Have you ever heard or read anyone who seemed put off because a person "came to faith" in Christ prior to their death? "For 'Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved'" (Rom. 10:13). To such a person, this last-minute conversion seems insincere, and "not fair." The person who thinks like this is a bit troubled because she has been a believer for over fifty years. This last-minute convert was a believer for a short while and, yet, both will end up spending eternity together in and with Christ. Does that seem fair? Both will receive the same eternal blessings even though one person trusted in Christ just prior to death while the other person has been serving the LORD for over fifty years.
FAITH AS A PASSPORT
If you think such a scenario is rare then I assume you haven't talked with many professing believers in the Church. If I hear such a complaint from the outside world of unbelievers, I expect as much, because they do not know any better--they misunderstand grace and salvation. But to hear such from born-again believers is disturbing. But there is a reason, there is a cause, as to why this complaint is aired by many born-again believers: the reason is because they think that their faith somehow merits the rewards of Heaven. Their faith, then, has become both a merit and a work. Since most believers do not view faith as a direct gift of God, birthed within them by regeneration through the sole work of the Holy Spirit, they think that their "decision for Christ" grants them eternity: salvation, justification, and the rite of passage into Heaven.
FAITH AND FAIRNESS
We know that the gift of faith is not a work: "Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness" (Rom. 4:4-5 NASB). But some people turn their faith into a work and a merit when they suggest that a person who trusted in Christ prior to death is "not fair." I was reminded of this bitter and jealous mindset when reading the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard (Matt. 20:1-16). A landowner hired out workers to tend to his field at different times of the day. The hired servants agreed to the price of the landowner. But at the end of the day, when the landowner paid those who had worked for only a few hours the same amount as those who had worked all day, the latter became bitter and one of them complained (Matt. 20:10-12). The landowner responded: "Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours, and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious [lit. evil, or stingy, frugal] because I am generous [lit. good, or liberal, generous]?" (Matt. 10:13-15 NASB).
FAITH AS QUID PRO QUO
The problem is that some professing believers think that God owes us everything when, in fact, God owes us nothing but justice--and by justice I mean an eternity in Hell. "For whoever keeps the whole Law, and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all" (James 2:10). Salvation belongs to the LORD (Ps. 3:8; Jonah 2:9; Rev. 7:10). If God has chosen to save only one person then that is His divine right because salvation belongs to Him--salvation is His gift and no one can earn it by good works, by attempting to be a good person ("So if you claim that God's promise [of salvation] is for those who obey God's Law and think they are 'good enough' in God's sight, then you are saying that faith is useless--and [if that was true then] the promise is also meaningless," Rom. 4:14 NLT '96), or even by the notion that "if I trust in Jesus then God is obligated to save me." In this case, then, there is a complete misunderstanding of faith. Faith in Jesus Christ is not a bargaining chip.
FAITH AS A GIFT
We know that faith is a gift given to God's elect--His chosen ones--because that is what we read in Scripture. "Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received [lachousin] a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord" (2 Pet. 1:1-2 NASB). This Greek verb refers to those people in particular who have been gifted a divine and providential inheritance: "the term implies a sense of receiving something not by personal merit or effort, but by a process that is beyond human control, often seen as guided by God's will." Note the mention of human effort and beyond human control here in this explanation of the verb, by which we are reminded of John's statement, that faith is the result of regeneration, or the new birth, which occurs not "in a genetic sense" (ISV), nor from human effort or of free will, but of God (John 1:12, 13).
The Greek verb refers to obtaining by divine lot--an ancient practice of casting lots in order to "determine outcomes believed to be influenced by divine will." Peter writes to believers who have obtained a like precious faith (ASV, cf. EHV, ESV, KJV, NKJV, LEB, RSV, WEB, YLT), have received a faith the same as ours (CSB, ISV, LSB, MEV, NABre, NASB, NCV, NIV, NRSV, The VOICE), granted a faith (NET), faith was given to you (NLT), and so we cannot mistake the nature of this faith as something given to a person which then renders them a believer. I think this informs our understanding of Ephesians 2:8-9: "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this [this faith, this trusting in Christ, this belief in Jesus] is not of [does not derive from within] yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
If a person could believe in Jesus Christ whenever he or she chooses (and we know this is impossible, cf. John 6:44; 2 Cor. 4:4, 6), that would become the catalyst for God saving an individual, because, in such thinking, since God will save the one who is believing in Christ Jesus (1 Cor. 1:21), then He is forced to save the one who freely chooses to believe. Would not such a person possess something of which he could boast? He, then, also possessed the faith in and of himself--from his own willing and his own effort. "I believed in Jesus and therefore God owes me salvation." Not that anyone would actually utter such nonsense. But, theoretically, would not such a state seem logical? In this sense, then, the person who freely chose to believe accomplished something toward his own salvation. This line of reasoning is irrefutable. "I believed in Jesus of my own free will and I moved God to save me. I accomplished what was needed for God to save me." That is overt boasting.
If a person can freely choose to believe in Jesus, even by some notion of prevenient grace, the person who chose to rightly respond can still boast. I refused to concede this notion as a former Arminian. I still attributed my faith as a work of the Holy Spirit. But was it? If all one needs is a prevenient work of grace by the Holy Spirit to freely believe in Jesus then why doesn't everyone believe in Jesus who has encountered this prevenient grace? If you argue that what is needed is some work of grace of the Holy Spirit then everyone who encounters this grace should believe because you argued that all that is needed to believe in Christ Jesus is that inner work of prevenient grace by the Holy Spirit.
John states: "He who believes in Him [Jesus] is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already" [cf. John 3:36], and, so, all unbelievers stand condemned of God in their sins by the sin of unbelief "because he has not believed in the Name of the only begotten Son of God" (John 3:18). If this be the case, as Scripture clearly presents the matter, then what is required of someone who desires to be saved is faith in Jesus Christ, the Savior, the Lamb of God who takes away sin (John 1:29). But the question then becomes: "How can a sinner who loves his sin, who is still a slave to sin (John 8:34; Rom. 6:6-7), and does not desire salvation (John 1:13) come to place faith in Jesus Christ?" The answer is that faith must be the work of the Holy Spirit within a person if he is to believe, to place faith in Jesus as Savior, and thus be saved (John 3:3, 5, 6, 7, 8; 16:8, 9, 10, 11); for John says that those "who believe in His Name," that of Christ Jesus, "were [past tense] born ... of God" (John 1:12, 13); so that we understand God's work of regeneration must precede one's faith in Jesus Christ. Dr. James Hamilton rightly comments:
"Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the Gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us"--and this calling must be a particular, inner, effectual call ("to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling," 1 Cor. 1:2 NASB) or else everyone in the world would be "the called," "the elect," receiving all the benefits of this heavenly call (Heb. 3:1; cf. Acts 2:39; Rom. 1:6; 8:29, 30; 11:5, 7; 1 Cor. 1:9, 24, 26; 7:17; Gal. 1:15; Eph. 4:1, 4; Phil. 3:14; 1 Thess. 5:24; 2 Thess. 2:14; 1 Pet. 1:15, 16; 2:21; 3:9; 5:10; 2 Pet. 1:3)--and this holy and heavenly calling is granted "not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity (2 Tim. 1:8, 9); so that, obviously, God's purpose and grace is granted only to His elect--to those "predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will" (Eph. 1:11). "The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Tim. 2:24-25; cf. Rom. 2:4).
