As part of a perspective I was sharing in Bible study Saturday night, I made a statement that faith is a gift from God. My son-in-law after several minutes had elapsed, looked at me, scratched his head, and asked where I got that idea. I quoted him from Ephesians 2:8 which says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: ..." Any thoughts or opinions out there, y'all? :scratch: PS - the late Jack Kelley of www.gracethrufaith.com agrees (agreed?) with me, but don't let that stifle expressions of how you feel. B-) :yes: He may have consulted Jesus on that question by this time, but can't communicate any corrections or retractions. :scratch: :whistle: I agree .... salvation is a “free” gift of God ... we can’t earn or pay for it ... we accept the “free” gift by belief that Jesus is God and that He shed His blood for our sins ... and that we ask Him to be our personal Savior. When we hear God’s Word, the Holy Spirit empowers it, and if we receive the truth, God’s supernatural faith enters us. We were so destitute that we couldn’t even believe the good news on our own. God had to make His kind of faith available to us so that we could believe in Him and receive His salvation. We were saved by using God’s supernatural faith to receive His grace. Indeed a gift from God, no doubt! Where people get confused or mixed up is that faith is not a static gift, but rather grows and needs development. Faith is like a seed, once planted into the spirit it needs tending. Like any vegetable or flower of the garden. If it is not nurtured and exercised, it can wither and die! TR It is also truly a diamond in the rough! :yes: :good: TR
