serpent and was cured might truly be said to be healed by his looking, though this action was no proper cause working the cure by any efficacy or dignity of itself, but was only a necessary condition required of those who would be healed upon the obedient observance whereof God would show them favor. So he who looks on Christ, believing in Him, may truly be said to be saved and justified by faith, not for the worth and by the efficacy of that act of his, but as it is the condition of the promise of grace that must necessarily go before the delivery of it to us, upon our obedience whereunto God is pleased of His free grace to justify us...

...'Your faith has saved you,' said Christ to some whom He cured in both body and soul. But what? Was it by the efficacy of faith and for the worth of their faith that this was done? No, as it was virtue going out of Christ that cured their bodily diseases, and His compassion that moved Him to it, so it was His grace and merits and free love that healed their souls and brought them pardon of their sins in the sight of God. Yet He says that their faith saved them because _by_ believing the Son of God they received this favor, though it was not _for_ their believing that they deserved it. God bestows mercy where He finds faith, not because faith merits such favor at His hands, but because He is pleased to disperse His favors in such an order as He has appointed and upon such conditions as He thinks good. With regard to the Canaanite woman, her great faith could not claim by merit that favor which Christ showed unto her daughter, but Christ was pleased to honor her faith by His testimony of it and to help the daughter at the mother's entreaty. Christ did it upon that request of hers so insistent and full of faith. But yet who can say she merited anything at Christ's hands by her faithful and persistent petition? If she were yet living she would deny it; and she does deny it there, counting herself a dog who is unworthy of the children's bread, when yet she believed strongly, and was a child of Abraham according to the faith...

...Other arguments are offered as well, but they are so weakly knit that they fall asunder of themselves. Against them we have to cite the Scriptures that so often say we are justified freely by grace. And the Council of Trent, which they respect more than the Scriptures, has stated this: "We are therefore said to be justified gratuitously, because none of those things that precede justification, whether faith or works, merit the grace of justification' (Session 6, Chapter 8). How then can they say faith merits justification? Here our adversaries have two shifts to run to whereby they would avoid the absurdity of this assertion. This merit, they say, is not from us but from God, because faith is the gift of God's grace. Therefore we are justified by merit, yet we are justified by grace because merit is of grace. It is because of grace that our faith has merit.

This, you may be sure, is some of that smoke from the bottomless pit wherein hell vented out the Jesuits, and their dark imagination, all to confound whatever is clear in Scripture. Scripture opposes these pairs: grace and nature, grace and merit (Romans 11:6). The Pelagians of old confounded nature and grace, teaching that we were saved by grace, yet affirmed that we are also saved by nature and the natural strength of free will. They solved the problem in this way: to be saved by nature is to be saved by grace, for nature is of God's grace and giving. In the same way, the papists confound grace and merit, making a thing meritorious because it is of grace. Faith merits because it is God's gracious gift. Nothing is more contradictory. If it is His gift, how does it merit, or from whom? From man it may, but from God it cannot, unless we will senselessly affirm that the gift deserved something from the giver. Is he who gives a hundred pounds freely thereby bound to give a hundred more? Had they said that faith is good because of God's giving, that would be true, and we may grant them that God is honored and pleased with His own gifts. But that every good thing merits, and that we can deserve something from God by His own gifts, is affirmed without all reason of Scripture, and will never be proved either.

But there is another shift. Our adversaries also agrue that faith merits justification, not because of its worthiness, but because of its fitness; that is, God in justice is not bound to bestow justification where there is faith, but yet in fitness He ought to do it. So that if He does not justify him who believes, He is likely to omit something very fit and agreeable. This distinction is a mere imposture and collusion...When in the distinction they make some merits to be of condignity or worthiness, and other of congruity, or of fitness without worthiness, they offend in two ways grossly against the rules of reason. First, they oppose terms that are not opposite, worthiness and fitness being the same, if you take them with regard to the work. That which deserves a reward worthily deserves it fitly (how else is it worthy of the reward if the reward is not fit for it?), and that which deserves it fitly (if it deserves) deserves it worthily.

Moreover, they make their distinctions using terms that do not serve these distinctions, making worthiness apply to merit only while fitness belongs to compact. In plainer English, the distinction runs thus: merits are of two sorts. Some are merits indeed and deserve because they are worthy of a reward; others are not merits and do not deserve, because they are not worthy of the reward, but obtain it only with regard to compact and promise. For this rule is most certain: a work which deserves nothing by its own worthiness can never deserve anything by compact or promise. The Jesuits are senseless in defending the contrary.

If, said Bellarmine, a king promised a beggar 1,000 pounds a year upon no condition, then indeed the beggar does not deserve it. But if upon condition he should do some small matter, as that he shall come to the court and fetch it, or bring a posey of flowers with him, now the beggar deserves it and may come to the king and tell him that he has merited his 1,000 pounds a year. Every man but a Jesuit would say that it would be extreme impudence in a beggar to make such a demand so derogatory to the king's gracious bounty. Nor can it help them to say that a promise binds unto performance, so that God should be unjust and untrue if He did not bestow the reward promised, although the works are not equal to the reward. For God's justice and truth in performing His promise do not imply our merit in performing the condition.

We do not deserve by our well-doing simply because God is just in His rewarding. And the reason is manifest: God in making the promise respected merely the freeness and bounty of His own grace, not the worthiness of our works. And therefore that obligation whereby He has tied Himself to performance is founded merely in His own truth, not a jot in our merit. When they tell us that faith merits justification by half a merit, they entrap themselves in a gross contradiction, since to deserve by half a merit is not to deserve it at all, but only to receive the reward by mere promise, God having promised to justify believers. 

So much for the first assertion, that faith is the proper cause of justification, working it by its own efficacy and merits.

_The Justification Of A Sinner_, William Pemble, p.28-35.
Christianbook.com: The Justification of a Sinner: A Treatise on Justification By Faith Alone: William Pemble: 9781573581295

Blessings!


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