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I interviewed Frank Viola about his book, ReGrace, and he accused me of heresy. ??? (He was joking. I think.)

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(#AmazonAdLink) Frank Viola ReGraceThis is a BONUS episode of my One Verse Podcast. In it, I interview best-selling author, Frank Viola, about his new book, (#AmazonAdLink) ReGrace. This book shows how Christians can get along with each other, even when we disagree with one another.

The book goes into some of the shocking and outrageous theological views that were held by several of the greatest Christians in history. This should not cause us to shun or condemn them, but simply to realize that we ALL have some crazy ideas.

Frank Viola has some crazy views … and so do I.

And you do too.

This book shows that we ALL have some crazy theological views, and so rather than condemn each other as heretics, let’s learn to live and laugh together.

By taking a humorous look at some of the crazy views of theological giants like C. S. Lewis, Marin Luther, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, Augustine, Billy Graham, and others, Frank Viola shows us that all of us have some views that could be condemned as heresy by somebody.

But that’s no reason to get all worked up, frothing at the mouth, while we seek to burn people at the stake through our keyboards.

Instead, it’s an opportunity to show grace toward others, as we want them to show grace toward us. Most of all, charging people with heresy might be the biggest heresy of all.

This book shows how. It’s humorous, lighthearted, and instructive.

So let’s learn from each other and laugh with each other as we all enjoy the ride of following Jesus in this great adventure.

Links Mentioned in this Interview with Frank Viola

Here are some of the things I have written in the past about heresy as well.

How can Christians find Fellowship? A discussion with Richard Jacobson (Hebrews 10:25)

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unchurching richard jacobsonMillions of Christians have questions about church and how to find true Christian fellowship. In this podcast interview, Richard Jacobson and Jeremy Myers discuss how to be the church and why Hebrews 10:25 does not teach that all Christians must attend a church service on Sunday morning.

Church fellowship is critical, but there are a variety of ways God leads us to find this fellowship.

Links mentioned in this discussion with Richard Jacobson:

Do you ever feel like an outcast? Listen to this discussion about Mark 1:40-45 with Eric Nevins

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Eric NevinsI sat down with Eric Nevins today to discuss Mark 1:40-45, a passage where Jesus interacts with a leper. If you have ever felt like an outcast, or that people reject and despise you, you will really enjoy this discussion of the interaction between Jesus and the leper in Mark 1:40-45.

If you have a podcast and want to “trade” interviews, you can contact me here and join Eric’s Christian Podcast Association here.

Resources Mentioned in this Podcast Discussion of Mark 1:40-45

You can also watch the video below:

You can have a Relationship without Fellowship, but it’s not what God wants (1 John 1:6-7)

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There are many words in the Bible that often get confused with the concept of โ€œgaining eternal life.โ€ The word โ€œsalvationโ€ is the primary word of this sort, but the word “fellowship” is similar.ย Often, when people read in Scripture about “fellowship with God” they think it is referring to having eternal life or being born again.

But the word fellowship doesย not refer to gaining eternal life, but to the experience of life within the family of God. This is especially true for the word fellowship.

The word fellowship is a translation of the Greek word koinลnia (2842). โ€œFellowshipโ€ is a good translation, but not if we think of โ€œfellowshipโ€ as what typically happens on a Sunday morning in most church buildings.

fellowship 1 John 1 6-7

Your Church is Not Really a Fellowship

Though many churches call themselves a โ€œFellowship,โ€ the people who gather there are not often good examples of genuine fellowship. The term refers to a friendship, a community, a partnership, of having common interests, desires, goals, directions, and even possessions.

The term “fellowship” is a favorite expression for the close, intimate friendship that exists between a husband and wife, and also for the unity one experiences in the context of brotherly love. So the word fellowship is not about gaining a relationship, but rather about maintaining the friendship, love, and unity within a relationship.

Relationship vs. Fellowship

To understand how this works, it is helpful to think of our relationship and fellowship with God as we think about these with other person.

There is a vast difference between being born into a family, and having a positive experience within that family.

For there to be a positive experience in a family, certain things need to happen. Everybody in the family needs to participate, help out, contribute, love, forgive, and work together as a team.

friendship fellowship

It is a lot of work to maintain harmonies and loving fellowship within a family.

Sometimes the friendships that are to naturally exist within a family begin to break down. A son might rebel against his parents. Parents might abuse or neglect their children. Such activities will result in a loss of fellowship, friendship, or “togetherness.”

It is even possible for families to be so broken that people who are related to one another by blood might not see or talk to each other for years at a time. In some cases, family members might spend most of their lives apart, such as when a parent abandons a child or gives them up for adoption, or when a child runs away from home and severs all contact with his or her family.

But note that even in these situations where the families are severely broken, this does not cause the relationship itself to stop.

