The New Testament
confirms the Old Testament doctrine that, as evidenced in the paradigmatic
example of Abraham,[i] the “just
shall live by faith.”[ii]
The quotations of Genesis 15:6 and
Habakkuk 2:4 in the New Testament emphasize different aspects of the truth
taught in the Old Testament text. Before the specific New Testament texts are
examined, a general overview of New Testament teaching about the just, about life, and
about faith will be conducted in
subsequent posts. First, the
following very helpful quotes by Warfield will be reproduced:
confirms the Old Testament doctrine that, as evidenced in the paradigmatic
example of Abraham,[i] the “just
shall live by faith.”[ii]
The quotations of Genesis 15:6 and
Habakkuk 2:4 in the New Testament emphasize different aspects of the truth
taught in the Old Testament text. Before the specific New Testament texts are
examined, a general overview of New Testament teaching about the just, about life, and
about faith will be conducted in
subsequent posts. First, the
following very helpful quotes by Warfield will be reproduced:
It lies on the very surface of the New
Testament that its writers were not conscious of a chasm between the
fundamental principle of the religious life of the saints of the old covenant
and the faith by which they themselves lived. To them, too, Abraham is the
typical example of a true believer (Romans 4; Galatians 3; Hebrews 11; James
2); and in their apprehension “those who are of faith,” that is, “Christians,”
are by that very fact constituted Abraham’s sons (Galatians 3:7; Romans 4:16),
and receive their blessing only along with that “believer” (Galatians 3:9) in
the steps of whose faith it is that they are walking (Romans 4:12) when they
believe on Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead (Romans 4:24). And not
only Abraham, but the whole series of Old Testament heroes are conceived by
them to be examples of the same faith which was required of them “unto the
gaining of the soul” (Hebrews 11). Wrought in them by the same Spirit (2 Corinthians
4:13), it produced in them the same fruits, and constituted them a “cloud of
witnesses” by whose testimony we should be stimulated to run our own race with
like patience in dependence on Jesus, “the author and finisher of our faith”
(Hebrews 12:2). Nowhere is the demand of faith treated as a novelty of the new
covenant, or is there a distinction drawn between the faith of the two
covenants; everywhere the sense of continuity is prominent (John 5:24, 46;
12:38, 39, 44; 1 Peter 2:6), and the “proclamation of faith” (Galatians 3:2, 5;
Romans 10:16) is conceived as essentially one in both dispensations, under both
of which the law reigns that “the just shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4;
Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38). Nor do we need to penetrate
beneath the surface of the Old Testament to perceive the justice of this New
Testament view. Despite the infrequency of the occurrence on its pages of the
terms “faith” [and] “to believe,” the religion of the Old Testament is
obviously as fundamentally a religion of faith as is that of the New Testament.
There is a sense, to be sure, in which all religion presupposes faith (Hebrews
11:6), and in this broad sense the religion of Israel, too, necessarily rested
on faith. But the religion of Israel was a religion of faith in a far more
specific sense than this; and that not merely because faith was more
consciously its foundation, but because its very essence consisted in faith,
and this faith was the same radical self-commitment to God, not merely as the
highest good of the holy soul, but as the gracious Saviour of the sinner, which
meets us as the characteristic feature of the religion of the New Testament.
Between the faith of the two Testaments there exists, indeed, no further
difference than that which the progress of the historical working out of
redemption brought with it.
Testament that its writers were not conscious of a chasm between the
fundamental principle of the religious life of the saints of the old covenant
and the faith by which they themselves lived. To them, too, Abraham is the
typical example of a true believer (Romans 4; Galatians 3; Hebrews 11; James
2); and in their apprehension “those who are of faith,” that is, “Christians,”
are by that very fact constituted Abraham’s sons (Galatians 3:7; Romans 4:16),
and receive their blessing only along with that “believer” (Galatians 3:9) in
the steps of whose faith it is that they are walking (Romans 4:12) when they
believe on Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead (Romans 4:24). And not
only Abraham, but the whole series of Old Testament heroes are conceived by
them to be examples of the same faith which was required of them “unto the
gaining of the soul” (Hebrews 11). Wrought in them by the same Spirit (2 Corinthians
4:13), it produced in them the same fruits, and constituted them a “cloud of
witnesses” by whose testimony we should be stimulated to run our own race with
like patience in dependence on Jesus, “the author and finisher of our faith”
(Hebrews 12:2). Nowhere is the demand of faith treated as a novelty of the new
covenant, or is there a distinction drawn between the faith of the two
covenants; everywhere the sense of continuity is prominent (John 5:24, 46;
12:38, 39, 44; 1 Peter 2:6), and the “proclamation of faith” (Galatians 3:2, 5;
Romans 10:16) is conceived as essentially one in both dispensations, under both
of which the law reigns that “the just shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4;
Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38). Nor do we need to penetrate
beneath the surface of the Old Testament to perceive the justice of this New
Testament view. Despite the infrequency of the occurrence on its pages of the
terms “faith” [and] “to believe,” the religion of the Old Testament is
obviously as fundamentally a religion of faith as is that of the New Testament.