Thomas Schreiner reminds us of Luther and, particularly, Calvin's view that faith in Christ Jesus is "the only pathway to salvation":
FAITH: DOES IT NOT SPRING FROM US?
Someone who rejects the faith-as-a-gift doctrine will call to our attention that faith in the New Testament is often referred to as "your faith" (Matt. 9:22, 29; 15:28; 21:21; Mark 5:34; 10:52; Luke 7:50; 8:25, 48; 17:19; 18:42; 22:32; Rom. 1:8; 11:20; 14:22; 1 Cor. 2:5; 15:14, 17; 2 Cor. 1:24; 2 Cor. 10:15; Phil. 2:17; Col. 1:4; 2:5, 7; 1 Thess. 1:8; 3:2; Philem. 1:6; James 1:3; 1 Pet. 1:21; 5:9; 2 Pet. 1:5), "our faith" (1 John 5:4), "increase our faith" (Luke 17:5), "his faith" / "the one who has faith" (Rom. 3:26; 4:11; 12:6), "their faith" (Matt. 9:2; Mark 2:5; Luke 5:20; 1 Tim. 1:19; Heb. 11:39; 13:7), "each other's faith" (Rom. 1:12), "you of little faith" (Matt. 6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8; 17:20; Mark 4:40; Luke 12:28), "will He find faith on the earth" (Luke 18:8), "such great faith" (Matt. 8:10; Luke 7:9), "faith the size of a mustard seed" (Matt. 17:20; Luke 17:6), "have faith" (Mark 11:22), "on the basis of faith in His Name" (Acts 3:16; Phil. 3:9), "the faith which comes through Him" (Acts 3:16), "full of faith" (Acts 6:5; 11:24), "becoming obedient to the faith" / "the faith" (Acts 6:7; 13:8; 14:22; 16:5; Rom. 1:5; 16:26), "sanctified by faith in Me" (Acts 26:18), "he had faith to be made well" (Acts 14:9), "faith in" (Acts 20:21; 24:24; 2 Tim. 3:15), God "opened a door of faith to the Gentiles" (Acts 14:27), "cleansing their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:9), "the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith" (Rom. 1:17; 3:22), "live [have eternal life] by faith" (Rom. 1:17; 3:22), "by / through / with / of faith" (Rom. 3:25, 28, 30, 31; 4:13, 16; 5:1; 9:30, 32; 10:6; 2 Cor. 5:7; Gal. 2:16, 20; 3:2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 22, 24, 26; 5:5; Eph. 1:15; Heb. 11:3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9). This New Testament list of faith in context, though lengthy, is not an exhaustive list.
There are times, especially in the Gospel accounts, when faith is being referenced not as specific as faith / trust / belief in the atoning Work and Person of Jesus Christ but, rather, as faith that Jesus will heal a person ("when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the man, 'Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven,'" Matt. 9:2, and the man was healed; "your faith has healed you," Matt. 9:22, though Jesus is the One who directly healed her and not, per se, her faith); the disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith (Luke 17:5); and then there is this statement from Peter: "By faith in the Name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' Name and the faith that comes through Him that has completely healed him, as you can all see" (Acts 3:16 NIV; cf. AMP, AMPC, ASV, CEB, CJB, CSB, DARBY, DRA, EHV, ESV, GNV, HCSB, ISV, KJV, LEB, LSB, MEV, NABre, NASB, NET, NKJV, NRSV, RSV, WEB, WYC, YLT). A.T. Robertson notes: "Through Jesus, the object of faith, and the source of it [the faith; cf. Heb. 12:2 NIV]."4 Other translations (CEV, GNT, GW, ICB, J.B. Phillips, NCV, NIRV) follow much in the tradition adopted by the New Living Translation, retaining a redundancy, "Through faith in the Name of Jesus, this man was healed--and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus' Name [seemingly redundant] has healed him before your very eyes" (Acts 3:16 NLT). Bruce Metzger comments that proposals to explain the text "do not relieve the redundancy that remains when one continues with the second part of verse 16: 'and the faith which is through Him [Jesus] has given him [the cripple] this perfect health in the presence of you all."5
Some scholars are unconvinced that there is an inherent redundancy at Acts 3:16. Albert Barnes, for instance, notes that the phrase "by means of faith in him" refers to "the faith which Peter and John had in Jesus. It does not refer to any faith that the man had himself" in Jesus, for "there is no evidence that he believed in [Christ]. But it was by means of the faith which the apostles exercised in [Jesus] that the miracle was performed ... This truth Peter repeats two or three times in the verse to impress it more distinctly on the minds of his hearers." John Gill agrees and offers: "yes, the faith which is by [or through] Him; by Christ, of which He is the object and the author and finisher [Heb. 12:2]: this is repeated out of affection to Christ and a passionate concern for the glory of His Name." I am reminded of two truths here: 1) the Name is a reference to the divine and sovereign power of Christ Jesus; and 2) the Name given to Jesus (John 17:11; Phil. 2:9, 10) is the very secret and divine Name of God, YHWH (cf. Ex. 3:14, 15), a Name which is miraculous or works wonders (Judg. 13:18 GW; cf. ISV; cf. Exod. 15:11; Isa. 9:6).
FAITH COMES THROUGH CHRIST
We need to take our time in Acts 3:16 for a bit. I do not believe that Luke, recording the words of Peter, is being redundant whatsoever. When I read this verse recently, the second half of the verse struck me, that Peter is saying something that we might otherwise pass over unaware. First, he says, "By faith in the Name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong" (Acts 3:16a NIV). Second, he says, "It is Jesus' Name and the faith that comes through Him that has completely healed him, as you can all see" (Acts 3:16b NIV)--καὶ (and) ἡ (the) πίστις (faith) ἡ (that--that is) δι’ (through) αὐτοῦ (Him). Peter is not repeating himself but emphasizing an eternal and paramount truth: faith is a gift of our triune God. Faith, whether we refer to faith for healing or faith for salvation, is an effectual work of God within the helpless sinner who cannot believe on his or her own effort or will or desire (John 1:11, 12, 13). If we agree with Scripture, that a sinner is incapable of subjecting himself to the Law of God (Rom. 8:5-8 NASB), what makes us think that the sinner is capable of subjecting himself to faith in Christ?
