QUESTIONS ON LECTURE XXI.

LECTURE XXII.

FAITH.

FAITH, the subject now proposed for discussion, is one of the most prominent and important doctrines of the Bible. We find it presented in almost every part of both the Old and New Testament; and it occupies a conspicuous place under the patriarchal, Jewish, and Christian dispensations. It appears in the confessions and standards of all Christian denominations; and has been extensively discussed by theological writers in every age. From all these considerations, as well as from the intimate connection between faith and salvation which the Scriptures exhibit, we might be led to infer that it is a subject well understood, and one in reference to which Christians are generally agreed. But such is far from being the case. The discordant systems of theology which men have adopted have produced a great diversity of sentiment on the subject of faith; and many of the different denominations, and perhaps some in all, are either under the influence of sentiments exceedingly erroneous, or have no clear and satisfactory views in reference to this important doctrine.

We propose, in the present lecture, to examine with as much care, and present with as much clearness, as our ability will allow, the various aspects of this doctrine, as exhibited in Holy Writ.

I. The Greek word rendered faith in the New Testament is лious, from the verb 89, which means to persuade. Therefore, the proper definition of faith, according to the etymology of the word, is, belief of the truth; or, that persuasion by which a proposition is received as true. This is the general meaning of the term; and whatever modifications it may receive, or whatever different aspects it may properly assume, the Scriptures themselves must determine. Let it, however, be borne in mind, that the above is the proper meaning of the word; and however much it may be qualified, limited, or extended in signification, according to the peculiar aspect in which the subject may be presented in Scripture, it cannot be understood in any sense contradictory to the above. It must imply the belief of the truth; but it may imply this to a greater or less degree, and under a diversity of circumstances.

In perfect consistency with the literal meaning of the term, we are

furnished with a definition of faith by the apostle Paul in his eleventh chapter to the Hebrews. "Now faith is the substance of things / hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." The Greek word nooτασis, here rendered substance, is, by Macknight and other critics, rendered confidence; and we find the same original word in Heb. iii. 14, rendered confidence in the common translation. This perfectly accords with the etymological meaning of faith above given. That is, faith is the belief, or the confidence, — the strong persuasion of the truth or reality of things hoped for. In the latter clause of the verse, the word sλeyzos, rendered evidence, is, by many critics, translated conviction. It signifies, a strict proof or demonstration. The apostle's definition of faith, therefore, may be stated as follows: Faith is the strong persuasion and clear demonstration of things hoped for, and of things invisible.

With these remarks concerning the general definition of faith, we proceed to the further investigation of the doctrine, as presented in the Scriptures.

1. At the very commencement of the investigation we are met by a question upon which has originated much controversy among theologians, in different ages of the church: "Is faith the gift of God, or is it the act of the creature?" This question, which is far from being free from ambiguity in itself, has been thrust forth by many as a kind of talisman for the detection of heresy;-as something possessing extraordinary powers, by which the orthodoxy of an individual may at once be tested. And with many persons, assuming high claims to soundness in the faith, what they conceived to be an improper answer to the above question, has furnished legitimate grounds for non-fellowship or excommunication. We think, however, it will be seen, upon a slight examination, that the question itself needs explanation, before any inference of serious importance can be made from the answer. The proper answer to the question must depend upon the meaning attached to the terms used. The words "gift of God," and "act of the creature," may be taken in a diversity of acceptations. Thus the manna. which fed the Israelites in the wilderness, and the rich harvest produced by the field of Boaz, were both the gift of God; but no one can say that they were the "gift of God" in the same sense. In the former case, the gift was absolute and direct from heaven, without the agency of man. In the latter case, the agency of man was required for the cultivation of the field. Likewise, there are different senses in which a thing may be understood to be "an act of the creature." Thus, what Saul of Tarsus did, when he "held the clothes of them that stoned Stephen," and what the "man with the withered hand" did, when, at the bidding of Christ, he "stretched forth his hand," were both acts of the

creature; but no one can say that they were such in the same sense. In the former case, an act was performed in the exercise of the native powers, without the assistance of Divine grace. In the latter case, the act was performed by the assistance of Divine aid imparted at the time. We will now endeavor to determine in what sense "faith is the gift of God," and in what sense it is the act of the creature.

