The historic formulation of faith includes three components: Knowledge, assent, and trust. Knowledge is defined as the apprehension of a doctrine. Assent is believing the doctrine to be true. Trust, according to John Murray in Redemption Accomplished and Applied, is commitment to Christ and reliance upon Him. Although this threefold division of faith is taught by the reformers such as Martin Luther, Melanchthon, John Calvin, and by more modern theologians such as John Murray and James Boice, holding to sola scriptura means it is necessary to ask, what do the Scriptures say? Is faith defined in the Bible as being knowledge, assent and trust? It may seem presumptuous to depart from such a commonly held position. It goes without saying that we owe these men a debt of gratitude for the recovery of the gospel in the case of the reformers, and that the church has gained much wisdom from the teaching of these men. But to believe a doctrine simply because it is the commonly held view among theologians would be a form of personality worship.
It is common to hear Christians say, as John Calvin did, that we are not saved by mere assent. Something more is needed, and that something more is trust.
Certainly, the Bible does teach that God's people do trust Him and ought to trust Him. To agree to this is not the same thing as agreeing to the threefold view of faith. There are many things that God's people do and ought to do. The people of God love another (I John 2:10). Yet brotherly love is not a part of the definition of the word faith. We must still ask, how does the Bible define the word faith?
The Greek word in the New Testament which is translated as believe in English, when it appears in the noun form, is translated as faith or belief. What is the verb form of the word faith? It is believe. Faith and belief are synonymous terms in Scripture.
We all believe propositions, so we all have faith. Today, the word faith is sometimes used to mean believing something irrational, sometimes even believing something because it is irrational. This is not the Biblical use of the word faith. This is not a Christian idea. To have faith is to believe something to be true. So saving faith is believing that the message of the gospel is true. Atheists have faith too, they just assent to different doctrines.
What does the threefold division of faith say about salvation? It has lead some to say that belief in the gospel is not enough. The conclusion of this distinction is that is it possible to comprehend the gospel, and to believe all the propositions of the gospel, and yet to not be saved; it teaches that one can fall short of redemption due to a lack of trust. This is what Tedd Tripp, author of Shepherding a Child's Heart, says in a recent issue of Tabletalk magazine (October, 2010). He writes, “...mere knowledge and even assent to the truth, while essential, are not sufficient for our children to have saving faith...According to the Reformers, these two are not enough.”
This undercuts the the teaching of Scripture regarding belief. John 3:16 assures us that all who believe have everlasting life. I Timothy 1:16 says that we believe unto eternal life. Galatians 3:22 tells us that Christ's promise is for all those who believe. 2 Thessalonians 2:13 says that God chose us for salvation, and that salvation is through belief. Romans 3:22 teaches that the righteousness of God is to all who believe. The Bible teaches again and again, that all those who believe the gospel are numbered among the redeemed (this does not mean that all those who say they believe the gospel actually do). In light of this, are we really willing to say that a person can believe the gospel and not be saved?
Still, there are some who say, just believing it not enough. It is to easy.
It should be emphasized, as Murray does, that it is not our faith that saves, but it is God who saves through faith. It is the object of our faith that matters.
Hearing this, one may then wonder, how is our believing different from the demons, seeing that James tells us the demons believe, and tremble (James 2:19)? It is the content of their belief which is different. The demons believe there is one God. God's people believe in substitutionary atonement, and many other things.
So why does it matter how many components there are to faith? In light of the importance the Scriptures place on faith, that it is the sole instrument of our justification, few things are more important than clearly defining what faith is, in our own mind, and to others. And who knows, we may be asked by a friend or a neighbor, or even our own children, What must I do to be saved? Our answer needs to be clear: Simply believe on Him who is able to save.
4 comments:
Sheesh, keeping up with these theologians makes my mind boggle! Glad you dived deeper though. The last scripture about the demons' belief is one that certainly provokes thought. So this leads me back to the question, what then is 'trust'? Trust in what sense? Trust as in an action or rather some kind of belief? Murray didn't seem to define it in his book. If it is a human action, how is it possible that the reformers - who were so clearly against a works based salvation - were in agreement that it is faith 'plus' then? Doesn't make sense.
It is mind-boggling! Trust is defined so differently by different people. The same theologians who say on one page that knowledge plus belief is not enough, can present the gospel so clearly a few pages later, and say that all those who believe are saved! Mikey taught a Sunday school class on the Biblical use of the word trust. His thought is that trust in the Bible means to believe something, but it is usually used in connection to believing that God will provide in difficult times (or to believe that someone or something else will provide for us, like trusting in chariots, Ps 20:7).
Your posts have been giving me so much to chew on, thank you for that! It's scary because you could read "the historic formulation of faith: knowledge, assent, and trust"... and if not VERY careful (because it seems quite logical) agree, until held up in the light of scripture. I know that when we read about it in Murray's book it seemed to make perfect sense, but when examined next to scripture, the doctrine has clearly included a form of works. I am so glad you chose to write about this topic, you broke it down quite well.
Great post! I love your breakdown of the difference between the Biblical view of faith and what pop-culture teaches. I actually think one of the problems with using the word faith in today's vernacular is that it has taken on an almost superstitious meaning.
Ted Tripp's comment makes me really nervous. I always get uneasy when theologians make the gospel more complex than Jesus himself--less they become a stumbling block to someones faith. I especially get nervous when someone is making the gospel complex when talking about presenting it to children. I think of the warnings by Jesus that we are not to be a hindrance to children coming to him.
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