Faith: What Is It (part 1 of 2): Old Testament Saving Faith, Genesis 15:6 & Habakkuk 2:4 (WOT 2019)

What is saving faith? Bro Thomas Ross examines the Old Testament's doctrine of saving faith:

"And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness." (Genesis 15:6)

"Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith." (Habakkuk 2:4)

The two parts of this message synthesize the teaching of the Old and New Testaments on faith, based on a study of all words in the "believe/faith" word groups in both the Old and New Testaments: see " 'The just shall live by faith'— A Study of Faith’s Connection with Salvation in All Its Justifying, Sanctifying, and Glorifying Fullness" at the FaithSaves website.

Saving faith is well defined in the London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689:

The Grace of Faith, whereby the Elect are enabled to believe to the saving of their souls, is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts; and is ordinarily wrought by the Ministry of the Word ... By this Faith a Christian believeth to be true, whatsoever is revealed in the Word . . . and so is enabled to cast his Soul upon the truth thus believed; and also acteth differently, upon that which each particular, passage thereof containeth; yielding obedience to the commands, trembling at the threatenings, and embracing the promises of God, for this life, and that which is to come: But the principal acts of Saving Faith, have immediate relation to Christ, accepting, receiving, and resting upon9 him alone, for Justification, Sanctification, and Eternal Life[.] . . . This Faith although it be different in degrees, and may be weak, or strong; yet it is in the least degree of it, different in the kind, or nature of it (as is all other saving Grace) from the Faith,and common grace of temporary believers; and therefore though it may be many times assailed, and weakened; yet it gets1the victory; growing up in many, to the attainment of a full assurance through Christ, who is both the Author and finisher of our Faith.

False views include:

1.) Roman Catholic view: Implicit faith, believe whatever the Catholic Church believes; or now, just be sincere: “Every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, can be saved.”

2.) Lutheran View: Faith wholly passive, and something infants receive through baptism; adults have the same faith as infants. Infants are allegedly given faith through the sacrament of baptism, so faith is something that infants are capable of, despite the fact that Scripture states that infants “cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand” (Jon 4:11), and is “before [a] child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good” (Isa 7:16), for infants are “little ones, which ... ha[ve] no knowledge between good and evil” (Dt 1:39) and “neither hav[e] done any good or evil” (Rom 9:11).

3.) Calvinist Paedobaptist view: Elect infants can be regenerated in infancy and have a “faith” comparable to their age. As they mature, live and believe like faithful Reformed people, repenting and believing every day, at some point in the past they conclude they must have been regenerated. Conscious personal conversion is unnecessary. It is a “sin against God’s covenant . . . that covenant, baptized, Reformed young people are made the objects of an ‘evangelism’ that treats them as unsaved sinners who must be saved by accepting Christ. If this is what is meant by the conversion of the child, Reformed parents and the Reformed church reject it in the name of the covenant of God sealed to their children in infancy.”

4.) Megachurch view: Faith can be anything.

5.) Pentecostal view: Emotional experiences mean one has saving faith.

6.) “Free Grace” anti-Lordship view: Faith is simply intellectual assent, and it does not necessarily involve the will or the emotions—it is simply assent to God’s testimony (cf. Zane Hodges). Elements of this view also among the Sword of the Lord / Hyles-type Baptists. The Presbyterian philosopher Gordon Clark, a leading theologian in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, held a similar error.

7.) Campus Crusade 4 Spiritual Laws: People who invite Christ to come into their hearts are saved based on Revelation 3:20; over 120 million have done so, their organization says.

8.) Hyles view: Saving faith is saying the sinners’ prayer after being shown the Romans Road (Hyles invented the Romans Road).

The Biblical, Baptist definition given above indicates that saving faith involves the intellect, the will or volition, and the emotions. The intellect must understand the gospel, contrary to Roman Catholicism and Lutheranism; the whole person, including the will and emotions, must surrender to Christ, contrary to the anti-Lordship (falsely so-called) “free grace” position, the Jack Hyles / Sword position. Having an emotional experience, asking Jesus into your heart, or repeating the sinner’s prayer is not the same thing as saving conversion.