However, today's offering I think your whole analogy can be extremely problematic for some.
As a former charismatic/pentecostal,
I heard similar type of rhetoric for over 30 years, especially from the "word of faith" crowd within this community, of which I was a very enthusiastic disciple.
Now, I personally don't think you would agree with any of the false teachers like Kenneth Copeland, Jesse Duplantis or Oral Roberts, but this kind of fluff can be extremely problematic and makes faith some sort of force that we must conjure down from heaven like something out of Star Wars.
Faith then, can become the ultimate by which we can attain some sort of empirical supernatural metaphysical power to effect even our surrounds. This kind of definition transcends the true meaning of faith which is rooted in the object, Jesus Christ.
This is why I think that your warning against those false teachers very important and timely considering the godless twisters that pervade the invisible church today making merchandise of God.
I personally think a much better description comes from our very own confessions.
The Belgic Confession (1561)
Article 22: The Righteousness of Faith
We believe that for us to acquire the true knowledge of this great mystery the Holy Spirit kindles in our hearts a true faith that embraces Jesus Christ, with all His merits, and makes Him its own, and no longer looks for anything apart from Him.
For it must necessarily follow that either all that is required for our salvation is not in Christ or, if all is in Him, then he who has Christ by faith has his salvation entirely.
Therefore, to say that Christ is not enough but that something else is needed as well is a most enormous blasphemy against God-- for it then would follow that Jesus Christ is only half a Savior. And therefore we justly say with Paul that we are justified "by faith alone" or by faith "apart from works. (Romans 3:28)
However, we do not mean, properly speaking, that it is faith itself that justifies us-- for faith is only the instrument by which we embrace Christ, our righteousness.
But Jesus Christ is our righteousness in making available to us all His merits and all the holy works He has done for us and in our place. And faith is the instrument that keeps us in communion with Him and with all His benefits.
When those benefits are made ours they are more than enough to absolve us of our sins.
The Heidelberg Catechism (1563)
Q. 21. What is true faith?
A. True faith is not only a certain knowledge, whereby I hold for truth all that God has revealed to us in His word, but also an assured confidence,
which the Holy Ghost works by the gospel in my heart; that not only to others, but to me also, remission of sin, everlasting righteousness and salvation, are freely given by God, merely of grace, only for the sake of Christ's merits.
Canons of Dort (1619)
FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 4. The wrath of God abides upon those who believe not this gospel. But such as receive it and embrace Jesus the Savior by a [true] and living [faith] are by Him delivered from the wrath of God and from destruction, and have the gift of eternal life conferred upon them.
Westminster Confession of Faith (1647)
Chapter XIV - Of Saving Faith
I. The grace of faith, whereby the elect are enabled to believe to the saving of their souls, is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts, and is ordinarily wrought by the ministry of the Word, by which also, and by the administration of the sacraments, and prayer, it is increased and strengthened.
II. By this faith, a Christian believeth to be true whatsoever is revealed in the Word, for the authority of God Himself speaking therein; and acteth differently upon that which each particular passage thereof containeth; yielding obedience to the commands, trembling at the threatenings, and embracing the promises of God for this life, and that which is to come. But the principal acts of saving faith are accepting, receiving, and resting upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life, by virtue of the covenant of grace.
III. This faith is different in degrees, weak or strong; may be often and many ways assailed, and weakened, but gets the victory: growing up in many to the attainment of a full assurance, through Christ, who is both the author and finisher of our faith.
We must not forget but constantly remember with whom our faith is grounded. Biblical faith is the actual entrusting of oneself to the one true God for one’s salvation.
Our Father is the source of our assurance, Christ is the ground of our assurance, and the Spirit is the sustainer of our assurance. And our assurance is not established on the strength of our faith but on the object of our faith, Jesus Christ.
Thank you for your thoughtful and detailed feedback on my devotion. I appreciate your insights and the time you took to provide such a thorough response. Your concerns are valid, and I would like to address them with the hope of clarifying my intentions and reaffirming a biblically sound understanding of faith.
You are correct that the analogy I used can be problematic if not carefully explained, especially given the misuse of similar language by some within the Word of Faith movement. It was never my intention to suggest that faith is a force we can manipulate to achieve our desires, nor that it operates independently of God’s sovereign will. Please note that this devotion is intended to be read alongside the previous several day's worth of devotions where I do point out that the object of our faith is Jesus himself and that the salvation of the OT saints is through Christ, even though their faith did not have the full content of the faith we hold to today.
The primary aim of my devotion was to highlight that faith is the means through which God’s power is often manifested in the lives of believers, not a power in and of itself. Faith, as you rightly pointed out, must always be understood as faith in the object, Jesus Christ, and not faith in our faith.
I appreciate your call to clearly distinguish biblical faith from erroneous teachings. I recognise that your background and experience with the Word of Faith movement does help you see error in this area more quickly than some. As you rightly point out, I would outright reject the teaching of teachers associated with movement. They have and continue to teach heresy in this area.
That said, I do think we need to wrestle with passages like the one in Mark 6 and it is worth thinking about.
As always, I appreciate you writing in, and of course anyone else reading this, you are always welcome to comment or email me.
Hi Pastor Chris,
Thanks for the podcast.