Consider how Peter identifies Jesus in the previous verse: "the Prince of Life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses" (Acts 3:15 NASB). The disciples / apostles were witnesses of Jesus' resurrection; and now these people are witnesses of the power of the Risen Prince of Life in the miraculous healing of this man whom they all know (Acts 3:16). Jesus is identified as the One who gives life, is the author of life, the originator of life. Our Messiah was thusly identified as the same in the words of prophecy: "And His Name will be called ... Eternal Father" (Isa. 9:6), which is better translated "Father of Eternity," knowing that Father refers to an Author / Originator--compare what Jesus says of Satan, that he is "the father of lies" (John 8:44), meaning that he is the Author of Lies--and so we learn that Jesus is the Author / Giver / Dispenser of Eternal Life, "the Author and Perfecter of faith" (Heb. 12:2), the One who bestows eternal life (cf. Matt. 11:27; John 5:39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47; 6:27, 32, 33, 35, 37, 39, 44, 45, 47, 48, 50, 51, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 63, 65; 10:27, 28; 17:3; 1 John 5:11, 12).
Consider that this is the same Peter who addresses believers as "those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours" (2 Pet. 1:1). Those who come to believe in Jesus do so because they received that faith by the effectual power of the Holy Spirit through the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:16, 17; cf. Titus 3:4, 5, 6, 7). Paul states God elects some for salvation through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit and faith in the truth--and that God called the elect through the Gospel (2 Thess. 2:13, 14). The effectual sanctifying work was that of the Holy Spirit in the elect and the effectual work of faith in the truth of the Gospel was also that of the Holy Spirit as well. Paul confesses the Gospel did not come to the elect, those chosen to be the beloved of God (1 Thess. 1:4), merely in words but also in effectual power in the Holy Spirit with full conviction (1 Thess. 1:5; John 16:8). If the Holy Spirit effectually worked like this in all people then all people would be universally saved.
Peter writes to the elect scattered abroad (1 Pet. 1:1), noting that their election was according to the foreordination of God the Father by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, for the blood-bought and blood-sprinkled obedience of the elect to Christ Jesus (1 Pet. 1:2). Peter explicitly says that God caused them to be born again (cf. 1 Cor. 1:30; James 1:18), regenerated to a living hope not through their free will or their freely-wrought faith in Jesus Christ but solely through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and with no mention of any other cause than that of the triune God (1 Pet. 1:3), agreeing with Paul that the predestined elect (Eph. 1:4, 5) were raised up with Christ and seated with Christ in the heavenly places (Eph. 1:20; 2:6) by the work of the Father and the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 14). Peter boldly reveals to us the foreordination of Christ Jesus "for the sake of the elect who through Him are believers in God who raised Him from the dead" (1 Pet. 1:20, 21).
This is the same Greek terminology we find from Peter's words recorded by Luke at Acts 3:16--Peter repeats the phrase in his own letter: δι’ (through) αὐτοῦ (Him, meaning Christ Jesus) πιστοὺς (you all [are] believers) (1 Pet. 1:20, 21; Acts 3:16). Peter continues his train of thought in his own letter: "for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring Word of God" (1 Pet. 1:23 NASB). Jesus said that His words are life-giving words (John 6:63). John says: "No one who is born of God practices sin [as a way of life], because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin [live in sin], because he is born of God (1 John 3:9). The effectual Word of God is compared to seed at Luke 8:11. The Word of God is "living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Heb. 4:12 NASB). The Word of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is used by God the Father in His Son Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit to effect our salvific regeneration, the inbirthing of faith, by which God justifies His elect and imputes the righteousness of Christ to their spiritual account (Rom. 3:21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28). We do not actually become righteous: we are considered / counted righteous in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). The entirety of our salvation, including faith in Christ Jesus for salvation, is the work of God the Father in God the Son through God the Holy Spirit.
English Bible translations offer two predominant views: "the faith which is through [or by] Him" (Acts 3:16 ASV; cf. Darby, ESV, LEB, LSB, NET, NRSV, RSV, WEB, YLT); and "the faith which comes through Him" (AMP, CEB, CJB, CSB, EHV, HCSB, ISV, MEV, NABre, NASB, NIV, NKJV, OJB). Both carry basically the same idea: faith has an object: Jesus Christ; but, by noting that faith comes through Jesus, we suggest that faith itself, the act of trusting / relying / believing on Jesus Christ toward a purpose, is a gift--faith is inbirthed within a person--and this gift comes through Him, that is, Jesus. Why? Because someone who is unregenerate cannot believe in Christ (John 6:44; 12:37, 38, 39, 40). Concluding his remarks on Acts 3:16, R. Kent Hughes writes, "We must remember that even our faith is a gift (Eph. 2:8). It does not come through the resolution of human will but by asking God to grant it."6 Tony Merida renders the same conclusion: "God gave Peter and John the gift of faith and healing and miracle working in this moment." He then quotes John Piper: First, notice that the faith to heal ... is "through Jesus"--that is,
FAITH INBIRTHED
Why must faith be a gift? Why can we not believe in Christ Jesus whenever we freely choose? Why must faith be birthed within us? The answer is because we are spiritually dead inside (Eph. 2:1, 2), being cut off and separated (Eph. 2:12) from life in God by sin (Isa. 59:2), and we are helpless and ungodly (Rom. 5:6, 8); we are enemies of God (Rom. 5:10), children of wrath (Eph. 1:3), and we consider the Cross and the Gospel to be utter foolishness (1 Cor. 1:18), as we reject the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 2:6, 7, 8) and all spiritual truths (1 Cor. 2:14), being spiritually blinded by the Devil (2 Cor. 4:4) and being slaves to sin (cf. John 8:34; Rom. 6:6, 17, 18; 2 Pet. 2:19); we are hostile toward God (Rom. 8:7), refusing to submit to His Law (Rom. 8:7a) and not even being able to submit (Rom. 8:7b); we then, in order for us to obtain eternal salvation, must first be made alive so that we can believe / trust in / place faith in Jesus (John 1:13). "But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life" (Titus 3:4-7 NASB). There is no mention of our doing here.
I often use the term "inbirthed" when referring to faith as a particular gift granted (Phil. 1:29) to the elect because "the natural man," someone who is unregenerate, "does not [as a matter of active disposition of defiance] accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot [as a lack of ability] understand them, because they are spiritually appraised" (1 Cor. 2:14 NASB). This should remind us of Paul's words regarding the unregenerate and the Law: "the mind set on the flesh [which is all unregenerate persons] is hostile toward God; for it does not [as a matter of active disposition of defiance] subject itself to the Law of God, for it is not even able [as a lack of ability] to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God" (Rom. 8:7-8). According "to God's own will He brought us forth [regenerated us] by the Word of truth, so that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures" (James 1:18 ASV). Apart from God's act of regeneration (Titus 3:4, 5) no one could believe / trust / place faith in Jesus Christ (John 1:11, 12, 13). In the entire context of salvation, what is required of the sinner is graciously supplied by the Savior, including the subjective means of that salvation--faith in Jesus Christ. If faith is required in order to be accounted as righteous (Rom. 3:21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28), and to be saved, then faith--the very proactive believing and trusting in Jesus--must be the work of the Holy Spirit within an individual if he or she is to be saved, to be counted righteous, to trust in Christ. Bryan Chapell writes:
But noting that faith is ours, or that faith belongs to us, does not contradict faith as a gift granted solely to the unconditionally elect; nor does the idea of faith designated as belonging to us suggest that faith originates from us. Any gift bestowed upon us by God belongs to us just as any gift we give to a loved one now belongs to the individual to whom we gifted--the gift was given but is now theirs. The apostle Paul recognizes: "In Him," meaning in Jesus Christ, you also, after listening to the Message of Truth, the Gospel of your salvation--having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise" (Eph. 1:13 NASB). We have been gifted salvation by God and that salvation is now known as "the Gospel of your," and of "our," salvation even though salvation did not originate from us. God gave the gifts and the gifts are now in our possession. "So then," Paul says, "work out your salvation with fear and trembling," even though salvation did not originate from, by, and within us--salvation, like faith, was a gift of God but now salvation, like faith, presently belongs to us. But we can only work out our salvation--the salvation that now belongs to us--because God is at work in us "to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose" (Phil. 2:13 NIV).
