Thursday, October 22, 2009

What is faith?

"True faith is not only a sure knowlede whereby I hold for truth all that God has revealed to us by his Word, but also a firm confidence which the Holy Spirit works in my heart by the gospel that not only to others but to me also, remission [forgiveness] of sins, everlasting righteousness and salvation are freely given by God, merely of grace, only for the sake of Christ's merits."

-- Heidelberg Catechism

1 comment:

mike wittmer said...

I always wondered whether the HC added a "firm confidence" to supplement Calvin's definition that faith is "a firm and certain knowledge." It's not only knowledge--thanks Calvin, but also a hearty trust in what we know. Calvin would have agreed, and probably meant as much in his definition, though he didn't spell it out there.