(“knowledge”), assensus (“assent”), voluntas (“action of the will”), and fiducia (“trust”). Luther was a practical and realistic thinker, and as he struggled with his own faith life, he came to realize that ultimately trust (fiducia) encompassed all of the forms of faith. Without trust in God’s justifying grace, none of the other expressions of faith were effective or meaningful. Luther’s favorite definition of faith was Heb. 11:1: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of
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