Chapter 14, Paragraph 1
Of Saving Faith – The Nature and Source of Faith
Summary
This paragraph declares that the grace of faith, by which the elect believe to the saving of their souls, is the gift of God. It does not arise from human nature or mere intellectual assent, but from the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. Faith is born when God enlightens the mind to understand His Word and renews the heart to embrace Christ freely offered therein. It is both a divine creation and a human act—the Spirit gives it, and the believer exercises it.
The Word of God is the instrument of this faith. Through Scripture, God reveals Himself, His promises, and His Son. As the gospel is preached, the Spirit accompanies it with power, convincing sinners of their need and leading them to trust in Christ alone for salvation. Faith rests not on tradition, emotion, or reason, but upon the authority of God speaking in His Word. Thus, “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ.”
This saving faith is not a vague optimism or a bare belief in the existence of God; it is a living trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ. It embraces Him as Prophet, Priest, and King—the only Mediator between God and man. Faith receives Christ as He is offered in the gospel: a whole Saviour for a whole sinner. The same faith that justifies also sanctifies, uniting the believer to Christ and drawing from Him continual strength and life.
Historical Context
The Westminster Divines grounded this doctrine firmly in the Reformation principle of sola fide—faith alone as the instrument of justification. Yet they carefully distinguished saving faith from mere historical or temporary faith. Against the Roman Catholic Church, which blended faith with works and ecclesiastical authority, they affirmed that faith rests solely on God’s Word and receives salvation as a gift. Against rationalist tendencies and emotional enthusiasm alike, they taught that true faith involves both understanding and trust, founded upon divine revelation and wrought by the Spirit’s inward grace.
In the Puritan context, this doctrine was pastoral as much as theological. Faith was not merely assent to doctrine but a heart-clinging confidence in Christ. The Divines emphasized that the weakest faith still lays hold of a strong Saviour, and that even trembling trust in Christ is saving, for it unites the sinner to the One who cannot fail.
Key Biblical References
- Ephesians 2:8–9 – “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”
- Romans 10:17 – “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
- Hebrews 12:2 – “Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.”
- John 6:44–45 – “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.”
- Philippians 1:29 – “It has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him but also suffer for His sake.”
Summary Statement
Chapter 14, paragraph 1 teaches that saving faith is both the gift of God and the response of man, wrought by the Spirit through the Word. It opens the eyes to see, the heart to trust, and the soul to rest in Christ alone. This faith is the hand that receives the promises of God, the bond that unites the believer to the Saviour, and the fountain from which all obedience flows.
Faith is not self-generated confidence, but Spirit-given conviction. It is not wishful thinking, but the sure persuasion that God’s Word is true and His Christ sufficient. And because its source is divine, its endurance is sure. “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.” Thus, every believer—weak or strong—may say with the apostle Paul, “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.”
Chapter 14, Paragraph 2
The Acts and Growth of Saving Faith
Summary
This paragraph teaches that saving faith is not a static possession but a living and active grace. It believes everything revealed in God’s Word, responds differently to different parts of it, and finds its highest exercise in resting upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life. Faith receives the whole counsel of God—not selectively, but submissively. It trembles at His threats, believes His promises, and obeys His commands.
True faith embraces Scripture in its fullness. It believes the history as truth, the law as holy, the promises as sure, and the gospel as life. Yet its chief act is not bare assent to doctrine but trust in a Person—the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith receives, rests upon, and rejoices in Him as He is freely offered in the gospel. It sees in Him wisdom for the ignorant, righteousness for the guilty, sanctification for the unclean, and redemption for the enslaved. Faith clings to Christ in all His offices: as Prophet who teaches, Priest who atones, and King who reigns.
This faith grows by hearing, reading, meditating on, and applying the Word of God, by prayer and the sacraments, and by the trials of life that drive the believer again and again to Christ. Though faith may be weak, it is never lifeless. It lives by feeding upon the promises of God and grows stronger as it is exercised. The same grace that kindled faith sustains it; the same Spirit who granted it continues to nourish it until it gives way to sight.
Historical Context
The Westminster Divines, following Calvin and the Puritans, were careful to distinguish between faith’s object, acts, and degrees. Against Roman Catholic teaching, they denied that faith rests upon the Church’s authority or human reasoning; its object is God speaking in His Word. Against mystical enthusiasm, they denied that faith rests upon inner feeling or private revelation. It trusts the written promises of God.
