Faith draws on mind, emotion and will

Faith is the key that unlocks the blessing of God upon your life.

Over and over again, the Scriptures stress the importance of faith. Paul said, “For by grace you have been saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8). We walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Jesus said that faith the size of a mustard seed could move a mountain (Matthew 17:20). God desires to strengthen your faith. May God develop your faith that you be a holy instrument in his hands.

What is faith? If you are to be used by God it requires faith. What are the components of faith? When you lift up the hood and look down into the engine, what are the parts of faith? Faith is an inner attitude, and complete trust and reliance upon God. It is resting upon God. It is a personal surrender to the living God. It is a confident belief in God in and his Word.

If faith is an omelet, what is mixed up in it? Over the years the great evangelical minds and the great theological giants have all agreed on the three non-negotiable parts of faith. Biblically, there are three components of faith.

First, faith begins with knowledge. If you don’t have the truth, I promise you don’t have faith. Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” There is no saving faith apart from the Word of God. Faith rests upon God’s revelation. It is based upon God’s law.

R.C. Sproul said, “I cannot have God in my heart if he is not first in my head.” John Calvin said, “Faith rests upon knowledge, not upon pious ignorance.” The knowledge upon which your faith rests is found in the written Word of God. Faith is not based on your feelings. It is not based on your whims. It is based upon the book that God has given to us.

Acts 6:7 is a very powerful verse. “The Word of God kept on spreading and the number of the disciples continued to increase in Jerusalem and a great number of the priests were obedient to the faith.” Again, the Word of God is synonymous with the faith. As the Scripture spread, truth spread. Your faith will be strong and real only as it is built upon the impregnable fortress of the objective truth of the written Word of God as found in the 66 books of canonical Scripture.

The second component of saving faith is emotion. Simply knowing the truth is not enough. You must receive the truth. There must be a confidence that, yes, this is the truth. Calvin put it this way: “It now remains to pour into the heart what the mind has absorbed.” The truth must go from the mind to the heart. The mind must understand the truth. The heart must receive the truth and rejoice in the truth and, at times, weep over the truth. You must embrace and believe and receive the truth. You must long for it and desire it.

Biblical faith is not like reading the phone book. The facts must not go in one ear and out the other. There must be a desire, a hunger and even a passion to know the truth and live it. So many in churches today say doctrine divides. They just want their style of music and skits to draw people together.

No. That is why so many churches are filled with lost people.

Third, the final component of true faith is the will. It is trust and commitment. It must be living and dynamic. There must be obedience to the truth. If there is no obedience there is no faith. James 2:17 says, “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” Reformers had a saying that went, “Faith alone saves, but faith that is alone never saves.” The truth you know and understand must change your life.

The Bible says, “You believe there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe — and tremble!” (James 2:19). The demons have the first two elements of saving faith. They have the knowledge and the emotional response. They understand the truth about God. They tremble in reverence. It is not reverence in awe, but fear that God will execute them. However, they have no obedience.

True, saving faith involves commitment. It is a full surrender to God and a relentless pursuit of Jesus with careful obedience to his Word. Everything else is just religious talk. Faith goes all the way. It chooses. It acts. It obeys. Faith steps out. Faith reaches out. Faith moves. Faith is supernatural. Faith involves all three aspects of a person’s being. It involves your mind. It involves your emotions. It involves your will.

The Bible teaches that sin separates every person from a holy, just God. Yet, God in his mercy sent Jesus to die on the cross. Jesus offered an infinite sacrifice. He suffered for our sins on the cross. Forgiveness and eternal life are found by believing and trusting in the sacrifice of Jesus. Respond to this with your mind, your heart and your will and you will be saved.

Ethan Hansen is pastor for Faith Bible Fellowship of Big Lake. He can be contacted at ethanchansen@gci.net.