What is saving faith? Where does it come from? Scripture tells us that faith is a gift from God. He plants it in people through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Through the tending of the Holy Spirit, he makes it grow. And the fruit of faith in our lives brings glory to God.
Faith is a gift from God
In John 3, Nicodemus had quietly professed his faith in Jesus, “We know that you come from God.”
But was intellectual affirmation of Jesus’ identity enough?
The soul of the religious teacher must have been trembling. What seismic shift could have moved him to come asking this dangerous man dangerous questions?
Nicodemus, who once had full confidence in his good standing before God and men, had encountered something frighteningly more real and alive in Jesus and he wanted to know the source. In the miracles and teaching of Jesus he had peered into the kingdom of God. But he did not know how to cross over from this world to the new one he had glimpsed.
Born again? What do you mean? How is that possible!
Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the spirit” (John 3:5-8).
Like the wind in the trees, you will know it by its effects.
Does Jesus’ response ever make you feel uncomfortable? Does it make you squirm even a little, though you have heard this passage a thousand times? At first, Jesus gives Nicodemus nothing he can even pretend to be doing. He does not tell Nicodemus to pray a certain saving prayer. Instead, Jesus proclaims the gospel and points to himself. The believing? The wind? The mysterious new life from the Spirit? This will come as a gift. It will whisper in, unseen, the breath of the Spirit of God, and will plant itself as a small seed in the heart of the one who hears. It will happen as the gospel is proclaimed, so that no one can boast.
Faith comes through the gospel of Jesus
“What is your life’s story in a nutshell?” I asked a new acquaintance.
“Well,” she said, “My dad left me and my mom when I was a baby. My mom committed suicide when I was seven. Then I was raised by my grandmother. One day a friend from school invited me to an event at her church. The pastor shared the gospel and then asked if anyone wanted to receive Christ. I asked my friend if I could go up. She gave me a weird look and shrugged, ‘I guess so.’ So I went. That was the beginning of my walk with Jesus.”
This story confirms what Romans 10:17 tells us about faith: “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” Faith was born in the heart of this young girl. It wasn’t created by her family’s prayers and nurturing. Not even by her friend’s encouragement or winning personality. Isn’t it mysterious? Perhaps even troubling?
This is difficult for us who want a sure-fire formula that we can mix up in order to make faith happen for our children, friends and family. So we endlessly seek out ways to improve upon God’s method. We try to make the gospel something more; more modern, more winsome, more relevant, more palatable…
But Scripture tells us that God creates faith through the foolish, simple preaching of the gospel. “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:17-18).
God is glorified through the faith of his people
Christians are charged with the task of going out into the world to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is not our job to convince. If the message sounds foolish, simple and weak, it is probably at its best. That way, when the mystery begins to take place and the wind is heard rustling through the leaves, only God can be glorified.
This is not to say that true faith is something randomly sprinkled over humanity by an arbitrary God. God is rational, personal and just, and we are likewise made in his image. This means that we are moral beings who must be held accountable. Scripture makes it clear that we are each accountable for our own response to God, both in his revelation of himself in Creation and in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We humans struggle with the logic that this is true and that faith is a gift given to us from God. It is a temptation to try to make the paradox of faith understandable. But when we try to do this, we often end up saying things that the Bible does not say. What we do know is that true and living faith produces the fruit of good works: repentance, obedience and trust.
A sinner’s life could be described as a filthy, self-fed cistern. When that is changed to a stream of living water—a channel of Christ’s love to the world—only God can be glorified! And when a dead and dry soul becomes a fruitful tree of life, who but the Creator can be praised? “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:8-10).
Sara Ronnevik is an artist, writer, farmer’s wife and mother of four living in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.
Sara recently wrote and illustrated a children’s book called, The Attributes of God, A Book for Children, which introduces 12 attributes of God with colorful illustrations and simple explanations that are easy for children to understand. Available at: www.Amazon.com