I. Faith is a gift of God. Faith is everywhere contrasted with works. It cannot be a work and it cannot be treated like a work, while some pretend not to think of it as a work. If faith is something that comes from us, and originates from us, then we have something in which to boast. Natural men are dead in sin and dead people don't believe.
II. Defining faith What is faith? There are two kinds. 1) Intellectual faith: believing certain true things about God and Christ, without love for God. The demons believe, but are not saved. They beleive many true things about God, but they hate HIm. Many, many professing Christians have this kinds of intellectual faith. They claim to be Christians. They claim to believe in Christ. They believe certain doctrines. But, underneath, they hate God and that hatred will eventually be exposed, usually by persecution. 2) Saving faith. Saving faith is a humble trust in Christ alone. The Westminster Larger Catechism, question 72 gives a great definition, but sometimes it is easier to see than have it explained. We see what saving, humble faith is very clearly in the examples of three women in the Gospels: the Canaanite woman (dog); the sinner (prostitute) who wiped Jesus' feet with her hair; and the woman with the 12-year bleed. These women had saving faith.
III. Application: which kind of faith do you have?
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