The work of the Holy Spirit - pagina 418

—

Seventb Cbapter.

FAITH.

XXXIV. Faith

in General. "

Through faith and that not ;

it is

the gift of God."

of yourselves,

Ephes.

ii.

8.

"When the judicial act of the Triune God, justification, is announced to the conscience, faith begins to be active and expresses This leads us to call the attention of our readers itself in works. to the work of the Holy Spirit, which consists in the imparting of faith.

We it is

are saved through faith

the gift of God.

It is

;

and that

faith is not of ourselves,

very specially a

gift of the

Triune God,

by a peculiar operation of the Holy Ghost " No man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost" (i Cor. xii. 3). St. Paul And in Gal. calls the Holy Spirit the Spirit of faith (2 Cor. iv. 13). V. 22 he mentions faith as the fruit of the Holy Spirit. In salvation nearly everything depends upon faith hence a corIt has always been the aim of rect conception of faith is essential. error to poison faith's being, and thus to destroy weak souls as well It is therefore the urgent duty of ministers as the Church itself. to instruct the churches concerning faith's being and nature; by correct definitions to detect prevailing error, and thus to restore the joy of a clear and well-founded consciousness of faith. For years the people have listened to the poorest and vaguest theories of faith. Every minister has had his own theory and definition, or worse, no definition at all. In a general way they have felt what faith is, and presented it eloquently; but these :

;

brilliant,

metaphorical, often flowery descriptions have frequently

been more obscuring than illuminating; they have failed to instruct. The definition of faith being left to the inspiration of the

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