There is a sense, to be sure, in which all religion presupposes faith (Hebrews
11:6), and in this broad sense the religion of Israel, too, necessarily rested
on faith. But the religion of Israel was a religion of faith in a far more
specific sense than this; and that not merely because faith was more
consciously its foundation, but because its very essence consisted in faith,
and this faith was the same radical self-commitment to God, not merely as the
highest good of the holy soul, but as the gracious Saviour of the sinner, which
meets us as the characteristic feature of the religion of the New Testament.
Between the faith of the two Testaments there exists, indeed, no further
difference than that which the progress of the historical working out of
redemption brought with it.
The hinge of Old Testament religion from
the very beginning turns on the facts of man’s sin (Genesis 3) and consequent
unworthiness (Genesis 3:2-10), and of God’s grace (Genesis 3:15) and consequent
saving activity (Genesis 3:4; 4:5; 6:8, 13f.). This saving activity presents
itself from the very beginning also under the form of promise or covenant, the
radical idea of which is naturally faithfulness on the part of the promising God
with the answering attitude of faith on the part of the receptive people. Face
to face with a holy God, the sinner has no hope except in the free mercy of
God, and can be authorized to trust in that mercy only by express assurance.
Accordingly, the only cause of salvation is from the first the pitying love of
God (Genesis 3:15, 8:21), which freely grants benefits to man; while on man’s
part there is never question of merit or of a strength by which he may prevail
(1 Samuel 2:9), but rather a constant sense of unworthiness (Genesis 32:10), by
virtue of which humility appears from the first as the keynote of Old Testament
piety. . . . [F]rom the very beginning the distinctive feature of the life of
the pious is that it is a life of faith, that its regulative principle is
drawn, not from the earth but from above. Thus the first recorded human acts
after the Fall—the naming of Eve, and the birth and naming of Cain—are
expressive of trust in God’s promise that, though men should die for their
sins, yet man should not perish from the earth, but should triumph over the
tempter; in a word, in the great promise of the Seed (Genesis 3:15). Similarly,
the whole story of the Flood is so ordered as to throw into relief, on the one
hand, the free grace of God in His dealings with Noah (Genesis 6:8, 18; 8:1,
21; 9:8), and, on the other, the determination of Noah’s whole life by trust in
God and His promises (Genesis 6:22; 7:5; 9:20). The open declaration of the
faith-principle of Abraham’s life (Genesis 15:6) only puts into words, in the
case of him who stands at the root of Israel’s whole national and religious
existence, what not only might also be said of all the patriarchs, but what
actually is most distinctly said both of Abraham and of them through the medium
of their recorded history. The entire patriarchal narrative is set forth with
the design and effect of exhibiting the life of the servants of God as a life
of faith, and it is just by the fact of their implicit self-commitment to God
that throughout the narrative the servants of God are differentiated from
others. This does not mean, of course, that with them faith took the place of
obedience: an entire self-commitment to God which did not show itself in
obedience to Him would be self-contradictory, and the testing of faith by
obedience is therefore a marked feature of the patriarchal narrative. But it
does mean that faith was with them the precondition of all obedience. The
patriarchal religion is essentially a religion, not of law but of promise, and
therefore not primarily of obedience but of trust; the holy walk is
characteristic of God’s servants (Genesis 5:22, 24; 6:9; 17:1; 24:40; 48:15),
but it is characteristically described as a walk “with God”; its peculiarity
consisted precisely in the ordering of life by entire trust in God, and it
expressed itself in conduct growing out of this trust (Genesis 3:20; 4:1; 6:22;
7:5; 8:18; 12:4; 17:23; 21:12, 16, 22). The righteousness of the patriarchal
age was thus but the manifestation in life of an entire self-commitment to God,
in unwavering trust in His promises.
the very beginning turns on the facts of man’s sin (Genesis 3) and consequent
unworthiness (Genesis 3:2-10), and of God’s grace (Genesis 3:15) and consequent
saving activity (Genesis 3:4; 4:5; 6:8, 13f.). This saving activity presents
itself from the very beginning also under the form of promise or covenant, the
radical idea of which is naturally faithfulness on the part of the promising God
with the answering attitude of faith on the part of the receptive people. Face
to face with a holy God, the sinner has no hope except in the free mercy of
God, and can be authorized to trust in that mercy only by express assurance.
