Page 45 - TH200 Abundant Life A4 Final

Faith: Trusting in God

man saw the point and smiled. In the same way, our knowledge of Christ
needs the assent of the heart to accept Him for ourselves.

Trust

If a person has knowledge of the gospel and assents to the truth of
the gospel but does not commit himself to the person of Jesus Christ, he
does not have saving faith. Christian faith is more than accepting the
revelation of God and His salvation as true. It is more than assenting to
it as being necessary for one’s self. Trust represents the act of the will,
the decision by which we commit ourselves fully to Christ and to what
we believe are His directing principles of life. It is certain that no one can
be saved who does not of his or her own free will actively give himself
or herself to Christ.

To fix these elements of salvation more firmly in your mind, let’s
imagine that a person who has a disease goes to a doctor for an
examination. Decide which one of the three elements—knowledge,
assent, or trust—is appropriate in each of the following three cases.

• The patient receives the report of his condition from the doctor.
• The patient believes that the report is reasonable and is the truth.
• The patient decides that he will apply the remedy for the disease
and submit himself to the doctor for treatment.

Maybe you will find this illustration useful to explain the necessity of
faith to others.

The Experience of Faith

Understanding about faith is a fruitless exercise if we don’t experience
faith. I know a person who firmly believes in democracy, in basic human
rights, the right of citizens to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,
and the right to participate in government. This person made outstanding
marks in his studies of government, yet he is unable to exercise these
rights because he has not become a legal citizen of the country in which
he lives. In the same way, even though we may understand all about
faith, if we do not apply it and accept what God has provided for us, we
are still alienated from God. Let’s keep this in mind as we consider the
experience of faith.

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