Chapter 6.7

Empowering Faith

A Human Work, Not a Divine Gift

Overall Objective

To discuss the empowering faith that a Christian lives by and is rewarded for, and distinguish it from the saving faith that we are saved by and is purely a gift and work from God.

Table of Topics

1. The Objects & Purpose of Empowering Faith: Promises, commands, & doctrines for this life

A.1) Faith for How We Live

A.2) Faith for Trusting Promises

A.3) Faith for Believing Doctrines

A.4) Faith for Obeying Commands

1. The Nature of Empowering Faith: Growing for our sanctification
2. Growing Empowering Faith

C.1) Research

C.2) Regeneration

C.3) Reminders

1. The Result of Empowering Faith: Divine commendation because we can take credit for it

Extras & Endnotes

Primary Points

• Empowering faith is a confidence that enables us to believe God’s doctrines, trust His promises, and obey His commands in everyday life.
• Our saving faith in the Gospel is the foundation of our faith, but we must grow in empowering faith in God’s character so that we might live for Him.
• Empowering faith enables us to accept even challenging doctrines and commands of Scripture as God’s word.
• It was a weak empowering faith in the doctrine that “Jesus declared all foods “clean”” (Mark 7:19), that kept Christians in Rome and Corinth from exercising their full freedom in Christ.
• Saving faith concerns our salvation, empowering faith our sanctification.
• Unlike saving faith, empowering faith can be weak or strong, which is why Scripture speaks of it being strengthened and growing.
• Empwering faith can grow from accumulating more evidence through research or personal experience.
• Saving faith is automatic for any supernaturally regenerated person and therefore, not something we can take the credit for. However, regeneration only gives us the potential of choosing to exercise empowering faith in God, and therefore it is a meritorious human work.
• Hebrews 11 speaks of those who, “were all commended for their faith” (Heb 11:39; cf. v. 2). Accordingly, the author is speaking of empowering faith, not saving faith, throughout the passage.
• Empowering faith is a human work, saving faith is not. Which is a critical point in the crucial debate between fairist and gracist theologies.

A) The Objects & Purpose of Empowering Faith: Promises, commands, & doctrines for this life

A.1) Faith for How We Live

In the previous chapter we have attempted to biblically and theologically demonstrate that saving faith is a gift from, and work of, God in us in order to provide us salvation purely by His grace instead of a meritorious work on our part. Accordingly, our core text was Ephesians 2:8-9: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Eph 2:8). The Apostle is speaking of faith that is a “gift” of faith that spiritually unregenerated humans are not capable of, and must be given to us as a gift of God’s grace and work. This is why the Apostle says this faith is “not from yourselves” but a gift given by God’s grace. And this is how saving faith must be in order to maintain that salvation is fully by God’s grace, and not by a human work, whether it be a faith from ourselves or otherwise.

However, we would suggest it is empowering faith that he has in mind when he writes in chapter 6: “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Eph 6:16). This faith does not involve or result in eternal salvation like the saving faith Paul writes of in chapter 2. Here, it provides spiritual protection for a Christian. A Christian is fully capable of exercising this type of faith after receiving the Holy Spirit. It is not a gift of God or from Him, but something we are able to do and it is completely dependent on us choosing to do so.

Accordingly, we have written earlier:

The difference between saving and empowering faith can be explained by noticing that the former is worked in spiritually dead and dumb humans (cf. Eph 2:1; 1 Cor 2:14), while the latter is a work of spiritually regenerated believers. The spiritual act of faith toward God for a spiritually dead person is of a different kind and nature that the spiritual act of faith toward God for a spiritually alive person. Accordingly, the nature of these different workings of faith (i.e. saving vs. empowering) are so different they deserve the different names and distinctions we give them. Those who claim that all faith toward God works the same, ignore these facts. ^[1]

Empowering faith in Scripture is the confidence that enables us to trust God’s promises, obey His commands, and believe His doctrines for the everyday circumstances of life. While the object of saving faith is specifically the Gospel for eternal life, the object of empowering faith is living for God in this life.

For example, it is not saving faith that Christ is encouraging people to have when He asks: “If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matt 6:30). Here we see that empowering faith differs in purpose from saving faith. The former trusts God for the practical matters and needs of life on Earth, the other trusts God for eternal bliss in Heaven. The one trusts God to save us forever, the other to save us today. Accordingly, while the Apostle speaks of saving faith throughout Galatians, he speaks of the empowering kind when he writes: “The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal 2:20).

Likewise, the Apostle is speaking of an empowering faith we exercise when he writes:

With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power He may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. ¹² We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thess 1:11-12)

This again is speaking of a faith that we choose, according to the good purposes and acts we choose to do for God.

Of course, our saving faith by which we are saved is the foundation of the empowering faith we live by. However, the objects of such faith go beyond the Gospel. For example, the Apostle says, “Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance” (Titus 2:2). Here it would seem he is speaking of faith as a virtue that can be taught and which effects the way we live our Christian life, rather than a faith that comes as a divine gift and gives us a Christian life (cf. 1 Tim 4:12; 6:11; 2 Tim 2:22; 3:10).

