Page:The Net of Faith.pdf/261

27* men in such chaotic conditions in which heresy is honored as faith, in order to be ready to believe that which God desires, and to disbelieve what God does not want

Whoever harbors any doubt in this matter and says, "I do not know what He believed or disbelieved," should use right reasoning; for, if it could not be known, nobody could ever have believed. There have been many, however, who have believed the way He desired it; many have been the followers of the faith once given to the saints by its author and perfecter, Jesus Christ. His will is that one should believe His law which he left through His apostles and those parts of the older Scriptures which can reveal other truths in Christ. This then, is faith divine and Christian. For faith is necessary for all things which have been commanded for observance; no body could be faithful to them unless he first believed in God and His words, – they guide and teach man. Observing these things as Christ has commanded him in his law, man shall live by faith. And all information about faith is preserved in the law of God; therein we find what we must believe and what we must not believe. And just as faith given by God can be insulted by one who is contemptuous of it or unwilling to submit to it with acts of obei- Hebrews 12:2.

Romans 1:17.