Faith is the Gift of God

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. NKJV

This verse of Scripture clearly tells us that it is God’s grace that saves us from our sin. What about the faith mentioned in this same verse? Is this faith something that we have already and we bring it to God and then He accepts it and gives us His grace? I believe the Bible tells us to the contrary, it is the quickening power of the Holy Spirit that enables us to believe or to have faith. Paul tells us clearly in Romans 3:11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. NKJV Religion seeks after God but is destined to never find Him, but through the proclamation of the gospel, God the Holy Spirit enables the unbelieving soul to then believe unto salvation by grace. This then proves that no man or woman has any faith to bring to God without the Divine Intervention of God upon that person.

How then can one receive this gift of faith? Well, there are no steps or action plans that can be laid out and followed for a person. A gift can only be taken or received with no strings attached. We human beings give gifts to one another often in many different ways. For Example we may mail a gift to someone that has to open it up, or we leave a gift at a person’s workplace or home as a surprise, or we have the gift delivered to them by carrier, yet the person still has nothing to do to earn that gift. When Abram heard the Lord speak to Him to leave Haran, he simply believed the Word of the Lord and acted. Likewise in the New Testament Paul writes, “So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” Paul says here that the gift of faith only can come to a person by hearing the Word of God and specifically the gospel of Jesus Christ death, burial, and resurrection from the dead and then God the Holy Spirit together with the Word produce the greatest miracle in all of the Universe, regeneration and the new birth.

Romans 10:20 But Isaiah is very bold and says: "I was found by those who did not seek Me; I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me." NKJV

All who will not hear the Word of God and specifically the gospel will never be able to receive the gift of faith. Now after we receive the gift of faith that saves us from sin then we can increase our faith, as the disciples asked our Lord Jesus to teach them to do and we also exercise our faith to trust the whole counsel of God found in His Word. Finally, we are not born with faith or do we inherit faith from some relative, but we receive faith as the gift from God that it is. Amen!

“As ye are now brought into a state of salvation, your sins being all blotted out, and you made partakers of the Holy Spirit; and, having a hope full of immortality, you must not attribute this to any works or merit of yours; for when this Gospel reached you, you were all found dead in trespasses and dead in sins; therefore it was God’s free mercy to you, manifested through Christ, in whom ye were commanded to believe; and, having believed by the power of the Holy Spirit, ye received, and were sealed by, the Holy Spirit of promise; so that this salvation is in no sense of yourselves, but is the free gift of God; and not of any kind of works; so that no man can boast as having wrought out his own salvation, or even contributed anything towards it. By grace are ye saved, through faith in Christ. This is a true doctrine, and continues to be essential to the salvation of man to the end of the world.  But whether are we to understand, faith or salvation as being the gift of God?  But it may be asked: Is not faith the gift of God? Yes, as to the grace by which it is produced; but the grace or power to believe, and the act of believing, are two different things. Without the grace or power to believe no man ever did or can believe; but with that power the act of faith is a man’s own. God never believes for any man, no more than he repents for him: the penitent, through this grace enabling him, believes for himself: nor does he believe necessarily, or impulsively when he has that power; the power to believe may be present long before it is exercised, else, why the solemn warnings with which we meet everywhere in the word of God, and threatening’s against those who do not believe? Is not this a proof that such persons have the power but do not use it? They believe not, and therefore are not established. This, therefore, is the true state of the case: God gives the power, man uses the power thus given, and brings glory to God: without the power no man can believe; with it, any man may.” Adam Clarke

Sincerely in Christ,

Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle e-books now and will be available in a couple of weeks @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reader, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…