However, today's offering I think your whole analogy can be extremely problematic for some.
As a former charismatic/pentecostal,
I heard similar type of rhetoric for over 30 years, especially from the "word of faith" crowd within this community, of which I was a very enthusiastic disciple.
Now, I personally don't think you would agree with any of the false teachers like Kenneth Copeland, Jesse Duplantis or Oral Roberts, but this kind of fluff can be extremely problematic and makes faith some sort of force that we must conjure down from heaven like something out of Star Wars.
Faith then, can become the ultimate by which we can attain some sort of empirical supernatural metaphysical power to effect even our surrounds. This kind of definition transcends the true meaning of faith which is rooted in the object, Jesus Christ.
This is why I think that your warning against those false teachers very important and timely considering the godless twisters that pervade the invisible church today making merchandise of God.
I personally think a much better description comes from our very own confessions.
The Belgic Confession (1561)
Article 22: The Righteousness of Faith
We believe that for us to acquire the true knowledge of this great mystery the Holy Spirit kindles in our hearts a true faith that embraces Jesus Christ, with all His merits, and makes Him its own, and no longer looks for anything apart from Him.
For it must necessarily follow that either all that is required for our salvation is not in Christ or, if all is in Him, then he who has Christ by faith has his salvation entirely.
Therefore, to say that Christ is not enough but that something else is needed as well is a most enormous blasphemy against God-- for it then would follow that Jesus Christ is only half a Savior. And therefore we justly say with Paul that we are justified "by faith alone" or by faith "apart from works. (Romans 3:28)
However, we do not mean, properly speaking, that it is faith itself that justifies us-- for faith is only the instrument by which we embrace Christ, our righteousness.
But Jesus Christ is our righteousness in making available to us all His merits and all the holy works He has done for us and in our place. And faith is the instrument that keeps us in communion with Him and with all His benefits.
When those benefits are made ours they are more than enough to absolve us of our sins.
The Heidelberg Catechism (1563)
Q. 21. What is true faith?
A. True faith is not only a certain knowledge, whereby I hold for truth all that God has revealed to us in His word, but also an assured confidence,
which the Holy Ghost works by the gospel in my heart; that not only to others, but to me also, remission of sin, everlasting righteousness and salvation, are freely given by God, merely of grace, only for the sake of Christ's merits.
Canons of Dort (1619)
FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 4. The wrath of God abides upon those who believe not this gospel. But such as receive it and embrace Jesus the Savior by a [true] and living [faith] are by Him delivered from the wrath of God and from destruction, and have the gift of eternal life conferred upon them.
Westminster Confession of Faith (1647)
Chapter XIV - Of Saving Faith
I. The grace of faith, whereby the elect are enabled to believe to the saving of their souls, is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts, and is ordinarily wrought by the ministry of the Word, by which also, and by the administration of the sacraments, and prayer, it is increased and strengthened.
II. By this faith, a Christian believeth to be true whatsoever is revealed in the Word, for the authority of God Himself speaking therein; and acteth differently upon that which each particular passage thereof containeth; yielding obedience to the commands, trembling at the threatenings, and embracing the promises of God for this life, and that which is to come. But the principal acts of saving faith are accepting, receiving, and resting upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life, by virtue of the covenant of grace.
III. This faith is different in degrees, weak or strong; may be often and many ways assailed, and weakened, but gets the victory: growing up in many to the attainment of a full assurance, through Christ, who is both the author and finisher of our faith.
We must not forget but constantly remember with whom our faith is grounded. Biblical faith is the actual entrusting of oneself to the one true God for one’s salvation.
Our Father is the source of our assurance, Christ is the ground of our assurance, and the Spirit is the sustainer of our assurance. And our assurance is not established on the strength of our faith but on the object of our faith, Jesus Christ.
Blessings,
Andrew Hambling
Dear Andrew,
Thank you for your thoughtful and detailed feedback on my devotion. I appreciate your insights and the time you took to provide such a thorough response. Your concerns are valid, and I would like to address them with the hope of clarifying my intentions and reaffirming a biblically sound understanding of faith.
You are correct that the analogy I used can be problematic if not carefully explained, especially given the misuse of similar language by some within the Word of Faith movement. It was never my intention to suggest that faith is a force we can manipulate to achieve our desires, nor that it operates independently of God’s sovereign will. Please note that this devotion is intended to be read alongside the previous several day's worth of devotions where I do point out that the object of our faith is Jesus himself and that the salvation of the OT saints is through Christ, even though their faith did not have the full content of the faith we hold to today.
The primary aim of my devotion was to highlight that faith is the means through which God’s power is often manifested in the lives of believers, not a power in and of itself. Faith, as you rightly pointed out, must always be understood as faith in the object, Jesus Christ, and not faith in our faith.
I appreciate your call to clearly distinguish biblical faith from erroneous teachings. I recognise that your background and experience with the Word of Faith movement does help you see error in this area more quickly than some. As you rightly point out, I would outright reject the teaching of teachers associated with movement. They have and continue to teach heresy in this area.
That said, I do think we need to wrestle with passages like the one in Mark 6 and it is worth thinking about.
As always, I appreciate you writing in, and of course anyone else reading this, you are always welcome to comment or email me.
Chris P