The Essence of Faith
Ronald Hanko explores faith in its essential theological meaning, arguing that true faith is fundamentally union with Christ rather than merely intellectual assent or emotional trust. Drawing on the Heidelberg Catechism, Westminster Larger Catechism, and careful exegesis of New Testament passages, Hanko demonstrates how Scripture's various expressions of faith (believing "in," "into," "on" Christ) all point to an intimate personal communion with Christ that distinguishes authentic faith from its counterfeits.
Ron Hanko When we think of faith, we usually think of the activity of believing and trusting in God and in his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith is believing and trusting, but before that it is something else. Faith in its deepest reality and essence is union with Christ. This is suggested in the Heidelberg Catechism, which speaks of true faith in terms of “ingrafting into Christ” [Q. & A. 20], and in the Westminster Larger Catechism, which says that faith is not only assent to the truth of...