WHY ARE WE SAVED BY FAITH?
WHY IS FAITH SELECTED as the channel of salvation? No doubt
this inquiry is often made. "By grace are ye saved through
faith," is assuredly the doctrine of Holy Scripture, and the
ordinance of God; but why is it so? Why is faith selected rather
than hope, or love, or patience?
It becomes us to be modest in answering such a question, for
God's ways are not always to be understood; nor are we allowed
presumptuously to question them. Humbly we would reply that, as
far as we can tell, faith has been selected as the channel of
grace, because there is a natural adaptation in faith to be used
as the receiver. Suppose that I am about to give a poor man an
alms: I put it into his hand--why? Well, it would hardly be
fitting to put it into his ear, or to lay it upon his foot; the
hand seems made on purpose to receive. So, in our mental frame,
faith is created on purpose to be a receiver: it is the hand of
the man, and there is a fitness in receiving grace by its means.
Do let me put this very plainly. Faith which receives Christ
is as simple an act as when your child receives an apple from
you, because you hold it out and promise to give him the apple if
he comes for it. The belief and the receiving relate only to an
apple; but they make up precisely the same act as the faith which
deals with eternal salvation. What the child's hand is to the
apple, that your faith is to the perfect salvation of Christ. The
child's hand does not make the apple, nor improve the apple, nor
deserve the apple; it only takes it; and faith is chosen by God
to be the receiver of salvation, because it does not pretend to
create salvation, nor to help in it, but it is content humbly to
receive it. "Faith is the tongue that begs pardon, the hand which
receives it, and the eye which sees it; but it is not the price
which buys it." Faith never makes herself her own plea, she rests
all her argument upon the blood of Christ. She becomes a good
servant to bring the riches of the Lord Jesus to the soul,
because she acknowledges whence she drew them, and owns that
grace alone entrusted her with them.
Faith, again, is doubtless selected because it gives all the
glory to God. It is of faith that it might be by grace, and it is
of grace that there might be no boasting; for God cannot endure
pride. "The proud he knoweth afar off," and He has no wish to
come nearer to them. He will not give salvation in a way which
will suggest or foster pride. Paul saith, "Not of works, lest any
man should boast." Now, faith excludes all boasting. The hand
which receives charity does not say, "I am to be thanked for
accepting the gift"; that would be absurd. When the hand conveys
bread to the mouth it does not say to the body, "Thank me; for I
feed you." It is a very simple thing that the hand does though a
very necessary thing; and it never arrogates glory to itself for
what it does. So God has selected faith to receive the
unspeakable gift of His grace, because it cannot take to itself
any credit, but must adore the gracious God who is the giver of
all good. Faith sets the crown upon the right head, and therefore
the Lord Jesus was wont to put the crown upon the head of faith,
saying, "Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace."
Next, God selects faith as the channel of salvation because
it is a sure method, linking man with God. When man confides in
God, there is a point of union between them, and that union
guarantees blessing. Faith saves us because it makes us cling to
God, and so brings us into connection with Him. I have often used
the following illustration, but I must repeat it, because I
cannot think of a better. I am told that years ago a boat was
upset above the falls of Niagara, and two men were being carried
down the current, when persons on the shore managed to float a
rope out to them, which rope was seized by them both. One of them
held fast to it and was safely drawn to the bank; but the other,
seeing a great log come floating by, unwisely let go the rope and
clung to the log, for it was the bigger thing of the two, and
apparently better to cling to. Alas! the log with the man on it
went right over the vast abyss, because there was no union
between the log and the shore. The size of the log was no benefit
to him who grasped it; it needed a connection with the shore to
produce safety. So when a man trusts to his works, or to
sacraments, or to anything of that sort, he will not be saved,
because there is no junction between him and Christ; but faith,
though it may seem to be like a slender cord, is in the hands of
the great God on the shore side; infinite power pulls in the
connecting line, and thus draws the man from destruction. Oh the
blessedness of faith, because it unites us to God!
Faith is chosen again, because it touches the springs of
action. Even in common things faith of a certain sort lies at the
root of all. I wonder whether I shall be wrong if I say that we
never do anything except through faith of some sort. If I walk
across my study it is because I believe my legs will carry me. A
man eats because he believes in the necessity of food; he goes to
business because he believes in the value of money; he accepts a
check because he believes that the bank will honor it. Columbus
discovered America because he believed that there was another
continent beyond the ocean; and the Pilgrim Fathers colonized it
because they believed that God would be with them on those rocky
shores. Most grand deeds have been born of faith; for good or for
evil, faith works wonders by the man in whom it dwells. Faith in
its natural form is an all-prevailing force, which enters into
all manner of human actions. Possibly he who derides faith in God
is the man who in an evil form has the most of faith; indeed, he
usually falls into a credulity which would be ridiculous, if it
were not disgraceful. God gives salvation to faith, because by
creating faith in us He thus touches the real mainspring of our
emotions and actions. He has, so to speak, taken possession of
the battery and now He can send the sacred current to every part
of our nature. When we believe in Christ, and the heart has come
into the possession of God, then we are saved from sin, and are
moved toward repentance, holiness, zeal, prayer, consecration,
and every other gracious thing. "What oil is to the wheels, what
weights are to a clock, what wings are to a bird, what sails are
to a ship, that faith is to all holy duties and services." Have
faith, and all other graces will follow and continue to hold
their course.
Faith, again, has the power of working by love; it
influences the affections toward God, and draws the heart after
the best things. He that believes in God will beyond all question
love God. Faith is an act of the understanding; but it also
proceeds from the heart. "With the heart man believeth unto
righteousness"; and hence God gives salvation to faith because it
resides next door to the affections, and is near akin to love;
and love is the parent and the nurse of every holy feeling and
act. Love to God is obedience, love to God is holiness. To love
God and to love man is to be conformed to the image of Christ;
and this is salvation.
Moreover, faith creates peace and joy; he that hath it
rests, and is tranquil, is glad and joyous, and this is a
preparation for heaven. God gives all heavenly gifts to faith,
for this reason among others, that faith worketh in us the life
and spirit which are to be eternally manifested in the upper and
better world. Faith furnishes us with armor for this life, and
education for the life to come. It enables a man both to live and
to die without fear; it prepares both for action and for
suffering; and hence the Lord selects it as a most convenient
medium for conveying grace to us, and thereby securing us for
glory.
Certainly faith does for us what nothing else can do; it
gives us joy and peace, and causes us to enter into rest. Why do
men attempt to gain salvation by other means? An old preacher
says, "A silly servant who is bidden to open a door, sets his
shoulder to it and pushes with all his might; but the door stirs
not, and he cannot enter, use what strength he may. Another comes
with a key, and easily unlocks the door, and enters right
readily. Those who would be saved by works are pushing at
heaven's gate without result; but faith is the key which opens
the gate at once." Reader, will you not use that key? The Lord
commands you to believe in His dear Son, therefore you may do so;
and doing so you shall live. Is not this the promise of the
gospel, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved"? (Mark
16:16). What can be your objection to a way of salvation which
commends itself to the mercy and the wisdom of our gracious God?
Next > Alas! I Can Do Nothing!
Index < Content