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1 James M. Hamilton, Jr., "John," in ESV Expository Commentary, Volume 9: John-Acts (Wheaton: Crossway, 2019), 40.
2 Thomas R. Schreiner, Faith Alone--The Doctrine of Justification: The 5 Solas Series (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015), 56.
3 R.C. Sproul, Willing to Believe: The Controversy over Free Will (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2006), 25.
4 A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Vol. III, The Acts of the Apostles (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1930), 44.
5 Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, second edition (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 2008), 271.
6 R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: Acts--The Church Afire (Wheaton: Crossway, 2014), 58.
7 Tony Merida, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary: Exalting Jesus in Acts, eds. David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida (Brentwood: B&H Publishing Group, 2017), 48-49.
8 Ibid., 50.
9 David G. Peterson, The Acts of the Apostles: The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009), 177.
10 Bryan Chapell, Ephesians: Reformed Expository Commentary, eds. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2009), 87-88.
FAITH AS A PASSPORT
If you think such a scenario is rare then I assume you haven't talked with many professing believers in the Church. If I hear such a complaint from the outside world of unbelievers, I expect as much, because they do not know any better--they misunderstand grace and salvation. But to hear such from born-again believers is disturbing. But there is a reason, there is a cause, as to why this complaint is aired by many born-again believers: the reason is because they think that their faith somehow merits the rewards of Heaven. Their faith, then, has become both a merit and a work. Since most believers do not view faith as a direct gift of God, birthed within them by regeneration through the sole work of the Holy Spirit, they think that their "decision for Christ" grants them eternity: salvation, justification, and the rite of passage into Heaven.
FAITH AND FAIRNESS
We know that the gift of faith is not a work: "Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness" (Rom. 4:4-5 NASB). But some people turn their faith into a work and a merit when they suggest that a person who trusted in Christ prior to death is "not fair." I was reminded of this bitter and jealous mindset when reading the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard (Matt. 20:1-16). A landowner hired out workers to tend to his field at different times of the day. The hired servants agreed to the price of the landowner. But at the end of the day, when the landowner paid those who had worked for only a few hours the same amount as those who had worked all day, the latter became bitter and one of them complained (Matt. 20:10-12). The landowner responded: "Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours, and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious [lit. evil, or stingy, frugal] because I am generous [lit. good, or liberal, generous]?" (Matt. 10:13-15 NASB).
FAITH AS QUID PRO QUO
The problem is that some professing believers think that God owes us everything when, in fact, God owes us nothing but justice--and by justice I mean an eternity in Hell. "For whoever keeps the whole Law, and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all" (James 2:10). Salvation belongs to the LORD (Ps. 3:8; Jonah 2:9; Rev. 7:10). If God has chosen to save only one person then that is His divine right because salvation belongs to Him--salvation is His gift and no one can earn it by good works, by attempting to be a good person ("So if you claim that God's promise [of salvation] is for those who obey God's Law and think they are 'good enough' in God's sight, then you are saying that faith is useless--and [if that was true then] the promise is also meaningless," Rom. 4:14 NLT '96), or even by the notion that "if I trust in Jesus then God is obligated to save me." In this case, then, there is a complete misunderstanding of faith. Faith in Jesus Christ is not a bargaining chip.
FAITH AS A GIFT
We know that faith is a gift given to God's elect--His chosen ones--because that is what we read in Scripture. "Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received [lachousin] a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord" (2 Pet. 1:1-2 NASB). This Greek verb refers to those people in particular who have been gifted a divine and providential inheritance: "the term implies a sense of receiving something not by personal merit or effort, but by a process that is beyond human control, often seen as guided by God's will." Note the mention of human effort and beyond human control here in this explanation of the verb, by which we are reminded of John's statement, that faith is the result of regeneration, or the new birth, which occurs not "in a genetic sense" (ISV), nor from human effort or of free will, but of God (John 1:12, 13).
The Greek verb refers to obtaining by divine lot--an ancient practice of casting lots in order to "determine outcomes believed to be influenced by divine will." Peter writes to believers who have obtained a like precious faith (ASV, cf. EHV, ESV, KJV, NKJV, LEB, RSV, WEB, YLT), have received a faith the same as ours (CSB, ISV, LSB, MEV, NABre, NASB, NCV, NIV, NRSV, The VOICE), granted a faith (NET), faith was given to you (NLT), and so we cannot mistake the nature of this faith as something given to a person which then renders them a believer. I think this informs our understanding of Ephesians 2:8-9: "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this [this faith, this trusting in Christ, this belief in Jesus] is not of [does not derive from within] yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
If a person could believe in Jesus Christ whenever he or she chooses (and we know this is impossible, cf. John 6:44; 2 Cor. 4:4, 6), that would become the catalyst for God saving an individual, because, in such thinking, since God will save the one who is believing in Christ Jesus (1 Cor. 1:21), then He is forced to save the one who freely chooses to believe. Would not such a person possess something of which he could boast? He, then, also possessed the faith in and of himself--from his own willing and his own effort. "I believed in Jesus and therefore God owes me salvation." Not that anyone would actually utter such nonsense. But, theoretically, would not such a state seem logical? In this sense, then, the person who freely chose to believe accomplished something toward his own salvation. This line of reasoning is irrefutable. "I believed in Jesus of my own free will and I moved God to save me. I accomplished what was needed for God to save me." That is overt boasting.
If a person can freely choose to believe in Jesus, even by some notion of prevenient grace, the person who chose to rightly respond can still boast. I refused to concede this notion as a former Arminian. I still attributed my faith as a work of the Holy Spirit. But was it? If all one needs is a prevenient work of grace by the Holy Spirit to freely believe in Jesus then why doesn't everyone believe in Jesus who has encountered this prevenient grace? If you argue that what is needed is some work of grace of the Holy Spirit then everyone who encounters this grace should believe because you argued that all that is needed to believe in Christ Jesus is that inner work of prevenient grace by the Holy Spirit.
