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It is never on account of its formal nature as a psychic act that faith is conceived in Scripture to be saving. It is not, strictly speaking, even faith in Christ that saves, but Christ that saves through faith. The saving power resides exclusively, not in the act of faith or the attitude of faith or nature of faith, but in the object of faith.
B. B. Warfield
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Faith is not valuable for its form, but for what it connects us to: Christ's saving power.

This quote emphasizes that the essence of saving faith in a religious context lies not in the mere act of believing, but in the object of that belief—namely, Jesus Christ. The notion is that faith itself does not possess power; rather, it is the relationship with Christ that provides salvation, highlighting the importance of understanding what one believes in rather than solely focusing on the act of belief itself.

Themes

FaithSalvationChristBeliefSpirituality

In practice

Example use cases

During a sermon on the significance of faith in Christianity.

More from B. B. Warfield

Sometimes we hear it said that ten minutes on your knees will give you a truer, deeper, more operative knowledge of God than ten hours over your books. What! Than ten hours over your books on your knees?
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The Bible is the Word of God in such a way that when the Bible speaks, God speaks.
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Before all else, Protestantism is, in its very essence, an appeal from all other authority to the divine authority of Holy Scripture
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