"Faith has
never saved anyone. Jesus saves us. Faith is simply the instrument through
which his righteousness and merit are applied to us. This is why Christ is our
assurance, not our faith."
----------------
I saw this quote
posted and it piqued my interest and stirred my mind. Let's consider the
contents of the quote. A few important issues are raised in the statements made
by the author. Let me deal with just one: "faith is simply the instrument
through which Christ's righteousness and merits are applied" to the
believing one. This fable necessarily implies that one without the
righteousness and merit of Christ is capable of exercising faith IN ORDER to
have these applied to him.
Some questions on
faith as an instrument in relation to one who does not have the righteousness
and merit of Christ applied to him.
1. Does such a
person have access to the instrument?
Answer: No. Faith is
one of the saving graces worked in a child of God by the indwelling Spirit i.e.
an elect whom God has effectually called out of his native state of sin, death,
and condemnation to that of grace and salvation in Jesus Christ - one whom God
has freely applied the righteousness and merit of Christ, and regenerated, and
adopted, and bestowed with the Spirit of adoption to dwell in him.
2. Is such a person
able to utilize the instrument?
Answer: No, even if
the instrument is available to him. Why? He is still in his native state of
sin, death, and condemnation; a man in enmity against God.
3. What is an
instrument?
Answer: an instrument
is a tool or implement to accomplish a certain specific task. E.g. a
stethoscope is an instrument to detect/manifest heartbeats; it is not an
instrument to bring heartbeats to a dead person. A voltmeter is to
measure/detect voltage in an electric circuit; it does not introduce/generate
voltage in the circuit; it manifests the voltage that is already in the
circuit, EVEN AS faith manifests the salvation already freely bestowed by
grace.
4. How does this
instrument come into being?
Answer: Faith is a
saving grace, among many others, that is worked in a child of God, an elect
whom God has effectually called out of his native state to that of grace and
salvation in Jesus Christ, i.e. justified, regenerated, and adopted and blessed
with the Spirit of adoption to dwell within him.
5. Who has access to
this instrument?
Answer: an elect
whom God has effectually called out of his native state to that of grace and
salvation in Jesus Christ, i.e. justified, regenerated, and adopted and blessed
with the Spirit of adoption to dwell within him; the indwelling Spirit of
adoption works the saving graces in a child of God, including faith.
6. Who is able to
utilize this instrument?
Answer: an elect
whom God has effectually called out of his native state to that of grace and
salvation in Jesus Christ, i.e. justified, regenerated, and adopted and blessed
with the Spirit of adoption to dwell within him.
7. What does this
instrument do?
Answer: Faith as an
instrument demonstrates and evidences the believing person is ALREADY effectually
called out of his native state to that of grace and salvation in Jesus Christ,
i.e. justified, regenerated, and adopted and blessed with the Spirit of
adoption to dwell within him. That's why he is capable of faith.
Even so, breath
evidences the dead have been made alive. It's stupid - lacking common sense - to say that the
breath of the dead is an instrument by which life and breath are applied to
him.
Apt and intelligent questions have a quiet but devastating force in exposing subtle errors couched in popular and impressive theological shibboleths.
