- Sep 27, 2019
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I've often come across the idea here that faith is a gift but is that true?
What's often quoted is Ephesians 2:8-9:
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— 9 not the result of works, so that no one may boast.
This appears to be saying that it's salvation, by grace and through faith, that's the gift, not faith.
Isn't faith something a bit more prosaic than that, something that we get just like we get faith in science or in the democratic process (perhaps a bad example at the moment!)? That is, we are persuaded about the truth of something based on the evidence.
This would eliminate faith being a choice --we don't choose to believe that the Earth is round, we either believe it or disbelieve it based on how persuasive we find the evidence for it. Similarly, don't we believe in Christ because we find all the evidences for it: the Bible, personal testimony and various philosophical arguments, complelling enough to make a commitment to believe?
So is faith a gift or is it a reasoned response to the evidence that has convinced us, at least on balance, that it is true? Is "accepting Christ" a matter of accepting the evidence for the gospel story rather than accepting a gift?
What's often quoted is Ephesians 2:8-9:
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— 9 not the result of works, so that no one may boast.
This appears to be saying that it's salvation, by grace and through faith, that's the gift, not faith.
Isn't faith something a bit more prosaic than that, something that we get just like we get faith in science or in the democratic process (perhaps a bad example at the moment!)? That is, we are persuaded about the truth of something based on the evidence.
This would eliminate faith being a choice --we don't choose to believe that the Earth is round, we either believe it or disbelieve it based on how persuasive we find the evidence for it. Similarly, don't we believe in Christ because we find all the evidences for it: the Bible, personal testimony and various philosophical arguments, complelling enough to make a commitment to believe?
So is faith a gift or is it a reasoned response to the evidence that has convinced us, at least on balance, that it is true? Is "accepting Christ" a matter of accepting the evidence for the gospel story rather than accepting a gift?