The Strict Sense of the Word " Faith." But in the strict and special sense of the word, as discrimi- nated from knowledge or opinion, faith means the belief of things not seen, on the ground of testimony. By testimony, however, is not meant merely the affirmation of an intelligent witness. There are othef methods by which testimony may be given than affirmation. A seal is a form of testimony ; so is a sign. So is everything which pledges the authority of the at- tester to the truth to be established. When Elijah declared that Jehovah was God, and Baal a lie, he said, " The God that an- swereth by fire, let him be God." The descent of the fire was the testimony of God to the truth of the prophet's declaration. So in the New Testament God is said to have borne witness to the truth of the Gospel by signs, and wonders, and divers mira- cles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost (Heb. ii. 4) ; and the Spirit of God is said to witness with our spirits that we are the children of God (Rom. viii. 16). The word in these cases is fiapTvpiu), to testify. This is not a lax or improper use of the word testi- mony ; for an affirmation is testimony only because it pledges the authority of him who makes it to the truth. And therefore whatever pledges that authority, is as truly of the nature of tes- timony, as an affirmation. When, therefore, it is said that faith is founded on testimony, it is meant that it is not founded on sense, reason, or feeling, but on the authority of him by whom it is authenticated.
Proof from the General Use of the Word.
That such is the foundation and the distinctive characteristic of faith, may be argued, — 1. From the general use of the word. We are said to know what we see or can prove ; and to believe what we regard as true on the authority of others. This is ad- mitted to be true of what is called historical faith. This includes a great deal ; all that is recorded of the past ; all that is true of present actualities, which does not fall within the sphere of our personal observation ; all the facts of science as received by the masses ; and almost all the contents of the Bible, whether of the Old or of the New Testament. The Scriptures are a record of the history of the creation, of the fall, and of redemption. The Old Testament is the history of the preparatory steps of this re- demption. The New Testament is a history of the fulfilment of the promises and types of the Old in the incarnation, life, suf-
64 PART HI. Ch. XVI. — FAITH.
ferings, death, and resurrection of the Son of God. Whoever
believes this record has set to his seal that God is true, and is a
child of God.
Proof from Consciousness.
2. In the second place, consciousness teaches us that such is the nature of faith not only when historical facts are its objects, but when propositions are the things believed. The two indeed are often inseparable. That God is the creator of the world, is both a fact and a doctrine. It is as the Apostle says, a matter of faith. We believe on the authority of the Scriptures, which de- clare that " In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." That God set forth his Son to be a propitiation for our sins, is a doctrine. It rests solely on the authority of God. We receive it upon his testimony. So with all the great doctrines of grace ; of regeneration, of justification, of sanctification, and of a future life. How do we know that God will accept all who be- lieve in Christ ? Who can know the things of God, save the Spirit of God, and he to whom the Spirit shall reveal them (1 Cor. ii. 10, 11) ? From the nature of the case, " the things of the Spirit," the thoughts and purposes of God, can be known only by revelation, and they can be received only on the author- ity of God. They are objects neither of sense nor of reason.
Proof from Scripture.
3. It is the uniform teaching of the Bible that faith is founded on the testimony or authority of God.
The first proof of this is the fact that the Scriptures come to us under the form of a revelation of things we could not otherwise know. The prophets of the Old Testament were messengers, the mouth of God, to declare What the people were to believe and what they were to do. The New Testament is called " The testimony of Jesus." Christ came, not as a philos- opher, but as a witness. He said to Nicodemus, « We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen ; and ye receive not our witness." (John iii. 11). « He that cometh from above
is above aU And what he hath seen and heard, that he
testineth; and no man receiveth his testimony. He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true " (verses 31-33). In like manner the Apostles were witnesses. As such they were ordained (Luke xxrv. 48). After his resur- rection, and immediately before his ascension, our Lord said to tnem, « Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is