Luke 5: 126: 16

The Only Way to Complete

Health: Reconciliation With
God ThroughJesus Christ
Jesus bestows complete health
on the total person of the paralytic
by beginning with the removal of
the cause of his physical malady,
reminding us
that the wages
of sin is death,
and thatJesus
came to save us
from the wages
of sin. There
fore, the only
way to com
plete health for
the whole
person is to
have God
reconciled to
his life in sin and guilt. It is from
this that man must be redeemed,
and it is from this that Jesus does
in fact redeem him!"- H. van der
Loos in Lane on MARK
The Effect of the Miracle on
the Former Paralytic
After being completely healed
and forgiven, the man went home,
"glorifying God." The whole
miracle affected the man's heart
and accomplished the purpose
Jesus had in the whole incident of
moving and enabling this man to
truly glorify, honor and praise
God. In fact, the whole crowd
went away that day "glorifying
17:22,24,26,30; 18:8,31; 19:10;
21:27,36; 22:22,48,69; 24:7. The
picture ofjesus this title portrays
is "the picture of a Redeemer and
Adjuster who comes inhumilia-
tion to save, and returns in glory
to gather up the results of His
work and finally to adjust the
issues of the historical develop-
ment of the world."- B,B.
Warfield, THE LORD OF GLORY,
pg. 12lf.
The Significance of the Title,
"The Son of Man"
Jesus used this title because He
saw Himself as "a supertnundane
Being
entering the
sphere of
earthly life
upon a high
and benefi-
cent mission,
upon the
accomplish-
ment of
which He
returns to the
heavenly
sphere,
whence He
US through the
atoning death
of] esus Christ.
___ '---'----' ___ shall once
more come
"It is proper to attend to this order
in our prayers. When the feeling
of afflictions reminds us 0\ our
sins, let us first of all be careful to
obtain pardon, that, when God is
reconciled to us, He may with-
draw His hand frotn punishing."-
Calvin
The Revelation of
Man's True Need
"In His announcement and
granting of remission of sins, Jesus
indicates what man's essential
distress is. This does not consist
in his transient lot in life, with its
many vicissitudes, but in his
alienation from the living God, in
God." Their amazement had
started the continuous praise of
God.
The Authority of the Son of Man
on Earth to Forgive Sins
Here for the first time in Luke's
Gospel, we meet the title which
Jesus gave Himself and which He
used constantly: "the Son of
Man." This messianic title ofjesus
occurs in the Gospel of Luke some
twenty-five times, and it is always
used by Jesus with reference to
Himself. It appears to be one of
His favority self-deSignations, Lk.
5:24; 6:5,22; 7:34; 9:22,26,44,58;
11:30; 12:8,10,40;
.. t THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon t March, 1996
back to earth, now, however, not
in humiliation, but in His appro-
priate majesty, to gather up the
fruits of His work and consum-
mate all things. The characteristic
note of 'the Son of Man' on earth
is therefore a lowliness which is
not so much a humility as a
humiliation, a
abnegation for a purpose. He
came under the conditions of
human life, Mat. 11: 19 on a
mission of mercy, Lk. 19:10
which involved His
Mk. 10:45 .... - ... On earth He
exercises an authOrity which does
not belong to His condition:
though destined to be set at
naught by men, to be evil-treated
and slain, yet He has power to
regulate the religious .observances
ofthe people of God, Mk. 2:28,
and even to forgive sins, Mk. 2:10.
And when His lowly mission is
accomplished He ascends to the
throne of the universe, Mk. 14:62;
Mt. 19:28; and in o;ille time will
return in His glory and render to
evelY man according to his works,
seated as King on the universal
judgment seat, Mk. 8:38; Mat.
25:31."- Warfield, THE LORD OF.
GLORY,pg: 135f. .
