We are saved by faith- but what does this faith that saves look like?
Notice the link between “believe” and “receive” in the following scripture.

“…much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the One man Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:17
John 1:12 “But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God. “

The Reformer’s recognized three aspects to faith. They did so using three Latin terms: noticia, assensus, and fiducia. Let me explain.Noticia is the content of faith
Assensus is the personal recognition of the veracity of the truth claim.
Fiducia is the trust element or the personal reliance on Christ alone.
All three are vital to saving faith.

A person can’t be saved without certain content. This is why neither a baby nor a person who never hears the name of Christ can actually believe. True belief rests on content, not just sincerity.
A baby, who has not reached the age of personal accountability is not saved by faith alone- they are saved by grace alone. Because they are incapable of understanding the content of our faith they cannot “believe” in that sense of the word.

On the other hand, an Islamic believer may be very sincere but also sincerely wrong. Their faith rests on a different foundation. So Peter says: “There is salvation in no other. For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” This is what the reformers meant by Noticia.

Secondly, not only must an individual “know” certain things; they must also assent to those things truthfulness.
They must give mental assent to the veracity of what the Bible teaches concerning Christ. This is why Romans 10 tells us “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” This is the Assensus of faith.

Lastly, there is fiducia or personal reliance. This is what is described in Romans 10:13 when the Holy Spirit says: “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” The calling out to a Savior is the personal reliance that seals the deal.
All three of these components of faith are necessary for faith to save. When one or more of these elements is missing, faith is defective and deficient.

Because of grace,
Tim

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Where did I come from?
Why am I here?
Where am I going?

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Genesis 1:1

Human beings are not beavers.
Beavers build dams. They are amazing engineers with an unbelievable work ethic. But they are of a completely different “kind” than we humans.
Beavers build the same dams today they did 4,000 years ago, men don’t.

Beavers don’t sit on the bank of the stream or the edge their hut chewing away on the bark of a willow limb asking themselves “where they came from, why they are here, and where they are going.” On the other hand, every human does. Humans instinctively wrestle with ultimate questions.

Another one of these questions is: “Where did evil come from?”
We look at the world with all its pain, sin, death and brokenness and we instinctively know it wasn’t intended to be this way. And so we wonder: “Why?”

The book of Genesis gives us the “why.” It is like the key that unlocks the mystery of our life. Without it we are like the existential philosopher who opined: “Man is adrift on a vast ocean in a raft, without a compass, without a map and without an oar.”
Without a map to show us where we need to get, a compass to orient our direction so we can find our way and an oar to propel us to get there; we truly are left hopeless. So God in His great love for us gave a sure and steadfast Word to give us this hope.

As we prepare to study the book of Romans, first we want to orient our minds to help prepare us in our quest for ultimate answers to ultimate questions.
Because of grace,
Tim

Listen to the related message below.

This week’s message included a video by Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis which you can view HERE

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“To move man by God through prayer alone.”
Hudson Taylor
Today we begin to think about prayer. Prayer seems to be the common human desire to commune with God.
Even non-Christians pray. Soldiers in fox holes pray, people pray before they go into surgery or before a final exam.
Prayer is not what distinguishes us as a Christian- but how we pray does.

In Romans 8 we are taught that since we have received the Spirit of God at our conversion we “cry out Abba, Father.” Paul tells us that this inclination to pray to God as our Father is the “Spirit of adoption” within us. Jesus also taught us to pray by saying: “Our Father, who art in Heaven.” In addition, Jesus instructed the disciples to pray “in His name.” Thus the Triune nature of our prayers is one of the distinguishing aspects of prayer for the Christian.

We pray To the Father, in the Spirit, and through the Son. Jesus is our advocate who intercedes our case. His atonement is the ground of our salvation and our acceptance with the Father. The Spirit also intercedes for us “with groaning’s too deep for words”

(Romans 8). The Father then governs our lives according to His Sovereign will as we implore Him that “His will be done” in Jesus name. He knows the things we need before we ask. Our names are engraven on His heart. Our burdens He gladly carries if we cast them upon Him.

Our sorrows, sickness and griefs He has borne. Let us go to Him as a trusting child and with great boldness lay our hearts before Him and commune with our God who loves us dearly.
Because of grace,
Tim

Listen to the related message below.

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