Last weekend, John Piper talked in his sermon of the historical basis of our faith. Specifically, he was preaching on the role of the Word of God in our salvation, and spent some time talking about the nature of that Word, and how it forms the foundation of our faith. I found it profitable, and thus today’s reflection is based largely on what he said.

That the Word of God is critical to salvation is plain from 1 Peter 1:23 — we have been born again “through the living and abiding word of God.”

But what is this Word? It is the word preached to them, viz., the Gospel. And what is the Gospel? It is the story of Christ’s atoning death, burial, and resurrection (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:3-8). Note — it is the communication of certain historical facts. Facts which must be accepted, believed, and clung to.

Note the nature of this use of the word — it is declaration of (verifiable) fact. It is not some mushy, pie-in-the-sky emotional/mystical influence. It is the presentation of certain facts to our intellects, that we may understand, know, and believe them. It is the presentation of wonderful truths to our hearts, that we may love them and by them experience great joy. It is the presentation of certain requirements to our wills, that we may obey them.

That we may obey them. The strange term “obey the gospel” appears a couple of times in the New Testament (2 Thess 1:8, 1 Peter 4:17). It is not necessarily natural for us to think of the Gospel as something which must be obeyed. But it is clearly portrayed in this way for us — in 1 Peter 3:1, unbelieving men are described as ones who “do not obey the word.”

So thus, the nature of faith is volitionally receiving and believing the Word, and specifically the events described in the Gospel, and responding in proper manner (gratitude, joy, and devoted service). Granted, the power of God is at work for us to will to obey the Gospel, but it is still a working with our will.

The Christian faith is not one that invites its adherents to check their brains at the door, to zone out and connect with some ethereal “reality” (or nothingness). Rather, it mandates the engagement of our intellects and our wills, to receive and believe the truth, to think through this truth and its necessary requirements, and to act accordingly. To respond with our whole beings, not least of which is our mind.