'. The Old T !!stament Roots .
of the Title
The Prophecy of Christ's
Asctnsion (Daniel
:l;hetitle, "the Son of Man,",is
rooted in the revelatory dream of
Daniel in Dan. 7: 13-14-"1 kept
looking in the night visions, And
behold, with the clouds oj heaven
One like a Soil oj Man was coming,
And He came up to the Ancient oj
Days And was presented beJore Him.
And to Him was given dominion, .
gloryanil a kingdom, that all the
peoples, nations, and men oJevery
language lnight serve Him, His
dominionis an everlasting dominion
Which will not pass away; And His
hingdom is one Which willlwt be
destroyed. "
. The Connection of
the Title'and the Dream
"The connection of the title
with the dream of Daniel 7:13-14
is obvious: the jX)int of connec' '
tion lying iIi the cbnceplion of the
Kingdom of God, which Jesus '
came to introduce; and which He
finds particularly promised in
Daniel 7:13-14, apparently
because it is there depicted,
specifically in contrast with the
earthly kingdoms which it
supercedes, as a Kingdom of
heaven. But there is much more
expressed. by the title thaI) is
discernible iI) the dream of Daniel,
and that not least with reference
to the person of the founder, who
is .conceived, in Jesus' idea, as
represented by the Synoptic
record, not merely as a .
supermundane, perhaps angelic,
figure, but distinctly as
superangelic, (Mt. 13:41; Lk.
9;26; Mt. 16:27; 24;31), tran-
scending all creat1uely relations
and finding Hisapproptiate place
only by the side of God Himself,
whose functions He performs,
(Mk. 2;5; Mat. 25:31), and whose
throne He'occupies as King, (Mat.
Warfield, THE LORD
OF GLORY, pg. 136f.
The Title and the Kingdom
''''KiTIgdom of God" 'and 'the '
Son 'of Man' are co'rrelates, (paral
leis and counterparts), in Jesus'
preaching. The'coming of the
Son of Man' (Mat. 10:23) is
synonymous with the 'coming of
the kingdom of God,' as appears
from a comparison of Matthew
16:18 and Mark 9:1. All ,
these indications only describe the'
coalescence of the coming of the
kingdom and that of the Son of
Miln. It is He who has to accom-
plish the coming of the kingdom
and to carry out the divine . '. '
judgment, and in whose hands,
therdore, all authority has been
placed.
"The correlation between the
concepts 'kingdom of heaven' and '
'Son of Man'is especially impor-
tant for the definition of the '
general character of the kingdoID.
of heaven. It proves that to a ' .
great extent Jesus' preaching is
oriented to the prophecy in Daniel
7: 13f."- Ridderbos. Inthis
prophecy "Son of Man" is a title
not a deSCription, (it lacks the
arncle). He ascends in clouds of
glory to throne of God, "the
Ancient of Days," Who gives Him
universal and eternal dominion
and an imperishable kingdom.
"In this prophecy, as indeed in all
Daniel's visions, the universality
and transcendent character of the
coriling kingdom are very promi-
nent: The 'Son of Man' is, conse-
quently, not simply an ordinary
man invested with temporal and
earthly dominion. But in the great
eschat610gical drama He is the
man who has been given unlim-
ited divine authority,and to'
whom God's universal dominion
has been entrusted. - It is
clear that this supernatural and
universal significance of the 'Son
of Man' to a great extent deter-
mines the character of the king-
dom of heaven preached by ,
Jesus."- Ridderbos, THE COM-
, ING OF THE KINGDOM, pg. 3lf.
The Conclusions
Regarding the Title
The title, "the Son of Man,"
indicates: (1). Jesus' humanity
and Deity. He is the Son of MAN
to be sure, Mat. 11:19; Lk. 9:44,
but He also sits as God on God's'
throne, sharing Goel's dignity,
glory, and sovereignty, Dan,. 7; 13f;
Mk. 14:62; Mat. 25:31.
sQvereignty and suffering. He is
the sovereign king and judge of
the universe, Lk. 22:69; Mat.
