The Source of Faith

Most of us know and believe that we are saved only by the grace of God. Our works play no part in it, nor can they. It’s a free gift of God.  

We know also and believe that this grace is received only by faith. It’s through faith in Jesus that we receive the grace of God and are saved. As we read in Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

However, what is this faith and where does it come from? Have you ever thought about that? How do we come by this faith which enables us to receive the grace of God?

Most of us tend to think that our faith results from our ability to reason. This is why so many of us believe that babies cannot have faith and that they are automatically saved. We reason that they are not yet at the point where they are able to believe.

Scripture, however, tells us otherwise. David tells us in Psalm 22:9-10, for example, that God made him to have faith while he was at his mother’s breast. From the time he was an infant, God made him to believe.

In Matthew 18 we see that, calling to himself a small child, Jesus told the people that unless they became like children, they would never enter the kingdom of heaven. And he went on to say that whoever caused one of these little ones who believe in him to sin, would be better off dead. In this way, Jesus clearly stated that young children can have faith.

The Bible is equally clear that none of us can come to faith on our own. In 1 Corinthians 2, Paul tells us that the natural person (the person without the Spirit) cannot understand the things of God. And in Romans 3, Paul tells us that there is no one who understands or who seeks for God. So, even as adults, we are incapable of understanding the gospel. Our ability to reason has no bearing on this whatsoever.

As we investigate this further, we learn that it’s only by the Spirit of God that we are able to confess faith in Jesus. Paul tells us at the beginning of 1 Corinthians 12 that a Spirit-filled person cannot deny Christ. And he goes on to say that a person without the Spirit cannot confess Jesus as Lord. In the same way, in John 6, Jesus says that no one can come to him unless he’s drawn by the Father.

This tells us that, just as salvation is a gift of God, so too is faith. The ability to believe in Jesus, the ability to trust in Christ, is not something we possess on our own. It’s something that God enables in us.

And, finally, we see that this faith is received through the Word of God. Paul tells us in Romans 10:17 that faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ. So, it’s as we hear God’s Word, and as the Holy Spirit works through the Word, that we’re enabled to believe.

This, then, reveals to us why it’s so important for us to be in the Word of God. It reveals to us why it’s so important for us to share the Word of God with our children. And it reveals to us why it’s so important for us to share God’s Word with those who don’t yet believe. It’s through this Word that God works in us, enabling us to believe and to be saved.