Faith, then, has to do with the understanding and the heart. A man must know his lost and ruined condition before he will accept of Christ; and how can he know this without a spiritually-enlightened mind? What a surprising change now passes over the man! He is brought, by the mighty power of the Holy Ghost, to a knowledge of himself; one beam of light, one touch of the Spirit, has altered all his views of himself, has placed him in a new aspect; all his thoughts, his affections, his desires, are diverted into another and opposite channel; his fond views of his own righteousness have fled like a dream; his high thoughts are humbled, his lofty looks are brought low and, as a broken-hearted sinner, he takes his place in the dust before God. O wondrous, O blessed change! to see the Pharisee take the place, and to hear him utter the cry, of the Publican – “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” – to hear him exclaim, “I am lost, self-ruined, deserving eternal wrath; and, of sinners, the vilest and the chief!”
And now the work and exercise of faith commences; the same blessed Spirit that convinced of sin, presents to the soul a Savior crucified for the lost – unfolds a salvation full and free for the most worthless – reveals a fountain that “cleanses from all sin” – and holds up to view a righteousness that “justifies from all things.” And all that he sets the poor convinced sinner upon doing to avail himself of this, is simply to believe. To the momentous question, “What must I do to be saved?,” this is the only reply, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” The anxious soul eagerly exclaims, “Have I, then, nothing to do but to believe? – have I no great work to accomplish? – no price to bring, no worthiness to plead? – may I come just as I am, without merit, without self-preparation, without money, with all my vileness and nothingness?” Still the reply is, “Only believe” : “Then, Lord, I do believe,” exclaims the soul in a transport of joy, ”help, Thou, my unbelief!”
This, reader, is faith; that wondrous grace, that mighty act of which you have heard so much, upon which so many volumes have been written, and so many sermons have been preached; it is the simple rolling of a wounded, bleeding heart, upon a wounded, bleeding Savior; it is the simple reception of the amazing truth, that Jesus died for the ungodly – died for sinners – died for the poor, the vile, the bankrupt; that He invites and welcomes to His bosom all poor, convinced, heavy-laden sinners. The heart, believing this wondrous announcement, going out of all other dependencies and resting only in this – receiving it, welcoming it, rejoicing in it, in a moment, all, all is peace. Forget not, then, reader, the simple definition of faith – it is but to believe with all the heart that Jesus died for sinners; and the full belief of this one fact will bring peace to the most anxious and sin-troubled soul.
From: Personal Declension and Revival of Religion in the Soul by Octavius Winslow (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1960 [1841]), pp. 68-69. I have broken up what was originally one paragraph into three for ease of reading.
Winslow (1808-1873) was a famous Nonconformist minister in the 19th century who held several pastorates and was the author of several well-received books.
