Faith That Justifies

Jesus Christ died for the whole world, and His saving grace is available to all human beings. If this is the case, why will not all human beings be saved? Justification by faith is the dividing line between being saved and remaining lost.

It is by faith alone that we can appropriate to ourselves the saving grace of Jesus Christ. But what is justifying faith? German theologian Artur Weiser wrote, “Faith is always man’s reaction to God’s primary action.” In other words, God first reveals Himself to us, and we then accept His revelation by faith.

According to Ellen White, “Faith is the gift of God, but the power to exercise it is ours. Faith is the hand by which the soul takes hold upon the divine offers of grace and mercy.”32 In his table talk of June 16, 1539, Martin Luther stated, “Faith justifies not as a work, or as a quality, or as knowledge, but as assent of the will and firm confidence in the mercy of God. For if faith were only knowledge, then the devil would certainly be saved because he possesses the greatest knowledge of God and of all the works and wonders of God from the creation of the world.”33 Remember, faith without doctrinal knowledge leads to rootless and unstable credulity. It is like a boat without a rudder in the middle of the ocean. On the other hand, faith restricted to such knowledge becomes dry and presumptuous. It generates self-proclaimed Christians with big brains and empty hearts. In contrast, justifying faith presupposes right doctrinal knowledge, but it reaches beyond that knowledge into the very presence of God, where Jesus Christ as our Great High Priest is offering His saving grace to every true believer. One of our greatest temptations is to assume that the right doctrine of salvation can save us. But we must combine the right doctrine about Christ and a saving experience with Him. Praise God if you already have that experience. If not, you can pray as the man who said to Jesus, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief” (Mark 9:24, NIV).