Likewise, the writer of Hebrews encourages us to pursue empowering faith when he writes: “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith” (Heb 13:7). What is to be imitated here is an empowering faith which consistently chooses to trust what God says in the everyday experiences of life, and to live accordingly.

A.2) Faith for Trusting Promises

While the object of saving faith is the Gospel, the objects of empowering faith are other divine promises, biblical commands, and doctrines. For example, empowering faith enables us to trust a divine promise such as, “God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:19). And we know we truly possess such faith when we have accepted it and submitted to it and such a promise effects the way we think and live. We cannot claim to have empowering faith in such a promise of God if we are anxious about our needs, and trusting other sources to meet them.

It is not saving faith which must be exercised in order to embrace the tremendous promise that, “in all things God works for the good of those who love Him” (Rom 8:28). On the contrary, such a promise requires a great deal of empowering faith to believe God for the promises He gives for this life until we enter the next one. ^[2]

A.3) Faith for Doctrines

Finally, we must apply empowering faith to the doctrines of God. This was part of the problem in Rome and Corinth in which Paul is giving instructions regarding those “whose faith is weak” (Rom 14:1). Such Christians had enough saving faith to believe in God’s grace for salvation, but lacked empowering faith in God’s grace to live by. They lacked one or more of the ingredients for this faith. Maybe they had not been instructed that “Jesus declared all foods “clean.”” (Mark 7:19) and therefore lacked the understanding necessary to have faith in this doctrine. Maybe they feared the judgment of fellow legalists and therefore desired to please them, therefore hindering their commitment to it. Any of these would have led to a lack of submission to such doctrines, demonstrating the absence of empowering faith in them. The Apostle leaves little doubt in Romans 14 that he would like those with weak empowering faith in the doctrine of grace, to strengthen that faith. ^[3]

A.4) Faith for Obeying Commands

Likewise, empowering faith in God is essential to obeying the commands of God. We simply will not obey God unless we choose to trust Him. All of His commands, including loving and forgiving people, discipling Christians, living holy, and sharing the Gospel require empowering faith. Our saving faith in the Gospel is the foundation of our faith to obey Him, but it will not be enough. We must go on to grow in our trust of God’s character so that we might increasingly live for Him. In fact, the good works that empowering faith produces, is the only biblical and certain proof that we possess saving faith.

Another aspect of how empowering faith is connected to obeying God is that it protects our confidence that God actually said what He said. In other words, “the good fight” of “holding on to [the doctrinal] faith” of Christianity (cf. 1 Tim 1:18-19), requires empowering faith in Scripture. The devil has attacked faith in this from the very beginning when he asked Eve, “Did God really say . . . ?” (Gen 3:1). Our human nature can assail our empowering faith in order to come up with all kinds of excuses for disregarding a command of God, including the lie that He really didn’t say it.

For example, the Apostle writes:

As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says . . . for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church” (1 Cor 14:33-5).

Likewise, he instructed, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.” (1 Tim 2:12).

We would suggest that it is partly a lack of empowering faith that leads to doubt that these instructions are the word of God for us today. Because of a lack of empowering faith in these commands, we fear that obedience to them will somehow harm women, men, and the Church. Because of a lack of empowering faith, we search for textual (i.e. these words were not in the original) or cultural reasons (i.e. special reasons forced Paul to make such commands and those reasons do not exist today), to excuse our disobedience to them.

While it is claimed today that Paul wanted obedience to these commands only to make the Gospel more palatable to his culture, many have taken the liberty to assume that we are to disobey them now for the sake of our culture, even though Paul never even hints at such a thing. In essence, many have concluded that God did not really say this to us. This would seem to be an instance in which our sinful, man-pleasing nature has crowded out empowering faith in a biblical command, rendering it useless.

It is precisely because we are losing this battle of empowering faith that an increasing portion of God’s word is being thrown into trash cans labeled “too counter-cultural,” “not stated clear enough,” or “too controversial,” and God’s commands concerning the roles of women is only one of an increasing number of examples.

And we must have empowering faith that the commands of God are good, or we will struggle to obey them. It is empowering faith that is convinced that, while God may tell us to do something that will be hard, it will not be harmful. And it was this kind of faith that the Israelites lacked when God commanded them to go into the Promised Land.

Not only does our human nature breed doubt in the goodness of God’s commands, but “the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph 6:12) attack with doubt as well, which is why we are instructed to “take up the shield of [empowering] faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows [doubts, excuses, lies] of the evil one” (Eph 6:16).

Pastoral Practices

• As a teacher of God’s word we should constantly be striving to increase the empowering faith of our people by expanding the scope of our biblical topics to include doctrines, commands, and promises that we have not dealt with before.

