Saving faith is made up of three key things: Knowledge, Belief, and Trust.
Knowledge comes first. A man must be informed of a fact, before he can believe it. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. We must first hear, so that we know what is to be believed. True knowledge is essential to true faith. You must know the Gospel - search the Scriptures, and learn what the Holy Ghost teaches concerning Christ and His free Salvation. The Good News of free forgiveness, change of heart, adoption into God's family. The one Mediator between God and men is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. *II Corinthians 5:19-21; Galatians 3:13; I Timothy 2:5-6* You must first be taught divine truth and know that Christ Jesus Himself is the only way to life eternal. If you reject Christ and remain in your sins and unbelief, you face the ever-present risk of dying, being condemned, and losing your soul.
Second, with the help of the Holy Ghost, the mind and heart go on to Believe that the Gospel is true. You must believe that God is, and that the Gospel is from God. Free Justification by Faith is the grand truth. Jesus is our God and Savior. *I John 1:7; Colossians 1:14; Acts 16:31; Romans 5:9* His Atoning Sacrifice is complete and fully accepted by God, and now whosoever believeth on Jesus is not condemned, but saved from the wrath to come and the love of sin.
Finally, Trust is needed. *Ephesians 1:12-13* Commit yourself to the merciful Savior. Rest all your hope and confidence on the gracious Gospel. Trust your soul on the bleeding, dying, living Savior. Come to the Cross, and let Him wash away all your sins in His atoning blood. *Matthew 11:28* Receive His perfect Righteousness, and all is well with your soul. Trusting is the life-blood of Faith. There is no saving faith without trusting in Jesus' Blood. Lean with all your weight on Jesus. Rest your whole person upon the Rock. Fall flat upon Christ, rest on Him.
Knowledge tastes the Gospel (with the mind), Belief chews on the Gospel (with the will) and then decides to either reject or receive the Truth, and then Trust must swallow down the Gospel (with the heart). *Romans 10:10*
Faith always begins with knowledge. Then Faith believes Bible scriptural facts concerning God and Christ of which Faith is sure. Faith believes and trusts; Faith stakes its eternal destiny upon the truths and promises of Scripture. True faith is believing that Christ is what He is said to be in the Bible (God manifest in the flesh atoning for human sin), and that He will do what He has promised to do (save sinners by grace through faith), and then expecting and receiving Eternal Life from Him by faith in His Blood. The Scriptures say that Jesus of Nazareth was God in human flesh. *John 1:14; John 8:58; John 14:9; I Timothy 3:16* Jesus was sinless, and was made a sin offering on our behalf, when He bore our sins in His own body on the tree.
Faith believes that Christ Jesus will do what He has promised. We look only to Him for free pardon, justification, preservation, and eternal glory. We take freely from His hands, according as He has promised. Believe that Jesus is exactly what He is said to be in the Bible, and that He will do what He says He will do. Trust Him, and no one else. I leave my defenseless soul in His hands for safekeeping. I rest only upon His promises, that He will do even as He has said. This is Saving Faith which is a free gift from God, not of works, lest any man should boast. *Ephesians 2:8-9*
All have sinned. Your inmost soul is polluted through and through with sins. The fountain head of your being within is spewing the filth of sin continually. Human nature hates rules and restraints, and kicks against it. Human nature enjoys filthy music, vile movies, and polluted imaginations, cheating, loafing, and swindling others in business. Men by nature are careless, thoughtless, and Christ-less. The carnal mind defies God and denies Christ; the natural mind is thoughtless and regardless of God. Human nature always tries to duck this question: Will you come to Jesus Christ now and receive Him as your Substitute and Sin-Bearer? *John 1:12; I Peter 2:24*
The lost man disregards the Gospel, despises the words of God, tramples the Blood of Christ, defies his Maker, slights God's mercy and grace, mocks the Cross, neglects the Bible, foregoes the Gospel's merciful invitation, and despises the Spirit's warnings and wooing. Think about all your wrongs of days gone by; you hope some people never find out about your dirty secrets. Turn over the vile memories of your past, remember the sins you've committed openly and secretly; the sins of your youth, the crimes of your manhood, the viler sins of your later years. Like black waves they dash upon the dark shore of your mind continually. They roll in wave upon wave, upon your trouble conscience, washing up all the vile guilt, and one day if you keep rejecting Christ, a tsunami of divine wrath will come in upon you.
I have found Jesus to be trustworthy. How about you? How is it that you have no one to help you die? It is simple faith in Jesus' Precious Blood which conducts the Christian into heaven. A man is very unwise to make an exchange like this - his soul for the world. The best way you know how, immediately quit trusting your own righteousness, your religion, your church, sacraments, and all your foolishness, and put all your trust in God's Son to get you by the Judgment to come. Do it now!
How is it that you have no Faith? All other good things will follow true faith in Jesus - the first and only matter is childlike trust in Jesus Christ. The common habit of the Christian is trusting to Jesus alone. The Christian's life is faith in the Precious Blood of the Crucified Creator. The atheist thinks and reasons himself right off into Hell. I'll go to Jesus for everything my soul needs. If you stay away from Jesus, you must forever die.
You just can't miss with Jesus only as your Savior. Come to the Cross, don't just go to Hell where you are sitting in darkness. Faith from God is what you need. Abandon your self-righteousness and put your heart trust in God's Son. If I want to really get Faith, I must hear the words of God, but I must mind what I hear, and how I hear. And what is Faith? Faith is trust, confidence, reliance upon Christ. Put your whole confidence in His Precious Blood.
Faith is the only passport to Heaven. Give up yourself to Jesus Christ, to be His servant, and to do all that He bids you. Rely completely upon His blood and mercy. Continue to lean, rest upon Him. Trusting alone in Him - that is saving faith. Real faith in the atoning Sacrifice, it purifies the man, and makes him hate his sins which caused the Savior's death. Believe in the crucified Savior, trust yourself with Him, for there is no salvation in any other. Salvation is in His Finished Work, not your feelings or merits.
Instead of accepting the simple plan of salvation by grace through faith in the Atoning Blood, human nature sets up the very opposite principle of salvation by human merit. Human merit is antichrist. The very essence of human nature is an inward spirit of setting up human goodness instead of Christ's Righteousness. There are two merits - your own merit, and the merit of Christ. If you trust to any of your own righteousness, you do in fact state that you are opposed to Christ's way of saving by His merits alone. Human nature says, "No I will do this myself, my moral character will serve as my righteousness." None can condemn whom Jesus absolves. You need personal spiritual contact with Christ Jesus by faith, that is coming by the mind, approaching Him with the heart through His Blood. To come to Christ is just this - to accept Him as your Sin-Bearer and Substitute. Never trust your imaginary merit. Cast away your good works, as well as your bad, and simply look to Jesus.
Your sins deserve punishment, God must and will punish your sins. But the way of Mercy is simply this - Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and was punished in your place. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ with all your heart. Renounce all your merit, for you have none. Forsake your self-righteousness forever, and lay hold on Christ now. Take off the polluted coat of your own righteousness, and put on Christ's spotless robe of divine Righteousness. Forsake yourself and all your self-made hopes. The vital matter is simple and direct faith in Jesus. The only saving faith is in Christ alone. Simple prayer for pardon and childlike trust in the Savior. Simply trust yourself to Jesus, and He will see to it that you are never condemned.
