Saturday, July 14, 2007

Proposition and Personal Element to Truth

"Let's be clear: truth certainly does entail more than bare propositions. There is without question a personal element to truth. Jesus himself made that point when he declared himself truth incarnate. Scripture also teaches that faith means receiving Christ for all that he is- knowing him in a real and personal sense and being indwelt by him- not merely assenting to a short list of disembodied truths about him (Matthew 7:21-23).
So it is quite true that faith cannot be reduced to mere assent to a finite set of propositions (James 2:19). I have made that point repeatedly in previous books. Saving faith is more than a merely intellectual nod of approval to the bare facts of a minimalist gospel outline. Authentic faith in Christ involves love for his person and willingness to surrender to his authority. The human heart, will and intellect all consent in the act of faith. In that sense, it is certainly correct, even necessary, to acknowledge that mere propositions can't do full justice to all the dimensions of truth.
On the other hand, truth simply cannot survive if stripped of propositional content. While it is quite true that believing the truth entails more than the assent of the human intellect to certain propositions, it is equally true that authentic faith never involves anything less. To reject the propositional content of the gospel is to forfeit saving faith, period."
-from The Truth War by John MacArthur

No comments: