Saving faith is an immediate relation to Christ, accepting, receiving, resting upon Him alone, for justification, sanctification, and eternal life by virtue of God's grace.
Interpretation
Saving faith is about completely relying on Christ for salvation and grace.
In this quote, Charles Spurgeon emphasizes the importance of having a direct and personal relationship with Christ for the purpose of salvation. He conveys that true faith is not merely intellectual belief but an active trust and reliance on Jesus, acknowledging His role in justification, sanctification, and eternal life through God's grace.
In practice
This quote can be used in a sermon to illustrate the importance of faith in Christ for salvation.
Amusement should be used to do us good “like a medicine”: it must never be used as the food of the man...Many have had all holy thoughts and gracious resolutions stamped out by perpetual trifling. Pleasure so called is the murderer of thought. This is the age of excessive amusement: everybody craves for it, like a babe for its rattle.
When you see no present advantage, walk by faith and not by sight. Do God the honor to trust Him when it comes to matters of loss for the sake of principle.
It is far easier to fight with sin in public than to pray against it in private.
You will never glory in God till first of all God has killed your glorying in yourself.
After faith comes repentance, or, rather, repentance is faith's twin brother and is born at the same time.
["All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant."] The original Hebrew word that has been translated "paths" means "well-worn roads' or "wheel tracks," such ruts as wagons make when they go down our green roads in wet weather and sink in up to the axles. God's ways are at times like heavy wagon tracks that cut deep into our souls, yet all of them are merciful.
Instead of focusing on the great men of God, I prefer to focus on the Great God of men.
We are able to persevere only because God works within us, within our free wills. And because God is at work in us, we are certain to persevere. The decrees of God concerning election are immutable. They do not change, because He does not change. All whom He justifies He glorifies. None of the elect has ever been lost.
Every morning, even in the bitterest winter, she stood before the chapel door until it opened at four and remained there until after the last Mass. Out from her Caughnawaga cabin at dawn and straight-way to chapel to adore the Blessed Sacrament, hear every Mass; back again during the day to hear instruction, and at night for a last prayer or Benediction.
Faithful servants have a way of knowing answered prayer when they see it, and a way of not giving up when they don't.
I've read the last page of the Bible. It's all going to turn out all right.
A right heart leans on Christ, hangs on Christ, builds on Christ and cleaves to Christ.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.