B) The Nature of Empowering Faith: Growing for our sanctification

Paul’s expectation that such empowering faith should grow introduces another difference between saving faith and empowering faith. It would seem difficult to say how our saving faith for salvation would grow, except to say it leads to a growing empowering faith for our sanctification. After we are saved, even a growing faith in the Gospel does not make us more saved, but more obedient. Likewise, even greater assurance in our salvation does not add to our salvation, nor the faith that saves us.

Accordingly, the fact that empowering faith can grow seems to distinguish it from other forms of faith, including saving and miracle. These types of faith are either present or not, and if they are, they fully accomplish their purpose.

Another way of distinguishing saving faith from empowering faith is to suggest that the former concerns our salvation, and the latter our sanctification. As our salvation is the foundation from which our sanctification grows, so is our saving faith the foundation from which our empowering faith grows.

It would seem to be the growing, sanctifying aspect of empowering faith that the Apostle is speaking of when he tells the Thessalonians: “your [empowering] faith is growing more and more, and [as a result] the love every one of you has for each other is increasing” (2 Thess 1:3). We would suggest a connection between the “increasing” love and Christian maturity of the Thessalonians, and their increasing empowering faith in God’s promises, commands, and doctrines.

Unlike saving faith, empowering faith can be weak or strong, and depending on its strength, can have a critical effect on the success of our Christian life. Which is why Scripture speaks of it being strengthened and growing.

Paul writes the Corinthians: “Our hope is that, as your faith [maturity] continues to grow, our area of activity among you will greatly expand” (2 Cor 10:15). He wrote the Thessalonians: “We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God’s fellow worker in spreading the Gospel of Christ, to strengthen . . . your faith” (1 Thess 3:2). He wrote the Colossians: “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord [with saving faith], continue to live in Him [with empowering faith], rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught” (Col 2:6-7). A strengthened empowering faith in God’s doctrines would enable the Colossians to:

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on [the doctrines of] Christ. [Including the doctrinal truth that] [I]n Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, Who is the head over every power and authority. (Col 2:8-10) ^[4]

Because we believe that “once saved always saved” reflects Scripture and the Gospel of grace, we believe saving faith cannot be abandoned. The Holy Spirit that eternally seals us for salvation (cf. Eph 1:13-14), is the same Spirit that gave us saving faith in regeneration (Tit 3:5-6). As we discuss thoroughly in chapter 6.3, if a professing “Christian” abandons the faith, they never possessed the saving kind, but only the false kind.

However, a regenerated Christian with saving faith can renounce their empowering faith and choose not to obey or trust God at any given time. The “father of faith” Abraham, did this very thing. While he possessed a saving faith in God and enjoyed an irrevocable covenant relationship with Him, twice he abandoned a practical trust in God, fearing men instead, and put His wife in danger (cf. Gen 12:10-20; 20:1-2).

C) Growing Empowering Faith

We have defined empowering faith as “a confidence that enables us to trust God’s promises, and obey His commands, in the everyday circumstances of life.” An important question to answer then is what can we do to strengthen our faith in God’s doctrines, promises, and commands? Again, because faith is built on reason, it is strengthened by evidence. The more we take advantage of God-given sources of such evidence, the more our faith will grow. Likewise, the more we neglect these sources, the weaker our faith will be.

Along these lines, C. S. Lewis wrote concerning the maintenance of our Christian faith:

The first step is to recognize the fact that your moods change. The next is to make sure that, if you have once accepted Christianity, then some of its main doctrines shall be deliberately held before your mind for some time every day. That is why daily prayers and religious readings and churchgoing are necessary parts of the Christian life. We have to be continually reminded of what we believe.

Neither this belief nor any other will automatically remain alive in the mind. It must be fed. And as a matter of fact, if you examined a hundred people who had lost their faith in Christianity, I wonder how many of them would turn out to have been reasoned out of it by honest argument? Do not most people simply drift away? ^[5]

There are at least three “faith builders” that are worth discussing more thoroughly.

C.1) Research

The first source of faith-building evidence we will suggest is research, of both biblical and extra-biblical sources. To use an example we have already used, it is sufficient and legitimate to simply accept the testimony of your fifth grade history teacher that the first President of the United States was George Washington. However, for various reasons, doubts may arise regarding the trustworthiness of the teacher or what they claimed. In this case, it would be helpful to do some research, investigating other sources of evidence for the subject which are deemed reliable.

In the process of such research concerning George Washington you would not only discover abundant evidence that the general beliefs concerning his life are certainly true, but the reasons that others might give for refuting those facts would seem so ridiculous and groundless that their weakness would confirm your beliefs as well. It is because the facts about George Washington are indeed facts, that the sincere and intelligent investigation of those facts will inevitably lead to a strengthening of our certainty in those facts. When something is a fact, there should be no fear of researching it, because such a fact will be made all the more convincing and certain.

