never consider this to
be faith. The mind’s acceptance of someone’s teaching or preaching as being good
or reasonable is not necessarily believing the truth.
What is faith? Let us listen to what the Lord has said: “All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for,
believe that ye received them [past tense], and ye shall have them.” This is
the only place in the whole Bible that tells us what faith is. Indeed, this is
the one place in the entire Bible which tells us how to believe. The Romanized
Amoy Bible is even more accurate in translating the Greek verb for the English
word “received” as “already received.” Believe you have already received and
you shall have.
So what is faith? Faith is believing I have already received. It is not believing I shall,
I will, or I must receive but is believing I have received already. Just in
case you have not grasped how great is the difference here, let me explain
further that if a person only believes he shall or will receive, such faith is
faulty. Only one kind of faith is true; namely, that when you believe, you believe
you have already received. This kind of faith shall receive God’s promise. What
enables God to give us all the riches of Christ arises from the exercise of such
faith. Today’s problem lies in the fact that many of God’s children claim they
have faith, they believing they shall receive. Yet those who have believed in this fashion for millions of times have
failed to receive. For God does not deem this kind of faith to be true faith.
He will not hear it. One kind of faith alone is acceptable to Him. The words
“have already received” are most important. Believe that we have already received,
and we shall have. Otherwise, merely expecting to receive is not faith at all.
The
faith That Saves
Let me illustrate this matter factually in order to help us
to see that by believing that we have received we shall have. Let us suppose
that here is a sinner, and that you share the gospel with him, showing him that
he is a sinner and how Jesus Christ has accomplished the work of redemption for
him. After talking to him at length, you want to know whether he has believed. So
you ask him, and he replies that he wants to believe and to receive the Lord’s
forgiveness of his sins in order henceforth to be able to approach God through having
trusted in the Lord Jesus. When you hear this, you are initially overjoyed, for
you apparently have a gospel fruit.
You then ask him to pray asking for God’s forgiveness of his
sins. So he prays: “O God, please forgive my sins for I am a sinner who should
be condemned. Thank You for causing the Lord Jesus to die for me and to shed His
blood for me. I pray, for Christ’s sake, that You forgive
my sins and cause me to be a saved person.” What would you think of such a prayer?
Nothing could be better. If a person should pray such a prayer, he would most surely
have passed the “gospel test,” for such is considered to be a good standard
prayer.
However, the fact of the matter turns out not to be so, because
as you kneel by his side and ask him if his sins are now forgiven, his answer
is as follows: “I believe God will save me; God will forgive my sins.” Alas,
you shiver at the two times of his saying “God will”—for he has said he
believes that God will forgive him of his sins and save him. Can it be said
that this man has been saved? All of us should realize that his sins have not
been forgiven, that he is not yet saved. For his faith only extends to the
point of “will.” He thinks he fully believes, but actually he has not believed.
Then what is the true expression of faith here? It is expressed
when, having been asked of him after his prayer if his sins have been forgiven,
this sinner answers by saying, perhaps even with tears: “Thank God, my sins
have been forgiven because of Christ. Thank God, I am saved.” That is true faith
being expressed. Faith is not a believing that one’s sins “ may ”
or
be faith. The mind’s acceptance of someone’s teaching or preaching as being good
or reasonable is not necessarily believing the truth.
What is faith? Let us listen to what the Lord has said: “All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for,
believe that ye received them [past tense], and ye shall have them.” This is
the only place in the whole Bible that tells us what faith is. Indeed, this is
the one place in the entire Bible which tells us how to believe. The Romanized
Amoy Bible is even more accurate in translating the Greek verb for the English
word “received” as “already received.” Believe you have already received and
you shall have.
So what is faith? Faith is believing I have already received. It is not believing I shall,
I will, or I must receive but is believing I have received already. Just in
case you have not grasped how great is the difference here, let me explain
further that if a person only believes he shall or will receive, such faith is
faulty. Only one kind of faith is true; namely, that when you believe, you believe
you have already received. This kind of faith shall receive God’s promise. What
enables God to give us all the riches of Christ arises from the exercise of such
faith. Today’s problem lies in the fact that many of God’s children claim they
have faith, they believing they shall receive. Yet those who have believed in this fashion for millions of times have
failed to receive. For God does not deem this kind of faith to be true faith.
He will not hear it. One kind of faith alone is acceptable to Him. The words
“have already received” are most important. Believe that we have already received,
and we shall have. Otherwise, merely expecting to receive is not faith at all.
The
faith That Saves
Let me illustrate this matter factually in order to help us
to see that by believing that we have received we shall have. Let us suppose
that here is a sinner, and that you share the gospel with him, showing him that
he is a sinner and how Jesus Christ has accomplished the work of redemption for
him. After talking to him at length, you want to know whether he has believed. So
you ask him, and he replies that he wants to believe and to receive the Lord’s
forgiveness of his sins in order henceforth to be able to approach God through having
trusted in the Lord Jesus. When you hear this, you are initially overjoyed, for
you apparently have a gospel fruit.
You then ask him to pray asking for God’s forgiveness of his
sins. So he prays: “O God, please forgive my sins for I am a sinner who should
be condemned. Thank You for causing the Lord Jesus to die for me and to shed His
blood for me. I pray, for Christ’s sake, that You forgive
my sins and cause me to be a saved person.” What would you think of such a prayer?
Nothing could be better. If a person should pray such a prayer, he would most surely
have passed the “gospel test,” for such is considered to be a good standard
prayer.
However, the fact of the matter turns out not to be so, because
as you kneel by his side and ask him if his sins are now forgiven, his answer
is as follows: “I believe God will save me; God will forgive my sins.” Alas,
you shiver at the two times of his saying “God will”—for he has said he
believes that God will forgive him of his sins and save him. Can it be said
that this man has been saved? All of us should realize that his sins have not
been forgiven, that he is not yet saved. For his faith only extends to the
point of “will.” He thinks he fully believes, but actually he has not believed.
Then what is the true expression of faith here? It is expressed
when, having been asked of him after his prayer if his sins have been forgiven,
this sinner answers by saying, perhaps even with tears: “Thank God, my sins
have been forgiven because of Christ. Thank God, I am saved.” That is true faith
being expressed. Faith is not a believing that one’s sins “ may ”
or
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