13 Reasons Why Faith is not by the Will of Man
Every Christian agrees that faith in Jesus Christ is essential to salvation (Heb 11:6; 1 Pet 1:5, 9; Jude 3). What is disputed is how faith comes to be in one soul (believer) but not be in another (unbeliever). One preacher insists that faith is generated by the will and work of man, while another preacher assures us that faith comes from the will and work of God. Fortunately, these two positions are diametrically opposed to one another, so a resolution to the dispute is merely a matter of looking at the Bible for the correct answer.
The vast majority of Christians have been taught that faith is a product of the will of man. Having read the Scriptures, we hold the minority view that God is the Author and Perfecter of the believer’s faith in Jesus. We believe that faith is a gift of God’s grace, granted to those who were appointed to life by God’s gracious choice. In order to be thorough, each reason will be accompanied with the supporting verse written out. An explanation will also be provided.
First, the Apostle John explicitly records that faith is a work of God, “Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This the work of God that you believe in Him whom He has sent (Jn 6:29).’” Not only do we see God as the subject (the one working), but the object of faith is also in view. Jesus Christ is the object of one’s faith. Simply put, God makes us believe, even as He opens our eyes to see Jesus.
Second, the work of God, in causing one to believe, is a complete work because we are, “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb 12:2).” So, Jesus has told us that faith is a work of God, and now the writer of Hebrews gives us the scope of this work from the originator and finisher of it. Faith is all of God because salvation is all of God (Ps 3:8; Jon 2:9; Rev 19:1).
Third, faith is a sure work of God. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus (Phil 1:6).” Thus, we see that if faith is a work of God and the promise is a finished work of God, then this produces blessed assurance of salvation, for the one who was given faith to believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
Fourth, the conduit by which faith is received from God is Jesus Christ. The eternal Son of God appeared in these last times for the sake of believers, “who through Him (Jesus) are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God (1 Pet 1:21).”
Jesus Christ is the one Mediator between God and man (1 Tim 2:5). If faith comes to a man, it must come from God through the Mediator. Man has no relationship with God apart from Christ (1 Jn 2:23), and apart from Christ, man can do nothing regarding faith (Jn 15:5).
Fifth, faith comes to the elect of God, who were appointed to life by God. Luke records, “When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the Word of the Lord, and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed (Acts 13:48).” Here is the direct relationship between the doctrine of election and the doctrine of faith.
Sixth, faith comes to an elect hearer by the Word of Christ. As Paul wrote it, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ (Rom 10:17).” Just as Jesus opened the ears of the deaf, during His earthly ministry, so the Word of God preached by those sent, opens spiritually deaf ears so that the voice of Christ is heard in the Word of Christ.
It is Christ’s sheep who hear His voice, and they follow the Good Shepherd because they know Him (Jn 10:3–4). Moreover, they belong to Christ (1 Cor 3:23). He purchased them with His precious blood, for a price (1 Cor 6:20; 7:23; 1 Pet 1:19). This was an act of love (Rom 5:8), demonstrated by Christ bearing our sins in His body (1 Pet 2:24), suffering the wrath of God in our place, and by the shedding of blood, resulting in forgiveness from God for all our sins (Mt 26:28; Eph 1:7).
Jesus’ propitiatory payment for the sins of His people (Heb 2:17; 1 Jn 4:10), whom He came to save (Mt 1:21), was acceptable to God, who raised Jesus from the dead. The substitutionary death, burial, and bodily resurrection of Jesus are at the heart of the Good News (Gospel) that must be believed for justification before God for those who do not work for it. The Apostle Paul wrote, “But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness (Rom 4:5).”
Here is the error of man and religion. The man who works for his salvation has willed his own way to peace with God, on his own terms. Every religion in the world, every cult of Christianity, and every heretic who ever entered a pulpit has declared that man must do something to make salvation a reality for himself. That may be something small like a decision, or it may be an endless litany of good deeds, but man must do something other than be spiritually dead to God in his trespasses and sins (1 Cor 2:14; Eph 2:1).
Eighth, faith is by grace. Grace is the work of God for the benefit of His elect, redeemed, regenerate people. Grace is what it means for salvation to be entirely a work of our sovereign God. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works so that no one may boast (Eph 2:8–9).”
