Faith is included among the six foundation stones or first principles of Christ precisely because it is basic. There is no salvation apart from believing upon Christ as the Incarnate Son of God. 

 Faith is God’s chosen channel of God’s saving grace.

Faith, like repentance, is a gift from God. By His grace, or unmerited favor, God creates faith within us, enabling us to believe His Word and to rely upon Him as our Savior. 

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast “(Eph. 2:8, 9). 

 Faith is the first step in pleasing God.

Faith is not like money; we do not hoard it up and present it to God in order to please Him. We simply allow Him to persuade us that He does indeed exist and that His Word is utterly trustworthy. We please Him by remaining open to His persuading. 

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Heb. 11:6). 

 Faith is the only way we gain access to God’s holy presence.

Sin separates; blood makes a fresh way of approach. But for us to come to God by means of the new and living way through Christ, we must exercise faith in His blood. We must allow that shed blood to speak peace to our own conscience. 

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God “(Rom 5:1, 2). 

 Faith is our means of becoming stabilized in the truth.

Until we develop a settled and firm conviction of what we believe, we will continue to be blown about by every wind of doctrine. We only begin to mature after we have committed ourselves by definite decision to believing God’s Word. 

“If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established “(Isa. 7:9). 

 Our confession of faith regarding Christ qualifies us for other experiences.

Very early in the history of the Church, creeds became important. Why? A creed-from the Latin credo-is a statement of faith or confession. Converts were required to verbalize what they believed before they were permitted to be water baptized or to take the Lord’s Supper. 

“And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest [be baptized]. And he [the eunuch] answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (Acts 8:37).