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Fable Applied in the New Testament to the traditions and speculations, "cunningly devised fables", of the Jews on religious questions (Ti1 1:4; Ti1 4:7; Ti2 4:4; Tit 1:14; Pe2 1:16). In such passages the word means anything false and unreal. But the word is used as almost equivalent to parable. Thus we have (1.) the fable of Jotham, in which the trees are spoken of as choosing a king (Jdg 9:8); and (2.) that of the cedars of Lebanon and the thistle as Jehoash's answer to Amaziah (Kg2 14:9).

Face Means simply presence, as when it is recorded that Adam and Eve hid themselves from the "face [R.V., 'presence'] of the Lord God" (Gen 3:8; compare Exo 33:14, Exo 33:15, where the same Hebrew word is rendered "presence"). The "light of God's countenance" is his favour (Psa 44:3; Dan 9:17). "Face" signifies also anger, justice, severity (Gen 16:6, Gen 16:8; Exo 2:15; Psa 68:1; Rev 6:16). To "provoke God to his face" (Isa 65:3) is to sin against him openly. The Jews prayed with their faces toward the temple and Jerusalem (Kg1 8:38, Kg1 8:44, Kg1 8:48; Dan 6:10). To "see God's face" is to have access to him and to enjoy his favour (Psa 17:15; Psa 27:8). This is the privilege of holy angels (Mat 18:10; Luk 1:19). The "face of Jesus Christ" (Co2 4:6) is the office and person of Christ, the revealer of the glory of God (Joh 1:14, Joh 1:18).

Fair Heavens A harbour in the south of Crete, some 5 miles to the east of which was the town of Lasea (Act 27:8). Here the ship of Alexandria in which Paul and his companions sailed was detained a considerable time waiting for a favourable wind. Contrary to Paul's advice, the master of the ship determined to prosecute the voyage, as the harbour was deemed incommodious for wintering in (Act 27:9). The result was that, after a stormy voyage, the vessel was finally wrecked on the coast of Malta (Act 27:40).

Fairs (Heb. 'izabhonim ), found seven times in Ezek. 27, and nowhere else. The Authorized Version renders the word thus in all these instances, except in Eze 27:33, where "wares" is used. The Revised Version uniformly renders by "wares," which is the correct rendering of the Hebrew word. It never means "fairs" in the modern sense of the word.

