Tags
Achievement, Ephesians 2, Faith, Heaven, Joy, Love, Peace, Religious Elites, Reward, Teachings
Bold Faith
Where does faith come from? Faith is not something I conjure up on my own, nor is it something I am born with. Faith is not a result of diligence in study or pursuit of the spiritual. Faith doesn’t come from “good theology”. The religious elites can’t give it to me.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. | Ephesians 2:8-9
Paul makes it clear that faith is a gift from God, not because I deserve it, have earned it, or am worthy to have it. It is not from myself; it is from God. It is not obtained by my power or our free will. Faith is simply given to me by God, along with His grace and mercy, according to His holy plan and purpose, and because of that, He gets all the glory.
- Faith is what sustains me to the end, knowing that by faith I will be in heaven with God for all eternity. Peter nails it here:
- “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8-9).
- And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.” Mark 9:23
- God is God. Nothing is impossible with God.
- My job is to get that deep in my soul. My job is to believe.
- And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.’ Matthew 17:20
- I don’t need more faith. God has given me enough.
- I need to exercise what I have been given. Like a seed, I need to let it grow and grow and grow.
- And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen.” Matthew 21:21
- Doubt is insidious in my life. Does God really love me and care?
- Yes, He does. God is in a good mood. I must believe that.
- And the Master said, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you.” Luke 17:6
- Again, I need to let it grow.
- God designed a way to distinguish between those who belong to Him and those who don’t, and it is called faith. Very simply, I need faith to please God.
- God tells me that it pleases Him that I believe in Him even though we cannot see Him.
- Hebrews 11:6 tells me that “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
This is not to say that I have faith in God just to get something from Him. However, God loves to bless those who are obedient and faithful.
- At the end of the day, I want to hear Jesus say ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’
- In Luke 7:50. Jesus is engaged in dialog with a sinful woman when He gives us a glimpse of why faith is so rewarding. “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” The woman believed in Jesus the Messiah by faith, and He rewarded her for it.
Jesus Quotes and God Thoughts 
Great reminder and scriptural context. Faith is an unearned, gift. As with all gifts, we must accept and use that gift to give thanks to the giver. As you have rightly written, we need to exercise it, make it grow like a seed to praise God for this stunning and marvelous gift.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church agrees: In faith, the human intellect and will cooperate with divine grace: “Believing is an act of the intellect assenting to the divine truth by command of the will moved by God through grace.” (CCC 155)
Praise and thanks to a God who loves us!
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The Bible says in Romans 10:17 (my blog’s namesake) that FAITH comes by HEARING… and hearing by the WORD of GOD. I LOVE THIS!!! It’s a really good study when you start digging into it. Sure, faith is a gift from God…(because all good and perfect gifts come from God) but I believe Ephesians 2:8-9 is actually referring to the gift of salvation. God’s grace is what saves us…through the faith that He gave us.
Romans 12:3 says, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”
A person who has experienced this free gift of salvation is eager to share the Good News with others. This person is experiencing the truth of Galatians 2:20…”I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
He gives each of us enough faith to come to Him for our free gift of salvation. If we want to experience growth we can increase our faith through reading and meditating (chewing on…pondering) His word. I believe the truth of the Gospel is really quite simple. I believe the Bible…which also says that if we seek Him, we will find Him (Matt 7:7). Keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking (Luke 11:9-13)…
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Thanks for the great insight. I certainly defer to your wisdom. My apologies for misinterpreting Ephesians.
Be blessed.
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Oh my! I didn’t expect that. I hope you weren’t offended. I enjoy reading your posts…you have great insight and wisdom…I’m just learning.
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Not offended at all. I should have been clearer.
Blessings.
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