We have already established that faith is a sure and complete work of God and now we have a name for that work of God…”grace.” Grace, as the work of God, gives faith to the elect, redeemed hearers of the Gospel. Paul explicitly states in this passage that faith is, “not of yourselves” and “not as a result of (human) works,” and the reason is so that no one may boast.
Ninth, faith is granted to believers (Gal 3:22; Phil 1:29). Paul wrote to the church at Philippi, “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him (Jesus), but to suffer on His behalf (Phil 1:29).” God has granted faith, which is His gift of grace, implanted in the soul of the elect, via the preached Word of God, by the Holy Spirit.
Tenth, faith that is granted by God’s grace is allotted by God. Paul wrote to the church at Rome, “For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself, than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith (Rom 12:3).”
Not only has God given faith to His elect, redeemed, but He has given it in measure. Some have more faith than others, but the prayer of every true disciple is, “increase our faith (Lk 17:5).” Now if man is the one who generates faith by his own will, why did Jesus’ disciples ask Him to increase their faith, as opposed to each person generating more faith? The answer is that Jesus is the Author and Perfecter of faith in His chosen disciples. Faith is not by the will of man.
Eleventh, faith is tested by God, as a way of proving that faith is from God. God tests faith by fire (1 Pet 1:7). This testing produces endurance (Jas 1:3). This was true of Abraham, the believer (Heb 11:17), in the case of Isaac at Mount Moriah. It is the craftsman who tests his own work, to ensure it is up to his own standard. Others will then test the work approved by the creator/manufacturer. Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, “Test yourselves, to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you — unless indeed, you fail the test (2 Cor 13:5).”
Twelfth, if Christ is in you, then you are called, “a believer.” If Christ is not in you, then you are an “unbeliever.” The Spirit of Christ is the one who baptizes the elect soul (Mt 3:11). This soul is said to have “received Jesus.” Receiving Jesus is not by the will of man, but it is by the will of God (Jn 1:12–13; Rom 9:15–16). Paul wrote to the church at Rome, “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him (Rom 8:9).”
If the Spirit of Christ has baptized one, and that one believes, unlike the one who does not have the Spirit of Christ, and who does not believe, then we see that faith is a matter of having the Spirit of Christ. It is the Spirit who is in you, willing and doing God’s good pleasure (Phil 2:13). God’s good pleasure is for salvation to be worked out (Phil 2:12), in the one who is to be holy and blameless in the end (Eph 1:4; 5:27).
Thirteenth, we know that Jesus Christ is faithful and true (Rev 3:14; 19:11). If Christ is in the soul of the believer, by His Spirit, then faithfulness must manifest in the one who is indwelt (Gal 2:20). Paul wrote to the Galatians, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness (Gal 5:22).” Thus, we clearly see that faithfulness, in the one indwelt by the Spirit of Christ, is the product of the One who is faithful and true. Faith, seen by faithfulness, is a work of God, by the will of God.
In summary, we have observed from the Scriptures that faith is a work of God that is complete and sure. Faith comes to those appointed to life, that is, the elect, redeemed, regenerate people of God. Faith comes through the conduit of Jesus Christ, the Mediator, by an act of grace, granted by the will of God. Faith comes through the preaching of the Word of God heard and implanted by the Spirit, who baptizes the one to whom He is sent, by the Father and the Son. Faith is tested by the One who demonstrates that He is the originator and finisher of this fruit that remains and endures.
In conclusion, we proposed a consensus understanding that faith is a necessary component to salvation. We established that the dispute was between those who claim faith is generated and maintained by man versus those who believe it is a work of God. Having shown from Holy Scripture that the catalyst in this debate is the presence or absence of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we conclude that only those who have been made alive by the Spirit are believers in Jesus Christ.
Those whom the Spirit has determined not to indwell (Jn 3:1–8), remain dead in sin (Eph 2:1), unable to discern the things of the Spirit (1 Cor 2:14) because they do not have the Spirit (Rom 8:9)…because they do not belong to Christ (Jn 10:26)…because they are not of God (Jn 8:47), which is why they do not believe. Hence, it is the will of God, not the will of man, that determines faith.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
January 11, 2021
