Is Faith A Form Of Works That Earns God’s Favor?
Those who advocate faith is a gift of God consider faith a form of works. In other words, a means of earning God’s favor. No person can by any means do that.
Faith is the abandonment of any personal attempt to perform any work to earn God’s favor. It is simply a willingness to accept the work done by Christ on the cross as the only sufficient means of salvation. Faith accepts what has already been accomplished for us by Christ.
Faith merely holds out its hand and allows God to put in it what He has provided. Faith does nothing more than receive the gift. The merit is in the giving, not the receiving.
Even John Calvin readily acknowledged this. He wrote, “His meaning is, not that faith is the gift of God, but that salvation is given to us by God, or, that we obtain it by the gift of God.”
(John Calvin, Commentaries on the Epistles of Paul to the Galatians and Ephesians, pp. 227-229).
In Ephesians 2:8 it is salvation that is the gift of God, not faith.
The key to unraveling this passage is the word “that,” as “and that not of yourselves.” It is a neuter demonstrative pronoun. At issue is does it refer to grace, faith , salvation or something else.
“That,” the pronoun, is neuter, but “grace” and “faith” are feminine nouns. Pronouns should agree with their antecedents in gender and number. That grammatical principle means “that” does not refer back to “grace” or “faith.”
Rather than “that” referring to a particular word it relates instead to a concept. That concept is found in Ephesians 2: 4-8a, especially verse 8a. The concept is salvation by grace through faith. It is salvation, not faith, that is the gift of God.
The Contention
Some Christians believe people are spiritually incapable of believing unless God gives them saving faith and they become spiritually born again. This new life enables them to have faith.
This concept is based on the belief that as a physically dead person is unable to respond to physical stimuli so a spiritually dead person is incapable of responding to spiritual influence, be it human or divine.
This is based on understanding “dead” in passages such as Ephesians 2:1 means the person is without the capacity of response until given new life.
Other passages used to support this concept are: Job 5: 20; Psalm 30:3, 33:19; John 2:6; Luke 15:24, 32; Romans 5:12-21; I Cor. 15:21,22; Colossians 2:13; I John 3:14; Rev. 11:8; 3:1,2.
In reality not one of these passages teaches what proponents advocate. The words “dead” or “death” in each passage mean the person is physically dead or Spiritually separated from God.
There is not one text that teaches a lost person is incapable of responding to God’s loving drawing. There are passages that teach God draws and people are open to coming to Him.
“If any man thirst, let him come to Me” (John 7:37).
“…the Spirit and the bride say come…” (Rev. 22:17).
These and other verses defy the claim of persons like John MacArthur who claim a lost person is as incapable of responding to God as a “cadaver.”
But a few verses that call upon individuals to exercise personal faith of their own free will are: John 1:12,13; 3:16, 36; 5:24; 6:47; Ephesians 2: 8; Romans 3:21, 22, 25, 26, 28, and 4:3-6.
A starving homeless person may be invited to a banquet. The food is provided for him, but he alone can eat it for himself. Of his own free will he chooses to eat or not to eat. He must still decide for himself. Likewise unsaved persons are not like cadavers, they must choose to believe or not to believe.
God is more attentive to the spiritual interest of the lost than most Christians are aware. Cornelius, a lost Gentile, prayed, God heard his prayers, and answered them (Acts 10:30-35).
Cornelius heard Peter preach the gospel and of his won free will responded in faith and was saved (vss. 44-48).
In Philippi Paul and Silas witnessed to a group of women. It is said of one of them, Lydia, God “opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul (Acts 16:14).
The removal of the mental veil did not consequent in God giving her faith. It was the occasion for her of her on free will to express her faith in Christ.
Christ marveled over the “great faith” of the Roman soldier. Faith came from the centurion, not from God, was the cause of Christ marveling.
What Is The Origin Of Faith?
Jesus Christ spoke often of faith. It is essential for salvation and expedient for a consistent walk with Christ.
Does God arbitrarily save certain people who are spiritually dead and after they have been born again give them faith?
Ephesians 2:1 is used by some as a proof text for this concept: “You He made alive who were dead in trespasses.”
Or, do individuals of their own free will choose to trust Christ, that is, exercise faith, for salvation which God gives after the individual exercises personal faith?
Bottom line: does salvation come before or after faith is experienced?
The Reform view is a person must be regenerated before he can believe and have faith.
Conversely, most evangelicals believe a person of his own free will granted them by God freely trusts Christ as Savior and the immediate gift of God thereafter is regeneration.
Two concepts distilled are:
FAITH IS A GIFT OF GOD
Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace are you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”
Adherents of this view believe faith is a divinely imparted means of salvation. God chooses who to give it to.
FAITH IS NOT A GIFT OF GOD – SALVATION IS
Persons who hold this view believe being spiritually dead does not mean a person does not have the ability to respond when God draws him.
Being spiritually dead means a person is separated from God by sin, but can respond to the drawing of the Holy Spirit by his own free will. Faith is a pauper, without merit, responding to the gift offered by God.
The merit is in the giving, not the receiving. The recipient can do nothing to earn, merit, or deserve the gift.
The Significant Result Of The Virgin Birth
The virgin birth is essential to salvation. Here is why. All of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The Scripture says, “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin” (Hebrews 9:22).
The virgin conception made possible the only adequate blood to be shed for sin. What the physical blood does in our bodies is illustrative of what the blood of Jesus Christ does for us spiritually.
