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 To
believe, to hold as true; an intellectual agent. It needs an
object; i.e., we “believe” some thing, some testimony. There
must be, first, the fact; then the testimony (written or
spoken); then we can assent or reject; believe or disbelieve.
This assent or rejection takes place in the mind of man, ‘ is
human reaction to testimony. The ridicule of “historic faith”
so common among evangelicals, is often misplaced. There can be
no faith without history. But “faith” is frequently used in
the scriptures in the sense of “trust” and as such is an
extension of the basic “belief.” With this in mind A.
Campbell once wrote, “Faith in Christ is the effect of belief.
Belief is the cause, and trust, confidence, or faith in Christ,
the effect.” We should not ridicule the first in our zeal to
extol the virtue of the second.
The
expression, “experience of faith” is common among those who
conceive of faith as something God puts into man; an act of His
grace. This illogical use of terms has its origin in human
theology: the doctrines of total depravity and unconditional
election. Denying Free Will and all “human implementation”
or synergism, these theologians had to treat faith as an act of
God rather than a “condition” performed by the free agency
of man. They were, and are, unwilling to concede that man does
anything at all in coming to Christ. He can believe, only
after God has moved him — individually and directly — with
this “irresistible grace. An early Baptist journal, explaining
the passive role of a sinner in regeneration, wrote, “...the
Holy Spirit is the sole agent in regeneration ... the
sinner has no more
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efficient agency in accomplishing it
than Lazarus had in becoming alive from the dead.” Again, “The
sinner ... does all he can to ... prevent his own regeneration,
until he is made willing by almighty power.” This is monergism
with a vengeance, but it is consistent with classic Calvinism.
If
we can accept the definition of “belief” given in the first
paragraph on this page — acknowledging man’s capacity to
examine evidence, and to believe or disbelieve as an independent
human function — we can appreciate the synergism in Paul’s
statement that “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the
word of God” (Rom. 10:17). Faith is the result of an objective
approach to divine testimony. God provides the confirmed
evidence, but we must do the believing. Our moral
responsibility, not only for our sins but also for failure to
trust in the remedy (Jn. 8:24) is clearly seen.
The
“work of God” (Jn. 6:29) is not something God does for us,
but what He would have us do, i.e., “that ye believe on him
whom he hath sent.” If we can understand that, and recognize
the place of obedience in a viable faith; we should also
recognize man’s obligations in doing the “righteousness of
God” (Rom. 10:3; 1 Jn. 3:7). Saving faith is man’s part in
the synergism of God’s scheme of redemption. A careful search
of cases of conversion in the scriptures will tell us at what
point in that faith we are promised the remission of past
sins, and other blessings “in Christ,” who is Savior, “specially
of those that believe.” (Acts 2:37-38; Gal. 3:26-27)
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