Such, of course, is the case with the life of Christ. We may cling to Him as Savior only on the testimony of a stranger, but we must grow in our knowledge of Him in order to grow in our faith in Him. Obviously the first source of such evidence is the Scriptures. The more we read and study the Scriptures, the more our mind is exposed to “evidence” for our faith, and our mind is then transformed to understand, accept, value, believe, and submit to the promises and commands of Christ. The Apostle said, “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17). While he was specifically speaking of saving faith, his words certainly apply to empowering faith. The more we “hear” God’s word, the more faith we will have.

We see a direct relationship between the presentation of biblical truth and the growth of faith when we read:

As they [Paul and Barnabas] traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers (Acts 16:4-5).

Even just communicating “the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem” “strengthened . . . the faith” of “the churches.”

Likewise, it is more teaching that the Apostle has in mind when he writes the Thessalonians: “Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith” (1 Thess 3:10). ^[6] It was more teaching concerning the grace of the New Covenant that those “whose faith [was] weak” regarding the eating of certain foods in Rome, needed in order to become strong in faith (cf. Rom 14:1-23). The simple reading and teaching of the commands, promises, doctrines, and stories of Scripture will strengthen our own faith to believe and submit to these very things.

Calvin speaks at length concerning faltering faith and writes: “To bear these attacks, faith arms and fortifies itself with the Word of the Lord.” ^[7] Is it any wonder then that those who neglect Bible teaching and study are always so anemic in their faith, trust, and obedience toward God?

Extra-biblical sources as well can be very helpful in building our faith in God. The Scriptures invite the Christian to believe that several supernatural events have occurred in human history. While we might possess an adequate level of certainty in these events simply because they are recorded in documents that we regard as divine revelation, there is no doubt that our certainty is strengthened when additional evidence is found for them as well.

For example, we read in Genesis that God, “made the stars” (1:16). While we would certainly be inclined to believe such a statement simply because it is stated in Scripture, our faith is reinforced by the fact that astronomical data has convinced a large number of scientists that the probability of it being otherwise is unbelievably small.

Likewise, because biologists have been astounded by the intricate makeup of plant, animal, and human life; and paleontologists have been dumbfounded by the gaping gaps in their evolutionary theories, it is more than by simple faith in Scripture that we believe God made, “vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees . . . according to their various kinds” (Gen 1:11), and “God made the . . . animals according to their kinds” (1:25), and “the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (2:7). To believe otherwise is not only unbiblical, but clearly unreasonable.

In the same way, geological, archeological, and linguistic evidence has strongly supported Scripture’s testimony to a world-wide flood, the Tower of Babel incident, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by fire, the collapse of the walls of Jericho, the Hebrew Patriarchs, and the fulfillment of several prophecies. ^[8]

Our point here, again, is that it is not some supernatural activity of the Spirit that provides us with an increased assurance of such things, but rather, physical, demonstrable evidence submitted to our Spirit-liberated reason.

Fideism is one reason why Christian children are not growing up with a faith that can withstand the world’s onslaught. They have not been adequately equipped in the reasons for the faith, and because faith rests on reasons, they are vulnerable to losing whatever faith they had. The only solution is to recognize Scripture’s testimony to the fact that biblical faith depends on objective evidence and to research, promote, and teach the abundant evidences God has given us to authenticate the Bible’s claims.

In fact, as stated elsewhere, we would suggest that Christian apologetics as a whole proves to be much more valuable for building the faith of believers, than sparking the faith of unbelievers. ^[9] Even a Christian apologist such as Gary Habermas, who ardently believes in the value of evidential apologetics for unbelievers, is willing to say, “Not only is apologetics exceptionally useful with believers, it may even be its major value.” ^[10]

Likewise, in his foreword to Josh McDowell’s excellent apologetic book, The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict, Evangelist and Campus Crusade for Christ founder, Bill Bright (1921-2003) writes:

A careful and prayerful study of the material contained in this book will prepare the reader to make an intelligent and convincing presentation of the good news. One final word of caution and counsel, however: Do not assume that the average person has intellectual doubts about the deity of Jesus Christ [or any other apologetic concern]. The majority of people in most cultures do not need to be convinced of His deity, nor of their need of Him as Savior. Rather, they need to be told how to receive Him as Savior and follow Him as Lord. Thus, it is the Christian himself who will derive the greatest benefit from reading The NEW Evidence That Demands a Verdict. ^[11]

We couldn’t agree more, and it is because our Spirit-liberated reason thrives on evidence in building our own faith.

Again, mere testimony is often sufficient for faith. Still, people differ in the amount of evidence they require for believing certain things. Especially when our Christian beliefs are attacked in some way, past evidence may not be sufficient for new challenges, and research of both the Scriptures and other sources will prove to help us regain our confidence. Along these lines, the noted NT scholar William Sanday (1843-1920) wrote:

The certainty which springs from the absence of questioning and of search is a different thing from the certainty which comes after search and enquiry. And the latter kind of certainty is, we may be sure, the higher and better of the two . . .