John states: "He who believes in Him [Jesus] is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already" [cf. John 3:36], and, so, all unbelievers stand condemned of God in their sins by the sin of unbelief "because he has not believed in the Name of the only begotten Son of God" (John 3:18). If this be the case, as Scripture clearly presents the matter, then what is required of someone who desires to be saved is faith in Jesus Christ, the Savior, the Lamb of God who takes away sin (John 1:29). But the question then becomes: "How can a sinner who loves his sin, who is still a slave to sin (John 8:34; Rom. 6:6-7), and does not desire salvation (John 1:13) come to place faith in Jesus Christ?" The answer is that faith must be the work of the Holy Spirit within a person if he is to believe, to place faith in Jesus as Savior, and thus be saved (John 3:3, 5, 6, 7, 8; 16:8, 9, 10, 11); for John says that those "who believe in His Name," that of Christ Jesus, "were [past tense] born ... of God" (John 1:12, 13); so that we understand God's work of regeneration must precede one's faith in Jesus Christ. Dr. James Hamilton rightly comments:
The logic of these statements [found at John 1:13, "who were born, not of blood [ancestry], nor of the will of the flesh [human desire], nor of the will of man [perhaps through reason, logic, or even philosophical reflection] seems to indicate that the birth of God these people have experienced happened prior to their reception of and belief in Jesus. [Otherwise, if] the choice to believe in Jesus resulted in the birth, it would be difficult to see how John could say that they "were born" neither "of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man" (v. 13). From other statements in John's Gospel (cf. John 3:3, 5; 6:63), it appears that this birth of God [cf. Titus 3:4, 5] gives people a new ability to perceive what God is doing in Jesus. This new ability to perceive reality naturally results in faith, because Jesus is convincing.1Belief in Jesus appears throughout the New Testament the result of an inner work of the triune God and not an exercise of our own free will:
- You do not have His Word abiding in you [and the proof is that they do not believe because only those who experience the effectual work of God's Word will believe in Jesus; cf. 1 Thess. 2:13; 2 Thess. 2:13, 14], for you do not believe Him whom He sent (John 5:38);
- How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another, and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words? (John 5:44, 46, 47); Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me [John 6:44, 45] will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst [coming to and believing in Jesus is synonymous]. But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe" (John 6:35, 36);
- "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. But there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe and who it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father" (John 6:63, 64, 65);
- "Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word [and they will continue in this state unless the Father intervenes and gives them ears to hear, cf. Isa. 6:10; Jer. 6:10; Ezek. 12:2; Matt. 11:15; 13:15; Mark 4:9; 1 Cor. 2:6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16; Rev. 2:7]. You are of your father the devil and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I speak the truth you do not believe Me. Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth then why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them because you are not of God (John 8:43, 44, 45, 46, 47);
- "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers" (John 10:1, 2, 3, 4, 5);
- So Jesus said to them again, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:7, 8, 9, 10);
- "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. ... I am the good shepherd and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep [Gentiles], which are not of this fold; I must bring them also and they will hear My voice [they will hear His voice because He will directly and effectually speak to His chosen ones]; and they will become one flock with one shepherd (John 10:11, 14, 15, 16; cf. Eph. 2:11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22);
- The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, "How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly." Jesus answered them, "I told you and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father's Name, these testify of Me. But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice and I know them and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them and they will never perish [this work is specifically God's work]; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one" (John 10:24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30);
- But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: "Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, "He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart so that they would not see with their eyes and perceive with their heart and be converted and I heal them." These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory and he spoke of Him. Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not [openly] confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God (John 12:37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43);
- "I have manifested Your Name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me and they have kept Your word. Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world [He intercedes only for His own], but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours" (John 17:6, 7, 8, 9);
- "I do not ask on behalf of these alone but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me" (John 17:20, 21);
- They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia (Acts 16:6); God is sovereign over the Gospel, and over those who hear the Gospel, and most certainly over those who will believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ;
- When the Gentiles heard [the Gospel], they began rejoicing and glorifying the Word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed (Acts 13:48): this is the only way an unregenerate person is to become a believer--he is appointed to eternal life;
- When he [Apollo] arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed (Acts 18:27); faith comes only by particular grace;
- Some were being persuaded by the things spoken but others would not believe; and when they did not agree with one another, they began leaving after Paul had spoken one parting word, "The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, saying, 'Go to this people and say, "You will keep on hearing but will not understand; and you will keep on seeing but will not perceive; For the heart of this people has become dull, and with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I would heal them."' Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will also listen (Acts 28:24, 25, 26, 27, 28; cf. Rom. 11:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 22, 25); for God will give them ears to hear;
- What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar (Rom. 3:3, 4): God is not concerned about our fallen and sinful state--He will save His people;
- Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing [in trusting in Christ Jesus, in faith which is in Christ Jesus] so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 15:13): and this filling is reserved for those who belong to God in Christ Jesus;
- My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God's power (1 Cor. 2:5 NIV): faith derives from the Holy Spirit's effectual power;
- We must never forget that, Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. So God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do and it gave Him great pleasure (Eph. 1:4-5 NLT): we could never bring ourselves to Jesus because we do not want Jesus, we want sin, we are slaves to sin;
- For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake (Phil. 1:29 NASB);
- For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the Word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the Word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe (1 Thess. 2:13);
- Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish [cf. 2 Cor. 4:3, 4], because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness (2 Thess. 2:8, 9, 10, 11, 12): God must shine His Light in the heart if one is to believe (2 Cor. 4:6);
- Through Him [Jesus] you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him, and so your faith and hope are in God (1 Pet. 1:21);
- Now to you who believe, this stone [Christ Jesus] is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone," and, "A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the message--which is also what they were destined for (1 Pet. 2:7-8 NIV). If all were predestined (Eph. 1:4, 5; Rom. 9:22, 23) then all would be universally saved.
- In Him [Jesus] you were also circumcised with a circumcision performed without hands [performed by the Holy Spirit], in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him [cf. Eph. 1:20; 2:6] through faith in the working of God [faith, new life, and resurrection are works of God], who raised Him from the dead (Col. 2:11-12 NASB);
- God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and [pay attention here] faith in the truth. It was for this [for salvation, and sanctification by the Holy Spirit, and faith in Jesus Christ that] He called you through our Gospel, that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thess. 2:13-14 NASB); if all were effectually called to this glory then all would be universally saved;
- Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us [God effectually and unmistakably caused us] to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to [so that we would] obtain an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by [objectively and directly] the power of God through [subjectively and instrumentally] faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Pet. 1:3-5 NASB): this is all His work;
- He [Jesus Christ our LORD] was ordained before the foundation of the world but was revealed in the last times for your sakes. You, through Him, believe in God [we believe / trust / have faith in God through the effectual cause of Christ Jesus our Sovereign: cf. Acts 3:16] Who raised Him from the dead and gave Him Glory so that your faith and hope might be in God (1 Pet. 1:20-21 RGT, Revised Geneva Translation).
"Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the Gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us"--and this calling must be a particular, inner, effectual call ("to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling," 1 Cor. 1:2 NASB) or else everyone in the world would be "the called," "the elect," receiving all the benefits of this heavenly call (Heb. 3:1; cf. Acts 2:39; Rom. 1:6; 8:29, 30; 11:5, 7; 1 Cor. 1:9, 24, 26; 7:17; Gal. 1:15; Eph. 4:1, 4; Phil. 3:14; 1 Thess. 5:24; 2 Thess. 2:14; 1 Pet. 1:15, 16; 2:21; 3:9; 5:10; 2 Pet. 1:3)--and this holy and heavenly calling is granted "not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity (2 Tim. 1:8, 9); so that, obviously, God's purpose and grace is granted only to His elect--to those "predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will" (Eph. 1:11). "The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Tim. 2:24-25; cf. Rom. 2:4).
Thomas Schreiner reminds us of Luther and, particularly, Calvin's view that faith in Christ Jesus is "the only pathway to salvation":
Calvin is careful to say, however, that faith shouldn't be construed as a work [Rom. 4:3-5], as if faith itself justifies us [faith does not justify, God justifies, Rom. 3:21-26], for if such were the case, then faith would be a good work that makes us right with God. Instead, faith is the instrument or vessel that joins us to Christ, and ultimately believers are justified by Christ as the Crucified and Risen One. Faith itself, strictly speaking, doesn't justify. Rather, faith justifies as an instrument, receiving Christ for righteousness and life. Indeed, faith is not something that originates with human beings. Yes, human beings believe the Gospel and are saved, and so in that sense faith is exercised by human beings. At the same time, however, faith ultimately comes from the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13, 14) and is a gift of God (Eph. 2:8, 9). Faith alone accords with the God-centered character of the Gospel, for faith gives all glory to God for our salvation.2The late Dr. R.C. Sproul rightly notes that "God commands us to trust in Christ" (Matt. 1:17); so, when mortals proactively and defiantly reject Christ, they commit the sin of unbelief. But this is natural for fallen sinners--we cannot obey this command of God because we are spiritually dead inside (Eph. 2:1, 2, 3; cf. John 3:3, 5, 6, 8; 6:63; 1 Cor. 2:14). We do not, we will not, and we cannot obey God (Rom. 8:7). When God saves a sinner, then, He Himself must do the inner spiritual work if someone is to obey the command to believe in Jesus; and, when He performs that work, we really do believe / trust / exercise faith in Jesus Christ. "But all Christians agree that faith is something we do. God does not do the believing for us."3 He does, however, perform the necessary inner work which causes us to obey. How? By regeneration (John 1:11, 12, 13; Titus 3:4, 5). Because of the fallen nature we inherit (1 Pet. 1:18), we hide from God (Gen. 3:8), not run toward Him. Our problem is spiritual death--the solution is spiritual life. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit gives life and the flesh, our fallen nature, profits nothing (John 6:63). We need the working of an inner power that does not reside in us. Jesus said: "the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life" (John 6:63). Our spiritual death causes angst toward the holy and unbelief; the gift of spiritual life causes and births faith in Christ (1 Pet. 1:21).
FAITH: DOES IT NOT SPRING FROM US?
Someone who rejects the faith-as-a-gift doctrine will call to our attention that faith in the New Testament is often referred to as "your faith" (Matt. 9:22, 29; 15:28; 21:21; Mark 5:34; 10:52; Luke 7:50; 8:25, 48; 17:19; 18:42; 22:32; Rom. 1:8; 11:20; 14:22; 1 Cor. 2:5; 15:14, 17; 2 Cor. 1:24; 2 Cor. 10:15; Phil. 2:17; Col. 1:4; 2:5, 7; 1 Thess. 1:8; 3:2; Philem. 1:6; James 1:3; 1 Pet. 1:21; 5:9; 2 Pet. 1:5), "our faith" (1 John 5:4), "increase our faith" (Luke 17:5), "his faith" / "the one who has faith" (Rom. 3:26; 4:11; 12:6), "their faith" (Matt. 9:2; Mark 2:5; Luke 5:20; 1 Tim. 1:19; Heb. 11:39; 13:7), "each other's faith" (Rom. 1:12), "you of little faith" (Matt. 6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8; 17:20; Mark 4:40; Luke 12:28), "will He find faith on the earth" (Luke 18:8), "such great faith" (Matt. 8:10; Luke 7:9), "faith the size of a mustard seed" (Matt. 17:20; Luke 17:6), "have faith" (Mark 11:22), "on the basis of faith in His Name" (Acts 3:16; Phil. 3:9), "the faith which comes through Him" (Acts 3:16), "full of faith" (Acts 6:5; 11:24), "becoming obedient to the faith" / "the faith" (Acts 6:7; 13:8; 14:22; 16:5; Rom. 1:5; 16:26), "sanctified by faith in Me" (Acts 26:18), "he had faith to be made well" (Acts 14:9), "faith in" (Acts 20:21; 24:24; 2 Tim. 3:15), God "opened a door of faith to the Gentiles" (Acts 14:27), "cleansing their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:9), "the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith" (Rom. 1:17; 3:22), "live [have eternal life] by faith" (Rom. 1:17; 3:22), "by / through / with / of faith" (Rom. 3:25, 28, 30, 31; 4:13, 16; 5:1; 9:30, 32; 10:6; 2 Cor. 5:7; Gal. 2:16, 20; 3:2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 22, 24, 26; 5:5; Eph. 1:15; Heb. 11:3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9). This New Testament list of faith in context, though lengthy, is not an exhaustive list.
There are times, especially in the Gospel accounts, when faith is being referenced not as specific as faith / trust / belief in the atoning Work and Person of Jesus Christ but, rather, as faith that Jesus will heal a person ("when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the man, 'Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven,'" Matt. 9:2, and the man was healed; "your faith has healed you," Matt. 9:22, though Jesus is the One who directly healed her and not, per se, her faith); the disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith (Luke 17:5); and then there is this statement from Peter: "By faith in the Name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' Name and the faith that comes through Him that has completely healed him, as you can all see" (Acts 3:16 NIV; cf. AMP, AMPC, ASV, CEB, CJB, CSB, DARBY, DRA, EHV, ESV, GNV, HCSB, ISV, KJV, LEB, LSB, MEV, NABre, NASB, NET, NKJV, NRSV, RSV, WEB, WYC, YLT). A.T. Robertson notes: "Through Jesus, the object of faith, and the source of it [the faith; cf. Heb. 12:2 NIV]."4 Other translations (CEV, GNT, GW, ICB, J.B. Phillips, NCV, NIRV) follow much in the tradition adopted by the New Living Translation, retaining a redundancy, "Through faith in the Name of Jesus, this man was healed--and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus' Name [seemingly redundant] has healed him before your very eyes" (Acts 3:16 NLT). Bruce Metzger comments that proposals to explain the text "do not relieve the redundancy that remains when one continues with the second part of verse 16: 'and the faith which is through Him [Jesus] has given him [the cripple] this perfect health in the presence of you all."5
Some scholars are unconvinced that there is an inherent redundancy at Acts 3:16. Albert Barnes, for instance, notes that the phrase "by means of faith in him" refers to "the faith which Peter and John had in Jesus. It does not refer to any faith that the man had himself" in Jesus, for "there is no evidence that he believed in [Christ]. But it was by means of the faith which the apostles exercised in [Jesus] that the miracle was performed ... This truth Peter repeats two or three times in the verse to impress it more distinctly on the minds of his hearers." John Gill agrees and offers: "yes, the faith which is by [or through] Him; by Christ, of which He is the object and the author and finisher [Heb. 12:2]: this is repeated out of affection to Christ and a passionate concern for the glory of His Name." I am reminded of two truths here: 1) the Name is a reference to the divine and sovereign power of Christ Jesus; and 2) the Name given to Jesus (John 17:11; Phil. 2:9, 10) is the very secret and divine Name of God, YHWH (cf. Ex. 3:14, 15), a Name which is miraculous or works wonders (Judg. 13:18 GW; cf. ISV; cf. Exod. 15:11; Isa. 9:6).