25:31; and yet, Iiis kingdom's
coming is based on the.redemp-
tive accomplishments of His
suffering and death.Mk. 10:45.
(3). Jesus' humiliation
tion. Jesus' earthly: life was One of
humiliation and voluntary self-
abnegation "s our substitute for
the purpose of redeeming us from
sin and its humiliation, Mk.
10:45; Mat. 8:20. Afteraccom-
plishing our redemption, God
exalted Jesus to His right hand,
Mk. 14:62; Mat. 26:64; Mat.
March, THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 5
19:28, and in time He will return
in glory at the end of history as
the universal judge, Mk 8:38;
Mat. 25:31.
The Title and the
Forgiveness oJSins
;' ""
The O.T. does. not unite the
tide of "the Son pf Man" with "the
forgivt;ness of sins. " This connec-
tion appears to have originated
with]esus tj:imself-"the Son of
Man,has authority on earth. to
The incarnate
Sovereign suffered. humiliation
that He might exert His omnipo-
. ' .
tence and establish His sovep
eignty in the by
bringing G:oq jr1to, the lives ofal)"
those who?e sins, He
The impact of this healing and
forgiving of the paralytic by Jesus
left the eyewitnesses,inshock and
astonishtnent--"And they were
all seized with astonishment and
began glorifying God; and they
were filled with fear, saying. 'We
have seen O!markable things
today.'" The effect of the miracle
and its eXplanation neutralized
His enemies, leaving them "seized
with astonishment," "glorifying
God; and "filled with fear:
therefore preventing them from
opposing Him, and causing them
to sUbmit to Him with reverence
and awe. Thus we see the sover-
eignty of]esus revealed in the
control of the hearts and minds of
act of Jesus in forgiving the sins of
the paralytic but even more by the
realization that Jesus appeared as
God by thus remitting sins.
SOMETHING OF THE DEITY IN
HIM CAME OVER THEM."- '.
Lenski
The Effect this Miracle
should have had on
. the Crowd and the Pharisees
'Jesus gave them something to
see and to hear, something that
made the thought of blasphemy
vanish completely, something that
should have turned their hearts
from hatred to faith in Jesus and
to praise of God. ".:.. Lenski
The N atlIre of'
Forgiveness oj Sins
forgives thmugh faith in
HUn. 1hdorgiveness. of
sins of ali 'those who
"The forgfvenes6 of s;ns of all
. " , ' .
The Nature oj Sin
"Jesus never took siD.
,.
believe in Jesus Christ is
total, .
absolutely certain.
who betle.ve In Jesus lightly. He never told
people, 'Do you have a
sense of guilt? Forget
Salvation, indudingthe
forgiveness of siUs ... is
invested in the' pdson of .
Chrii5t i6 total. ;rrever6ible
and ab6olutelycertain." about it.' On the con-
trary, He regarded sin a?
inexcusable departure
Jesus Christ, as "the Son of Man."
Jesus is able to declare the forgive-
ness of a persoh's sirts in such a .
matchless way, because He is the '
King of liis kingdom. He not '
dnly proclaims forgiveness "of sm,'
He' is the Bearer, Acquirer; Bringer
and Sharer of forgiveness of sins
with all those who believe in Him. '
Therefore, the preaching of
forgiveness of sins in Christ is the
center and the basisofthe gospel
of thel<ingClom, Lk, 15:1lf; Lk.
1:8:9f;Lk. 7 ,36f; In. 8: 1; Lk.
t9:lf. "Rertlission of sins is
remission IN CHRIST. This is the
heart of the Original unadulterated ,
gospel."- Ridderbos, pg. 232.
The Response oj the
Eyewitnesses to This Miracle
The Sovereignty oj
Jesus Revealed in
the EJJect on the Crowds
,
His enemies, as well' as in His
ability to heal and to forgive sins.