Accordingly, the only cause of salvation is from the first the pitying love of
God (Genesis 3:15, 8:21), which freely grants benefits to man; while on man’s
part there is never question of merit or of a strength by which he may prevail
(1 Samuel 2:9), but rather a constant sense of unworthiness (Genesis 32:10), by
virtue of which humility appears from the first as the keynote of Old Testament
piety. . . . [F]rom the very beginning the distinctive feature of the life of
the pious is that it is a life of faith, that its regulative principle is
drawn, not from the earth but from above. Thus the first recorded human acts
after the Fall—the naming of Eve, and the birth and naming of Cain—are
expressive of trust in God’s promise that, though men should die for their
sins, yet man should not perish from the earth, but should triumph over the
tempter; in a word, in the great promise of the Seed (Genesis 3:15). Similarly,
the whole story of the Flood is so ordered as to throw into relief, on the one
hand, the free grace of God in His dealings with Noah (Genesis 6:8, 18; 8:1,
21; 9:8), and, on the other, the determination of Noah’s whole life by trust in
God and His promises (Genesis 6:22; 7:5; 9:20). The open declaration of the
faith-principle of Abraham’s life (Genesis 15:6) only puts into words, in the
case of him who stands at the root of Israel’s whole national and religious
existence, what not only might also be said of all the patriarchs, but what
actually is most distinctly said both of Abraham and of them through the medium
of their recorded history. The entire patriarchal narrative is set forth with
the design and effect of exhibiting the life of the servants of God as a life
of faith, and it is just by the fact of their implicit self-commitment to God
that throughout the narrative the servants of God are differentiated from
others. This does not mean, of course, that with them faith took the place of
obedience: an entire self-commitment to God which did not show itself in
obedience to Him would be self-contradictory, and the testing of faith by
obedience is therefore a marked feature of the patriarchal narrative. But it
does mean that faith was with them the precondition of all obedience. The
patriarchal religion is essentially a religion, not of law but of promise, and
therefore not primarily of obedience but of trust; the holy walk is
characteristic of God’s servants (Genesis 5:22, 24; 6:9; 17:1; 24:40; 48:15),
but it is characteristically described as a walk “with God”; its peculiarity
consisted precisely in the ordering of life by entire trust in God, and it
expressed itself in conduct growing out of this trust (Genesis 3:20; 4:1; 6:22;
7:5; 8:18; 12:4; 17:23; 21:12, 16, 22). The righteousness of the patriarchal
age was thus but the manifestation in life of an entire self-commitment to God,
in unwavering trust in His promises.
The piety of the Old Testament thus
began with faith. . . . Faith, therefore, does not appear as one of the
precepts of the law, nor as a virtue superior to its precepts, nor yet as a
substitute for keeping them; it rather lies behind the law as its
presupposition. Accordingly, in the history of the giving of the law, faith is
expressly emphasized as the presupposition of the whole relation existing
between Israel and Jehovah. The signs by which Moses was accredited, and all
Jehovah’s deeds of power, had as their design (Exodus 3:12; 4:1, 5, 8, 9; 19:4,
9) and their effect (Exodus 4:31; 12:28, 34; 14:31; 24:3, 7; Psalm 106:12) the
working of faith in the people; and their subsequent unbelief is treated as the
deepest crime they could commit (Numbers 14:11; Deuteronomy 1:32; 9:23; Psalm
78:22, 32, 106:24), as is even momentary failure of faith on the part of their
leaders (Numbers 20:12). It is only as a consequent of the relation of the
people to Him, instituted by grace on His part and by faith on theirs, that
Jehovah proceeds to carry out His gracious purposes for them, delivering them
from bondage, giving them a law for the regulation of their lives, and framing
them in the promised land into a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. In other
words, it is a precondition of the law that Israel’s life is not of the earth,
but is hid with God, and is therefore to be ordered by His precepts. Its design
was, therefore, not to provide a means by which man might come into relation
with Jehovah, but to publish the mode of life incumbent on those who stand in
the relation of children to Jehovah[.] ((“The
Biblical Doctrine of Faith,” Warfield, in Biblical Doctrines, vol. 2 of Works)
began with faith. . . . Faith, therefore, does not appear as one of the
precepts of the law, nor as a virtue superior to its precepts, nor yet as a
substitute for keeping them; it rather lies behind the law as its
presupposition. Accordingly, in the history of the giving of the law, faith is
expressly emphasized as the presupposition of the whole relation existing
between Israel and Jehovah. The signs by which Moses was accredited, and all
Jehovah’s deeds of power, had as their design (Exodus 3:12; 4:1, 5, 8, 9; 19:4,
9) and their effect (Exodus 4:31; 12:28, 34; 14:31; 24:3, 7; Psalm 106:12) the
working of faith in the people; and their subsequent unbelief is treated as the
deepest crime they could commit (Numbers 14:11; Deuteronomy 1:32; 9:23; Psalm
78:22, 32, 106:24), as is even momentary failure of faith on the part of their
leaders (Numbers 20:12). It is only as a consequent of the relation of the
people to Him, instituted by grace on His part and by faith on theirs, that
Jehovah proceeds to carry out His gracious purposes for them, delivering them
from bondage, giving them a law for the regulation of their lives, and framing
them in the promised land into a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. In other
words, it is a precondition of the law that Israel’s life is not of the earth,
but is hid with God, and is therefore to be ordered by His precepts. Its design
was, therefore, not to provide a means by which man might come into relation
with Jehovah, but to publish the mode of life incumbent on those who stand in
the relation of children to Jehovah[.] ((“The
Biblical Doctrine of Faith,” Warfield, in Biblical Doctrines, vol. 2 of Works)
Summarizing the evidence of
the New Testament, Warfield writes:
the New Testament, Warfield writes:
By means of the providentially mediated
diversity of emphasis of the New Testament writers on the several aspects of
faith, the outlines of the biblical conception of faith are thrown into very
high relief.
diversity of emphasis of the New Testament writers on the several aspects of
faith, the outlines of the biblical conception of faith are thrown into very
high relief.
