The Faith Of The Saints.

The Faith Of The Saints

Ernest C. Reisinger

"Just over four hundred years ago, in late October, a young Augustinian monk, professor of theology, and pastor in Whittenburg, Germany, in the fire of his zeal for Christian truth, nailed 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church. He had left the study of law and entered the priesthood, seeking to be justified before God.

"His name was Martin Luther.

"As a result of studying the Scriptures, he discovered biblical truths that had long been covered and obscured (only contained in the churches in the wilderness) by the ritual and rubble of Rome. One of the great truths then restored to the (mainline) Churches was justification by faith alone.

"The issue before us today is not a denial of justification by faith alone, but rather a perversion of that doctrine.

"Present-day preaching often excludes the possibility of spurious (or non-saving) faith; however, religious deception is the worst kind of deception because of its eternal consequences. We must distinguish properly between justifying faith, and a spurious or counterfeit faith.

"The Bible very clearly warns against spurious faith; therefore, I wish to direct attention to its warnings and note some differences between spurious and true believers. I intend to cite biblical cases of spurious faith, showing that the Scriptures teach the existence of belief which is not saving faith. I propose also to define true faith and give some biblical examples of that faith which savingly joins one to Jesus Christ for all eternity." (at: His By Grace--"Saving Faith vs. False Faith")

see: Spurious or Counterfeit Faith? Paul believed Scripture before his conversion, but not Savingly.

"Satan uses his cunning and power most tenaciously and successfully in convincing people that they have saving faith when they do not. He deceives more souls by this stratagem than by all other devices combined. How many Satan-blinded souls will read this and say, "It does not apply to me; I know that my faith is genuine."

"Satan dissuades many from heeding that most salutary exhortation: "Examine yourselves, whether you are in the faith; prove your own selves" (Cor. 13:5). We will consider this text later.

"Our Lord's parables show that He continually warned against self-deception. Spiritual houses often look the same until the storm of God's Judgment comes (Matt. 7:24-27).

"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

25 "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

26 "And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

27 "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it."

"Then it is revealed that one house is spurious (built on sand) and one is genuine (built on rock).

"Wheat and tares look so much alike that only the Lord Himself can separate them (Matt. 13:24-30).

"Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:

25 "But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

26 "But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

27 "So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?

28 "He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

29 "But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.

30 "Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn."

"Failure to recognize the Bible's teaching on counterfeit faith has led to other errors. The tendency is to treat spurious believers as saved but not consecrated or filled with the Spirit. The folly is often compounded by calling those who give no Bible evidence of saving faith carnal Christians since they do not act like Christians.

"The solution to this unbiblical dilemma is sought in some kind of second experience or second work of grace. Thus there is constant appeal to the carnal Christian, who in reality is a spurious believer, to finally surrender to Christ's lordship and be filled with (even baptized in) (one kind of presumed 'second experience' or 'second work of grace') the Spirit.

"The great theologians of the past recognized that the Bible distinguishes between spurious faith and saving faith. Charles Hodge speaks of historical or speculative faith, temporary faith and saving faith (Systematic Theology 3:67-68).

"James P. Boyce, one of the greatest Southern Baptist theologians and principal founder of their first seminary, speaks of implicit faith, historical faith, temporary or delusive faith, and saving faith (Abstract of Systematic Theology, pp. 389-94). With these great men of God, we hold tenaciously to that great hopeful and liberating truth of the Bible--justification by faith alone.

"But we also recognize that 'faith which is alone' (fleshly 'faith' without Regeneration) is not the faith which justifies."

 

Yes, there is definitely just one faith. That is the one true Spiritual faith generated by the Holy Spirit in the New Birth. Those I have marked in blue.

The other words which are borrowing the word 'faith' in red are all describing a superficial false profession of 'faith' only that is a flesh generated mental consent that people might claim on their own, without the Regeneration of the New Birth.

So, the false professions of 'faith' are talking about a spurious, historical, speculative, temporary, implicit, delusive 'faith' , etc., and are all describing different names people have called a fleshly 'faith' without Regeneration.

In that sense only there would be false professions of faith in the flesh and genuine saving faith that is of God, which is Biblically the "one faith".

Right!