The Recl:sonfor the
Astonishment 'and Fear
When the amazed crowds said,
"We have seen remarkable things
today: they are saying that
"human achievement could not
explain what had happened."-
Morris. They continued to
"glorify God." "Men 'glOrify' God,
not by increasing His glory--an
impossible idea-but by recog-
nizing some one or more of His
glOriOUS attributes and acknowl-
edging them as belonging to
God. "- Lenski. Fear and amaze-
ment seized them suddenly and
they began praising God. "This
fear was the reaction in their
hearts that was due to the con-
sciot1sness of sin and Was in this
instance aroused not only by the
6 THE COUNSEL of March, 1996
from God's holy law, Lk. '10:25-
28, as having a soul-thoking
effect, 8:7, 14;]n. 8:34, and as
being a matter of the heart and
not only of the outward deed, Lk
6:45; 8:15."- Hendriksen
The NeedJor
Forgiveness oj
The Separation,oJ
the Sinner and God
Jesus knew that "it was entirely
impossible fora person to rid his
soul ohhe sepse of guilt by trying
to offset his sins by good deeds." -
Hendriksen. Sin, as transgresSion
of the Law of God, alienates a
person from God and piaces him
under God's curse and condemna-
tion. His sin separates him from
God; and the only Person that can
heal the breach between God and
the sinner is God, if He chooses to
forgive the sinner's sin,
The Forgiver
"There can be no forgiveness
without a forgiver.... Forgiveness
is not inevitable and mandatory.
God, as the offended One, has
absolute right to establish the
terms of forgiveness and to hold
the sinner to it. The guilty pany
cannot, either in relation to God
or to man, establish and ordain
the terms of his forgiveness. -
"Some very imponant things
thus are involved before we can
think about the forgiveness of oUr
sins. FIRST of all, a person has
been offended, God Himself.
Every sin, whether directly against
God or primarily against another
man, against an animal, or the
earth, is essentially against God
and His Psa. 51:4. -
SECOND, not only is the person
of God offended by sin but also
His law and His order. God's
peace is broken by sin, and His
Kingdom claimed by a rebellion.
The penalty for this offense is
death. God's law must stand. -
THIRD, restitution and restoration
are then necessary. This restitu-
tion can take the form of death;
man having broken God's law is
himself broken by death and
damnation. This is the negative
aspect of restitution. Positively,
the broken order must be re-
stored. This man is unable to do,
and this God does, by His sover-
eign power and grace, through
Jesus Christ, who, as very God of
very God and very 11)an of very
man, perfectly keeps God's law,
recreates a new humanity by
means of His atoning and regener-
ating work, pays the penalty for
the redeemed ones by His death
as their substitute, and gives them
a new life as their bread of life. -
Jesus Christ thus as true God is
the Forgiver; as true man and the
second Adam, His is also the
forgiven, and we are forgiven in
Him. There is no forgiveness in
separation from Him."-
Rushdoony, pg. 285.
The Absence of Forgiveness
"Without the forgiveness of
sins, hell would be the basic and
ultimate state of all men. The
torment of the burden of sin and '
guilt would not only gnaw at the
entrails of all men but also make
them past-bound and past-
oriented. - When men are
guilt-ridden, and a culture is
dominated by guilty and unregen-
erate men, history bogs down into
an impotent longing for past glory
and a futile, back-biting rehearsal
of past and present sins."-
Rushcioony, SALVATION AND
GODLY RULE, pg. 253
The Nature of
Forgiveness of Sin
The Forgiving of .
the Paralytic by Jesus
Jesus did NOT Simply PRO-
CLAIM forgiveness of sins to the
paralytic, He PROVIDEP forgive-
ness for him, based on His own
(impending) atonement, 22:20.
He NOT only CONVEYED to the
man the news of God's forgive-
ness, in His own authority, He
CANCELLED the paralytic's debt
with God. He blotted out his sins
completely and forever , Psa.
