Faith is a gift of God that is His work in us--we don't conjure it up of our own initiative. Christ is the Author and Finisher of our faith. God gets all the glory and credit from beginning to end, and by the grace of God He opens our hearts to believe ("He opened the door of faith..," according to Acts 14:27, KJV), just like He opened Lydia's heart to believe and pay attention to what Paul was saying. Faith is nothing to boast about since it is a gift and not a work--otherwise, we would be saved by merit and have something to brag about in God's presence. "He saved us not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy..." (Tit. 3:5, NIV).
Before the Reformation, the predominant viewpoint of the "Church" was the teaching of Roman Catholicism that faith is a work and a meritorious one at that and deny it's a gift. We don't merit our salvation but our chosen in the Beloved "according to His good pleasure." The light of the Reformation was that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Faith is the instrumental means of salvation, not salvation or righteousness itself. Our righteousness is God's gift to us, not our gift to God. "Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him as righteousness" (Rom. 4:3, ESV). Faith cannot be the means of righteousness and righteousness itself at the same time. It is the instrumental means of salvation and faith is counted "unto" righteousness.
This means righteousness is imputed or put to our personal account and we are reckoned as righteous (we are not righteous personally). Our righteousness is God's gift to us, not our gift to God (cf. Isaiah 4524). We cannot believe apart from the work of God: "...this is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he has sent" (John 6:29, KJV). We believe--God doesn't do it for us! Also, in the same vein, Peter wrote: "To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing..." (2 Pet. 1:1, ESV). We got this faith from God--we received it freely and exercise it in a "leap of faith!"
We are each responsible for the "measure of faith that God has given you" according to Rom. 12:3 (NIV). Note that we will not be judged according to our faith, but our deeds are done in faith: What counts then? Only faith working through love (cf. Gal. 5:6, ESV). "He will render to every man according to his deeds" (Rom. 2:6, KJV). "...he greatly helped those who through grace had believed," (Acts 18:27, ESV). We would not have ever believed had not God intervened on our behalf--we were not wiser, better, more meritorious than anyone else, but just "chosen." As Jesus said in John 15:16 (ESV): "You did not choose me but I chose you...."
Jonah cried out in faith: "Salvation is of the Lord" in Jonah 2:9 (KJV). That's the only way it can be, if it were of us and God we could never know if we were saved, because of all the variables involved. But God is a constant and someone we can count on besides our unreliable own selves. God alone accomplishes our salvation and He gets all the credit for it from start to finish. "I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able..." (2 Tim. 1:12, KJV).
How does faith come to us then? "Faith comes from hearing the message..." according to Rom. 10:17 (NIV). If we don't believe we just need the right attitude: "If any man will to do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God..." (John 7:17, KJV). If we receive the light we have we will get more or God will harden us for rejecting that light given us: "...The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened..." (Rom. 11:7, ESV). 1 John 5:1 (ESV) says that "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God [this implies regeneration takes place beforehand]. This is right because the quickening grace of God opens our eyes as it were and we see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. He regenerates us unto faith.
We are not elected because we believe (that would be merit and this is called the prescient view of election and the golden chain of redemption in Romans 8:29-39 militates against this viewpoint), but we are elected unto faith. Paul says that it has been "granted unto us to believe" in Phil. 1:29. Finally, Eph. 2:8-9 (KJV) says, "For by grace ye are saved through faith; and that [the antecedent is faith] not of yourselves: it is the gift of God, not of works, [proving that faith is not a work], lest any man should boast [not meritorious]." The whole act of salvation is of God and the gift of God so that we can say with the Reformers: Soli Deo Gloria! (Or to God alone be the glory!)
We don't have faith in "faith," but faith in Christ. It is not faith that saves us, but Christ (the object) that saves us! We are not saved because of faith, in other words, but because of Christ! It is the object of faith, not the zeal or amount that counts. A little faith in Christ is better than a lot of faith in yourself, which will not save--we must give up trying to save ourselves and let God save us on His terms. "...For not all have [saving] faith" (2 Thess. 3:2). Everyone has faith in something or someone, but saving faith is in Christ, and is what matters--this is the gift of God. And so we conclude that faith is not achieved, it is given! Soli Deo Gloria!
