For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:8-9
Faith in Christ is the gift of God. God requires faith from us, and then He Himself gives us that faith so we can escape His curse.
Only those to whom God has given faith can receive Christ as the promised Savior. (John 1: 10–13)
Before the apostle Paul put his faith in Christ, he worked hard at doing good works.
He tried to carefully keep God’s laws.
Once God gave him faith in Christ, he understood that he was to trust in Christ alone. All the good things he had worked so hard at doing did not matter to him anymore.
He knew that Christ alone plus nothing, would save him from God’s anger at his sin. (Phil 3: 4–9)
God did not send His Son so He could make us happy or keep us from loneliness or help us with our problems.
God sent Jesus to save us from the sin that had separated us from God.
True faith receives Jesus Christ as He is offered in the gospel: as a Savior from sin.
That faith is not something we do to earn God’s salvation.
It is the way we reach out and receive what Christ has earned for us.
Faith in Christ is a gift from God.
The faith that God gives makes us able to receive Christ as He is offered in the gospel, as a Savior from sin.
True faith in Christ trusts in what Jesus has done in our place, plus nothing else, to save us from God’s anger at sin. Who has this faith in Jesus Christ that God requires?
God chose some to be His before He created them or anything else.
God has always known and loved His people. He does everything needed to save them. He requires faith in Christ and then He gives them that faith.
God makes sure that all those whom He has chosen believe in Jesus Christ.
“…and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.” (Acts 13:48)
Starr Meade. Training hearts, teaching minds : family devotions based on the shorter catechism.
