By Charles Walker (1791-1870)
“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” —Jeremiah 29:13
My dear reader, the writer speaks to you as a friend. Will you listen to what he says? Will you give your own mind to the study of this important subject? If you will do so earnestly, you may become wise unto salvation. God says in the Scriptures, “Those that seek me early shall find me” (Proverbs 8:17).
What Is Faith?
You know that there is much said in the Bible about faith. You know that every person must have faith in Christ, or he cannot be good and happy. The Bible says, “But without faith it is impossible to please him” (Hebrews 11:6). If then you hope to please God, to have His blessing, and to dwell in His presence when you leave this world, you must have faith. So you see it is of the utmost importance that you should know what faith is.
You know that the Holy Bible is the Word of God. You know that in the Bible God speaks to us and tells us about many things that we should never have known, if they had not been told us in that Holy Book. You know that God speaks to us in the Bible about Himself. He tells us who He is, where He dwells, what He has done, and what He will do.
God tells us also what we are ourselves, what we have done, and what we must do, if we would please Him. He tells us too about another world, a state of being beyond the grave—a place of happiness for the righteous and a place of misery for the wicked. God tells us further about Jesus Christ Who came into the world and died to save sinners, that they who believe in Christ shall be saved, and that they who believe not shall be damned. All this and very much more God makes known to us in the Bible.
True Faith Defined
Now I am ready to tell you what faith is: It is so believing what God has said, as to do what He has commanded. Do you understand this? I want you to understand it. I will therefore express it in a little different language.
Faith is believing what God has said in such a manner as will lead you to do what He has bidden. This is a definition in general terms. And faith in this sense is applicable to all things that God has said in the Bible. It regards all that He has said of Himself, of His government, and of His Son Jesus Christ. It has respect to whatever God has commanded and whatever He has forbidden.
But more particularly, Christian faith, or that faith by which a sinner is saved, may be explained in this manner: It is that belief or trust in Jesus Christ that will lead us to rely on Him alone for salvation—to commit our souls, ourselves, our all to Him as the only Savior—and to obey His commandments.
Faith Must Lead to Action
It is not enough to say that you believe the Bible or to think that you believe it, if you do not obey it. It is not faith to have a kind of general belief that the Bible is the Word of God and that it is all true. Many have this kind of belief, who have no true faith.
If a man has true faith, he will not only believe what God has said in the Bible, but he will act as if he believed it. Nor is it enough to say that you believe Christ to be the only Savior, if you do not follow Him. It is not faith in Christ merely to acknowledge Him as the only Redeemer. Thousands have this kind of belief, who are utterly destitute of true faith.
You will obey the Savior, if you have true faith in Him. In the language of Jesus Himself, you will deny yourself and take up the cross and follow Him (Matthew 16:24).
The Object of Christian Faith
The great object of the Christian’s faith is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only Savior. And the only way in which we can be saved is by faith in Him. The Bible says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:31). It says also, “He that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16). It is plain, therefore, that our salvation depends on our having true faith in the Savior.
Now, you know what God has told us in the Holy Scriptures about His Son. You remember what the Bible says about the birth, life, and death of Jesus. Though He dwelt in heaven and was with God and was God (John 1:1), yet He became a man. He was born of the Virgin Mary. He grew up like other children. “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52).
When He was thirty years old, He began His ministry. He preached that all men must repent and believe in Him (Mark 1:15), or they can never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. He performed a great many wonderful miracles that proved that God was with Him and that He worked the works of God. His life was entirely holy, free from all manner of sin. His example was perfectly good. His teaching was wise and good. Even His enemies said, “Never man spake like this man” (John 7:46). He told all about the duties that mankind owe to each other and to God.
At last, He permitted Himself to be taken and crucified by wicked men that, by His death, He might make an atonement for the sins of the world and prepare the way that all sinners, who repent and believe in Him, might be saved and be happy in heaven forever. After His death, He arose from the grave, appeared alive to His disciples, told them to “go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Then He ascended into heaven in the sight of many of His friends, and there “he ever liveth to make intercession” (Hebrews 7:25).
What God Requires of You
This is a short account of what the Bible informs us concerning the Savior. Now God requires that we should believe this, and so believe it that it will rule our conduct and make us the followers and disciples of Jesus Christ.
It is not enough for you to say that you do not dispute or deny what God says concerning His Son. It is not enough for you to say that you believe the Scripture account of the Savior. If your belief is not of that kind that will govern your actions, if it does not lead you to do as the Savior bids you, if it does not make you His friend and disciple, it is not true faith in Him.
Why You Need Faith
Now, my dear reader, if you have read attentively and understood what you have read, you see that when you have true faith in Christ, you will trust yourself into His hands. You will look to Him alone for salvation. You will obey His commands and strive to be like Him. This is the faith that God speaks of in the Bible.
Consider why you yourself need faith. It is because you are a sinner. Did you ever seriously think of this? You are a sinner. You have naturally a wicked heart, have disobeyed God, and have come into condemnation. The Bible says, “He that believeth not is condemned already” (John 3:18).
The only way to escape this condemnation is by faith in Christ. He came to save sinners. He says, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). You are a lost one. You have wandered away from duty and from God; and you will perish forever, if you are not saved by Jesus Christ. And this is the reason why you need faith in Him.
About This Publication
Originally published by Charles Walker (1791-1870). This text represents a 19th-century evangelical perspective on Christian faith and salvation.
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