Is Faith Simply a Christlian Grace?

     This discussion to consider faith is carried forth in a systematic manner leading to a desired end.  That end is that a person comes to consider their faith in the light of Scripture.  It may be regarded as not needed for faith is understood by most people.  As this is true; for most people know and use the word faith in many ways, often conjoining the word with trust which is an element of faith.  There are many descriptions of faith that characterize it as Christian and as saving grace.  This is the subject of this blog.  
  
     Franz Delitzsch(1813-1819) a German Lutheran theologian and Hebraist, in his Biblical Psychology, p. 174, stated: "This longing after God's free, merciful love, as his own Word declared it,--a longing, reaching forth, and grasping it; this naked, unselfish craving, feeling itself satisfied with nothing else than God's promised grace, this eagerness, absorbing every ray of light that proceeds from God's reconciled love; this convinced and safety-craving appropriation and clinging to the word itself, is appointed through the distance of God in consequence of sin; for faith has to confide in the word, in spite of all want of comprehension, want of sight, want of experience.  No experimental active reflexive progressive turning from one thing to another belong to the nature of faith (actus revlexi).  It is, according to its nature, it acts actively direct (actus refelxi), to wit, in humble supplication (fiducia supplex)."


     This all may be true doubtlessly of a believer for does not a believer desire His love, appropriating that love, clinging, sometimes, desperately clinging, to His promises and His grace. We seek His assurance of His love and this we do by faith.  Yet, faith is wider than that according to the Scriptures, this wider definition of faith can easily be found in the Book of Hebrews Chapter eleven. Johann Eduard Erdman (1805-1892) a German philosophical writer says in, Vorlesungen Uber Glauben und Wissen, 1837, that religious faith, the faith on which the Scriptures lay so much stress, is "consciousness of reconciliation with God.Now to call faith a consciousness is not a definition of its nature and limits it to a consciousness of reconciliation with God and is contrary to the usage of Scripture and of theology. 

     As was stated in the beginning, the very first blog, that the word "faith" has been given many different definitions, by men whose bent is metaphysics, or even theological that rely on philosophical definitions.  Faith includes all that Delitzsch stated and is the outward action of faith, but faith is more than just simply a Christian grace.  As we examine the psychological nature of faith, that which we are doing, so that we understand its nature, then we must probe deeper into the nature of faith.  This is to followed next in the upcoming blogs.  In discovering the psychological nature of faith we must not stop there and rest, for faith in its innermost application is founded upon its object.  As we come to understand faith more fully we will come to know its object and how we acquired that object so that our faith is saving faith.  


     "Behold the proud, 
      His soul is not upright in him;
      But the just shall live by his faith"
                             Habukkuk 2:4; (cf. Rom.1:17; Gal.3:11).                                            
"Love the LORD, because He has heard
     My voice and my
        supplictions
 Because He has inclined His ear to me,
     Therefore I will call upon Him 
        as long as I live" Psalm 116:1 (That takes faith)


May God bless and keep you in His love.


Richard L. Crumb