Faith: Gateway to Grace

God’s grace is our only hope. It is the instrument of love that God has chosen to use to bring humanity back to himself. He does not require extreme sacrifices or monumental tasks of his followers. He just requires us to embrace his grace through faith. That is the Gospel.

[Jhn 3:16-17 KJV] 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Christians know that being “saved” by grace is how we get everlasting life but, how do we actually access this grace? Some teach that we must complete a list of sacraments, observe communion, and follow a bunch of rules to earn salvation. Any doctrine of salvation by meritorious works is a lack of faith and is wrong. In this world of ideas, the devil lives in the extremes. I have observed how the ideological pendulum swings completely the other way into a lack of faith.

Consistent Calvinists insist that we can to nothing but remain dead in sin until God regenerates us (against our will). Only then are we able to repent, believe and be born again. In fact, one who claims man has a free will is labeled a heretic.

The Calvinistic doctrine actually has its origin in St. Augustine of Hippo some 1600 years ago. John Calvin loved his teachings on salvation and revived them in the Reformation. The Refomers moved away from salvation by works and towards salvation by grace. They did much good but were far from perfect. Still today Reformed protestants claim to follow the five “solas” of the Reformation:

1. Sola scriptura: “Scripture alone”

2. Sola fide: “faith alone”

3. Sola gratia: “grace alone”

4. Solo Christo: “Christ alone”

5. Soli Deo gloria: “to the glory of God alone”

I believe that these are all good things that should be believed by all Christians.

The two SOLAS I want to focus on are SOLA GRATIA (grace alone) and SOLA FIDE (faith alone). The Calvinists teach that you exercising the faith in your own free will is a "work". They define faith as a gift only and not an action on the Christians part. If faith is gifted to us, are you not just saying SOLA GRATIA (grace alone) and making SOLA FIDE redundant? When faith is a gift, then grace just includes faith, does it not? Why should we separate these two terms? Better question: Why does the Scripture separate the two?

[Eph 2:8-9 KJV] 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

If we are saved by grace, then how do we access it? Faith is believing that something is real even if you cannot see it. We must go “through faith” to reach saving grace. The verse does not speak as faith being a gift (even in the original Greek) because salvation is the gift. Verse nine specifically says that the gift of God is “not of works”.

In faith you must accept this gift or it is no gift at all. A sovereign God has declared the means of salvation and we must simply ( by grace SOLA GRATIA through faith SOLA FIDE) believe in the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

[Rom 10:9-10 KJV] 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Romans 10:9-10 describes the very act of faith which imparts righteousness. God has ordained that his grace is accessed by faith and no other means:

[Jhn 6:28-29 KJV] 28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

The claim is made that if you believe man has a part in his salvation, then you believe you can work your way into heaven. Nothing is further from the truth. When you decide to believe on Christ you are putting your faith in him. If that is a work, sign me up. Calvinism gives man no responsibility for accepting or rejecting of the Gospel. I disagree. When God commands “all men everywhere to repent”, was he giving a command that cannot be followed? Dare I say, does this make God dishonest or at the least misleading?

Imagine that you are in your home asleep in bed. Suddenly the sound of your smoke detectors assaults your ears, and the smell of smoke overwhelms your senses. Flames are all around you and escape is impossible. Everywhere you turn the yellow flames mock you. Smoke fills your lungs, and you cough, unable to even cry out for help. Just as you fall to the ground, a fireman dressed in all his gear leaps through the flames and reaches out to you. You do the only thing that you can do is hold on for dear life. Safe from the fire and recovering in the hospital, you are interviewed by a reporter. They ask you, “Who saved you from certain death?” You respond: “I saved myself because I reached out and grabbed a firefighter.” All who hear this would realize how absurd that is. How could you, who was seconds from the grave, claim to have saved yourself?

This rescued person is how the Calvinist sees us who believe that faith is an action. They say that we believe we have saved ourselves. Just because we claim that man has a choice (and is responsible for that choice) they accuse us of having a man-centered doctrine.

It is a shame that some minimize faith so much that they destroy it entirely. Having faith (believing) is the one element of salvation we do. We are responsible to repent and believe. Belief and repentance are two sides of the coin of FAITH. We must repent (change our mind) to agree (believe) in Christ’s completed work on the cross.

Who ever said that the act of surrender is a work? If you surrender, you have given up working! Faith is our responsibility and adds nothing to the work of Christ. It is a vital part of salvation:

Faith in the Blood of Christ saves from sin (redemption):

[Rom 3:23-25 KJV] 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God hath set forth [to be] a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

Faith is counted for righteousness:

[Rom 4:3-5 KJV] 3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. 4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Faith gives us access to grace which results in peace with God:

[Rom 5:1-2 KJV] 1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Do not let anyone tell you that God withholds the “gift” of faith from some but not others. The man who rejects God has made his own free-will decision to do so and will suffer for it. Unbelief is the only reason for a man to be cast into the lake of fire. Lack of faith is the sinners final undoing and it is not God who withholds a gift of faith from men.

[Jhn 3:18-21 KJV] 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

How can the sinner be condemned for unbelief if God never gave him the ability to have faith in him? Reader, if you have never put your faith in Christ Jesus the Lord, do not wait. Today is the day of salvation. Accept God's grace. The truth is that nothing (and no one) is holding you back but your stubborn unbelief.

‘Die Wahrheit ist untödlich’ (‘The truth is unkillable’) - Balthasar Hubmaier