The Essence of Faith

A problem that surfaces over and over is, what is faith? Some try and pit faith against works as if though they are at antipodes with each other. How do you define faith?

 

HP: First, Paul does not put ‘faith against works.’ He simply states that works are not nor can be the grounds of salvation.

Does trusting, receiving, and forsaking involve an act of the will? What correlation you see between ‘longing’ and faith is beyond me, and certainly beyond Scripture.

 

HP: How can that be? One must exercise faith antecedent to the Holy Spirit indwelling the believer.

HP:Scripture starts the process with repentance. Apart from that I agree with the process as you laid it out, but where do you establish that sanctification is by works?

 

HP: I had faith in Christ long before I knew anything about a theological system and long before I had ever read even one creed. Are you sure about your statement?

 

HP: It is not my duty to speculate on what God can and cannot “pull off.” Scripture simply indicates that it is mans duty to repent and believe, not Gods. God provides the abilities, means and opportunity, and man must provide the will.

 

HP: Absolutely he would have, but that does not equate pitting works against faith, as if though faith was not an act of the will and as such a work to be done by man. You simply are not exhibiting any differentiation between the grounds of salvation and the conditions of salvation. When speaking of works as the grounds of salvation, Paul was utterly opposed. When speaking of works as a condition of salvation, neither he nor James nor any other Biblical author has been or is opposed to works in the sense of a condition of salvation. Grounds and conditions are simply two senses works can be thought of in relationship to salvation.
Quote:

HP: Does trusting, receiving, and forsaking involve an act of the will? What correlation you see between ‘longing’ and faith is beyond me, and certainly beyond Scripture.

HP: How does this answer the question I asked??

 

HP: Let me ask you. Is trust an act of the will?

 

HP: SO do I.:thumbs: Faith in all these instances clearly involve a choice of the will and formed intentions to order their life and actions in accordance to what they cannot see as of yet with their eyes, but believe in their hearts is indeed truth and will come to pass. It I in that sense of forming a intention and choosing means by which to carry out those intentions, even if just holding up a rod over the sea, or choosing to take up a saw and nails and begin building, or ordering ones life in accordance to what we know and understand of God’s commands upon us. One could claim to have faith all day long but unless that faith motivates the will to the formation if intents, and properly denoted as a ‘work’ in that sense, faith is dead being alone and will save no one.

Every moral idea is coupled with the formation of intent within the will. It matters not whether it is faith, trust, love, hate, or selfishness of any or every kind, they all involve acts of the will. Without the will acting and choosing to order their intents and the means by which to carry out those intents, it is impossible to predicate faith or morality to any idea in the mind.

Faith that saves is a faith that works. Faith cannot be predicated of the individual until the individual acts upon the influences of faith God presents to the will. If faith is to be predicated of the individual, the individual must ‘do’ something with the influence of faith God places upon its heart and mind. The individual must actively forms intents in accordance to the influences of faith upon the will by choosing to form intents consistent with that influence. That is a ‘work’ in its most primitive and basic form. That is the heart and seat of morality, i.e., ones formed intents and chosen means of the will that produce subsequent actions.