Defining the Christian Faith Introduction

When defining the Christian Faith, one must focus on three aspects of that faith: 1) the cognitive, 2) the relational, and 3) the behavioral. The Christian Faith is based upon a cognitive process—i.e., a determination in the mind to accept the doctrines of the Christian Church, which primarily teach that Jesus Christ is God and that the salvation comes by way of Christ and His Church. Next, the Faith is based upon the trust that the individual has in God according to the doctrines he has received: believing what he believes, he trusts God to save him. This is what is meant by “Now faith is the SUBSTANCE of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith has a very real relational aspect to it because it does involve leaping from where one is now to where one hopes and wants to be—which is with God. Lastly, the Faith is also based on the behavioral process that follows—i.e., the believer now must make an act of faith, a demonstration of his belief that shows he is not merely paying lip service by recognizing the doctrines as true while ignoring their application in his life but is rather conforming his life to his belief system, that is, to the doctrines of the Church, in so far as he has developed his trust in or relationship with God. The behavioral aspect is what is alluded to in 1 John 3:18: “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” The cognitive precedes the relational which precedes the behavioral, and yet all three flow into and out of one another so that they are mutually reinforcing. This paper will show how to know what the Christian Faith is one must first understand the cognitive aspects, then the relational aspects, and finally the behavioral aspects of the Faith.

The Cognitive Aspect of the Christian Faith

The cognitive aspect of the Christian Faith is based on the application of one’s reason to the revelations and teachings of the Christian Church in a process of discernment to see whether the claims of Church are credible or not. This is why the scholastics say that faith is based on reason.[footnoteRef:2] The mind has to consent to the truths that the Church teaches before an act of faith can be made or before faith can be professed. Faith is therefore, in the beginning, a rational assent of the mind to the facts laid before it, which teach, namely, that: 1) Jesus Christ is the Son of God; 2) He died on the Cross in reparation for the sins of world; 3) His sacrifice atoned for the sins of...

The Christian Faith encompasses other teachings and doctrines as well, but these are the preeminent points that have a historical basis. [2: Ratzinger, Joseph. "Relativism: Central Problem for Faith Today." ORIGINS-WASHINGTON- 26 (1996): 309-309; Snyder, David C. "Faith and reason in Locke's Essay." Journal of the History of Ideas 47, no. 2 (1986): 197-213.]
In order to have faith in God, one first has to know of God; to have faith that Christ is the Son of the God and Redeemer of the world, one has to know of Christ, His actions, and Why He is the Savior. Faith is dependent upon knowledge. One cannot have faith in Christ if one does not know Christ: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17)—that is to say, before one can hope in Christ or develop the relational aspect of the Christian Faith, one must first hear of Christ and come to understand the reasons for believing in Christ’s divinity.

The Relational Aspect of the Christian Faith

The relational aspect of the Christian Faith is dependent upon the trust that blossoms once the mind has given its assent to the doctrines of the Church. That is to say, once the Word has been heard and accepted, faith can begin to be developed. Faith is not just like a coupon that one receives in the mail that reads, “Good for one free entry into Heaven”—on the contrary, Faith is like a membership that must be used: if it is not used it does one no good and on Judgment Day one will be judged for not maintaining one’s commitment to the faith. To be committed to the faith means to develop the relational aspect of the faith—the trust in God that God wants people to have in him. Trust is essential for making an act of faith, which is what the behavioral aspect of the faith defines. But to get to the behavioral aspect, the trust aspect—the relational aspect—first has to be there. 1 Peter 1:13 explains: “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” In other words, to be ready to act in faith, one must trust in God’s grace—trust that the grace is there and will be there to strengthen one in all one’s actions. To get there, one has to develop one’s relationship with God—one has to move from assenting to the truths of the faith…