If we keep in mind that salvation has been gained for all mankind through the vicarious satisfaction of Christ and that this salvation is offered to all men through the means of grace, it is clear what constitutes saving faith.
a. Saving faith is not general belief in the existence of God or in the divine Law of God; for this belief is held also by the heathen, . Nor is saving faith mere knowledge of (notitia historica), or mere assent (assensus historicus) to, the general truths of the Gospel, namely, that Christ lived and died for men; for this faith (fides historica, fides generalis) is found also in devils, ; , and in unbelievers, . So also saving faith (fides qua iustificans) is not mere knowledge of, nor is it mere assent to, the teachings of Scripture in general (Romanists, Arminians, Unitarians). The Law, for instance, is not the object of saving faith, since sinners are justified without the deeds of the Law, ; . Nor is “Scripture in general” the object of saving faith, though true believers, of course, accept the entire Bible as the Word of God; for Scripture itself testifies that a sinner is justified before God only through his trust in the objective atonement made by Christ, . While it is true that no man can be saved who rejects the inspired Word of God, it is also true that man’s justification is brought about only through his personal confidence in the divine promises of the Gospel. Fides salvifica (iustificans) est certa persuasio de venia peccatorum per Christum obtinenda.
b. Saving faith (fides iustificans) is therefore personal trust (fides specialis), or cordial confidence (fiducia cordis), in the wonderful message of the Gospel that God for Christ’s sake is gracious to all who believe in the atoning blood of His Son shed on Calvary for the sins of the world, ; . Hence saving faith is found only in a heart that says: “I believe that Jesus Christ... is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death.” In other words, saving faith has for its object the forgiveness of sins which was secured by Christ’s perfect obedience and is now offered to all sinners in the Gospel, ; . All who reject God’s gracious offer of forgiveness for Christ’s sake will perish in unbelief, even though they assent to the divine Law or to “Scripture in general.” Luther: “You must rely with constant trust on this, that Christ died for your sins; such a faith justifies you.” .
In order to describe saving faith more fully, our dogmaticians have said: a) Saving faith is always fides specialis, or the special faith by which an individual believes that for Christ’s sake his sins are remitted him. The very nature of God’s general promise in the Gospel calls for this individual application, ; . The Church of Rome forbids this application as presumptuous. (Cf. Concil. Trid., Sess. VI, Can. 14.) b) Saving faith is always fides actualis, or the apprehension of the divine promise by an act of the intellect and will. Synonymous terms of fides actualis are found in Scripture, ; ; ; . The scholastic theologians defined faith as an “idle habit” (otiosus habitus), which Luther condemned as a “mere verbal monstrosity, giving no sense.” Also a weak faith and the longing for grace in Christ must be regarded as fides actualis, or true faith.
c) Saving faith is always fides directa, or faith which concerns itself directly with the divine promise set forth in the Gospel.
d) Saving faith is not in every case fides reflexa, reflex, discursive faith, by which the believer reflects on, and is conscious of, his faith. The faith of infants is true faith, , though the fides reflexa is wanting; they have fides specialis, which is fides actualis, which is fides directa. (Cf. Dr. Engelder, Dogmatical Notes; ff.)
Hollaz rightly distinguishes between special faith and general faith as follows:
“General faith is that by which man . . . believes all things to be true that are revealed in the Word of God. Of this species of faith we are not now speaking because we are treating of faith as the means of salvation. . . . Special faith is that faith by which the sinner applies to himself individually thf universal promises in reference to Christ, the Mediator, and tie grace of God accessible through Him and believes that God d< fires to be propitious to him and to pardon his sins on account of the satisfaction of Christ made for his and all men’s sins.” .
So also the Augsburg Confession writes:
“Men are also admonished that here the term faith does not signify merely the knowledge of the history, such as is in the ungodly and in the devil, but signifies a faith which believes not merely the history, but also the effect of the history, namely, . . . that we have grace, righteousness, and forgiveness of sins through Christ.”
And the Apology says:
“And here we speak of special faith, which believes the present promise, not only that (faith) which in general believes that God exists, but which believes that the remission of sins is offered.”
From the above it is clear why the Law must be excluded as an object of saving faith. The divine Law has no promises of grace attached to it, but promises life and salvation on the basis of its complete fulfilment, as a reward of personal merit, ; . If the objection is raised that faith itself is called obedience (ΰπακοή) in Scripture, ; , we reply that faith is indeed obedience, yet not to the Law, but to the Gospel, . Faith is obedience inasmuch as it accepts the gracious promises of God made in the Gospel. But obedience to the Gospel and obedience to the Law are opposites; for the first excludes the works of men. , while the second demands them. . It is for this reason that the Law cannot be the object of faith. Those who make the Law the object of faith, or, what is the same, who define saving faith as obedience to the divine Law, teach salvation by works and thus lapse into paganism. They deny the very essence of Christianity, namely, the fundamental doctrine of salvation by grace.
It is true, saving faith, which appropriates the grace of God in Christ, manifests itself both in ready acceptance of the Word of God and in constant obedience to the Law; but these manifestations of saving faith do not constitute the reason why it saves. They are rather the fruits and proofs that true faith, which justifies and saves without works, ; , exists in the heart, ; .
That faith is essentially (formaliter) trust of the heart (fiducia cordis), or sincere confidence in the grace of God offered to all sinners for Christ’s sake in the Gospel, is strenuously denied by the papists. The Council of Trent declares (Sess. VI, Can. 12):
“If any one should say that justifying faith is nothing else than trust (fiducia) in the divine compassion which forgives sins for Christ’s sake, or that we are justified alone by such trust, let him be accursed.”
But the teaching that is here anathematized, namely, that saving faith is essentially fiducia cordis, is a clear doctrine of Scripture, ; . The expressions “to believe in or on” (πιστεύειν εἰς τὸν υἱόν, ; εἰς Χριστόν, ) cannot mean anything else than “to place one’s confidence in,” “to put one’s trust in,” the Son, or Christ.
The Apology is therefore right when it says :
“Faith is not only knowledge in the intellect, but also confidence in the will; t. e., it is to wish and to receive that which is offered in the promise, namely, reconciliation and remission of sins.”
And again :
“Faith which justifies is not merely a knowledge of history, . . . but it is to assent to the promise of God, in which, for Christ’s sake, the remission of sins and justification are freely offered.”
Wherever the Scriptural doctrine that faith is essentially trust, or confidence, in the promises of the Gospel is repudiated, the pagan doctrine of work-righteousness needs must follow.