Bible Commentaries

Mark 5:29 — And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her plague. Imperfect as the woman's faith was, it proved enough; and herein is a mighty encouragement for all. If our redemption is dependent upon our full knowledge of all the truth concerning Christ and his holy religion, none of us shall ever be saved. A little faith, even though it be imperfect, acted upon is better than great faith unsupported by consistent deeds.

Mark 9:24 — Straightway the father of the child cried out, and said, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. Who is he who cannot identify with this distraught parent in his experience of faith with an admixture of doubt? Unbelief is never very far away from faith; and their name is legion who, like Peter of old, walk over tempestuous waves one moment and sink into faithless despair the next. This doubting believer properly appealed to the Lord as the only source of strengthening his faith.

Acts 15:8-9 — And God who knoweth the heart, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Spirit, even as he did unto us; and he made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. Faith … here means "the Christian faith" as distinguished from the law of Moses and does not mean "faith" as distinguished from repentance and baptism. This is a frequent New Testament usage of the word. No distinction

Acts 26:18 — To open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in me. Remission of sins … That men should receive this blessing was the principal burden of apostolic preaching, the great need of humanity having ever been that of reconciliation with God and the restoration of fellowship with the Eternal.

Romans 10:11 — For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be put to shame. This verse is the occasion for the "faith only" advocates to repeat the doctrine they have imported into the book of Romans. For example, Moule said: There, in the summary and close of the passage, nothing but faith is mentioned. It is as if he would correct even the slightest disquieting

Romans 5:1 — Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Justified by faith … has invariably the meaning of "justified by an obedient faith," as in the case of Abraham. See the preceding chapter. Also, for further explanation of this

Romans 6:8 — But if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. How enlightening is the fact that, after all Paul had written of faith in preceding chapters, when it comes down to speaking of the Christian's justification and his hope of living eternally with Christ above, it is not faith which is mentioned, but dying with Christ. This does not imply that faith is not required,

1 Corinthians 12:9 — To another faith, in the same Spirit; and to another gifts of healings, in the one Spirit. The list of miraculous endowments continues here. "Faith" is the endowment of all Christians, but more than faith ordinary is meant here. It has a special meaning

2 Corinthians 5:21 — thus no man can be saved out of Christ. In this context, it should also be observed that the righteousness of God was the achievement of God himself in Christ; and, in answer to the question of what constituted that righteousness, it was the perfect faith and obedience of Christ. The faith that saves, in any absolute sense, is therefore the FAITH OF CHRIST, a fact dogmatically affirmed no less than seven times in the Greek New Testament (see my Commentary on Romans, pp. 118-140). Furthermore, even

Galatians 3:25 — But now that faith is come, we are no longer under a tutor. See under Galatians 3:24 for discussion of this. Note that "faith" is still being used in the sense of the historical arrival of the Christian religion, having no reference at all to subjective trust/faith of individuals. The total separation of Christianity from the Law is here dramatically stated with the comparison to a "pedagogue" no longer needed.

Colossians 1:3-4 — We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have toward all the saints. Some commentators have supposed that Paul copied his habit of beginning his letters with prayers of thanksgiving from the stylized letters of that period, each containing an expression

1 Timothy 1:19 — holding faith and a good conscience; which some having thrust from them made shipwreck concerning the faith: Faith and a good conscience … The obedience of faith is meant by this as in this quotation from Wallis: The whole gospel message embraces both

Titus 1:13 — This testimony is true. For which cause reprove them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, It was not implied by the apostle that there were no exceptions, because the very existence of congregations of Christians on the island demonstrated that a remnant of the population were striving for better things; and yet they were in danger

Titus 1:4 — to Titus, my true child after a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour. My true child … This is usually understood as meaning that Paul had converted Titus, although, of course, no detail of this is given in the New Testament. Lipscomb also understood

Philemon 1:5 — hearing of thy love, and of the faith which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all the saints; As testified by the ASV margin, the alternate reading of this verse is "the love and faith toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints." Of course, as may have been

Hebrews 10:22 — Let us draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience: and having our body washed with pure water. The drawing near enjoined in these words is drawing near to God, the very concept of such a thing suggesting what a wonderful privilege is involved.

James 1:3 — … knowing that the proving of your faith worketh patience. This and the following verse (James 1:4) give the theme of the whole letter, which may be variously expressed as "The Testing of Faith," or "Christian Perfection." The proving of your faith … This would

James 2:20 — But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith apart from works is barren? On this verse, Barclay noted that "The fact that Christianity must be ethically demonstrated is an essential part of the Christian faith throughout the New Testament." William Barclay, op. cit., p. 73. Barclay's

1 Peter 1:7 — that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold that perisheth though it is proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ: This rather complicated verse is not a comparison of faith with gold; "but there is an

1 John 5:1 — Christ is begotten of God: and whosoever loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. (1 John 5:1) Whosoever believeth … also implies obedience or fidelity, there being no intimation whatever in a statement like this that mere faith, or faith only, is equivalent to the new birth. "Believeth" in this place, as frequently in the New Testament, is a synecdoche for a number of closely related actions involved in conversion. That Jesus is the Christ … Christianity