The Trust of Saving Faith

James 2:19 “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!”

Faith in Jesus Christ is the only means by which we enjoy a salvation and peace with God (Rom. 5:1; Eph. 2:8–10). Therefore, we must know what constitutes authentic saving faith. We have seen that saving faith includes notitia and assensus, with notitia referring to our knowledge of content, of what is to be believed, and assensus referring to our assent or agreement that this content is true. Consider the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here, the notitia would be the knowledge that Christianity teaches the crucifixion of Jesus and His rising again from the dead on the third day. The assensus consists in affirming that Jesus did actually die on the cross and was resurrected three days later. While such knowledge and assent are necessary for saving faith, however, knowledge and assent are not sufficient for someone to possess true saving faith. One last element remains: fiducia, or personal trust.

That knowledge and assent are necessary but insufficient for saving faith is evident in James 2:19. Contrasting true fruit-producing faith and mere mental assent, the Apostle points out that one does well to believe that God is one. In other words, to know the monotheistic claims of Scripture and to affirm their truth is a good thing. Yet as James writes, to know and believe that God is one does not set someone apart as His child. After all, even the demons know and believe that there is only one God. If all we have is knowledge and assent, we have nothing better than the faith of demons. (The trust of saving faith)

Demons know who God is and believe that what Scripture says about Him is true, but they are not reconciled to our Creator. Why? Because they remain pridefully rebellious against the Lord and do not trust His Word. Those who have saving faith, on the other hand, know the essentials of divine revelation, believe that this revelation is true, and then actually put themselves in the hands of Christ for salvation. Such persons believe in Jesus and receive Him as Savior and Lord (John 1:12–13).

We will conclude today with an analogy that many pastors and theologians have used to illustrate the three components of saving faith. Consider a chair. One must recognize the chair (notitia) and believe that it is a chair (assensus). Nevertheless, one must actually sit on the chair (fiducia) for it to be of any use. Similarly, knowing about Jesus and believing His claims about Himself will not benefit us if we do not trust Him to save us personally.

Bible Study from Tabletalk Magazine / September 2025

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Coram Deo Living before the face of God

We must believe not only that Jesus died for sinners but that He died for us specifically. When we trust that He is the Savior of sinners and gave His life to redeem us personally, then we enter into salvation and will enjoy eternal life forevermore. We do this decisively at conversion, and we continue trusting Him to save us personally every day until we see Him in glory. Have you trusted in Jesus as your Savior?

For further study

• Psalm 112:6–7

• Proverbs 3:5–6

• John 6:29

• 1 John 3:23