And he cried, saying, Jesus, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me…And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto Him: and when he was come near, He asked him, saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. – Luke 18:38,40-42
The blind man…was notable for his earnestness; he cried, and cried aloud, “Son of David, have mercy on me.” He was notable for his importunity, for they who would have silenced him rebuked him in vain; he cried so much the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me.” But I do not discover that Christ attributed his salvation to his prayers, earnest and importunate though they were. It is not written, “Thy prayers have saved thee”; it is written, “Thy faith hath saved thee.” He was a man of considerable and clear knowledge, and he had a distinct apprehension of the true character of Christ: he scorned to call Him Jesus of Nazareth, as the crowd did, but he proclaimed Him “Son of David,” and in the presence of that throng he dared avow his full conviction that the humble Man, dressed in a peasant’s garb, who was threading His way through the throng, was none other than the royal heir of the royal line of Judah, and was indeed the fulfiller of the type of David, the expected Messiah, the King of the Jews, the Son of David. Yet I do not find that Jesus attributed his salvation to his knowledge, to his clear apprehension, or to his distinct avowal of His Messiahship; but He said to him, “Thy faith hath saved thee,” laying the entire stress of his salvation upon his faith.
What is the reason why in every case, in every man that is saved, faith is the great instrument of salvation? Is it not first because God has a right to choose what way of salvation He pleases, and He has chosen that men should be saved, not by their works, but by their faith in His dear Son?…O sons of men, that the decree of heaven is immutable, and standeth fast forever—”He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved; he that believeth not shall be damned.”
He Hath Said 