Belief which rests on grounds such as I have been describing touches the bottom; it feels the solid rock. Belief which rests upon [mere] authority [i.e. testimony] has always a certain amount of scaffolding between it and the base on which it stands; and the mind cannot help being haunted by the doubt whether that scaffolding is strong and firm enough to bear the weight thrown upon it. Will the authority itself bear the solvents of criticism?

But belief which has been itself tested by criticism–which comes out as the result of a critical process–cannot have any further solvent applied to it. Its anchor cannot drag. Its roots go down into the very constitution of the human mind. And the faith which springs from it has all that buoyancy and sense of freedom which comes from having no reserve–no weak place which one shrinks from putting to the proof.

The confidence which comes from the rigorous exclusion of opposing forces is one thing; that which comes from having met and fought and conquered them is another. The last alone is a healthy confidence; it alone carries with it the true assurance and elation of victory. ^[12]

C.2) Regeneration

We have noted throughout this section of Knowing Our God the importance of the objective proof that the fruit of regeneration provides us. We have, in fact, referred to “born again living” as the ultimate apologetic. ^[13] Not only does the Christ-like character in our lives provide the best evidence to the world that Christ alone saves from sin, but it is the best evidence that Christ has saved us from sin. While it is common to focus on how much more we need to change, a moment of meditation on how much we have already changed from our unregenerate state will refresh our memory of much important evidence for building our faith.

And our faith will be strengthened because upon such an evaluation, we will realize that the following passage speaks truly of us:

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. (Tit 3:3-7)

C.3) Reminders

The Psalmist said, “Those who know Your name will trust in You, for You, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek You” (Ps 9:10). To know the name of God is to know His character and attributes and one of our greatest sources of evidence for these is our experiences. This is precisely how ones like Abraham, Moses, and David came to know God enough to trust Him.

For example, as David remembered the victory God had given him over the lion and the bear, he had the evidence he needed to trust God to defeat Goliath (cf. 1 Sam 17:33-37). Likewise, the Psalmist writes: “I love the LORD, for He heard my voice; He heard my cry for mercy. Because He turned His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live” (Ps 116:1-2). How did the Psalmist know the Lord had answered His prayer? He experienced it. And because of that experience, he said he had a conviction to “call on Him as long as I live.”

Imagine a man who has started a house church. He has never done it before, and in fact has failed at other things. He is completely challenged by the task. But then he sees it grow to 1000 people in 10 years. For whatever reason, he moves and starts another house church. How much faith does he have that the house church will grow? Our experiences are incredibly important for the amount of faith we have. Which is why it is vitally important to remember those faith-building experiences so we may live up to the faith we should already have.

While current challenges to our faith test the current quality and amount of our faith, victories in those challenges, and experiencing God’s help in them, strengthen our faith for future and greater challenges. ^[14]

For example, Christ has commanded us to trust the Father for our daily, physical needs (cf. Matt 6:25-33), and any Christian who will ponder their past, will be able to remember many times in which they know God did indeed provide what they needed, and such a reminder will help strengthen their faith for current challenges.

We see then that it is important to remember God’s deeds in the past so that we might have evidence for the faith we need in the present. Accordingly, we read in Psalms: “The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned back on the day of battle [because]. . . . They forgot what He [God] had done [in the past], the wonders He had shown them” (Ps 78:9, 11; cf. Mic 6:4-5). We too forfeit the evidence that could fortify our Christian faith when we forget God’s past deeds of love and power toward us. This is particularly applicable to our faith in the power of prayers. As we are diligent to monitor God’s responsiveness to them, we gain a greater conviction of their effectiveness.

In the context of availing ourselves of reminders that build our faith we must not neglect the mention of several other sources God has provided as well. First, worship builds faith. When we sing and declare the praises and character of God, reminding us of evidence on which our trust in God can grow, such faith is strengthened, and a study and practice of the Psalms will demonstrate this as well.

Other supporting evidence that strengthens our faith would include fellowshipping with those who are examples of it. As we “Consider the outcome of their way of life” we will be strengthened and enabled to “imitate their faith” (Heb 13:7). Let us note here that we can be the evidence that someone needs to bolster their faith in God. One of the greatest sources of evidence that God loves us is when people love us.

Finally, the sacraments of baptism and communion were no doubt instituted by God to be reminders of evidence we need for the building of our Christian faith. We can look back upon our decision to obey Christ in baptism as yet another proof of our regeneration and salvation. Likewise, the Lord’s Supper is to be a continual reminder of God’s love for us, demonstrated on the cross, and its faithful practice is no doubt intended to strengthen our trust in that very love. This is precisely why Christ said, “do this in remembrance of Me” (1 Cor 11:24).

It becomes obvious then that many of the practices that we are commanded in the Scriptures to faithfully follow were designed by God to maintain and strengthen our faith in Him, because they remind us of evidence and reasons upon which empowering faith is built.

Pastoral Practices

We are reminded here that it is important to help God’s people remember. In addition to the sacraments, you might consider having a testimonial time in your Sunday service so that people can hear what God is doing in people’s lives and grow in their faith in His goodness through that.