103:12; Isa. 1:18; 55:6,7; Jer.
31:34. "Moreover, suchforgive-
ness never stands alone. - In
Christ, God dispels the invalid's
gloom AND embraces him with .
the arms of His protecting and
adopting love, Rom. 5:1."-
Hendriksen
The Meaning of Forgiveness
Forgiveness is APHESIS in
Greek. It denotes God's cancel-
ling, releasing, and sending
of our far as the east is
from the west, Psa. 103:12; into
the depths ofthe sea, Mic. 7:19;
blotting them out and never
remembering them against us
again, Isa. 43:25.
FIRST, "forgiveness is a
cancellation of charges or debts
because satisfaction has been
rendered. -. - ... God in Christ has
forgiven us our sins because
satisfaction has been rendered by
Jesus Christ and His atonement."-
Rushdoony,pg. 295.
SECOND, "the essence of
religious forgiveness is RESTITU-
TION AND RESTORATION.
Because Jesus Christ makes
restitution for man, and because .
He both pays the penalty of death
for our treason and perfectly
obeys the law, He restores us to
communion with: God and to the
status of covenant-keepers. By His
regenerating grace, He restores us
to the position of God's covenant
man, His vicegerent who is called
to exercise dom,inion and subdue
the eanh."- Rushdoony, Pg. 295.
THIRD, "forgiveness is the .
removal of.the baTtiers between
God and man. Sin is covered,
expiated; -it is sent away, removed,
wiped' away; God has cast it
behind his hack, Isa. 38: 17, or
into the depths of the sea, Mic.
7:19. Forgiveness renews fellow-
shtp with God, who is the source
of all holiness and life. His mercy
and favor replace his wrath and
judgment, so that the entire
environment of human life .has
new possibilities. The created
world is sanctified to man again;
and new relationships become '
pos;;ible in community and
family . . Terror of conscience and
dread of judgment give way to
peace. Man's soul is healed, the
powers of his personality restored
and strengthened."- W.A.
Quanbeck in Rushdoony, pg. 296.
FOURTH, "forgiveness i!; not
Marth, 1996 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 7
something men gain by punctlli" subsequent works, out of pure involved in and is indeed identical
ous pefformanceof the proper ' grace, because of the sole merit, with fai,th in God, In. 5:25,;38;
rituals; it is the free' artds(')vereign complete obedience, bitter suffer- 6:40,45; 8:47; 12:44, and is the
gift of the lOving God:' ing, death and resurrection of our one thing whiC;h God requires of
(Quanbeck) The first aspect Lord Christ .alone, whose obedi- them, 6:29; and the failure of
stresse4 here is rightly sovereign ence isreckoned.to us for righ- which will bring them etef!1al
grace. God is not obligated to teousness."- CONCORDIA ruin, In. 3:18; 5:64; 8:24."-
... : - Rushdoony, pg. 296. TRIGLOTIA, 919,9 as quoiedin Warfield,. pg. 413f.
Lenski. ..
FIFTH, "forgiveness means :'the , The Meaning of
renewal of holiness' arid 'the I;IGHTH, forgiven people the Greek Words for
restoration of divine favor and the forgive, Mat. 6:12, 14, 15; Mk. Believe and Faith,
overcoming of God's wrath' 11:25. an<;l Their Prepositions .
Forgiveness heals the soul and The' Necessity and The Greek word for "believe" is
restores strength and power Nature of Faith .. PISTEUO and for"faith" is PISTIS.
becauseit takes awaYlhe bar,riers' ,It der;lOtes reliance, trust, and
f d 1 d bl h
Th,e POint'oifthe Text' '
o sin an gui t an ,re-esta is es belief. It can have the sense of "to
man in God's grace' ," entrust or commit
an4 blessing."- ___ - ___ ... , -.------__ -"! oneself,"Lk.16:11;
Rushdoony, pg. "POOr sinful man 16justified before. that ie;. In. 2:24. lis
296. absolved and declated free and exemptfl'on'J all h/5 meaning is affected
. SIXTH, "forgive-
ness prest.1pposes .
the centrality of the
Fdrgiver; sO that a
Biblical doctrine of
forgiveneSs is God- .
centered, whereas a
humanistic doctrine
of forgiveness is
man-'-certtered.
