The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1859-07-15
WHAT is FAITH .

than faith in the Church, yet there is
scarcely anything less understood. The
sinner is exorted to have faith, he is
entreated and beseached 10 have faith;
he is told if Inc viii only have faith
he will be saved that nothing else
viii save him but faith, that it is faith
alone that saves. Yet The sinner
scarcely has any conception of what
It is, he IS to have, or he is 10 get,
and the preacher seems To have q very
vague idea Of what It is himself. Amid
such confusion and such uncertainty no
wonder that SO little is effected at this
day BY preaching. We .haye thought
that preaching, was for instruction,
yet the preacher seldom attempts to
throw light upon this sugect, accord
ing to bis preaching the. most vital
point Of religion. This saving faith
by which we are justified, what is it ?
We are answered that it is to believe
in the attoning merit Of the blood
Of the Saviour. Yet if we ask only
what is faith, We are answered in the
language of Paul, that it sis the sub
stance Of :',ines hoped for, theeVidence
Of things Aseen." Was Paul talking
of another faith, but that which saves,
Read the whole chapter where Panl
uses the above expression, Heb. xii,
and you will see he was speaking Of a
faith that saves; the very same faith
preserved Noah in the food, that trans
lated Enoch and Elijah, DC, Of the
faith that was With the pairiachs before
the coming of the Saviour, before
there was any knowledge that he was
to suffer on tie cross.
There is but one true faith, and that
is a confidence in the Lord. It admits
Of degrees as to quality and as to gan
tity, !. g., whether less general Or more
general, but in all degrees it is q trust
or confidence in the Lord. Faith when
spoken in the abstract is confidence
or trust in the Lord God in all things,
not in any one particular, but in all
things we do or think. Now how can
we have such trust or confidence in
the Lord ! Is it not by endeayoring
to DO his will. live seek TO know what
is right between man and mar, trusting
in the Lord he will give us light on
the subject. And according to the
earnestness Of our desire to do right so
will our trust be in the Lord, Can a
man put his trust in the Lord when
he willfully violates his precepts daily
Docs not tho wicked man inparibly
put his trust il himself? in his own
understanding ! in his own power?
We have heard very wicked, hard
ened men say, that they never. suffered
their minds 10 think Of the future
stale, that the9 trusted in God, that
he made them such as thay were, and
that they did not trouble their minds
about what WIS to come What sorI
Of trust is this They call it trust
but it is the bind submission to pow
er they see that they cannot resist
They shut their eyes ON the eonse.
quences and call it trust Their trust
is vain hope, which seen in the ligh
Of Heaven is dispair.
The faith Of the Christian is tn
confident trust in the truth Of th
Word Of God, throughout, in all th
preeepts taught in the Old and tn
New Testaments, and in the constan
presence Of the Lord with then7in al
their efforts 10 do lis will, believin,
that thereby they are accepted ofhim
A1o wing however at the same tilat
that but for the constant presence !
the Lord with them. assisting, encoul
aging and Strengthening them tina
they would be able to do the wi
OF the Lord, consequently that th
victory over sin belongs to to th5 Lor
alone.
There is no definition that win Civ
the precise idea, full and complete {
faith. it can only be well understoo