D) The Result of Empowering Faith: Divine commendation because we can take credit for it

In chapters 6.2-3 we demonstrated that Scripture clearly teaches that saving faith is a gift and work of God and not a human work. Accordingly, we wrote:

Because the Apostle believed that humans were completely incapable of any of the spiritual acts necessary for salvation, including saving faith, and that we are ultimately saved solely by God’s grace alone, not something we do, he wrote the Ephesians:

It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and [even] this [faith is] not from yourselves, it is the gift of God [given, not just offered] —not by [any human] works [but solely by God’s works], so that no one can boast” (Eph 2:8-9) about why they were saved.

Likewise, the Apostle wrote the Philippians: “It has been granted [by God] to you . . . to believe on Him” (Phil 1:29). He described the experience of his own salvation when He wrote: “The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the [saving] faith that are in Christ Jesus” (1 Tim 1:14). This is why Luke describes Christians as “those who by grace had believed” (Acts 18:27). When the Apostle Peter speaks of saving faith he makes its source clear when he says, “Through Him you believe in God, Who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him, and so your faith and hope are in God” (1 Pet 1:21). ^[15]

Accordingly, saving faith must be understood as the gift and work of God in us because salvation is ultimately a result of God’s grace to us. The former is purely the work of God, and therefore purely a gift by divine grace. Empowering faith, however, is spoken of as something that depends more on us, a good “work” we do, and therefore something we are rewarded for.

In other words, saving faith is automatic for any supernaturally regenerated person and therefore, not praiseworthy or anything we can take the credit for (cf. Eph 2:8-9). On the other hand, regeneration only gives us the potential of choosing to exercise empowering faith in God’s extra-Gospel promises, commands, and doctrines, and therefore it is a meritorious human virtue, not a divine gift. Accordingly, if you are saved, you have the same amount of saving faith as anyone else who is saved, and there is nothing commendable about it. However, people differ in the amount of their empowering faith, as it involves a voluntary choice that is a human work, a virtue, and therefore commendable.

Accordingly, it would be very out of place to praise someone for their saving faith, and the Scriptures never do so. ^[16] However, we do see praise for empowering faith. Paul writes the Corinthians: “But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving” (1 Cor 8:7). The Apostle is praising these Christians for a faith which they “excel in” beyond others, and could actually take credit for and boast about. Obviously this is not referring to saving faith which is the gift of God and for which we cannot and must not take credit for (cf. Eph 2:8-9).

We see this same aspect of empowering faith in Hebrews 11. First, it should be pointed out that the author does not have saving faith in mind in this passage. Accordingly, in his introduction, he states that the kind of faith he is discussing is the kind that “the ancients were commended for” (v. 1; cf. 11:39). Saving faith is not a human work that earns us such commendation.

Additional evidence that saving faith is not being described in Hebrews 11 is the author’s first illustration of it: “By [this kind of] faith we understand that the Universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible” (v. 2). Surely it is not saving faith that enables us to believe God created the Universe. Many unbelievers believe the same.

In the rest of the passage, the author describes individuals who already had saving relationships with God, and subsequently chose to exercise an empowering faith in the commands and character of God. Never does the author intend to imply that their acts of faith initiated their personal relationships with God. It was because they had a relationship with God, and were probably indwelled by the Holy Spirit, ^[17] that they exercised the obedient faith they are commended for in the passage. ^[18]

Accordingly, “Abel . . . was commended as a righteous man” and “God spoke well of his offerings” because they were offered “by faith” according to the revelation Abel had no doubt been given about the kind of offering that would please God (cf. Heb 11:4). “Enoch . . . was commended as one who pleased God” because of the life of empowering “faith” he exercised in his relationship with God, described as “Enoch walked with God” (Gen 5:24).

Likewise, “Abraham” is praised for the empowering faith he exercised when he “obeyed” a revelation to move to “a foreign country.” The basis of such faith was his empowering faith in the promise of receiving, “the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Heb 11:8-10). Abraham’s empowering faith in the promises given to him regarding Isaac, were “tested” when he “offered Isaac as a sacrifice” (v. 17).

“By” such empowering “faith,” “Isaac . . . Jacob . . . and Joseph” all spoke of the “future” in response to divine revelations they had been given (cf. vs. 20-22).

“Moses” exercised an empowering faith when “He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his [promised] reward” (vs. 25-26). Likewise, he exercised such faith when “he left Egypt . . . because he saw Him Who is invisible” (v. 27) and had a relationship with Him. And in response to a revelation, “he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel” (v. 28).

It was by empowering faith that “the people passed through the Red Sea” (v. 29) in response to God’s command to do so. Likewise, “the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days” (v. 30), also in response to a command to do so.