, sins, and from the 5entence of weTl-de5erved ' by.the preposition
. ' . . condemnation, into 50nship and which accompanies
. heire;hlp df 8ternallife,wit!10lft finy merit or worth it:
, Fa.ith as a dative of our own, also without anY preceding, present, or
any'subaequentworks, oUt of pure grace, because , of means, trans-
of the sofe merit, complete. obedience, bitte,,' latedrby faith," .
fering, :aeath arid re5l.irrec;tion of Our I,.or&l Christ :. denotes the instni-
alone, wh06e' obedience ie; reckoned to U6 for mentality and
-Leh6ki mediatory function
L... _____ ....;;; .. _ .. ,;,. . ___ . ....;;;._. __ --------..J of faith, Act, 15:9:
Very plainly, the . .
question of forgiveness resolves ,
itself into a very simple question: ..
Does God forgive man, or does ,
man forgive Rushdoony,
pg.297. .,
SEVENTH, HOW DOES GOD
FORGIVE SIN? If you do not
understand the anSwer to this
questiOli.; you have ritiSi;ed the
point of Christianity and the.
Bibie. liere is the answer: "]i60r
sinful man is justified before God;
that is, absolved and declared free
and exempt from all his sins, and'
from the sentence of well-de- '
served condemnation, and
adopted into sohsfup and heirship .
of eternal life, without any merit
or worth of oui own, also 'Without
any preceding, present, or any
It. is impossible for a person's
sins to, be forgiven with9utfaith in
] esusChris,t. '
The Meaning of Faith in
theNew-Testament
, ; I _, __ .'
The Place of Faith in ,
. Teaching Ont;SUS
"1\11 that]e.?usdid and)aught ;,
was directec\, to drawing faith to .
Himself,. - .- EYery>Where He .
offers Himself as. the abject of
faith, and claims faith in Himself
for the highest concerns of the
soul. - It is so ... that He deals
coristimtly with' the Jews, every-
where reqUiring faith in Himself
for eternallife ... declaring that
faith in Himis the certain out-
come of faith in' their owrt Scrip-
tures, (the O:T.),]n. 5:46,47.:;is
8 f THE COUNSEL March; 1996
26:18; Rom.3:28;
4:20;5;2; 11:20; IT Cor. 1:24 ..
DlA Faith, (in the genitive),
translated, "though faith," also
signifies the mediation and , '.
instrumentality of faith, Rom.
3:22,25,30; II Cor, 5:7;Ca1.2:16:
3:14,26. The point is that saVing
power does nOt reside in the' act of
faith'but in the object of faith:
"TheSAVlNGPOWER of faith
resides thus hot ihitself, but in
the Almighty Savior on whoin'it
rests. - It is not faith that saves,
but faith in Jesus Christ. ... - It' .
is not, strictly speaking, even faith
in Christ that saves, but Christ '
that saves ihtough B.B.
Warfield, BIBLlCALAND THEO-
LOGICAL STUDIES, pg. 424f. '
Faith is never used with DIA with
the accusative, for then it would
be translated "on the basis of
faith," which is untrue, since our
salvation is based on Christ not
our faith. EK Faith, translated
"out of faith," denotes the funda-
mental idea of source or origin,
Rom. 1:17; 3:26,30; 4:16; 5:1;
9:30,32; 10:6; 14:23; Gal. 2: 16.
