You've included a lot of beauty in this post. From what you've said, I see much reverence to say the least. In the end in needs to align with Scripture. I hope you agree. Not all of what I ask or say will mean I have disagreements. It may just be that I'm asking for substantiation from Scripture.
With that said, why do you see our Belief/Faith to be a gift of God?
Because it's what Scripture says. In Ephesians 2:8-9 we read "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, lest anyone may boast." Grammatically "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith" is what is "not of yourselves, it is the gift of God". The faith through which we are saved by grace is itself from God. Which is also why in Romans 10 Paul explains that it is God who gives and works faith through the preaching of the Gospel,
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But what does it say? 'The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart' (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is sved. For the Scripture says, 'Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.' For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing His riches on all who call on Him. For 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'
How then will they call on Him in Whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of Whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!' But they have not all received the Gospel. For Isaiah says, 'Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?' So faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." - Romans 10:8-17
This is why everyone, from the ancient fathers of the Church such as St. John Chrysostom and St. Augustine could confess that the faith which saves us is the gift of God, not of ourselves; and this is also what the Protestant Reformers were teaching in the 16th century. If it were not, then the entire doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith is meaningless. If faith is something we do, then we fall back to relying on ourselves and our power, our works.
When I put Scripture together with Scripture and work to build from a foundation up, I see Faith first saying Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and I understand what these 2 titles mean or at least can summarize in a brief statement.
"Christ died for me" only means something in the context of St. Peter's confession being true. And thus St. Peter's confession, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, is the rock and foundation upon which Christ builds and establishes His Church. And it is on that foundation that she is given the Great Commission, and thus preaches His Gospel, making disciples, baptizing them, through which God works and creates faith.
The full implications of what it means to confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, is why the Church also teaches and instructs. But if fully understanding this on a proper theological level is what is required for us to be saved, then that means most Christians probably aren't saved. But I hardly think it necessary for someone to go through a seminary course on proper Christology in order to be a forgiven and justified sinner. We absolutely should be teaching good theology, and the Faithful should be taught and grounded in what the Historic Creeds confess. It should be in our regular confession, in the hymns that we sing, in the prayers that we pray, in the sermons that we hear. But our Lord Jesus Himself taught that God has given Himself to the simple and to children, "'I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;'" (Matthew 11:25). So the wonderful thing is that if we have faith in Him, because He gives us faith through the Gospel, then as we grow in that faith, learning as disciples, we will be trained up and instructed. Which is precisely why we also read that we ought to raise up our children in the way they should go, "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6).
That is why the Church ordains pastors, we have teachers who teach, preachers who preach, instructors who instruct. That the Body of Christ might be built up from its Foundation (Ephesians 4:11-16), Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Corinthians 3:11), and be strengthened in Him, and by the truth, and that we might guard these things in our heart, and withstand against the assault of fiery arrows from the evil one as we are guarded by the shield that is our faith (Ephesians 6:16). Holding firm to the teaching which we have received from the beginning (2 Thessalonians 2:15), contending for the faith once and for all delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3), and give answer to the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:15).
This sounds beautiful and may be true but there is Scripture that brings some of it into question:
- I'm not going to quote all the warning passages about things like falling away but I refer to them hereby
- NKJ Hebrews 6:1-3 Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do if God permits.
- NKJ 2 Timothy 2:24-26 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.
- NKJ Romans 11:21-22 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. 22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.
- This is just a bit of where we can go in Scripture to see that we are dealing with a perfect Father and Lord who at some point will take issue with our waywardness. What His limits are and what the consequences are has been discussed for millennia. I personally find a balance between His grace & mercy & kindness while also remembering the Fear of God that is related to our godliness.
- The prodigal son was pushed to his end and chose to return to a loving father. What if he hadn't? What if we take some of the above instruction and wonder if there was a point of no return for him? What if he had died in his disobedient state? I know these are arguments from silence but some of the above references are not silence.
But as I just quoted in another post:
John 15:5-10 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 "
If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
9 "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you;
abide (command) in My love. 10 "
If you keep My commandments,
you will abide in My love,
just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.
I understand there is a tension between Scriptures that can be interpreted to back up what you say and Scriptures like this one. But these tensions must be worked out. They are not contradictions.
Of course we can fall away. That is why, just as you have presented in Scripture above, that we must abide in Christ. But we do not abide in Christ by trying to earn favor from God by doing and saying and feeling and believing all the right things. We abide in Christ through faith, and that is why we remain firmly at the foot of His cross, where He gives Himself to us through Word and Sacrament.
-CryptoLutheran