FAITH COMES THROUGH CHRIST
We need to take our time in Acts 3:16 for a bit. I do not believe that Luke, recording the words of Peter, is being redundant whatsoever. When I read this verse recently, the second half of the verse struck me, that Peter is saying something that we might otherwise pass over unaware. First, he says, "By faith in the Name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong" (Acts 3:16a NIV). Second, he says, "It is Jesus' Name and the faith that comes through Him that has completely healed him, as you can all see" (Acts 3:16b NIV)--καὶ (and) ἡ (the) πίστις (faith) ἡ (that--that is) δι’ (through) αὐτοῦ (Him). Peter is not repeating himself but emphasizing an eternal and paramount truth: faith is a gift of our triune God. Faith, whether we refer to faith for healing or faith for salvation, is an effectual work of God within the helpless sinner who cannot believe on his or her own effort or will or desire (John 1:11, 12, 13). If we agree with Scripture, that a sinner is incapable of subjecting himself to the Law of God (Rom. 8:5-8 NASB), what makes us think that the sinner is capable of subjecting himself to faith in Christ?
Consider how Peter identifies Jesus in the previous verse: "the Prince of Life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses" (Acts 3:15 NASB). The disciples / apostles were witnesses of Jesus' resurrection; and now these people are witnesses of the power of the Risen Prince of Life in the miraculous healing of this man whom they all know (Acts 3:16). Jesus is identified as the One who gives life, is the author of life, the originator of life. Our Messiah was thusly identified as the same in the words of prophecy: "And His Name will be called ... Eternal Father" (Isa. 9:6), which is better translated "Father of Eternity," knowing that Father refers to an Author / Originator--compare what Jesus says of Satan, that he is "the father of lies" (John 8:44), meaning that he is the Author of Lies--and so we learn that Jesus is the Author / Giver / Dispenser of Eternal Life, "the Author and Perfecter of faith" (Heb. 12:2), the One who bestows eternal life (cf. Matt. 11:27; John 5:39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47; 6:27, 32, 33, 35, 37, 39, 44, 45, 47, 48, 50, 51, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 63, 65; 10:27, 28; 17:3; 1 John 5:11, 12).
Consider that this is the same Peter who addresses believers as "those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours" (2 Pet. 1:1). Those who come to believe in Jesus do so because they received that faith by the effectual power of the Holy Spirit through the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:16, 17; cf. Titus 3:4, 5, 6, 7). Paul states God elects some for salvation through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit and faith in the truth--and that God called the elect through the Gospel (2 Thess. 2:13, 14). The effectual sanctifying work was that of the Holy Spirit in the elect and the effectual work of faith in the truth of the Gospel was also that of the Holy Spirit as well. Paul confesses the Gospel did not come to the elect, those chosen to be the beloved of God (1 Thess. 1:4), merely in words but also in effectual power in the Holy Spirit with full conviction (1 Thess. 1:5; John 16:8). If the Holy Spirit effectually worked like this in all people then all people would be universally saved.
Peter writes to the elect scattered abroad (1 Pet. 1:1), noting that their election was according to the foreordination of God the Father by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, for the blood-bought and blood-sprinkled obedience of the elect to Christ Jesus (1 Pet. 1:2). Peter explicitly says that God caused them to be born again (cf. 1 Cor. 1:30; James 1:18), regenerated to a living hope not through their free will or their freely-wrought faith in Jesus Christ but solely through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and with no mention of any other cause than that of the triune God (1 Pet. 1:3), agreeing with Paul that the predestined elect (Eph. 1:4, 5) were raised up with Christ and seated with Christ in the heavenly places (Eph. 1:20; 2:6) by the work of the Father and the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 14). Peter boldly reveals to us the foreordination of Christ Jesus "for the sake of the elect who through Him are believers in God who raised Him from the dead" (1 Pet. 1:20, 21).
This is the same Greek terminology we find from Peter's words recorded by Luke at Acts 3:16--Peter repeats the phrase in his own letter: δι’ (through) αὐτοῦ (Him, meaning Christ Jesus) πιστοὺς (you all [are] believers) (1 Pet. 1:20, 21; Acts 3:16). Peter continues his train of thought in his own letter: "for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring Word of God" (1 Pet. 1:23 NASB). Jesus said that His words are life-giving words (John 6:63). John says: "No one who is born of God practices sin [as a way of life], because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin [live in sin], because he is born of God (1 John 3:9). The effectual Word of God is compared to seed at Luke 8:11. The Word of God is "living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Heb. 4:12 NASB). The Word of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is used by God the Father in His Son Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit to effect our salvific regeneration, the inbirthing of faith, by which God justifies His elect and imputes the righteousness of Christ to their spiritual account (Rom. 3:21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28). We do not actually become righteous: we are considered / counted righteous in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). The entirety of our salvation, including faith in Christ Jesus for salvation, is the work of God the Father in God the Son through God the Holy Spirit.
English Bible translations offer two predominant views: "the faith which is through [or by] Him" (Acts 3:16 ASV; cf. Darby, ESV, LEB, LSB, NET, NRSV, RSV, WEB, YLT); and "the faith which comes through Him" (AMP, CEB, CJB, CSB, EHV, HCSB, ISV, MEV, NABre, NASB, NIV, NKJV, OJB). Both carry basically the same idea: faith has an object: Jesus Christ; but, by noting that faith comes through Jesus, we suggest that faith itself, the act of trusting / relying / believing on Jesus Christ toward a purpose, is a gift--faith is inbirthed within a person--and this gift comes through Him, that is, Jesus. Why? Because someone who is unregenerate cannot believe in Christ (John 6:44; 12:37, 38, 39, 40). Concluding his remarks on Acts 3:16, R. Kent Hughes writes, "We must remember that even our faith is a gift (Eph. 2:8). It does not come through the resolution of human will but by asking God to grant it."6 Tony Merida renders the same conclusion: "God gave Peter and John the gift of faith and healing and miracle working in this moment." He then quotes John Piper: First, notice that the faith to heal ... is "through Jesus"--that is,
Jesus gave it [supplied / originated / inbirthed the faith]. [Faith] came through the working of Jesus [cf. Acts 5:31]. This, it seems to me, is the key to what happened in verse 4 when Peter gazed at the lame man. Luke tells us in verse 2 that this man was laid daily at the gate. So Peter had passed this man many times before without healing him. But today, when he looked at him, something happened. What? The faith to heal him came through Jesus. The living Jesus did something in Peter and Peter knew it was the day. When he said, "What I have I give to you," he probably meant, "Today I have been given something special for you. Jesus has just given me the faith to speak healing to you and I now share this gift with you. Rise." That's what the last part of verse 16 says, "The faith, which is through [or comes through] Jesus [not in Jesus!] has given this man perfect health." Jesus gave the faith to heal and Peter acted on it.7Do not miss what John Piper highlights here for us or you will miss the entire argument and truth in Christ in this passage. This biblical truth excites my very spirit, my soul, and I now believe it in my bones! Peter did not say that faith in Jesus has made the man perfectly whole. No! The faith which comes through Jesus into the spirit of a human being made certain the giving to this man perfect health! Dr. Merida concludes: Because "Christ gave the faith, and worked the miracle, His Name alone is exalted."8 No mortal will ever obtain any justification for boasting before the LORD, not even for one's faith, because faith is a gift of God's grace. David G. Peterson argues that the faith that comes through Him indicates "that Jesus Himself is the source and inspiration for the faith that secures God's blessing."9 I think the English translations which read "and the faith that [ἡ] comes through [δι’] Him" is the preferred text because a verb needs to be inserted between ἡ (that or which) and δι’ (through or by): the reference to the faith is that kind of faith which comes through (by the gift of) Him--Christ Jesus our Savior and King.