It was by this same faith in God’s character, promises, and commands that people who were already saved:

conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies . . . Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. (vs. 33-38) ^[19]

And because these acts of empowering faith were freely chosen by these people, were a “work” they could take credit for, and not an enablement by God, “These were all commended for their faith” (v. 39). Such empowering faith will earn us eternal rewards because they are a human work, and they are choices we freely make. All of which, again, is in contrast to saving faith which is a work and gift of God that we cannot take credit for.

Distinguishing between saving and empowering faith is important for reasons beyond just interpreting the Scriptures accurately. For example, we would suggest that the failure to distinguish between them is a fundamental error of the fairist perspective on salvation. ^[20] Because empowering faith is often spoken of in Scripture as a faith that is dependent upon us, fairist theologians suggest that all faith is that way, including the saving kind.

However, the Scriptures teach that saving faith is totally a gift from God because people must be regenerated before exercising it and its result (salvation) is purely of grace (cf. Eph 2:8-9). On the other hand, empowering faith is something regenerated humans are capable of all by themselves, and its result (i.e. obedience) is something we are rewarded for. To assume that saving faith operates like empowering faith is to make saving faith a meritorious work, all of which violates the fact that salvation is purely and completely by God’s grace, not human works. Empowering faith is a human work, saving faith is not. ^[21]

Extras & Endnotes

A Devotion to Dad

Our Father in Heaven, we embrace the opportunity we have in this life to live by faith in a God we cannot see. We especially value this opportunity because we know it will not exist in the next life (cf. Rom 8:24-25, 2 Cor. 4:18, 5:7) which is why it especially pleases You now. We commit to facing the difficulties you allow in our life with empowering faith in your promises, doctrines, and commands.

Gauging Your Grasp

1. How have we defined empowering faith? What is its purpose and objects? How do these differ from saving faith?
2. What would be the result of a lack of empowering faith in either a biblical promise, command, or doctrine?
3. What are several other ways that we distinguish the concept of saving faith from empowering faith?
4. Why do we claim that Hebrews 11 is describing empowering faith instead of saving faith? Do you agree or disagree?
5. Why do we suggest it is important to distinguish between saving and empowering faith?

Recommended Reading

• For further discussion on the supernatural and grace-based nature of saving faith see chapters 6.2-3.
• For further discussion on the ways we grow in empowering faith see chapters 6.17-19.

Publications & Particulars

1. Excerpt from section 6.2.C.1. ↑

2. For a list of the biblical promises we can place empowering faith in see section 7.11.C. ↑

3. For further discussion regarding the relationship between “weak faith” and the conscience see section 3.2.C. ↑

4. We would suggest that Scripture’s references to “growing” in faith do not only apply to an increased depth or degree of empowering faith, but also to the width and scope of faith. In light of this, we suggest that Paul is encouraging his readers to expand their empowering faith to include promises, commands, and doctrines in addition to those in which they already have such faith in. In other words, that they would broaden the scope of their faith from just trusting that God forgave their sins, to include as well the promise that God will provide for their needs. ↑

5. C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (Harper Collins, 2001), 140-141 ↑

6. As F. F. Bruce comments concerning the Thessalonians, “There were important areas in which they required further instruction.” (1 & 2 Thessalonians [Word, 1982], 69). Likewise, John Calvin wrote concerning 1 Thessalonians 3:10:

   From this also it appears how necessary it is for us to give careful attention to doctrine, for teachers were not appointed merely with the view of leading men, in the course of a single day or month, to the faith of Christ, but for the purpose of perfecting the faith which has been begun. (Calvin’s Bible Commentaries in The Comprehensive John Calvin Collection, CD-ROM, [Ages Software, 1998] at 1 Thess 3:10). ↑

7. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion in The Comprehensive John Calvin Collection, CD-ROM, (Ages Software, 1998), III.II.11. ↑

8. For further discussion of these evidences for the authority of Scripture see section 7.7.B; chapter 9.8, and applicable sections of the forthcoming Book 15. ↑

9. For further discussion regarding the value of apologetics see sections 2.2.C and 2.12.C. ↑

10. Gary Habermas in Five Views, 98. ↑

11. Josh McDowell, The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict (Josh McDowell, 1999), xii. ↑

12. William Sanday, The Oracles of God (Longmans, Green, 1891), 45, 81. ↑

13. See section 5.1. ↑

14. Here we object to the common, but over-simplified assertion that the mere testing of our faith builds faith. This is, for example, the rightly respected Douglas Moo’s explanation for how Abraham “was strengthened in his faith” (Rom 4:20). Dr. Moo writes:

    In what way did Abraham’s faith “grow strong”? In the sense that anything gains strength in meeting and overcoming opposition–muscles when weights are raised; holiness when temptation is successfully resisted. So Abraham’s faith gained strength from its victory over the hindrance created by the conflict between God’s promise and the physical evidence. (285-6)

    To the contrary, we have demonstrated that our faith for a current challenge is built upon the evidence provided by remembering past challenges. Here, Dr. Moo seems to be suggesting that a current challenge somehow builds faith for the current challenge. A current challenge does not give us evidence upon which faith is based. To modify one of Dr. Moo’s examples, it is the past weights we’ve lifted that enable us to lift what we need to now. A current testing of our faith does not build our faith, but rather reveals the level of faith we currently have. A test of faith that is passed then provides evidence for a future test of faith.

