Exploring Faith (and how to get some?) Part the First

So here's the deal.  NOBODY can prove there is a God.  By the same token, NOBODY can prove there is no God.  It's a real dilemma.  I have studied theology for the better part of my life.  I have studied philosophy for the better part of my life.  I know the arguements for a God, and can explain each and every one of them away through philosophical logic and scientific theories.  But they're just that - theories.  It's a dilemma.

So it comes down to that "F" word - faith.

As in everything else when it comes to man's constructs of God and religion, there are many divergent opinions on what faith is and how to "get" it.  Chief among them in Christian circles are the Calvinist and Arminian camps. Without walking too far down that treacherous path, I have to briefly glance at these schools of thought on the subject of faith.

Even a brief look at these divergent views would be too long for a single post, so I will start with a more Arminian view:

Looking at "Faith" from an Arminian viewpoint leads one to see that faith is not a gift given in a monergistic fashion, but is developed synergistically in cooperation with the Holy Spirit. Calvinists may object with Ephesians 2:8,9  "forby grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one would boast." But consider this analysis:

"By grace you have been saved" had already been mentioned in Ephesians 2:5 "made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-- it is by grace you have been saved." (NIV) But I think that both of these have been imprecisely translated using the dative of means, whereas it is more likely the author meant for the dative of manner to be used "with grace" or "graciously" rather than "by grace". For graciously describes the manner in which he saves us, as he has an attitude of graciousness. "by faith" is using the preposition "dia" in the genitive exlusively indicating instrument or mechanism of salvation. God grabs hold of our faith and pulls us to safety. But those without faith are not saved. Or as Robertson puts it in Robertson's NT Word Pictures, "Grace" is God’s part, "faith" ours.


Now there are those who interpret the phrase "And this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God," to be referring to faith being a gift. But such an idea cannot be supported by this passage. For "this" is neuter, while "faith" is feminine, and therefore "it is" is not referring to faith. Rather "that" refers to "gift" which is neuter. What it means is "that gift is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God". But this alone does not resolve the issue, for now we must consider what "that gift" refers to. Is he saying "that gift (faith)..." or "that gift (salvation)..."?

First of all the specific Greek word for "gift" being used does not support the idea of "faith" being the gift, but does support the idea of "salvation" being the gift. For the word "gift", there are two words most commonly used for "gift" in the New Testament. "dorea" emphasizes the freeness of a gift, while "doron" is used for sacrificial offerings. You would think he would have used "dorea" in this context, but instead he uses "doron" speaking of the sacrificial offering He made through Christ's atoning work on the cross. Salvation is the sacrificial offering of God, as opposed to being obtained by one's own works.  He speaks extensively of this in Romans and Galatians, contrasting the righteousness obtained through faith in Christ as opposed to the righteousness of the law which is obtained through one's works, being a performance-based salvation concept.

Romans 3:20-24 "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.  But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."

Thus we have "for graciously you have been saved through faith, and that sacrificial offering is not from yourselves, but from God, not of works, that no one would boast."


Thus if "faith" is the gift, then it is faith and not the atoning work of Christ on the cross which is the sacrificial offering made up to God. Furthermore is the issue of boasting. Is it true that if God does not give us faith as a gift that there would be reason to boast? Not according to the Bible. "For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not toward God.  For what does the Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.'" Rom 4:2,3 Here the contrast is between works and faith. It is not between faith being a gift versus faith not being a gift. And the same contrast is drawn in the Ephesian's passage as well. Yet Paul mentions nothing here in Romans about the necessity of "faith" being a gift. He simply states that since it is by faith and not by works therefore there's nothing to boast about.

And they may also bring up Hebrews 12:2 "looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith", and demand that "author" means that we have no part in developing our faith. But again the Greek reveals otherwise. For the word for "author" simply refers to Jesus being our chief leader or Prince, as the word is translated in a number of places. But a leader is not a leader unless he has followers. He leads, we follow. This is the synergistic relationship of which Arminians speak.


This Blog is new.  I doubt anyone is really reading it at this point, so this post is most likely me "thinking out loud" so-to-speak.  However, if there is anyone out there in the ether, and you have read this and are wondering what in the world I'm talking about, please feel free to comment or email, and I will translate this into less of a "Theological" language!  Next up:  a simplistic look at the Calvinist view of faith.