FAITH INBIRTHED
Why must faith be a gift? Why can we not believe in Christ Jesus whenever we freely choose? Why must faith be birthed within us? The answer is because we are spiritually dead inside (Eph. 2:1, 2), being cut off and separated (Eph. 2:12) from life in God by sin (Isa. 59:2), and we are helpless and ungodly (Rom. 5:6, 8); we are enemies of God (Rom. 5:10), children of wrath (Eph. 1:3), and we consider the Cross and the Gospel to be utter foolishness (1 Cor. 1:18), as we reject the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 2:6, 7, 8) and all spiritual truths (1 Cor. 2:14), being spiritually blinded by the Devil (2 Cor. 4:4) and being slaves to sin (cf. John 8:34; Rom. 6:6, 17, 18; 2 Pet. 2:19); we are hostile toward God (Rom. 8:7), refusing to submit to His Law (Rom. 8:7a) and not even being able to submit (Rom. 8:7b); we then, in order for us to obtain eternal salvation, must first be made alive so that we can believe / trust in / place faith in Jesus (John 1:13). "But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life" (Titus 3:4-7 NASB). There is no mention of our doing here.
I often use the term "inbirthed" when referring to faith as a particular gift granted (Phil. 1:29) to the elect because "the natural man," someone who is unregenerate, "does not [as a matter of active disposition of defiance] accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot [as a lack of ability] understand them, because they are spiritually appraised" (1 Cor. 2:14 NASB). This should remind us of Paul's words regarding the unregenerate and the Law: "the mind set on the flesh [which is all unregenerate persons] is hostile toward God; for it does not [as a matter of active disposition of defiance] subject itself to the Law of God, for it is not even able [as a lack of ability] to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God" (Rom. 8:7-8). According "to God's own will He brought us forth [regenerated us] by the Word of truth, so that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures" (James 1:18 ASV). Apart from God's act of regeneration (Titus 3:4, 5) no one could believe / trust / place faith in Jesus Christ (John 1:11, 12, 13). In the entire context of salvation, what is required of the sinner is graciously supplied by the Savior, including the subjective means of that salvation--faith in Jesus Christ. If faith is required in order to be accounted as righteous (Rom. 3:21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28), and to be saved, then faith--the very proactive believing and trusting in Jesus--must be the work of the Holy Spirit within an individual if he or she is to be saved, to be counted righteous, to trust in Christ. Bryan Chapell writes:
For centuries, commentators have put forth arguments about what the "this" or the "it" in this sentence means ["For by grace you have been [or are] saved through faith; and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God"]. Some have said, on the basis of their theology, "it" is grace. Others, on the basis of the nearest antecedent, say "it" is faith. Most modern commentators say that "it" is the whole package, grace and faith [and ultimately, salvation, which is the gift of God, John 4:10]. Grace is His unmerited favor; it comes to us through faith in what He has done. But even that faith is a gift, so that no one may boast (Eph. 2:8-9). For we are God's workmanship, a product of His hand, created in Christ Jesus--made by God through union with Christ--to do good works not of our devising, but that He Himself planned in advance for us to do (Eph. 2:10). Grace is of Him, faith is of Him, our union with Christ is of Him, the works we do are of Him, and the intention to do them is of Him. So there can be no boasting or pride but only an acknowledgement of the kindness of the gift of God.10As a general interpretive principle we can echo Paul: "What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?" (1 Cor. 4:7); as well as that of James: "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow" (James 1:17); and, again, Paul: No one will boast in God's presence. "But by His [monergistic and effectual] doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and [our] righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, 'Let him who boasts, boast in the LORD'" (1 Cor. 1:29-31 NASB). The faith we possess in Christ Jesus is ours, the faith belongs to us as a gift given to us, but the faith did not originate or derive from us but from God.
But noting that faith is ours, or that faith belongs to us, does not contradict faith as a gift granted solely to the unconditionally elect; nor does the idea of faith designated as belonging to us suggest that faith originates from us. Any gift bestowed upon us by God belongs to us just as any gift we give to a loved one now belongs to the individual to whom we gifted--the gift was given but is now theirs. The apostle Paul recognizes: "In Him," meaning in Jesus Christ, you also, after listening to the Message of Truth, the Gospel of your salvation--having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise" (Eph. 1:13 NASB). We have been gifted salvation by God and that salvation is now known as "the Gospel of your," and of "our," salvation even though salvation did not originate from us. God gave the gifts and the gifts are now in our possession. "So then," Paul says, "work out your salvation with fear and trembling," even though salvation did not originate from, by, and within us--salvation, like faith, was a gift of God but now salvation, like faith, presently belongs to us. But we can only work out our salvation--the salvation that now belongs to us--because God is at work in us "to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose" (Phil. 2:13 NIV).
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1 James M. Hamilton, Jr., "John," in ESV Expository Commentary, Volume 9: John-Acts (Wheaton: Crossway, 2019), 40.
2 Thomas R. Schreiner, Faith Alone--The Doctrine of Justification: The 5 Solas Series (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015), 56.
3 R.C. Sproul, Willing to Believe: The Controversy over Free Will (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2006), 25.
4 A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Vol. III, The Acts of the Apostles (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1930), 44.
5 Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, second edition (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 2008), 271.
6 R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: Acts--The Church Afire (Wheaton: Crossway, 2014), 58.
7 Tony Merida, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary: Exalting Jesus in Acts, eds. David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida (Brentwood: B&H Publishing Group, 2017), 48-49.
8 Ibid., 50.
9 David G. Peterson, The Acts of the Apostles: The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009), 177.
10 Bryan Chapell, Ephesians: Reformed Expository Commentary, eds. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2009), 87-88.
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