    While this may seem like a minor point, Dr. Moo’s perspective has been used to suggest a kind of subjective, spiritual, supernatural strengthening of faith instead of the rather objective, rational, and natural process we have demonstrated in these chapters, and believe to be taught by the Bible.

    Some interpret James this way where we read that “the testing of your faith develops perseverance” (1:3). We would only suggest that it is too simple to say that the actual testing alone develops the faith that enables us to persevere. For example, what if we fail such a test? Would that increase our faith and perseverance? We do not think so. It was the spiritual victories of the people in the Scriptures that strengthened their faith, not the test itself, nor their failures, and this is because faith is built on evidence.

    We might further illustrate our perspective on faith in the following way. Normally there is no way for us to really know how much oil is in our automobile engine until we insert the long oil stick into its place and check the oil’s level. Testing or measuring the amount of oil does nothing to add to the level of oil, but only tells us how much oil is there. Such is the relationship between fruit and faith. Trials, obedience, and challenges do not so much grow or complete our faith as much as they tell us how much faith we already have. ↑

15. Excerpt from section 6.3.B. ↑

16. Some would claim that Scripture does praise people for their saving faith as if it is something they can take credit for. This would seem to be based on either a desire to promote fairist (Arminian) doctrine, or a misinterpretation of some Scriptures.

    As we will note below, the “commendable” faith described in Hebrews 11 was not the faith that eternally saved the people described, but rather, an empowering faith to obey God in order to please Him, which is why they could be commended for it. All of those mentioned already had the gift of saving faith.

    Some suggest that Abraham is commended for his saving faith in Romans 4. But a careful reading of the passage reveals just the opposite is true. In fact, the Apostle introduces the passage by stating that saving faith is not a human work that could be boasted about (cf. vs. 1-5). And later in the passage, the Apostle uses the supernatural (cf. vs. 18-19), purely God-“strengthened,” and therefore God glorifying aspects of miracle faith (cf. v. 20) to demonstrate these aspects of saving faith. For further discussion of this see section ? ↑

17. For support of our belief that many OT characters were indwelled and regenerated by the Holy Spirit, resulting in the saving and empowering faith they had, see section ? ↑

18. While the writer of Hebrews uses the empowering faith of Noah to illustrate aspects of saving faith, the faith he describes of Noah is not saving faith. We read:

    By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. (Heb 11:7)

    First, Noah obviously already had a covenant/saving relationship with God before he exercised an empowering faith to obey the divine command to build the ark. It was not this obedience that saved him. Even before God gave Noah the command to build the ark, we read, “Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD . . . and he walked with God” (Gen 6:8-9). Accordingly, we do not believe that the writer of Hebrews is implying that the act of building the ark spiritually saved Noah and his family. Even so, this practical “righteousness that comes by [empowering] faith” is used as an illustration of the positional and eternal righteousness that comes by saving faith.

    Likewise, we read of Abel:

    By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. (Heb 11:4)

    Are we to conclude that Abel’s faith was a human work that resulted in his salvation? On the contrary, it was because Abel was already in a saving relationship with God, that he humbly “offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did.” And because of his empowering “faith he was commended as a righteous man.” ↑

19. One might notice that we have left out of these descriptions of faith, “Women received back their dead, raised to life again” (Heb 11:35). This is because we believe this statement more specifically refers to miracle faith which we discuss in chapter 6.5. ↑

20. Fairism is our word for what is typically known as Arminianism. This is the general belief that the ultimate reason we are saved is because we chose Christ of our own free will, therefore making saving faith something an unregenerate human is capable of. This is often contrasted with Calvinism, or the belief that we are saved ultimately because God unconditionally chose us, regenerated us, and therefore gave us our saving faith. It is only the latter that preserves the biblical fact that salvation is by God’s grace alone and not by human works. For further discussion of Arminian misconceptions of saving faith see chapters 6.2-5. ↑

21. It is not only fairists who fail to distinguish between saving and empowering faith, gracists do as well. For example, the Calvinist theologian Charles Hodge wrote regarding the faith spoken of in Ephesians 2:8-9: “From the very nature of faith . . . it excludes the idea of merit.” (Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians, Electronic Edition STEP Files CD-ROM (Findex.Com, 2003). While this is true of the saving faith described in the text he was addressing, this is not true of all faith, encluding empowering faith. Likewise, we noted in section 6.4.C. that the Second Council of Orange (A. D. 529) was very strong on saving faith being completely a work and gift of God. However, if one reads all of the canons of the Council, one can see that the authors describe all biblical faith in this way, excluding any idea of empowering faith. The Canons of the Second Council of Orange can be read online at http://www.reformed.org/documents/canons_of_orange.html). ↑