Five Reasons For Holy Living

by J. E. Todd (England)

2. BECAUSE I HAVE BELIEVED

In the original Greek of the New Testament some words can form more than one part of speech. As a noun ‘pistis’ is normally translated as ‘faith,’ but in its verbal form ‘pisteuo’ it is normally translated as ‘believe.’ Therefore to believe and to have faith are one and the same thing in the New Testament.

Unfortunately the word ‘believe’ in everyday English can be a rather weak word. It may mean only the mental acceptance of something as being true. Or even an expression of doubt, in the sense of, “I believe it is so, but I am not sure.” But the word as used in the New Testament is a strong word. So strong indeed that sometimes it is translated ‘to commit.’ For example in Jn.2.23-24. ‘many believed in His name … But Jesus did not commit himself unto them.’ The word ‘believe’ and ‘commit’ are the same word in the original Greek. The word ‘commit” means ‘to trust’ or even better ‘to entrust.’ To believe in the Lord Jesus Christ means to entrust ourselves to Him.

There is a false concept of faith which exists in some quarters. It is that faith and knowledge are mutually exclusive. This means first of all that if we know something to be true, then trusting in it is not an exercise of faith. If we realise that faith is trust then this false concept of faith is shown to be nonsense. For we would be saying that because something is known to be trustworthy we therefore cannot have faith in it! When we have knowledge our faith can be strong. So the facts of the revelation of God in Christ are recorded in Scripture as the sure foundation of our faith. Second, this false concept of faith is not affected by knowledge. This caused the mythical schoolboy to cynically exclaim, “Faith is trying hard to believe something that you know is not true!” The person who puts his trust in something that is known to be untrue is not a Christian, he is a fool.

But faith can go beyond knowledge, we can walk by faith in God amidst the vicissitudes of life which we cannot understand. We can trust God where we cannot trace Him. Faith is simply trust.

We cannot just have faith. For ‘to believe’ is a transitive verb, that is it must have a direct object. We just cannot believe, we must believe in something or someone. The object of our faith as Christian believers is the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The power of our faith lies not in the strength of our faith but in the object of our faith. A passenger on the aircraft has complete faith in the safety of flying and so enjoys a peaceful flight. Another passenger, flying for the first time, is frightened, having little faith in the safety of flying, he spends the flight in a state of acute anxiety. But the safe arrival of both passengers at their destination has nothing to do with the strength of their faith in the safety of flying, but it has everything to do with the trustworthiness of the aircraft to which they had entrusted themselves. A strong faith in human religious leaders (e.g. the Pope) or religious denominations (e.g. Jehovah’s Witnesses) will save no one, but a weak faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will save anyone. ‘A bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax (i.e. a wick) shall He not quench, Matt.12.20.

The fact that we are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ means that we have entrusted ourselves to Him. This is saving faith. This of necessity must mean three things.

First, it means we trust Him for who He is. He is presented to us in Scripture as God manifest in the flesh. ‘The Word was God … the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us,” Jn.1.1,14. In Scripture the term ‘Son of God’ means ‘God the Son.’ This entails accepting His sole authority in all spiritual matters.

Second, it means we trust Him as the unique Saviour. His way, via the Cross, is the only way of Salvation. ‘Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved,’ Acts 4.12.

Third, it means we trust Him as our risen living Lord, to rule our lives by His holy example and His holy teaching. This third result of our believing in Him, that is our entrusting of ourselves to Him, is another continuous reason for His holy example and His holy teaching to reveal itself in our daily living. ‘I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith of (in) the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me,’ Gal.2.20. This is the visible proof of our invisible faith, ‘I will shew thee my faith by my works,’ Jms.2.18. ‘herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be (‘prove to be,’ R.S.V.) My disciples,’ Jn.15.8.

Holy living is the acid test of our believing in the Lord Jesus Christ

—to be continued (D.V.)