Galatians 3:22 22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe Galatians 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified In verse 8 of The Amplified Bible the indication is salvation: "...And this (salvation) is not of yourselves , (of your own doing, it came not of your own striving), but it is the gift of God." Okay, so the full gamut of faith of all kinds and strengths -- faith that rips up mountains and plants them in the sea, or maybe faith resulting in undisputed miracles, -- is any of that faith generated by the possessor, or is all faith whatsoever a gift of God? Faith is said in Hebrews 11:1 to be both substance and evidence -- both tangible (substance) and sometimes palpable but invisible. Isn't all that a gift of God? The great Hebrew Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11 -- all those great accomplishments were rooted in faith. And God gifted all of them with their faith, I believe / contend. Gifts! Not "substance and evidence" generated by the possessor of faith. Some who met directly with God, e.g., Abraham, may have been different from you or me, since we never had a physical visit from God (Jesus) as Abraham did on occasion. Such physical encounters would certainly help build faith. Doubting Thomas was gifted with faith differently from us. But I believe that all faith is a gift from God, no matter what size or kind, or how delivered, or how wrapped... Can anyone generate his or her own faith in God, or through exercise pump faith up higher / like so many muscles? If so, my next question would be, are muscles a gift from God? (Okay, the height of this soap box is making this old guy nervous... Hush, Dan! The stakes here are not all that high! Calm yourself and listen now for more wisdom from more RITANs... ) These verses seem to indicate that faith is a gift from God: Act 3:16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. Php 1:29 For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake 2Pe 1:1 Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: I also feel unless we draw near to God then He will draw near to us (James 4:8 ...). We need to seek Him first before He gives us that faith to believe. Jeremiah 29:13 “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” I can give testimony of this ... a year before I got saved I was a 2nd grader and I opened up a Catholic Bible around the house and started reading Genesis. I enjoyed reading the chapters until I reached chapter 10 with the “who begot who” and mistakenly thought it would continue with the lineage of “whose who” for the remainder of the Bible so that is when I closed up the Bible. I think the Lord honored me seeking Him though because a year later is when I got saved. My sister said she did the same thing with reading from Genesis and then stopping at chapter 10. When I was witnessing to a FED EX driver he said he was an altar boy and was abused in the Catholic Church and he became bitter and now refuses anything to do with God. He thanked me though that I was trying to care for his soul. His last words were he believes he will be alright. And a lady that used to work at a local bagel shop I tried to witness to and she is bitter towards God because her daughter had a miscarriage. So my take is ... if a person is bitter towards God then they are not going to draw near to Him and will not receive the faith to believe. It’s sad because both these individuals are really nice people, but you can tell are still hurting and just want to blame God for their disappointments. hi, here are two links to teaching on Ephesians 2:8-10 which are consistent with the view that my pastor taught the last two weeks as he teaches through Ephesians. Both of these are not my pastor, but my pastor doesn't have a website where I could point you to what he is teaching us. Pastor Paul LeBoutillier: Ephesians 2:8-10 Not by Works Dr. Andy Woods | May 4, 2016 | Ephesians 2:8-10 | Soteriology - The Doctrine of Salvation https://slbc.org/sermon/soteriology-016/ I'm trusting that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. So I keep praying for unsaved loved ones, that they will hear the Holy Spirit, and change their mind about Jesus and trust Him to forgive them and do for them what Jesus said He alone could provide