Faith Faith is in general the persuasion of the mind that a certain statement is true (Phi 1:27; Th2 2:13). Its primary idea is trust. A thing is true, and therefore worthy of trust. It admits of many degrees up to full assurance of faith, in accordance with the evidence on which it rests. Faith is the result of teaching (Rom 10:14). Knowledge is an essential element in all faith, and is sometimes spoken of as an equivalent to faith (Joh 10:38; Jo1 2:3). Yet the two are distinguished in this respect, that faith includes in it assent, which is an act of the will in addition to the act of the understanding Assent to the truth is of the essence of faith, and the ultimate ground on which our assent to any revealed truth rests is the veracity of God. Historical faith is the apprehension of and assent to certain statements which are regarded as mere facts of history. Temporary faith is that state of mind which is awakened in men (e.g., Felix) by the exhibition of the truth and by the influence of religious sympathy, or by what is sometimes styled the common operation of the Holy Spirit. Saving faith is so called because it has eternal life inseparably connected with it. It cannot be better defined than in the words of the Assembly's Shorter Catechism: "Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in the gospel." The object of saving faith is the whole revealed Word of God. Faith accepts and believes it as the very truth most sure. But the special act of faith which unites to Christ has as its object the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ (Joh 7:38; Act 16:31). This is the specific act of faith by which a sinner is justified before God (Rom 3:22, Rom 3:25; Gal 2:16; Phi 3:9; John 3:16-36; Act 10:43; Act 16:31). In this act of faith the believer appropriates and rests on Christ alone as Mediator in all his offices. This assent to or belief in the truth received upon the divine testimony has always associated with it a deep sense of sin, a distinct view of Christ, a consenting will, and a loving heart, together with a reliance on, a trusting in, or resting in Christ. It is that state of mind in which a poor sinner, conscious of his sin, flees from his guilty self to Christ his Saviour, and rolls over the burden of all his sins on him. It consists chiefly, not in the assent given to the testimony of God in his Word, but in embracing with fiducial reliance and trust the one and only Saviour whom God reveals. This trust and reliance is of the essence of faith. By faith the believer directly and immediately appropriates Christ as his own. Faith in its direct act makes Christ ours. It is not a work which God graciously accepts instead of perfect obedience, but is only the hand by which we take hold of the person and work of our Redeemer as the only ground of our salvation. Saving faith is a moral act, as it proceeds from a renewed will, and a renewed will is necessary to believing assent to the truth of God (Co1 2:14; Co2 4:4). Faith, therefore, has its seat in the moral part of our nature fully as much as in the intellectual. The mind must first be enlightened by divine teaching (Joh 6:44; Act 13:48; Co2 4:6; Eph 1:17, Eph 1:18) before it can discern the things of the Spirit. Faith is necessary to our salvation (Mar 16:16), not because there is any merit in it, but simply because it is the sinner's taking the place assigned him by God, his falling in with what God is doing. The warrant or ground of faith is the divine testimony, not the reasonableness of what God says, but the simple fact that he says it. Faith rests immediately on, "Thus saith the Lord." But in order to this faith the veracity, sincerity, and truth of God must be owned and appreciated, together with his unchangeableness. God's word encourages and emboldens the sinner personally to transact with Christ as God's gift, to close with him, embrace him, give himself to Christ, and take Christ as his. That word comes with power, for it is the word of God who has revealed himself in his works, and especially in the cross. God is to be believed for his word's sake, but also for his name's sake. Faith in Christ secures for the believer freedom from condemnation, or justification before God; a participation in the life that is in Christ, the divine life (Joh 14:19; Rom 6:4; Eph 4:15, Eph 4:16, etc.); "peace with God" (Rom 5:1); and sanctification (Act 26:18; Gal 5:6; Act 15:9). All who thus believe in Christ will certainly be saved (Joh 6:37, Joh 6:40; Joh 10:27, Joh 10:28; Rom 8:1). The faith = the gospel (Act 6:7; Rom 1:5; Gal 1:23; Ti1 3:9; Jde 1:3).

Faithful As a designation of Christians, means full of faith, trustful, and not simply trustworthy (Act 10:45; Act 16:1; Co2 6:15; Col 1:2; Ti1 4:3, Ti1 4:12; Ti1 5:16; Ti1 6:2; Tit 1:6; Eph 1:1; Co1 4:17, etc.). It is used also of God's word or covenant as true and to be trusted (Psa 119:86, Psa 119:138; Isa 25:1; Ti1 1:15; Rev 21:5; Rev 22:6, etc.).