EPI Faith, translated "on faith," is
to be taken in a quasi-temporal
sense, giving the occasion of the
divine act. KATA Faith, translated
"in confonnity with faith," denot-
ing confonnability. EN Faith,
translated "in faith,"
Faith "consists neither in
assent nor in obedience, but in a
reliant trust in the invisible
Author of all good, Heb. 1l:27, in
which the mind is set upon the
things that are above and not on
the things that are upon the earth,
Col. 3:2; II Cor. 4: 16--18; Mat.
6:25. - It is a movement of the
whole inner man, Rom. 10:9,10 ...
- ... it is thus the going out of
the heart from itself and its resting
on God in confident trust for all
good. But the scriptural revela-
tion has to do with, and is di-
which faith rests that faith derives
its value and power and that
object is God in Christ. "This one
object of saving faith nevet varies
from the beginning to the end of
the scriptural revelation .... "-
Warfield, pg. 423. "Faith has ever
tenninated with' trustful reliance,
NOT ON THE PROMISE BUT ON
THE PROMISER,-not on the
propositions which declare God's
grace and willingness to save, or
Christ's divine nature and power,
or the reality and perfection of His
saving work, but on the Savior
upon whom, because
denotes the sphere of
faith, Gal. 2:20; Col.
2:7; II Thess. 2:13.
The verb, "to
believe," PISTEUEIN,
when used with the
dative expresses
believing assent, Lk.
1:20;Jn. 2:22; Lk.
20:5. "To believe in,
EN," denotes firm,
trustful reliance, Mk.
"The Saving Power of faith resides
thus not in itself, but in the Al-
mighty Savior on whom it rests. --
It is not faith that saves, but faith
in Jesus Christ .... -- It is not,
strictly speaking, even faith in
Christ that saves, but Christ that
saves through faith." -
of these great facts, it
could securely rest as
on One able to save
to the uttermost.
Jesus ChriSt, God the
Redeemer, is accord-
ingly the one object
of saving faith," Gal.
2:16. We could not
more radically
misunderstand the
biblical teaching on
faith and salvation
"than by transferring
1:15; Jn. 3:15; Eph.
1:13. "The implica-
tion of this construction would
seem to be finn fixedness of
confidence in its object."-
Warfield, pg. 437. "To belief on,
EPI," expresses a steady, resting
repose and reliance upon the
object of faith., Rom. 9:33; 10:11;
I Pet. 2:6; Liz. 24:25. "To believe
into, EIS," denotes movement
toward the object of faith, Mat.
18:6;Jn. 2:11; 3:16,18,36. This
construction expresses "an abso-
lute transference of trust from
ourselves to another, a complete
self-surrender to Christ. "-
Warfield, pg. 437f.
The Nature of Faith
According to the
New Testament
The Nature of Faith as Trust &
Self-Commitment to God
B.B. Warfield
rected to the needs of, not man in
the abstract, but sinful man; and
for sinful man this hearty reliance
on God necessarily becomes
humble trust in Him for the
fundamental need of the silmer-
-forgiveness of sins and reception
into favor. In response to the
revelations of His grace and the
provisions of His mercy, it com-
mits itself without reserve and
with abnegation of all self-
dependence, to Him as its sole
and sufficient Savior, and thus, in
one act, empties itself of all claim
on God and casts itself upon His
grace alone for salvation. "-
Warfield, pg. 422f.
The Object of Faith
It is entirely from the object on
to faith even the smallest fraction
of that saving energy which is
attributed in the SCriptures solely
to Christ Hirnself."- Warfield, pg.
425.
Conclusion
We must reaffirm with
confidence "that the idea of 'faith'
is conceived of in the New Testa-
ment as the characteristic idea of
Christianity, and that it does not
import mere 'helieP in an intellec-
tual sense, but all t ~ t .enters into
an entire self-commitment of the
soul to Jesus as the Son of God,
the Savior of the world. "-
Warfield, pg. 444.
(TO BE CONTINUED)
March, 1996 t THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon t 9