Faith is the active trust that leads to a relationship with Jesus. We are saved by grace, through faith. Without it we can’t come to Christ. Jesus stated that, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:44). Faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8) therefore, no one can earn their salvation. For many, this is incomprehensible.
The Bible says that “faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17). Yet many heard the message but did not believe. The Jews were given the first chance to receive the truth however, they proved to be “a disobedient and obstinate people.” (Romans 10:21).
Those who stood in the very presence of Jesus of Nazareth, who witnessed His miracles and heard the truth directly from His lips often rejected His teaching. The persistent unbelief of the Jews revealed an inherent skepticism that prevented them from having true faith. Isaiah 53:3 predicted this: “He was rejected and despised by men.”
MANY ARE CALLED BUT FEW ARE CHOSEN
John 10:25-27 illustrates how the first century Jews could not accept his messiahship. “Jesus answered, ‘I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in My Father’s name speak for Me, but you do not believe because you are not My sheep. My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.’” Were they predestined to repudiate Jesus? Are we predestined to follow Him? The Bible says that many are called but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14).
It was their rejection that resulted in His crucifixion and the subsequent redemption of people from all nations in fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham (Genesis 22:18). Scripture speaks of God’s foreknowledge regarding those who believe and the fulfillment of God’s plan.
Paul writes in Romans 8:29, “For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.”
And 1 Peter 1:2 reveals that God’s elect, “who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood.”, were predestined to believe. These passages indicate that God’s knowledge is not simply a passive observation, but an active orchestration of His plan for salvation.
This truth does not mean that people are not responsible for their faith and repentance as a necessity for salvation. Nor does it negate the truth that humans have free will and are accountable for the choices they make. It is a paradox that requires faith – that our infinite Creator’s sovereignty exceeds the tension that our finite minds concoct and that His perfection is beyond the limits of our comprehension.
JESUS WAS SELECTIVE
Knowing the propensity of humanity to rebel against the truth of God, Jesus was selective in how He taught, often resorting to parables in order to filter the uptake of the message and provoke inquiry from those sincerely seeking understanding.
In Mark 4:10-12, Jesus discusses this with the disciples: “When He was alone, the Twelve and the others around Him asked Him about the parables. He told them, ‘The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’”
Paul reveals that God conceals wisdom from humanity in 1 Corinthians 2:6-8, “We do however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.” He does this in order to maintain the integrity of His divine plan and to restrict the unfaithful from exploiting His goodness.
When Paul and Barnabas were preaching in Pisidian Antioch, the Jews became jealous because so many Gentiles were eager to follow Jesus. “Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: ‘We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.
For what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.” (Acts 13:46-48). In this passage we see the amalgamation of human free will and God’s predestined design for those “appointed” to receive the gospel clearly demonstrated.
The coexistence of free will and the indwelling Holy Spirit orchestrating our behavior is evident in Philippians 2:12-13, where Paul writes, “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence – continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.”
GOD ALONE UNDERSTANDS THIS MYSTERY
It may seem impossible to reconcile these two opposing perspectives therefore faith is required to concede that God alone understands this mystery. Similarly, there is tension between the concept of Christ’s finished work on the cross, salvation by grace alone through faith alone and repentance plus good works.
Understanding that faith without good works is dead (James 2:17, 26) and that genuine faith is equally yoked with repentance leading to obedience is paramount to authentic Christianity. This is why Jesus isn’t for everyone. He paid for everyone’s sins, however, not everyone is willing to benefit.
Jesus spent considerable time conveying the concept that He is the bridegroom and His church is the bride, and He alluded to a lengthy delay before the bridegroom would return for His bride (Matthew 25:5). He said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in Me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:1-3).
The Bible does not disclose the timing of Christ’s return and by using the parable of a Jewish wedding to convey that there would be a long delay before He comes back for His bride, Jesus is warning the Christian church against becoming complacent. He is delayed because the harvest is ever increasing and it is His desire to fill the banquet hall. His delay necessitates faith.
The Bible says in 2 Peter 3:9, “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
GOD REMAINS JUDICIOUS
If the Almighty Creator of the universe who is omnipotent and limitless is capable, is He not willing to be revealed to everyone? While we may desire salvation for all, God remains judicious with the guest list to the wedding banquet. He desires only those with pure motives.
2 Timothy 2:19 declares, “Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: ‘The Lord knows those who are His, and, ‘Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.’” Our faith must compel us to be obedient servants of the King and the King knows who His servants are.
Paul states in 2 Corinthians 5:7, “We live by faith, not by sight.” And also, “The righteous will live by faith.” (Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11). Not only is our faith credited to us a righteousness (Romans 4:3), but authentic faith compels us to righteous behavior. It doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be a simple as the faith of a child (Matthew 18:3, Mark 10:14, Luke 18:17), but faith must be genuine.
In Hebrews we are told, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1). And later the writer says through our faith we will be made perfect as we focus on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2a). Through faith we are assured that God foresaw our need for salvation and took it upon Himself to save us.
Jesus told Thomas in John 20:29, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” And Paul explains the reason we are blessed in Romans 5:1-2, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access, by faith into this grace in which we now stand.”
Faith is the foundation of our relationship with the divine. Believers must have faith to believe. Martin Luther captures the essence of trusting God through faith with these words: “Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times.” May our faith be that confident.