Of its subjective
nature we have what is almost a formal definition in the description of
it as an “assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen”
(Hebrews 11:1). It obviously contains in it, therefore, an element of knowledge
(Hebrews 11:6), and it as obviously issues in conduct (Hebrews 11:8, cf. 5:9; 1
Peter 1:22). But it consists neither in assent nor in obedience, but in a
reliant trust in the invisible Author of all good (Hebrews 11:27), in which the
mind is set upon the things that are above and not on the things that are upon
the earth (Colossians 3:2, cf. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; Matthew 6:25. The
examples cited in Hebrews 11 are themselves enough to show that the faith there
commended is not a mere belief in God’s existence and justice and goodness, or
crediting of His word and promises, but a practical counting of Him faithful
(Hebrews 11:11), with a trust so profound that no trial can shake it (Hebrews
11:35), and so absolute that it survives the loss of even its own pledge
(Hebrews 11:17). So little is faith in its biblical conception merely a
conviction of the understanding, that, when that is called faith, the true idea
of faith needs to be built up above this word (James 2:14ff). It is a movement
of the whole inner man (Romans 10:9, 10), and is set in contrast with an
unbelief that is akin, not to ignorance but to disobedience (Hebrews 3:18, 19;
John 3:36; Romans 11:20, 30, 15:31; 1 Thessalonians 1:8; Hebrews 4:2, 6; 1
Peter 1:7, 8; 3:1, 20; 4:18; Acts 14:2; 19:9), and that grows out of, not lack
of information, but that aversion of the heart from God (Hebrews 3:12) which
takes pleasure in unrighteousness (2 Thessalonians 2:12), and is so unsparingly
exposed by our Lord (John 3:19; 5:44; 8:47; 10:26). In the breadth of its idea,
it is thus the going out of the heart from itself and its resting on God in
confident trust for all good. But the scriptural revelation has to do with, and
is directed to the needs of, not man in the abstract, but sinful man; and for
sinful man this hearty reliance on God necessarily becomes humble trust in Him
for the fundamental need of the sinner—forgiveness of sins and reception into
favour. In response to the revelations of His grace and the provisions of His
mercy, it commits itself without reserve and with abnegation of all self-dependence,
to Him as its sole and sufficient Saviour, and thus, in one act, empties itself
of all claim on God and casts itself upon His grace alone for salvation.
nature we have what is almost a formal definition in the description of
it as an “assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen”
(Hebrews 11:1). It obviously contains in it, therefore, an element of knowledge
(Hebrews 11:6), and it as obviously issues in conduct (Hebrews 11:8, cf. 5:9; 1
Peter 1:22). But it consists neither in assent nor in obedience, but in a
reliant trust in the invisible Author of all good (Hebrews 11:27), in which the
mind is set upon the things that are above and not on the things that are upon
the earth (Colossians 3:2, cf. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; Matthew 6:25. The
examples cited in Hebrews 11 are themselves enough to show that the faith there
commended is not a mere belief in God’s existence and justice and goodness, or
crediting of His word and promises, but a practical counting of Him faithful
(Hebrews 11:11), with a trust so profound that no trial can shake it (Hebrews
11:35), and so absolute that it survives the loss of even its own pledge
(Hebrews 11:17). So little is faith in its biblical conception merely a
conviction of the understanding, that, when that is called faith, the true idea
of faith needs to be built up above this word (James 2:14ff). It is a movement
of the whole inner man (Romans 10:9, 10), and is set in contrast with an
unbelief that is akin, not to ignorance but to disobedience (Hebrews 3:18, 19;
John 3:36; Romans 11:20, 30, 15:31; 1 Thessalonians 1:8; Hebrews 4:2, 6; 1
Peter 1:7, 8; 3:1, 20; 4:18; Acts 14:2; 19:9), and that grows out of, not lack
of information, but that aversion of the heart from God (Hebrews 3:12) which
takes pleasure in unrighteousness (2 Thessalonians 2:12), and is so unsparingly
exposed by our Lord (John 3:19; 5:44; 8:47; 10:26). In the breadth of its idea,
it is thus the going out of the heart from itself and its resting on God in
confident trust for all good. But the scriptural revelation has to do with, and
is directed to the needs of, not man in the abstract, but sinful man; and for
sinful man this hearty reliance on God necessarily becomes humble trust in Him
for the fundamental need of the sinner—forgiveness of sins and reception into
favour. In response to the revelations of His grace and the provisions of His
mercy, it commits itself without reserve and with abnegation of all self-dependence,
to Him as its sole and sufficient Saviour, and thus, in one act, empties itself
of all claim on God and casts itself upon His grace alone for salvation.
