Strengthening True Faith

The Holy Spirit works in believer's lives within the realm of faith: faith that is based upon God's propositional revelation. This is the only channel through which the Spirit works within believer's lives. Likewise, the benefits of the sacraments are only made ours when we embrace the truths that are signified therein by faith. That is why it is so important to make sure that our understanding of the sacraments is right. If we allow the efficacy of the Spirit's working through the sacrament of the Lord's Supper to be divorced from true faith in propositional truth, then we have no basis to insist that the efficacy of the Spirit's working requires true faith in propositional truth when it comes to the preached word. That is, if the visible presentation of the truth (i.e., in the Lord's Supper) achieves its goal without true faith and understanding in the propositions being presented, then the preaching of the word can also achieve its goals in the lives of the hearers, even though they have no understanding of or faith in the propositions being presented.