Fall of Man An expression probably borrowed from the Apocryphal Book of Wisdom, to express the fact of the revolt of our first parents from God, and the consequent sin and misery in which they and all their posterity were involved. The history of the Fall is recorded in Gen. 2 and 3. That history is to be literally interpreted. It records facts which underlie the whole system of revealed truth. It is referred to by our Lord and his apostles not only as being true, but as furnishing the ground of all God's subsequent dispensations and dealings with the children of men. The record of Adam's temptation and fall must be taken as a true historical account, if we are to understand the Bible at all as a revelation of God's purpose of mercy. The effects of this first sin upon our first parents themselves were (1.) "shame, a sense of degradation and pollution; (2.) dread of the displeasure of God, or a sense of guilt, and the consequent desire to hide from his presence. These effects were unavoidable. They prove the loss not only of innocence but of original righteousness, and, with it, of the favour and fellowship of God. The state therefore to which Adam was reduced by his disobedience, so far as his subjective condition is concerned, was analogous to that of the fallen angels. He was entirely and absolutely ruined" (Hodge's Theology). But the unbelief and disobedience of our first parents brought not only on themselves this misery and ruin, it entailed also the same sad consequences on all their descendants. (1.) The guilt, i.e., liability to punishment, of that sin comes by imputation upon all men, because all were represented by Adam in the covenant of works (q.v.). (See IMPUTATION.) (2.) Hence, also, all his descendants inherit a corrupt nature. In all by nature there is an inherent and prevailing tendency to sin. This universal depravity is taught by universal experience. All men sin as soon as they are capable of moral actions. The testimony of the Scriptures to the same effects is most abundant (Rom. 1; 2; 3:1-19, etc.). (3.) This innate depravity is total: we are by nature "dead in trespasses and sins," and must be "born again" before we can enter into the kingdom (Joh 3:7, etc.). (4.) Resulting from this "corruption of our whole nature" is our absolute moral inability to change our nature or to obey the law of God. Commenting on Joh 9:3, Ryle well remarks: "A deep and instructive principle lies in these words. They surely throw some light on that great question, the origin of evil. God has thought fit to allow evil to exist in order that he may have a platform for showing his mercy, grace, and compassion. If man had never fallen there would have been no opportunity of showing divine mercy. But by permitting evil, mysterious as it seems, God's works of grace, mercy, and wisdom in saving sinners have been wonderfully manifested to all his creatures. The redeeming of the church of elect sinners is the means of 'showing to principalities and powers the manifold wisdom of God' (Eph 3:10). Without the Fall we should have known nothing of the Cross and the Gospel." On the monuments of Egypt are found representations of a deity in human form, piercing with a spear the head of a serpent. This is regarded as an illustration of the wide dissemination of the tradition of the Fall. The story of the "golden age," which gives place to the "iron age", the age of purity and innocence, which is followed by a time when man becomes a prey to sin and misery, as represented in the mythology of Greece and Rome, has also been regarded as a tradition of the Fall.

Fallow-deer Deu 14:5 (R.V., "Wild goat"); Kg1 4:23 (R.V., "roebucks"). This animal, called in Hebrew yahmur, from a word meaning "to be red," is regarded by some as the common fallow-deer, the Cervus dama, which is said to be found very generally over Western and Southern Asia. It is called "fallow" from its pale-red or yellow colour. Some interpreters, however, regard the name as designating the bubale, Antelope bubale, the "wild cow" of North Africa, which is about the size of a stag, like the hartebeest of South Africa. A species of deer has been found at Mount Carmel which is called yahmur by the Arabs. It is said to be similar to the European roebuck.

Fallow-ground The expression, "Break up your fallow ground" (Hos 10:12; Jer 4:3) means, "Do not sow your seed among thorns", i.e., break off all your evil habits; clear your hearts of weeds, in order that they may be prepared for the seed of righteousness. Land was allowed to lie fallow that it might become more fruitful; but when in this condition, it soon became overgrown with thorns and weeds. The cultivator of the soil was careful to "break up" his fallow ground, i.e., to clear the field of weeds, before sowing seed in it. So says the prophet, "Break off your evil ways, repent of your sins, cease to do evil, and then the good seed of the word will have room to grow and bear fruit."

Familiar Spirit Sorcerers or necormancers, who professed to call up the dead to answer questions, were said to have a "familiar spirit" (Deu 18:11; Kg2 21:6; Ch2 33:6; Lev 19:31; Lev 20:6; Isa 8:19; Isa 29:4). Such a person was called by the Hebrews an 'ob , which properly means a leather bottle; for sorcerers were regarded as vessels containing the inspiring demon. This Hebrew word was equivalent to the pytho of the Greeks, and was used to denote both the person and the spirit which possessed him (Lev 20:27; Sa1 28:8; compare Act 16:16). The word "familiar" is from the Latin familiaris , meaning a "household servant," and was intended to express the idea that sorcerers had spirits as their servants ready to obey their commands.