Understanding Faith And Grace
1. What is Faith?
2. What is Grace?
Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Hebrews 11:1
In the verse above it demonstrates that faith is trust in God in all circumstances, which enables the believer to persevere and remain steadfastly loyal to God and His Word at all times.
It is a faith that believes in spiritual realities, leads to righteousness, seeks God, believes in His goodness, has confidence in His Word, obeys His commands, regulates life on His promises, rejects the spirit of this present evil age, seeks heavenly home, perseveres in testing, blesses the next generation, refuses sin’s pleasures, endures persecution, performs mighty acts of righteousness, suffers for God and does not return to the country they had left, in other word, the world.
Our salvation comes as a gift of God’s grace and is appropriated by the response of faith. To understand the process of salvation, we must understand these two words, “faith and grace”.
Saving Faith. Faith in Jesus Christ is God’s requirement for receiving his free gift of salvation. Faith is what we believe about Christ and our heart’s response of trust that causes us to follow him as Lord and Savior.
1. The New Testament conception of faith includes four main elements:
A. Faith means firmly believing and trusting in the crucified and risen Christ as our personal Lord and Savioravior. It involves believing with all our hearts, yielding up our wills and committing our total selves to Jesus Christ as he is revealed in the New Testament.
B. Faith involves repentance, in other words in true sorrow turning from sin and turning to God through Christ. Saving faith is always a repentant faith.
C. Faith includes obedience to Jesus Christ and his Word as a way of life inspired by our faith, by our gratitude to God and by the generating work of the Spirit. It is an obedience that comes from faith.Therefore, faith and obedience belong inseparably together. Saving faith without the commitment to sanctification is impossible.
D. Faith includes a heartfelt personal devotion and attachment to Jesus Christ that expresses itself in trust, love, gratitude and loyalty. Faith in an ultimate sense cannot properly be distinguished from love. It is a personal activity of trust and loving self-giving directed toward Christ.
2. Faith in Jesus as Lord and Savioravior is both the act of a single moment and a continuing attitude that must grow and be strengthened. Because we have faith in a specific person who died for us, our faith should become greater. Trust and obedience develop into loyalty and devotion; loyalty and devotion develop into an intense feeling of personal attachment to and love for the Lord Jesus Christ. This faith in Christ brings us into a new relationship with God and exempts us from his wrath; through that new relationship we become dead to sin and indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:20-21
Grace. In the Old Testament, God revealed Himself as a God of grace who showed love to his people, not because they deserved it, but because of His own desire to be faithful to the covenant promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Justice is getting what we deserve; mercy is being spared what we deserve, grace is being given what we do not deserve. The New Testament emphasizes the theme of God’s grace in the giving of His Son on behalf of underserving sinners. God’s grace is multiplied to believers by the Holy Spirit, imparting forgiveness, acceptance and power to do God’s will. The whole movement of the Christian life from beginning to end is dependent on God’s grace.
1. God gives a measure of grace as a gift to unbelievers so that they may be able to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. God gives grace to believers to be “set free from sin”, “the will and to act according to his good purpose”, to pray, to grow in Christ and to witness for Christ.
3. God’s grace must be diligently desired and sought. Some of the ways by which God’s grace is received are: humbling ourselves before God; studying and obeying Scripture; hearing the proclamation of the gospel; praying; fasting; worshiping in Christ; being continually filled with the Holy Spirit; and participating in the Lord’s supper.
4. God’s grace can be resisted, received in vain, put out, set aside and abandoned by the believer.
Faith and grace are intertwined together to fulfill the purpose of God in our lives. Now it is up to us how we respond to God’s calling for both attributes.
God will not kick the doors of our hearts, He gives us freewill to decide what we will do to His calling of salvation. I don’t know about you, but I personally never want to miss the mark!
I hope you understand better now what faith and grace is all about.
Have any questions about this topic? Send me a question, I will be happy to respond to you.
Thanks for reading this. Be blessed, inspired, encouraged and loved.