The average person has 5 quarts of blood in their body which is circulated through the body every 23 seconds.
PLASMA is a clear liquid that carries the components of blood through the circulatory system. Blood consists of:
* ERYTHROCYTES, red blood cells, which number about 5,000,000 per cubic millimeter in every person. They carry energizing oxygen to feed the cells of the body. That in part is meant when the Scripture says: “Life of the flesh is in the blood” (Lev. 17: 14).
Spiritually our new life is found only in the life-giving blood of Jesus Christ.
* LEUKOCYTES, white blood cells, number 5,000 to 10,000 per cubic millimeter in every healthy person. They defend the body against disease and cleanse the blood. These white cells are in effect “soldiers” to defend the body against disease. They multiply in number when the body is under attack. For example, if there is a splinter in you they gather around it to try to force it out. Many “soldiers” are killed in the attack and become known as “pus.”
The same blood that feeds the cells cleanses them. Likewise, the Scripture says, “…the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin” (I John 1: 7).
The unique nature of Christ’s blood suited Him only to be able to cleanse us, that is, to get the foreign matter of sin out of our bodies. His blood is unique because of the virgin birth.
A baby’s blood is not derived from the mother. When an ovum becomes fertile THEN as a fetus is instantly formed blood is immediately formed in the fetus. All of the newly developing embryo’s blood is developed in the newly created fetus. Not one drop comes from the mother.
Therefore, the reason Christ’s unique blood alone is sufficient to cleanse us from all sin is that He was born of a virgin and His blood was of His nature, not that of His mother. His blood was the blood of God. No wonder Peter called it “precious,” David prophetically spoke of it as “incorruptible,” and Judas spoke of it as “innocent blood,” while John said it was the “overcoming” blood.
There was and is only one mediator between God and men and this was He dying on the cross. John said it well, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (I John 3: 8).
If He were not virgin born, there is no salvation. A mediator is one who is equal to both parties.
If Mary herself was born of a virgin, as some allege, she was divine and that One born of her would have been only divine. Thus, He would not be equal to us human beings.
If Jesus were not virgin-conceived, then He was only human and not equal to God.
However, being conceived of a virgin by the Holy Spirit of God He was the “one mediator between God and men.”
All human kind was being held captive by Satan. Christ’s virgin birth made it possible for Him to ransom us.
He had no old Adamic nature, also known as “an old sin nature,” or “inherent sin.” Therefore, when He died He cared for our old sin nature. Since infants have no personal sin and Christ, having no old sin nature died for our old sin nature, every infant is safe in Jesus and goes to heaven.
Christ died without any personal sin. Therefore, He died for our personal sin.
He resolved the sin issue. The issue now is what will you do with Jesus.
Mary Believed In The Virgin Birth
Mary also was a godly person and knew the laws of her day. She knew that as soon as adultery was known women were carried to the priest, condemned, and executed immediately. She knew if a priest knew she was pregnant the baby would be aborted and her along with it. A modest, virtuous young woman would have tried to hide her pregnancy. However, the first thing she did was visit her cousin Elizabeth and tell her. Who was the husband of Elizabeth? Zacharias, the officiating priest. Custom would have mandated Elizabeth telling Zacharias.
In Israel there were more than 20,000 priests. There were 24 courses of priests and each had approximately 800 priests. Zacharias was in course number eight. Notice, God’s timing. It was time for course number eight to serve. Now out of these 800 priests one would be chosen “by lot, ” that’s like drawing straws, to burn incense “in the Holy of Hollies” (Luke 1: 9). Zacharias was the one chosen. That was more than coincidental.
In the solitude of the Holy of Hollies an angel of the Lord appeared to Zacharias and told him of the forthcoming birth of his own son, who was to become known as John the Baptist, as well as the birth of Jesus Christ. That convinced him Mary was telling the truth and restrained him from seeking her execution.
Such unashamed, open sharing with the family of the priest shows no guilt on Mary’s behalf. This bold visit indicates her awareness of the prophecy by Isaiah and that she was the one in whom it was being fulfilled.
Mary believed the angel messenger and even while knowing and accepting the consequence of the law of her day said, “Be it unto me according to the will of the Lord.”
Mary believed the Word of God. She had no guilt but did have her before the counsel, and they shall stone her with stones till she die; and thus shall be put out sin among the people.”
Joseph being a just man would have been compelled to do this if he had not believed Mary’s conception to have been a miracle of the Lord.
Mary believed the angel messenger and even while knowing and accepting the consequence of the law of her day said, “Be it unto me according to the will of the Lord.”
Mary believed the Word of God. She had no guilt but did have great joy. She sang, “My soul doth magnify the Lord …”
Consider Mary at Calvary. The essence of the collective mood was: “We have a law and by our law He ought to die, because being great joy. She sang, “My soul doth magnify the Lord …”
Consider Mary at Calvary. The essence of the collective mood was: “We have a law and by our law He ought to die, because being a man, He said He was the Son of God.”
What an ache there must have been in the heart of Mary. She stood there tortured by the accusation against her child, Jesus. She knew He was guilty as charged. He was the Son of God. If he were not and Mary were a decent mother, she would have spared Him the agony of the cross and confessed her charade and acknowledged the virgin birth to be a fraud. She was mute because she knew the charge was true. He was the Messiah.