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Grace and Faith
"We deny that grace is a reward for our faith ...rather, it is the cause of faith. Jesus provides everything we need for salvation, including a new heart to believe." - Monergism.com
Grace is that which has NOTHING to do with the receiver, and EVERYTHING to do with the Giver. - Tom Mor De Lasa
Posted by John on May 31, 2010 12:21 PM
Comments
Hi
I am confused about the true nature of saving faith. I see that faith is not a "work" in the conventional sense, and yet it's the one thing that a person has to "do" in order to be saved. I seem to have got myself pretty tied up in looking within to see if I have this kind of faith. Is it possible for someone to email me to talk this through with me? This is not just an academic enquiry - this is me seeking pastoral help.
Thanks
Mike
PS: I never know what I'm meant to put in the URL: field! What does it mean?
Posted by: Mike F | June 5, 2010 03:00 AM
Hi Mike,
Just saw your post today. Apologies for the delay.
As for you great question about saving faith, I believe most importantly the Scripture seems to indicate that those who have true faith will be characterized by being "poor in spirit." To be "poor in spirit" is to have a feeling sense that in me, that is, in my flesh, "there dwells no good thing" (Rom. 7:18). It is the realization that I am utterly destitute of anything and everything which could commend me favorably to God’s notice. It is to recognize that I am a spiritual bankrupt. It is the consciousness, even now (not years ago, when I was first awakened), that I am without strength and wisdom, and that I am a helpless creature, completely dependent upon the grace and mercy of God. To be "poor in spirit" is the opposite of Laodiceanism, which consists of self-complacency and self-sufficiency, imagining I am "rich, and in need of nothing." True regenerate believers have no hope save in Jesus Christ alone.
I highly commend Studies in Saving Faith by A.W. Pink for a deeper study of this important issue
http://www.monergismbooks.com/Studies-on-Saving-Faith-A-Biblical-Response-to-Easy-Believism-p-18990.html
Posted by: John H | June 7, 2010 05:21 PM