It is,
accordingly, solely from its object that faith derives its value. This
object is uniformly the God of grace, whether conceived of broadly as the
source of all life, light, and blessing, on whom man in his creaturely weakness
is entirely dependent, or, whenever sin and the eternal welfare of the soul are
in view, as the Author of salvation in whom alone the hope of unworthy man can
be placed. This one object of saving faith never varies from the beginning to
the end of the scriptural revelation; though, naturally, there is an immense
difference between its earlier and later stages in fulness of knowledge as to
the nature of the redemptive work by which the salvation intrusted to God shall
be accomplished; and as naturally there occurs a very great variety of forms of
statement in which trust in the God of salvation receives expression. Already,
however, at the gate of Eden, the God in whom the trust of our first parents is
reposed is the God of the gracious promise of the retrieval of the injury
inflicted by the serpent; and from that beginning of knowledge the progress is
steady, until, what is implied in the primal promise having become express in
the accomplished work of redemption, the trust of sinners is explicitly placed
in the God who was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself (2 Corinthians
5:19). Such a faith, again, could not fail to embrace with humble confidence
all the gracious promises of the God of salvation, from which indeed it draws
its life and strength; nor could it fail to lay hold with strong conviction on
all those revealed truths concerning Him which constitute, indeed, in the
varied circumstances in which it has been called upon to persist throughout the
ages, the very grounds in view of which it has been able to rest upon Him with
steadfast trust. These truths, in which the “Gospel” or glad-tidings to God’s people
has been from time to time embodied, run all the way from such simple facts as
that it was the very God of their fathers that had appeared unto Moses for
their deliverance (Exodus 4:5), to such stupendous facts, lying at the root of
the very work of salvation itself, as that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God
sent of God to save the world (John 6:69; 8:24; 11:42; 13:19; 16:27, 30; 17:8,
21; 20:31; 1 John 5:15), that God has raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9; 1
Thessalonians 4:14), and that as His children we shall live with Him (Romans
6:8). But in believing this variously presented Gospel, faith has ever
terminated with trustful reliance, not on the promise but on the Promiser,— not
on the propositions which declare God’s grace and willingness to save, or
Christ’s divine nature and power, or the reality and perfection of His saving
work, but on the Saviour upon whom, because of these great facts, it could
securely rest as on One able to save to the uttermost. Jesus Christ, God the
Redeemer, is accordingly the one object of saving faith, presented to its
embrace at first implicitly and in promise, and ever more and more openly until
at last it is entirely explicit and we read that “a man is not justified save
through faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16). If, with even greater
explicitness still, faith is sometimes said to rest upon some element in the
saving work of Christ, as, for example, upon His blood or His righteousness
(Romans 3:25; 2 Peter 1:1), obviously such a singling out of the very thing in
His work on which faith takes hold, in no way derogates from its repose upon
Him, and Him only, as the sole and sufficient Saviour.
accordingly, solely from its object that faith derives its value. This
object is uniformly the God of grace, whether conceived of broadly as the
source of all life, light, and blessing, on whom man in his creaturely weakness
is entirely dependent, or, whenever sin and the eternal welfare of the soul are
in view, as the Author of salvation in whom alone the hope of unworthy man can
be placed. This one object of saving faith never varies from the beginning to
the end of the scriptural revelation; though, naturally, there is an immense
difference between its earlier and later stages in fulness of knowledge as to
the nature of the redemptive work by which the salvation intrusted to God shall
be accomplished; and as naturally there occurs a very great variety of forms of
statement in which trust in the God of salvation receives expression. Already,
however, at the gate of Eden, the God in whom the trust of our first parents is
reposed is the God of the gracious promise of the retrieval of the injury
inflicted by the serpent; and from that beginning of knowledge the progress is
steady, until, what is implied in the primal promise having become express in
the accomplished work of redemption, the trust of sinners is explicitly placed
in the God who was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself (2 Corinthians
5:19). Such a faith, again, could not fail to embrace with humble confidence
all the gracious promises of the God of salvation, from which indeed it draws
its life and strength; nor could it fail to lay hold with strong conviction on
all those revealed truths concerning Him which constitute, indeed, in the
varied circumstances in which it has been called upon to persist throughout the
ages, the very grounds in view of which it has been able to rest upon Him with
steadfast trust. These truths, in which the “Gospel” or glad-tidings to God’s people
has been from time to time embodied, run all the way from such simple facts as
that it was the very God of their fathers that had appeared unto Moses for
their deliverance (Exodus 4:5), to such stupendous facts, lying at the root of
the very work of salvation itself, as that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God
sent of God to save the world (John 6:69; 8:24; 11:42; 13:19; 16:27, 30; 17:8,
21; 20:31; 1 John 5:15), that God has raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9; 1
Thessalonians 4:14), and that as His children we shall live with Him (Romans
6:8). But in believing this variously presented Gospel, faith has ever
terminated with trustful reliance, not on the promise but on the Promiser,— not
on the propositions which declare God’s grace and willingness to save, or
Christ’s divine nature and power, or the reality and perfection of His saving
work, but on the Saviour upon whom, because of these great facts, it could
securely rest as on One able to save to the uttermost. Jesus Christ, God the
Redeemer, is accordingly the one object of saving faith, presented to its
embrace at first implicitly and in promise, and ever more and more openly until
at last it is entirely explicit and we read that “a man is not justified save
through faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16). If, with even greater
explicitness still, faith is sometimes said to rest upon some element in the
saving work of Christ, as, for example, upon His blood or His righteousness
(Romans 3:25; 2 Peter 1:1), obviously such a singling out of the very thing in
His work on which faith takes hold, in no way derogates from its repose upon
Him, and Him only, as the sole and sufficient Saviour.
