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Faith: Trusting in God

commitment of our lives to Christ and His purposes. For living faith, we
rely on the power of the indwelling Spirit for daily strength. Paul
described clearly this kind of faith: “I have been crucified with Christ
and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I
live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me”
(Galatians 2:20).

Living faith is characterized by good actions. As a healthy thriving
plant grows, matures, and produces
fruit, so living faith is always
accompanied by good actions.
These good actions do not save a Living faith is always
person, but they do give evidence accompanied by
of the vitality of that person’s faith.
One does good because by the grace good actions that
of God he or she is good. Good give evidence of the
actions, which are the fruit the
Spirit produces, flow naturally out vitality of faith.
of living faith because the source is
God (Galatians 5:23).

In contrast to living faith, dead or inactive faith produces no actions.
Here again James speaks to the point: “As the body without the spirit is
dead, so faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:26).

The Elements of Faith

We should note that there are three basic elements in saving faith:
knowledge, assent, and trust. Saving faith is the voluntary act and
attitude of a person by which he or she places complete confidence
in Christ, allowing Him to govern all actions. This act is brought about
by hearing and believing the basic facts about the person and work of
Christ recorded in the Word of God. The facts cause us to commit our
entire being to the Lord Jesus Christ. Like repentance, faith involves the
intellect, the emotions, and the will.

Knowledge
Let’s imagine that someone asked you to believe. More than likely,
you would answer, “Whom must I believe?” The Bible doesn’t say,

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