An

(1.) According to the Antinomian theory, faith is the gift of God in the same sense in which the manna from heaven, above referred to, was such. That is, Antinomians understand that faith is a grace, or a something possessing an abstract existence, as separate and distinct from the existence and operations of the believer, as the manna in question was from the existence and operations of the people who gathered and used it. This has been the avowed sentiment of Antinomian Calvinists in the last and present century; and, indeed, it is difficult for any interpretation of the subject essentially variant from this, to be reconciled with Calvinism even in the mildest forms it has assumed. idea so absurd and unscriptural as the above, and which has been so frequently disproved by arguments perfectly unanswerable, requires, on the present occasion, but a brief notice. Suffice it to say, that, according to the above notion of faith, to call upon men to believe, and to hold them responsible for their unbelief, would be just as consistent with reason and Scripture, as to call upon them to stop the planets in their course, and to hold them responsible for the rotation of the seasons. Such view of the subject is not only inconsistent with the whole tenor of Scripture, which enjoins upon man the exercise of faith as a duty, but it is irreconcilable with the very nature of faith. What is faith? It is no abstract entity which God has treasured up in the magazines of heaven, to be conveyed down to man without any agency of his, as the olive leaf was borne to the window of the ark by Noah's dove. Faith has no existence in the abstract. We might as well suppose that there can be thought without an intelligent being to think, as that faith can exist separate from the agent who believes. Faith is the act of believing; it is an exercise of the mind; and, in the very nature of things, must be dependent on the agency of the believer for its existence. There is, however, a sense in which we think faith may with propriety be called the gift of God. What we have already said is sufficient to show that it cannot be the gift of God in such sense as to exclude the appropriate means, or the proper agency of man. The doings and the gifts of God may be performed or imparted either directly or indirectly.. God may carry on his works and confer his favors either directly by the exertion of his own immediate agency, or indirectly by the employment of such agencies or instrumentalities as his wisdom may select. Thus

the harvest, which has been the product of much toil on the part of the husbandman, is really the gift of God, though not so directly as the manna from heaven, or even "the showers that water the earth." Whatsoever is the result of a merciful arrangement of God, although our own agency may be requisite to our enjoyment of the blessing, is, in an important sense, the gift of God. For example, the sight of exter nal objects results from a merciful arrangement of God, by which the surrounding rays of light are adapted to the organization of the human eye. Thus sight may be called the gift of God, but not so as to exclude human agency; for we may either open or close our eyes at pleasure; we may look upward to the, stars or downward to the earth; we may turn to the right or left at will. Even so faith results from a merciful arrangement of God, not independent of, but in connection with, the free moral agency of man. It is of God's merciful arrangement that we are presented with a Saviour, the proper object of faith; that we have access to his word and gospel, unfolding the plan of salvation, and exhibiting the subject matter of faith; that we are presented with the proper evidences of the truth of our holy religion, serving as the ground or reason of our faith; that we have minds and hearts susceptible of Divine illumination and gracious influence, enabling us to engage in the exercise of faith; and, lastly, that the gracious influence, through the agency of the Holy Spirit, is vouchsafed unto us, by which we may, in the exercise of the ability which God giveth, in connection with all these privileges, "believe to the salvation of our souls." In reference to all these particulars, so far as they are connected with, or enter into, the composition of faith, it is properly the gift of God. And as God is the proper "author and finisher of our faith," because it is thus through his merciful arrangement, and by the aid of Divine grace imparted, that we are enabled to believe, we may, therefore, say with propriety, that in these acceptations faith is the gift of God. But all this is far from admitting that faith is in no sense the act of the creature. Indeed, that it is the act of the creature, in an important sense, is implied clearly in what we have just presented. For, after all that God has done, man must act, his agency must be put forth, or faith cannot exist. Not that he can, of himself, do any good thing; his "sufficiency is of God;" but "through Christ strengthening him," he can and must exert an agency in believing. God has never promised to believe for any man; nor can any man ever possess faith till through grace he exercise the ability with which God has endowed him. From what has been said, we think it evident wherein faith is both the gift of God and the act of the creature. It may be objected by some, that, according to the view presented, it is an inaccuracy to term faith the