The saving
power of faith resides thus not in itself, but in the Almighty Saviour
on whom it rests. It is never on account of its formal nature as a psychic act
that faith is conceived in Scripture to be saving,—as if this frame of mind or
attitude of heart were itself a virtue with claims on God for reward, or at
least especially pleasing to Him (either in its nature or as an act of
obedience) and thus predisposing Him to favour, or as if it brought the soul
into an attitude of receptivity or of sympathy with God, or opened a channel of
communication from Him. It is not faith that saves, but faith in Jesus Christ:
faith in any other saviour, or in this or that philosophy or human conceit
(Colossians 2:16, 18; 1 Timothy 4:1), or in any other gospel than that of Jesus
Christ and Him as crucified (Galatians 1:8, 9), brings not salvation but a
curse. It is not, strictly speaking, even faith in Christ that saves, but
Christ that saves through faith. The saving power resides exclusively, not in
the act of faith or the attitude of faith or the nature of faith, but in the
object of faith; and in this the whole biblical representation centres, so that
we could not more radically misconceive it than by transferring to faith even
the smallest fraction of that saving energy which is attributed in the
Scriptures solely to Christ Himself. This purely mediatory function of faith is
very clearly indicated in the regimens in which it stands, which ordinarily
express simple instrumentality. It is most frequently joined to its verb as the
dative of means or instrument (Acts 15:9; 26:18; Romans 3:28; 4:20; 5:2; 11:20;
2 Corinthians 1:24; Hebrews 11:3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 17, 20, 21, 23, 24, 27,
28, 29, 30, 31); and the relationship intended is further explained by the use
to express it of the prepositions e˙k (Romans 1:17; 3:26, 30; 4:16; 5:1;
9:30, 32; 10:6; 14:23; Galatians 2:16; 3:7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 27, 28; 5:5, 1
Timothy 1:5; Hebrews 10:38; James 2:24) and dia¿ (with the genitive, never with the
accusative, Romans 3:22, 25, 30; 2 Corinthians 5:7; Galatians 2:16; 3:14, 26; 2
Timothy 3:15; Hebrews 6:12; 11:33, 39; 1 Peter 1:5),—the fundamental idea of
the former construction being that of source or origin, and of the latter that
of mediation or instrumentality, though they are used together in the same
context, apparently with no distinction of meaning (Romans 3:25, 26, 30;
Galatians 2:16). It is not necessary to discover an essentially different
implication in the exceptional usage of the prepositions e˙pi÷ (Acts 3:16;
Philippians 3:9) and kata¿ (Hebrews 11:7, 13; cf. Matthew 9:29) in this connexion: e˙pi÷ is apparently to be taken in a
quasi-temporal sense, “on faith,” giving the occasion of the divine act, and kata¿ very similarly
in the sense of conformability, “in conformity with faith.” Not infrequently we
meet also with a construction with the preposition e˙n which properly
designates the sphere, but which in passages like Galatians 2:20; Colossians
2:7; 2 Thessalonians 2:13 appears to pass over into the conception of
instrumentality.
