What Is Faith in Jesus Christ?

The eighty-sixth question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, "What is faith in Jesus Christ?" It answers, "Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in the gospel."

What is the object of saving faith? 

Saving faith is faith in Jesus Christ. It is not a mere sense of dependance or optimism. It is not faith in just anything. The object of our faith matters greatly. Those who place their faith in false gods, money, or themselves will be disappointed and put to shame. Those who believe in Jesus Christ shall be saved (Acts 16:31).

What is faith?

Faith in its fullest sense, as in saving faith, is knowledge, assent, and trust. Saving faith is not a mere awareness of Christ and his claims about himself. Nor is it merely assenting to the truth of his claims. The demons admitted that Jesus was the Son of God, and yet they remained his enemies. Saving faith is not only knowledge and assent, but also trust. A believer not only recognizes that Jesus is Lord and Savior, but receives Jesus as his Lord and Savior and rests upon Jesus for salvation (John 1:12, Acts 10:43). 

Where does God offer Jesus to us? 

In the gospel, in the covenant of grace. In the Old Testament, God presented this Savior to his people by promises, sacrifices, and other types and ceremonies. In the New Testament, the Christ who has come is offered in the gospel and the new covenant sacraments with greater clarity and efficacy to all nations. But in both administrations, sinners have been saved by faith in Christ, by whom they have had full remission of sins and eternal salvation. As Philip Melanchthon wrote,

Accordingly, faith is nothing else than trust in the divine mercy promised in Christ, and it makes no difference with what sign it has been promised. This trust in the goodwill or mercy of God first calms our hearts and then inflames us to give thanks to God for his mercy so that we keep the law gladly and willingly. (Loci Communes (Westminster Press, [1521] 1969), 92.)

Saving faith does not take hold of some invention of the imagination, but it takes hold of Jesus as he is offered to us in the gospel, as God presents him to us. How is Jesus offered to us in the gospel? 

He is held forth to us, (1) freely, (2) as the Son of God who became our redeemer, as prophet, priest, and king, (3) for justification, sanctification, and eternal life. Acts 16:31, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” As Petrus van Mastricht wrote,

Yet, the proper object of faith, as it is the faith of a sinner, is Christ the Mediator (Acts 10:43; John 1:11-12; 2:23; Acts 4:12; 1 Tim. 2:5; etc.) ... and not according to this or that function of his office separately - either as Prophet, Priest, or King only - but as it embraces the threefold office in its entirety. ... Therefore, specifically, he must be received by faith not only as the Redeemer through whom we are freed from the punishments of our sins and eternal destruction, but also as the Lord to whom we offer ourselves obedient in all things. (Theoretical-Practical Theology, vol 2 (Reformation Heritage, [1698] 2019), 11)

More broadly, what else does saving faith receive?

While the principal acts of saving faith are receiving and resting upon Christ alone for salvation, it also receives God’s word in general. As the Westminster Confession of Faith says,

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. (WCF 14.2) 

We see this in Hebrews 11. By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place God would show him (Heb. 11:8). By faith, Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. He heeded the warning (Heb. 11:7). By faith the patriarchs, not having received the things promised, yet saw them and greeted them - embraced them - from afar (Heb. 11:13).

And so as Luther says, “what a living, creative, active, powerful thing is faith!” Faith works. Faith produces good works. As Paul says, faith works through love (Gal. 5:6). It is also foundational for our hope and steadfastness. Not only does faith justify us as an instrument by which we receive Christ, but it also sanctifies us. Saving faith sanctifies, not only as a reception of Christ, who is our sanctification, but also as a virtue within us by which we live. We now live by our faith in Jesus Christ, acting upon the God of word by faith. 

In what way is faith unique among Christian virtues? 

It is by faith alone that we receive salvation and are justified. “...yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified” (Gal. 2:16; see also Eph. 2:8). Faith alone is the instrument of justification because only faith receives Christ and unites us to him. The saving act of faith is that of receiving Jesus (John 1:11-12, Phil. 3:8-9), for all of salvation is to be found in him.

How does faith save? 

Faith does not save as a virtue. It does not save as a good work. It is a good work and a virtue, but that is not how it saves. Faith saves as an instrument by which we receive Christ. God pardons us and accepts us as righteous in his sight on the basis of Christ's righteousness. Romans 3:24-25 speaks of this, that we “are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.”

Must faith be a strong faith to be a saving faith? 

No, faith does not save by its virtue or strength, but by its object. Saving faith may be weak or strong, small or great. We pray that God would increase our faith (Mark 9:24), but whether it is weak or strong, this faith is equally precious in its nature, object, and saving efficacy, giving an equal share in Christ and his promises (2 Peter 1:1).

Where does saving faith come from?

Our faith comes from God. We do not boast about our faith because it is a gift that God gives, producing it in our hearts (Eph. 2:8-9). As Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:44).

What does God use to produce faith in us?

The ordinary means by which God works active faith in the heart is the ministry of the word. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17).

What does God use to maintain and increase faith in us? 

The ministry of the word, the administration of the sacraments, and prayer (1 Peter 2:2, Rom. 4:11, Luke 17:5).