the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Dictionaries
Belief
Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary
or Perhaps, nothing is more simple than the act of believing; and yet, perhaps, nothing which hath created more mistakes and misapprehensions. In common life, we all perfectly understand what it is to believe one another: it is only in relation to our belief in God, that we find it difficult. If the servant of some kind and generous master was promised by him a favour, which he knew his master could perform, he would think it a base impeachment of his master's character for any one to call the promise in question. But when the same kind of reasoning is brought forward concerning God, we overlook the impeachment of the Lord's veracity, in doubting the assurance of what God hath promised. Now, to apply this to the case in point. God hath promised to the church eternal life; and this life is in his Son. To believe this on the simple word and authority of God, this is to give God the credit of God; and in doing this, we do in fact no more than the servant, as before stated, does to his kind master. The greatness of the promise, and the undeservedness of our hearts; these things have nothing to do in the business. It is the greatness, and honour, and credit of the Promiser, which becomes the only consideration with faith. And to take God at his word, and to trust in his promise as God; this is the whole sum and substance of believing. So that the simple act of faith, after all, is the simplest thing upon earth; for it is only believing "the record which God hath given of his Son." (1 John 5:10)
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Hawker, Robert D.D. Entry for 'Belief'. Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance and Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/pmd/b/belief.html. London. 1828.
