The Complexity: If Faith Is A Gift From God
If faith is a gift given man by God, then human responsibility is negated. If faith is a gift of God and not man’s free will, man no longer bears responsibility for believing. This makes God responsible for man’s lost state.
Consider, many are lost. If they can only be saved as a result of God giving them faith and they remain lost that means God does not give faith to everyone. Thus, God is solely responsible for the eternal destiny of humans. Man has no accountability.
The act of Christ on the cross enables man to believe, but it is the responsibility of man to believe.
Christ is the object of faith. Man is the subjective one expressing faith. The merit is in the object —- Christ.
The convicting work of the Holy Spirit is to draw persons to Christ and wait for their free will response in faith. The moment the person believes the gift of eternal life is imparted.
According to Ephesians 2:8 it is not faith that is the gift of God, but salvation.