From a biological, or โ€œblood relativeโ€ perspective, children are always related to their parents, and vice versa, even if they break off contact for years at a time or never know each other at all. This is not an ideal situation, nor is it the way God intended families to function, but it is a very common situation for many people.

We could say that in such situations, while the relationship itself continues to exist, there is no fellowship or friendship between the separated family members.

They are related, and nothing can ever erase that relationship, but they do not have fellowship.

Even if someone changes their last name, considers their family members as dead, or gets legally-binding court documents to change their identity, the biological fact of the relationship remains unchanged and unchangeable.

This is exactly how it works with the family of God.

Once a person is born into the family of God, they cannot be unborn. Once a person is in the family of God, they have entered into an unbreakable and unchangeable relationship with God and with every other member of the family.

Even if this person says they hate God, hate Christians, and wants nothing ever to do with God or His people ever again (just as nearly every teenager says or thinks from time to time about their own parents or family), the fact of the relationship remains unchanged and unchangeable.

The relationship is eternal even if the fellowship is not.

But again, this is not Godโ€™s ideal, and this is not what God wants or desires for the people who have an eternal and unbreakable relationship with Him.

family fellowshipGod desires both relationshipย and fellowship with and between His children.

This also is the healthiest and happiest way to live within the family of God. This is why the Bible contains so much teaching about how to have fellowship with God and with one another.

In fact, it is not an exaggeration to say that most of the Bible contains teachings of this sort. Though the word โ€œfellowshipโ€ is not always used, the vast majority of Scripture is not about how to join the family of God or be born again into the family, but about how to live within the family of God so that we can have the healthiest and happiest relationships possible with God and with each other.

So when the Bible talks about fellowship with God, it is not telling non-believers how to gain eternal life or join the family of God, but is instead telling believers (people who are already part of the family of God) how to enjoy and fully experience their relationship with God and with other Christians.

One key passage that is helped by this understanding is 1 John 1:6-7.

Fellowship in 1 John 1:6-7

If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

If someone confuses the two concepts of fellowship and relationship with God, then passages like 1 John 1:6-7 will be radically misunderstood.

When people think that 1 John contains โ€œTest of Lifeโ€ then they read 1 John 1:6-7 as teaching that if we claim to have eternal life and a relationship with God, but we walk in the darkness by sinning, then this proves that we are a lair and do not actually have eternal life.

This is a very dangerous teaching.

In fact, since John goes on to say that we all still sin (1 John 1:8), then if John is saying that the presence of ongoing sin proves that a person really isnโ€™t a Christian, then nobody is a Christian.

Thankfully, a proper understanding of the word fellowship helps clear up any confusion about this text.

John is giving instructions about fellowship with God rather than about gaining or keeping a relationship with God. He says that if we claim we are friends with God, but we walk in sin and darkness, then weโ€™re lying, because God only walks in the light.

walk in the darknessOne cannot walk in the darkness and also be a friend with God.

While a person can be a child of God and walk in the darkness, such a child is living in rebellion and is not abiding with Christ or living in fellowship with God.ย  If we walk in the darkness, we obviously cannot be walking with God, because God does not walk in the darkness but in the light.

But if we walk in the light, then we will obviously be walking with Godโ€”going where God goes and doing what God does, because God walks in the light.

Walking in the light, however, leads to fellowship both with God and one another, as Jesus works to cleanse us from sin and help us live in unity and peace with each other.

This is a much more encouraging and helpful message, as it does not lead to doubt and fear about our standing with God or eternal destiny, but instead helps us move forward in our life with God on the basis of His infinite and undying love for us (1 John 4:7-19).

walk in the light 1 John 1:6-7

Fellowship vs. Relationship

Recognizing the difference between fellowship and a relationship is key to properly understanding several passages from Scripture. To see this difference, it is helpful to consider the difference between these two words in our normal, everyday relationships.

It is quite common for people to have a biological relationship with someone without participating in any fellowship with them at all.

It is not uncommon for some related family members to go days, weeks, months, and even years without eating meals together, celebrating holidays together, or even speaking to each other. In such tragic situations, the relationship still exists, even though fellowship is absent. Even where there has always been a complete lack of fellowship, the relationship remain intact and nothing can dissolve or break it.

It is the same in our relationship with God and other Christians.

All who have believed in Jesus for eternal life are part of the family of God. These relationships exist eternally and cannot be broken or dissolved. But this does not mean that all who belong to the family of God will live and exist in fellowship with God and with each other. For that to happen, we must seek to live in peace and unity with each other, while extending love, grace, and forgiveness toward others.

This is the only way to experience fellowship and friendship within the family of God.

Does this understanding of the difference between relationship and fellowship help you make sense of 1 John 1:6-7? There are other texts in the New Testament that are helped by this as well, which I discuss in my online course,ย The Gospel Dictionary.

The Gospel DictionaryUnderstanding the Gospel requires us to properly understand the key words and terms of the Gospel. Take my course, "The Gospel Dictionary" to learn about the 52 key words of the Gospel, and hundreds of Bible passages that use these words.

