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I. God having raised man to higher relations with Himself than those which originate in the natural order, an additional influx from God is required, to form the basis of those relations. There must be some manifestation from outside of those divine truths which reason cannot attain to alone. A special aptitude must be infused into the mind that it may be able to assimilate those truths. There must be some provision for perfect certainty about them, so that they may hold their own against human tendency to error, and may prevail over the influences of the lower nature. As supernatural truth is superior in kind to all that belongs to this world, the action of the mind in adhering to it is more important than any other intellectual action. As the operations of the intelligence must precede all responsible action both in temporal and in spiritual matters, the equipment of the intelligence is the first necessity of the higher life. God has provided for these requirements in the revelation He has given us and in the infused gift of Faith. This is the essential foundation of the higher life, for "without faith it is impossible to please God" (Heb. xi. 6). We cannot acquire it for ourselves; Faith like "every best gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights" (Jas. i. 17). How much does Faith open to you! How it elevates you in mind and soul! It is one of your most precious gifts. Strive for its increase. Beware lest you ever lose it.
II. The divine gift of Faith produces in the soul absolute certainty about matters which are beyond the reach of our natural faculties. It is necessary for our peace of mind, for the consistent regulation of our lives, and for the organization of all mankind into the unity of one body, that the things which pertain to religion and salvation should be placed beyond all doubt, and raised out of the turmoil and constant changes of opinion which beset every natural science. All other beliefs rest on the fallible authority of our senses and inferences: they are the passing fashions of a day, proved by a few men to their own satisfaction, adopted on their authority by all the rest of their generation, and then reversed by the later discoveries of their successors. Divine truths come to us not as the most modern speculations of the learned, not as the prevailing opinion of men, not as our own personal convictions or whims, but on the authority of God's own word. An assistance is given to our intellect, in the form of the infused grace of Faith, which helps us to receive with the fullest certainty the knowledge which God has revealed. Those truths remain for ever, unchanged in substance, though gradually developed in proportion to progressing theological investigations, which are stimulated by progressing errors. Thank God for giving you in Faith an "anchor of the soul sure and firm" (Heb. vi. 19).
III. Faith while eminently certain is also obscure. It is "the conviction of things that appear not" (Heb. xi.1). The human mind cannot rise to the full comprehension of divine mysteries even when they are revealed and firmly believed. So the savage is able to use a gun, or work an engine, and yet he cannot enter into the intricate ideas which led to its invention, or the processes of its manufacture. There are great advantages to us in this obscurity.
1. The blessedness of believing consists in the fact that we do not see with absolute clearness (John xx. 29).
2. It is the obscurity of faith which makes it so great a homage to God. We trust His word implicitly, "bringing into captivity every understanding to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. x. 5).
3. The obscurity is an element in the certitude of our Faith, for we know then that we are not resting on our conceit in ourselves, or on our own shallow intelligence which is liable to deception. Life is carried on through faith in what is not evident, through trust in the convictions and honesty of other men. Our spiritual life requires that we place similar confidence in God and His agents.
Meditations on Christian Dogma,
Right Rev. James Bellord, D. D.,
The Newman Press, 1961