Before the Reformation, the predominant viewpoint of the "Church" was the teaching of Roman Catholicism that faith is a work and a meritorious one at that and deny it's a gift. We don't merit our salvation but our chosen in the Beloved "according to His good pleasure." The light of the Reformation was that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Faith is the instrumental means of salvation, not salvation or righteousness itself. Our righteousness is God's gift to us, not our gift to God. "Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him as righteousness" (Rom. 4:3, ESV). Faith cannot be the means of righteousness and righteousness itself at the same time. It is the instrumental means of salvation and faith is counted "unto" righteousness.
This means righteousness is imputed or put to our personal account and we are reckoned as righteous (we are not righteous personally). Our righteousness is God's gift to us, not our gift to God (cf. Isaiah 4524). We cannot believe apart from the work of God: "...this is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he has sent" (John 6:29, KJV). We believe--God doesn't do it for us! Also, in the same vein, Peter wrote: "To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing..." (2 Pet. 1:1, ESV). We got this faith from God--we received it freely and exercise it in a "leap of faith!"
We are each responsible for the "measure of faith that God has given you" according to Rom. 12:3 (NIV). Note that we will not be judged according to our faith, but our deeds are done in faith: What counts then? Only faith working through love (cf. Gal. 5:6, ESV). "He will render to every man according to his deeds" (Rom. 2:6, KJV). "...he greatly helped those who through grace had believed," (Acts 18:27, ESV). We would not have ever believed had not God intervened on our behalf--we were not wiser, better, more meritorious than anyone else, but just "chosen." As Jesus said in John 15:16 (ESV): "You did not choose me but I chose you...."
Jonah cried out in faith: "Salvation is of the Lord" in Jonah 2:9 (KJV). That's the only way it can be, if it were of us and God we could never know if we were saved, because of all the variables involved. But God is a constant and someone we can count on besides our unreliable own selves. God alone accomplishes our salvation and He gets all the credit for it from start to finish. "I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able..." (2 Tim. 1:12, KJV).
How does faith come to us then? "Faith comes from hearing the message..." according to Rom. 10:17 (NIV). If we don't believe we just need the right attitude: "If any man will to do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God..." (John 7:17, KJV). If we receive the light we have we will get more or God will harden us for rejecting that light given us: "...The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened..." (Rom. 11:7, ESV). 1 John 5:1 (ESV) says that "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God [this implies regeneration takes place beforehand]. This is right because the quickening grace of God opens our eyes as it were and we see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. He regenerates us unto faith.
We are not elected because we believe (that would be merit and this is called the prescient view of election and the golden chain of redemption in Romans 8:29-39 militates against this viewpoint), but we are elected unto faith. Paul says that it has been "granted unto us to believe" in Phil. 1:29. Finally, Eph. 2:8-9 (KJV) says, "For by grace ye are saved through faith; and that [the antecedent is faith] not of yourselves: it is the gift of God, not of works, [proving that faith is not a work], lest any man should boast [not meritorious]." The whole act of salvation is of God and the gift of God so that we can say with the Reformers: Soli Deo Gloria! (Or to God alone be the glory!)
We don't have faith in "faith," but faith in Christ. It is not faith that saves us, but Christ (the object) that saves us! We are not saved because of faith, in other words, but because of Christ! It is the object of faith, not the zeal or amount that counts. A little faith in Christ is better than a lot of faith in yourself, which will not save--we must give up trying to save ourselves and let God save us on His terms. "...For not all have [saving] faith" (2 Thess. 3:2). Everyone has faith in something or someone, but saving faith is in Christ, and is what matters--this is the gift of God. And so we conclude that faith is not achieved, it is given! Soli Deo Gloria!
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