power of faith resides thus not in itself, but in the Almighty Saviour
on whom it rests. It is never on account of its formal nature as a psychic act
that faith is conceived in Scripture to be saving,—as if this frame of mind or
attitude of heart were itself a virtue with claims on God for reward, or at
least especially pleasing to Him (either in its nature or as an act of
obedience) and thus predisposing Him to favour, or as if it brought the soul
into an attitude of receptivity or of sympathy with God, or opened a channel of
communication from Him. It is not faith that saves, but faith in Jesus Christ:
faith in any other saviour, or in this or that philosophy or human conceit
(Colossians 2:16, 18; 1 Timothy 4:1), or in any other gospel than that of Jesus
Christ and Him as crucified (Galatians 1:8, 9), brings not salvation but a
curse. It is not, strictly speaking, even faith in Christ that saves, but
Christ that saves through faith. The saving power resides exclusively, not in
the act of faith or the attitude of faith or the nature of faith, but in the
object of faith; and in this the whole biblical representation centres, so that
we could not more radically misconceive it than by transferring to faith even
the smallest fraction of that saving energy which is attributed in the
Scriptures solely to Christ Himself. This purely mediatory function of faith is
very clearly indicated in the regimens in which it stands, which ordinarily
express simple instrumentality. It is most frequently joined to its verb as the
dative of means or instrument (Acts 15:9; 26:18; Romans 3:28; 4:20; 5:2; 11:20;
2 Corinthians 1:24; Hebrews 11:3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 17, 20, 21, 23, 24, 27,
28, 29, 30, 31); and the relationship intended is further explained by the use
to express it of the prepositions e˙k (Romans 1:17; 3:26, 30; 4:16; 5:1;
9:30, 32; 10:6; 14:23; Galatians 2:16; 3:7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 27, 28; 5:5, 1
Timothy 1:5; Hebrews 10:38; James 2:24) and dia¿ (with the genitive, never with the
accusative, Romans 3:22, 25, 30; 2 Corinthians 5:7; Galatians 2:16; 3:14, 26; 2
Timothy 3:15; Hebrews 6:12; 11:33, 39; 1 Peter 1:5),—the fundamental idea of
the former construction being that of source or origin, and of the latter that
of mediation or instrumentality, though they are used together in the same
context, apparently with no distinction of meaning (Romans 3:25, 26, 30;
Galatians 2:16). It is not necessary to discover an essentially different
implication in the exceptional usage of the prepositions e˙pi÷ (Acts 3:16;
Philippians 3:9) and kata¿ (Hebrews 11:7, 13; cf. Matthew 9:29) in this connexion: e˙pi÷ is apparently to be taken in a
quasi-temporal sense, “on faith,” giving the occasion of the divine act, and kata¿ very similarly
in the sense of conformability, “in conformity with faith.” Not infrequently we
meet also with a construction with the preposition e˙n which properly
designates the sphere, but which in passages like Galatians 2:20; Colossians
2:7; 2 Thessalonians 2:13 appears to pass over into the conception of
instrumentality.
So little indeed
is faith conceived as containing in itself the energy or ground of salvation,
that it is consistently represented as, in its origin, itself a gratuity from
God in the prosecution of His saving work. It comes, not of one’s own strength
or virtue, but only to those who are chosen of God for its reception (2
Thessalonians 2:13), and hence is His gift (Ephesians 6:23, cf. 2:8, 9;
Philippians 1:29), through Christ (Acts 3:16; Philippians 1:29; 1 Peter 1:21;
cf. Hebrews 12:2), by the Spirit (2 Corinthians 4:13; Galatians 5:5), by means
of the preached word (Romans 10:17; Galatians 3:2, 5); and as it is thus
obtained from God (2 Peter 1:1; Jude 3; 1 Peter 1:21), thanks are to be
returned to God for it (Colossians 1:4; 2 Thessalonians 1:3). Thus, even here
all boasting is excluded, and salvation is conceived in all its elements as the
pure product of unalloyed grace, issuing not from, but in, good works
(Ephesians 2:8-12). The place of faith in the process of salvation, as
biblically conceived, could scarcely, therefore, be better described than by
the use of the scholastic term “instrumental cause.” Not in one portion of the
Scriptures alone, but throughout their whole extent, it is conceived as a boon
from above which comes to men, no doubt through the channels of their own
activities, but not as if it were an effect of their energies, but rather, as
it has been finely phrased, as a gift which God lays in the lap of the soul.
“With the heart,” indeed, “man believeth unto righteousness”; but this
believing does not arise of itself out of any heart indifferently, nor is it
grounded in the heart’s own potencies; it is grounded rather in the
freely-giving goodness of God, and comes to man as a benefaction out of heaven.
. .
is faith conceived as containing in itself the energy or ground of salvation,
that it is consistently represented as, in its origin, itself a gratuity from
God in the prosecution of His saving work. It comes, not of one’s own strength
or virtue, but only to those who are chosen of God for its reception (2
Thessalonians 2:13), and hence is His gift (Ephesians 6:23, cf. 2:8, 9;
Philippians 1:29), through Christ (Acts 3:16; Philippians 1:29; 1 Peter 1:21;
cf. Hebrews 12:2), by the Spirit (2 Corinthians 4:13; Galatians 5:5), by means
of the preached word (Romans 10:17; Galatians 3:2, 5); and as it is thus
obtained from God (2 Peter 1:1; Jude 3; 1 Peter 1:21), thanks are to be
returned to God for it (Colossians 1:4; 2 Thessalonians 1:3). Thus, even here
all boasting is excluded, and salvation is conceived in all its elements as the
pure product of unalloyed grace, issuing not from, but in, good works
(Ephesians 2:8-12). The place of faith in the process of salvation, as
biblically conceived, could scarcely, therefore, be better described than by
the use of the scholastic term “instrumental cause.” Not in one portion of the
Scriptures alone, but throughout their whole extent, it is conceived as a boon
from above which comes to men, no doubt through the channels of their own
activities, but not as if it were an effect of their energies, but rather, as
it has been finely phrased, as a gift which God lays in the lap of the soul.
“With the heart,” indeed, “man believeth unto righteousness”; but this
believing does not arise of itself out of any heart indifferently, nor is it
grounded in the heart’s own potencies; it is grounded rather in the
freely-giving goodness of God, and comes to man as a benefaction out of heaven.