They also wrote pastorally to comfort believers of varying strength. The weakest faith—so long as it looks to Christ—is as saving as the strongest. “A trembling hand,” wrote Richard Sibbes, “may yet receive a rich jewel.” Faith’s assurance may rise or fall, but its object never changes. The security of faith lies not in its intensity, but in the sufficiency of the One believed.
Key Biblical References
- Isaiah 66:2 – “This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at My word.”
- John 1:12 – “To all who received Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”
- 1 Thessalonians 2:13 – “You accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God.”
- Romans 4:20–21 – “[Abraham] grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised.”
- 2 Peter 3:18 – “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”
Summary Statement
Chapter 14, paragraph 2 portrays saving faith as both receptive and responsive—it takes God at His Word, trembles under His warnings, obeys His precepts, and rests in His Christ. It does not pick and choose among divine truths but yields to all of them, confident that the God who speaks cannot lie. Its chief act, however, is always the same: to rest upon Jesus Christ alone for salvation.
Faith is not measured by certainty, but by its direction. Even weak faith clings to a strong Redeemer. It grows through use, strengthened by the very trials that test it, and matures as it feeds upon the Word and ordinances of grace. In this way, faith becomes both the root and the fruit of the Christian life—born of the Spirit, nourished by the Word, exercised through obedience, and crowned in glory when faith at last becomes sight.
Chapter 14, Paragraph 3
The Relationship Between Faith and Assurance
Summary
This paragraph teaches that saving faith, though it may vary in strength, is always true and real. It may be assaulted and weakened by doubt, or grow and flourish in confidence, yet it never utterly fails because it is upheld by the Spirit of God. The essence of faith is not perfect assurance, but genuine trust. The weakest faith still unites the soul to Christ just as surely as the strongest.
Faith and assurance are distinct but related graces. Faith looks outward to Christ; assurance looks inward to the evidences of faith’s work. A believer may trust Christ sincerely and yet wrestle with fear, feeling his own unworthiness or the darkness of providence. Even so, his faith remains saving, for its power lies not in the degree of confidence, but in the object believed—the steadfast Redeemer. Like a trembling hand clinging to a rope, faith holds fast because the rope holds firm.
Over time, through the ministry of the Word, the sacraments, prayer, and obedience, faith is strengthened. Assurance grows not by gazing inward, but by fixing the eyes upon Christ. The Spirit, who gave faith, also bears witness with the believer’s spirit that he is a child of God. Though the believer may walk through nights of doubt, he is never abandoned; though assurance may waver, faith endures. In the end, faith’s trembling gives way to triumph, as the believer learns to say, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.”
Historical Context
The Westminster Divines wrote this paragraph with deep pastoral care. They saw how many of God’s people, particularly under persecution or trial, were tempted to doubt their salvation. Against Roman Catholicism, which made assurance a dangerous presumption, they affirmed that it is both possible and desirable. Against Antinomianism, which confused mere presumption with saving faith, they warned that true assurance grows through holiness, not apart from it.
The Divines followed Calvin and the English Puritans in distinguishing between the seed of faith and the flower of assurance. Faith may exist long before assurance blooms, yet both spring from the same root—the Spirit’s work through the Word. They urged believers not to despair in doubt, for even flickering faith lays hold of a faithful Saviour. “A little faith,” wrote Thomas Watson, “will bring your soul to heaven, though great faith will bring heaven to your soul.”
Key Biblical References
- Mark 9:24 – “I believe; help my unbelief!”
- Luke 17:5 – “The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’”
- Matthew 14:31 – “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
- Romans 4:20–21 – Abraham “grew strong in his faith, giving glory to God.”
- 2 Timothy 1:12 – “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed unto Him.”
Summary Statement
Chapter 14, paragraph 3 reminds us that saving faith may be weak or strong, but it is always anchored in Christ. Assurance is the flower of faith, not its root. A believer’s confidence may waver, yet the bond of union with Christ does not. Faith lives by looking to Christ, not by measuring itself. The smallest spark of faith will outlast the darkest storm, because its flame is kindled and sustained by the Spirit of God.
Thus, the Christian is called neither to despair in weakness nor to boast in strength, but to rest in the faithfulness of Christ, who holds fast those who can scarcely hold on. One day, that trembling faith will give way to sight, and assurance will be perfected in glory—when the redeemed stand before their Saviour and hear the words that silence every doubt: “Well done, good and faithful servant… enter into the joy of your Lord.”
Covenant Presbyterian Church 