Westminster Confession on the nature of saving faith
Knowledge + assent + trust; all three required
By this faith, a Christian believeth to be true whatsoever is revealed in the Word, for the authority of God Himself speaking therein... But the principal acts of saving faith are accepting, receiving, and resting upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life, by virtue of the covenant of grace.
THE POSITION
WCF 14.2 has both elements the triad requires. Assent to revealed truth comes first and is grounded in the authority of God speaking, not in the believer's judgement of the content; trust follows as the 'principal acts', which are directed at a person rather than at propositions. The knowledge component is implied by the object of the assent - 'whatsoever is revealed in the Word' - rather than named. WCF 14.1 makes faith a gift: it is 'the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts', ordinarily wrought by the ministry of the Word.
42 They said to the woman, “We now believe not only because of your words; we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man truly is the Savior of the world.”
4 OTHERS HOLD THIS
ABOUT THIS FIGURE
The confessional standard of English-speaking Presbyterianism, completed by the Westminster Assembly in 1646 and adopted with its Scripture proofs. This entry rests on the 1646 text from the manuscript of Cornelius Burges as edited by S. W. Carruthers (1937) for chapters 1-24, and on the 1647 text for chapters 25-33; the Assembly's own proof texts attached to each paragraph supply every reference below.
Cite this page
"Westminster Confession on the nature of saving faith", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/westminster/saving-faith (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/westminster/saving-faith).