What is faith? Let us define faith in Christ, and we need to ask ourselves whether we have this faith. First of all, it is faith in his person: you trust in his person, in who he was. He is the second person of the Trinity, incarnate, who assumed human personality and flesh in order to be our representative and our sin bearer. He is the incarnate Son of God. I have faith in him, I believe he was infallible. I believe his every word was infallible. He never spoke falsely. Everything he said was absolutely true. I believe he possessed divine power to do signs and miracles. His miracles teach us three things. Firstly, they were performed to demonstrate that he was divine, the Son of God; he did things no other man could do. His miracles also demonstrated his nature, his compassion. They were works of astonishing compassion and kindness and mercy. And his miracles also had a third dimension. They were illustrations and pictures of what he would do spiritually. The healing of the bodies of men and women was a picture of what he would do spiritually. Did he not open the eyes of the blind? He also gives spiritual sight to souls in darkness. He gives life, new life, new nature. The miracles illustrate what he came to do spiritually. So we believe in his person, the all-powerful Son of the living God.
And we believe secondly in his work, particularly his work of redemption. He came not to make the world a better place, but he came to redeem souls, to suffer and die on Calvary ultimately. His work has two compartments, he lived a life of perfect righteousness to deserve Heaven for all who trust in him, and he suffered and died on Calvary to bear the eternal weight of punishment due to all those who believe in him. He suffered their sin for them. So, we believe in his person and we believe in his redeeming work, his atoning work for sinners.
And then we believe in him exclusively. This is vital. This is a third part of faith in Christ, faith in nothing else. Not in ourselves. ‘Oh, perhaps I need the help of Christ, but I can turn over my life and live a better life, and I by my own accomplishments can merit and deserve eternal bliss and the favour of God.’ No, faith in Christ means trusting him one hundred percent, and realising I can place no trust in myself to achieve salvation. I have faith in no ceremonies, no humanly devised ceremonial religion. No other faith than the Christian faith, which alone has a redeemer, God who came and to suffer and to die in our place and pay the price for us. Exclusive faith in him.
And then finally, this faith is no use at all if it is not an exercised faith. Yes, I believe in his person, I believe in his work, I believe in him exclusively, but I never asked him; I have never called upon him for salvation, for forgiveness, for life. I have never yielded my life to him. I have three out of the four, but my faith has never been exercised so that I have come to him and pleaded with him and trusted him and given myself to him. Faith must be exercised.