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PREVIEW OF CHAPTER 2 - Faith: Its definition and properties explained
The object of our faith is Jesus Christ. More specifically, faith has as its object God through the person of Jesus Christ. Christ as God is the destination of our faith and Christ as man is the path of our faith to God as our object.
Faith involves knowledge, not upon pious ignorance. To have implicit faith is to have nothing and the Romanist doctrine of implicit faith is in error. There is a great difference in understanding a portion of Scripture, and not understanding the Christ of the Bible. Rather we ought to have a lively faith that believes the propositions of the Bible.
Faith rests upon God’s word, and here we find the Gospel leading us to faith. The Word of God and faith are inextricably bound together. Without the Word of God faith falls into mere credulity. Faith arises from the promise of grace in Jesus Christ. We should reserve this true faith for the faith that one receives as a result of a true study of the Word of God and the working of the Holy Spirit in them. It is a higher knowledge and implies a certainty about what is being believed. Even the lowest degree of real faith is real faith. The Christian struggles with degrees of faith but that does not make them ignorant or without it. Even the Apostle Paul struggled with faith at times (Romans 7). In any case, the Word of God acts as a shield to us no matter how deep our faith may be. Such a faith lies in the basis of God’s free promises in Christ Jesus, and the communication of faith, hope and love in the Christian’s mind.
PREVIEW OF CHAPTER 3 - Our Regeneration by Faith: Repentance
Repentance is a consequence of faith, and has its foundations in the Gospel which faith embraces. The priority of faith to repentance means that the recognition of God’s grace precedes the sense of belonging to God (which equals faith), which in turn leads one to repentance.
Repentance does not stop at first turning, by way of regeneration, but also continues in the life of the believer through the mortification of sin, and the vivification of the life of the believer in Christ.
Faith and repentance are permanently bound together and demonstrate a conversion of the mind and a changing of the mind. It is a turning to God, first by fear in order to arouse the mind of the sinner of the judgment of God. Here we see that repentance is regeneration as our mortification is preparation in Christ’s death, and our vivification is participation in Christ’s resurrection.
Believers experience sanctification in this life, but they do not experience sinless perfection. For believers, sin has lost its dominion, but it still dwells in them and they struggle with it in mortification. These believers exercise an earnestness and carefulness towards following the Holy Spirit and to keep away from the devil’s snares.
The fruits of repentance are holiness of life, confession and remission of sins, and lifelong mortification. Repentance is God‘s free gift given to sinners and should be exercised. It is given by the Spirit to regenerate whom He wills and then the sinner acts in accord with that in the reflex act of faith to new life.
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