Saving faith has three components
Jesus is considered by scholars such as Weber to be an example of a charismatic religious leader. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Faith always has an object, namely, Jesus Christ. To believe in Jesus, we must first know something about Him. This content comprises the notitia of faith, and it is delivered to people through the church’s teaching ministry (Rom. 10:14–17).
Knowing a body of content, however, is not enough for saving faith. We must also affirm the truth of this content. Millions of people know something about Christianity but do not believe it is true. Saving faith requires assensus, the conviction that the content of the notitia is truth.
Finally, even knowing the facts and believing them to be true are not enough in themselves to make us Christians. Demons affirm the truth of what God has said, but they do not trust Him (James 2:19).Fiducia — the entrusting of ourselves into the hands of Christ, the Living Truth — must also be present for our justification.