. .
[H]e
who humbly but confidently casts himself on the God of salvation has the
assurance that he shall not be put to shame (Romans 11:11; 9:33), but shall
receive the end of his faith, even the salvation of his soul (1 Peter 1:9).
This salvation is no doubt, in its idea, received all at once (John 3:36; 1
John 5:12); but it is in its very nature a process, and its stages come, each
in its order. First of all, the believer, renouncing by the very act of faith
his own righteousness which is out of the law, receives that “righteousness
which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God on faith”
(Philippians 3:9, cf. Romans 3:22; 4:11; 9:30; 10:3, 10; 2 Corinthians 5:21;
Galatians 5:5; Hebrews 11:7; 2 Peter 1:1). On the ground of this righteousness,
which in its origin is the “righteous act” of Christ, constituted by His
“obedience” (Romans 5:18, 19), and comes to the believer as a “gift” (Romans
5:17), being reckoned to him apart from works (Romans 4:6), he that believes in
Christ is justified in God’s sight, received into His favour, and made the
recipient of the Holy Spirit (John 7:39, cf. Acts 5:32), by whose indwelling
men are constituted the sons of God (Romans 8:13). And if children, then are
they heirs (Romans 8:17), assured of an incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading
inheritance, reserved in heaven for them; and meanwhile they are guarded by the
power of God through faith unto this gloriously complete salvation (1 Peter
1:4, 5). Thus, though the immediate effect of faith is only to make the
believer possessor before the judgment-seat of God of the alien righteousness
wrought out by Christ, through this one effect it draws in its train the whole
series of saving acts of God, and of saving effects on the soul. Being
justified by faith, the enmity which has existed between the sinner and God has
been abolished, and he has been introduced into the very family of God, and
made sharer in all the blessings of His house (Ephesians 2:13f.). Being
justified by faith, he has peace with God, and rejoices in the hope of the
glory of God, and is enabled to meet the trials of life, not merely with
patience but with joy (Romans 5:1f.). Being justified by faith, he has already
working within him the life which the Son has brought into the world, and by
which, through the operations of the Spirit which those who believe in Him
receive (John 7:39), he is enabled to overcome the world lying in the evil one,
and, kept by God from the evil one, to sin not (1 John 5:19). In a word,
because we are justified by faith, we are, through faith, endowedwith all the
privileges and supplied with all the graces of the children of God. (“The
Biblical Doctrine of Faith,” Biblical Doctrines, Warfield, vol. 2 of Works)
who humbly but confidently casts himself on the God of salvation has the
assurance that he shall not be put to shame (Romans 11:11; 9:33), but shall
receive the end of his faith, even the salvation of his soul (1 Peter 1:9).
This salvation is no doubt, in its idea, received all at once (John 3:36; 1
John 5:12); but it is in its very nature a process, and its stages come, each
in its order. First of all, the believer, renouncing by the very act of faith
his own righteousness which is out of the law, receives that “righteousness
which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God on faith”
(Philippians 3:9, cf. Romans 3:22; 4:11; 9:30; 10:3, 10; 2 Corinthians 5:21;
Galatians 5:5; Hebrews 11:7; 2 Peter 1:1). On the ground of this righteousness,
which in its origin is the “righteous act” of Christ, constituted by His
“obedience” (Romans 5:18, 19), and comes to the believer as a “gift” (Romans
5:17), being reckoned to him apart from works (Romans 4:6), he that believes in
Christ is justified in God’s sight, received into His favour, and made the
recipient of the Holy Spirit (John 7:39, cf. Acts 5:32), by whose indwelling
men are constituted the sons of God (Romans 8:13). And if children, then are
they heirs (Romans 8:17), assured of an incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading
inheritance, reserved in heaven for them; and meanwhile they are guarded by the
power of God through faith unto this gloriously complete salvation (1 Peter
1:4, 5). Thus, though the immediate effect of faith is only to make the
believer possessor before the judgment-seat of God of the alien righteousness
wrought out by Christ, through this one effect it draws in its train the whole
series of saving acts of God, and of saving effects on the soul. Being
justified by faith, the enmity which has existed between the sinner and God has
been abolished, and he has been introduced into the very family of God, and
made sharer in all the blessings of His house (Ephesians 2:13f.). Being
justified by faith, he has peace with God, and rejoices in the hope of the
glory of God, and is enabled to meet the trials of life, not merely with
patience but with joy (Romans 5:1f.). Being justified by faith, he has already
working within him the life which the Son has brought into the world, and by
which, through the operations of the Spirit which those who believe in Him
receive (John 7:39), he is enabled to overcome the world lying in the evil one,
and, kept by God from the evil one, to sin not (1 John 5:19). In a word,
because we are justified by faith, we are, through faith, endowedwith all the
privileges and supplied with all the graces of the children of God. (“The
Biblical Doctrine of Faith,” Biblical Doctrines, Warfield, vol. 2 of Works)
This post is part of the complete study here.
–TDR
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