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Date: Thu, 10 Aug 1995 11:03:11 +0200
Reply-To: Christian explanation of the Scriptures to Israel
Sender: Christian explanation of the Scriptures to Israel
From: Teus Benschop
Subject: Catechism, 29
To: Multiple recipients of list CHR-EXP
Q. Who works that faith in thee?
A. The Holy Ghost.
Faith is required in a man, to be saved. Scripture clearly says that.
But now the question may arise: Who gives that faith to him? Does a man
believe in own power? The answer is: No, he is not able to believe in
own strength. But He that works the faith in him, is the Holy Ghost.
Like is written: "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy
Ghost." (1 Corinthians 12:3) The text says, that *no* man can say that
Jesus is the Lord, except by the Holy Ghost. There is no room for belief
in own strength. The true belief that we may have, that is worked by
God's Spirit. Any other belief is false. Let then nobody think by
himself: "I will believe when I have time", or, "Just before my death, I
will speedily believe, so that I am saved". All these thoughts are vain
and dangerous. No man can say that Jesus is the LORD, and believe in
Him, but by the Holy Ghost, Who works that faith in him.
Q. By what means?
A. By the hearing of the word preached. Rom. 10:14-17.
How does the Holy Ghost work the faith in you? Does He use any means? Or
does He give you the faith without any means? The answer is, that God
works the faith by the hearing of the word preached. The minister is
preaching the word, and God uses that word to work the faith in the
elected. That is what Scripture says: "So then faith [cometh] by
hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17) And a few
verses back also: "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not
believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?
and how shall they hear without a preacher?" (Romans 10:14) God, when He
wishes to convert people, begins with sending the word to him or her.
The sinner goes hearing the word, when it is preached, and the Spirit
uses that word, to work the faith in him or her.
We see how important it is, never to forsake the services. For,
there the word is preached. And there, it pleases God to convert sinners
and to give them the faith. Who then wishes to receive the faith of God,
will diligently attend those services.
Paul said: "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the
power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew
first, and also to the Greek." (Romans 1:16) He knew that the preaching
of Christ's gospel is the power of God unto salvation of every believer,
both Jews and Greeks.
Q. How does he strengthen that faith?
A. By the same word preached, and by the use of the holy sacraments.
We have seen that the Holy Spirit works the faith in man. When God does
so, He plants the faith in his heart. In the beginning, like a common
plant, it is very weak. Is must grow up, and become stronger in course
of time. The faith is like a new born babe. It is very weak in the
beginning, but by nourishing it, the faith becomes stronger. Now, the
question is: How does God strengthen that faith? And the answer: He does
that by the word preached, and also by the use of the holy sacraments.
Two means God uses, we see, namely the word and the sacraments. The
Spirit uses the preaching of the word to work the faith in man, and He
also uses the same word to strengthen it. With the sacraments it is
somewhat different. God does not use them to work the faith, but only to
strengthen it. Both, word and sacrament, are food for the believing
soul. Peter, the apostle, when he speaks to the new believers, he says
that they have to desire the word, to grow up by that. "As new-born
babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:"
(1 Peter 2:2) By the word, we *hear* God's voice, and by the sacraments,
we *see* it before our eyes. That is the way, wherein God uses the
sacraments. We get a visible picture of the most important parts of our
belief.
The Holy Ghost uses both word and sacraments to strengthen our
faith. So, it can happen that one enters the church, feeling himself
very miserable because of his sins and unbelief. Then it can happen,
when it pleases God, and His time is there, that He uses the word to
strengthen his faith. The miserable sinner then hears the word preached,
and sees so much of God and Jesus therein, that he feels himself
comforted, and that his faith is made stronger. The same can happen in
the administration of the sacraments. When the believer sees the visible
representation of Scripture before his eyes, he sometimes is greatly
comforted. When in doubt, whether God is true, and whether God really
has worked the faith in him, when he sees the Word before his eyes, he
again believes that God is true and faithful. His doubt vanishes like a
morning-cloud before the sun. Like the sun drives off the fog, so also
God, the Sun of Righteousness, drives away all unbelief. When thus
consoled, the weak believer again stands in the sunshine of God. The
brightness of God's truth chases off satan, hell, doubt, and whatever.
The believer again knows: God is my Salvation. Who trusts in Him will
never be ashamed. That is the way, wherein the Holy Spirit strengthens
the faith.
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Teus Benschop | t.benschop@pobox.ruu.nl | editor of the list Chr-Exp
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