Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Jan/92

Contributor - Wim Meijer

Title - I Believe In Communion With The Church In All Ages And Places

Topic - Faith

In the church where I grew up in the Netherlands, the minister would often introduce the Apostles' Creed by saying: "In communion with the Church of all ages and places we now confess our catholic, undoubted Christian faith." And then this confession began with: "I believe . . . " This shows us the two aspects of confessing the Apostles' Creed. On the one side it links us to the universal church which confesses the same faith. On the other side our confession is very personal: I believe. The word 'Creed' comes from the Latin word 'credo', which means 'I believe'. Keep in mind this universal and this personal aspect of faith.

What is a true faith?

When we speak about faith we do so in two different ways. Faith can be 'that which we believe', the content of our faith. Faith also means 'the activity of believing' - the act of faith. Faith in the first sense, the content of faith, is expressed in the Apostles' Creed. That is the object of faith, that which we believe. In the coming issues of the Pioneer I hope to take you through these twelve articles of faith.

But let us now take some time to look at faith in the second sense, the act of faith. What is that actually, 'to believe'? What do I do when I believe?

The Heidelberg Catechism asks in question 20, "What is a true faith?" Notice the word 'true'. Apparently the Catechism is afraid of counterfeit faith. And not without reason. The New Testament gives us examples of faith which is not true faith. In John 2:23-25 we read that "many believed in His name", but Jesus did not "commit (NIV: entrust) himself unto them because He knew all men." There was an outward profession, but not a true faith in the heart.

The parable of the sower in Matthew 12 also shows us that not all faith is true faith. There are those who only believe for a time. They are 'nice-weather' believers who believe as long as the sun shines. But when it comes to fighting the good fight of faith, they turn away. And there are those who believe, but they don't give it first priority in their lives. Thus, the cares of life and other important activities take over, and faith is soon choked by these things.

This was not only a problem in the times of the New Testament, or in the times when the Heidelberg Catechism was written. It is still a problem. Not every professed faith is true faith.

Some people profess the Christian faith, because they intellectually agree with it. Others become a professing member of a church because of social ties they have there. However, in either case, it may not be a matter of the heart.

Again others claim to have had certain religious experiences. A student for the ministry told in a sermon she preached that once during a time of great distress she had experienced God's presence when a cat had suddenly jumped in her lap.

True faith is something else says the Catechism. In the first place, true faith is not based upon a more or less extraordinary experience which we may have had. True faith is based upon the Word of God. It is "a knowledge and conviction that everything God reveals in His Word is true." And this implies a total submission to the Word of God.

At the same time true faith is "a wholehearted trust" or an assured confidence - created in me by the Spirit through the Word - that God has given me forgiveness of sins for the sake of Chiist's saving work. True faith is more than an emotional religious feeling. It has to do with the reality of sin. True faith is always the faith of a sinner who seeks to be saved from sin by Jesus Christ. True faith, therefore, means a personal, heartfelt relationship with Jesus Christ. "As many as received Him, to them gave He power (the privilege, the right) to become the sons of God, namely to them that believe on His name" (John 1:12).

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