Friday 9 January 2009

FAITH

'The faith of the individual must be seen as having no value in itself, but as discovering value wholly and solely through movement towards and commital to Christ. It must be seen as simply a means of finding all one's hope outside oneself in the person and work of another; and not as in any sense an orginating cause or objective ground of justification. For true faith is active only in the man who is wholly occupied with Christ; its practice means that every blessing is received from another. For this reason faith is exclusive and intolerant of company; it is only truly present when any and every contribution towards his salvation on the part of the believer himself or on the part of the church is unequivocally shut out.'
Alan Stibbs, 'Justification by Faith: The Reinstatement of the Doctrine Today' in Andrew Atherstone (Ed.), Such a Great Salvation, p.92.