This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

Even the Demons Believe (James 2:19)

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Almost every single time I write a post on my blog or on Facebook about how we receive eternal life from God by faith ALONE, someoneย  brings up James 2:19 and says “But even the demons believe!”

In this current series of posts on faith, I have previously taught about James 2:14-26ย with a focus on the concept of “dead faith.” Butย in this final post on faith, I wanted to focus in on this famous verse of James 2:19, and show why people who quote it do not understand what James is saying.

(Note: ALL of these posts on faith are drawn from my book, (#AmazonAdLink) What is Faith? So if you want them all in one place, along with an extended discussion about the nature of faith and how to know you believe, just get the book.)

Let me give you an example from Twitter… By the way, I dislike Twitter Debates. It is impossible to discuss anything tangible on Twitter.

demons believe James 2:19
This picture is ironic in so many ways. It misquotes the text in several ways to reinforce a misapplication of the text itself. But this is what often happens with James 2:19.

Here is some of what we said on Twitter:

Note that I didn’t tweet the same thing to him over and over and over… he responded multiple times to one of my tweets, and I don’t know how to get rid of that when embedding a Tweet into WordPress… if anybody knows how, let me know!

So what does James 2:19 mean?

Here is what I wasย tryingย to say on Twitter, which didn’t get stated very clearly at all:

People believe millions of things. I believe that this chair I am sitting in will hold me up. I believe that the earth orbits around the sun. I believe that my children love me. I believe that coffee is a delicious beverage which helps me wake up in the morning.

But none of these beliefs, even though they are correct, will give me eternal life by believing them.

The same holds true when it comes to beliefs about God and Jesus Christ. I can believe a lot of things about God and Jesus. I believe that God exists. I believe that God consists of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I believe that God created all things, that He is holy,ย righteous,ย  loving, and good. Regarding Jesus, I believe that Jesus was God in the flesh, that He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on the cross, and rose again from the dead. I could go on and on.

But guess what? Just as believing that the earth orbits around the sun does not give me eternal life, so also, none of the beliefs I have just stated in the previous paragraph will give me eternal life by believing them.ย 

The Bible is pretty clear that to receive eternal life, you don’t just need to believe. You have to believe in the right person for the right thing, namely, you have to believe in Jesus for eternal life (John 3:16; 5:24; 6:47).

Eternal life is not given if I believe in Moses for eternal life. Nor is it given if I believe in Jesus for infinite wealth.

If I believe in Moses for eternal life, I am believing the wrong person for the right thing, but if I believe in Jesus for infinite wealth, I am believing the right person for the wrong thing.

According to Scripture, we must believe in Jesus for everlasting life.

So, what do demons believe?

Believe it or not (ha ha!), demons are probably more correct in their theology than most humans. Though I cannot be certain, I assume that demons believe that God exists as the Trinity, and that God is holy, righteous, and good, and that Jesus was God incarnate, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on the cross, and rose again from the dead.

believe in GodIn fact, demons probably know more about God than we do. Demons probably have better theology than many Christians. That is, demons probably believe more accurate truths about God than many Christians do.

The problem with demons, however, isn’t in what they know about God, or in what they believe. Their problem is that they don’t like what they know about God and believe that they can rebel against God and win (this is where their beliefs are wrong).

When it comes to the book of James, and James 2 specifically, lots of people quote James 2:19 out of context. They hear a pastor, professor, teacher, blogger, or evangelist say that to receive eternal life, all you need to do is believe in Jesus for it, and the objector says, “That’s not true! Even the demons believe!”

Right.

Of course demons believe. Humans believe things. Demons believe things. Evenย  animals believe things. We have three cats. When I get up in the morning, one or two of them is always there in the kitchen, looking at me, expecting me to either feed them, or let them outside to do their business. They believe that I am the one who can make these things happen for them.

But so what? Do cats have eternal life because they believe in me for food and that I can open the door? Of course not! So also, demons believe many things, but they don’t get eternal life simply because they believe.

When it comes to receiving eternal life, it is not simpleย beliefย that matters, but believing in the right person for the right thing.

So yes, demons believe. But the real question is “What do demons believe?”

More specifically, what is James 2:19 talking about? What is the argument? What is the point?

James 2, Faith, Works, Demons, and Abraham

Below is a super brief synopsis of how to understandย James 2:14-26.

James is writing to believers.ย 

First, James is not writing an evangelist pamphlet telling people how to receive eternal life. He is writing to believers about how toย live as followers of Jesus and function within the church.ย 

Many scholars and pastors have noted the numerous parallels between the book of James and the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. Just as the Sermon on the Mount is the discipleship manual of Jesus, so also the book of James is a reworking of the discipleship manual for Christians under the pastoral care of James.

He is not telling these believers how to receive eternal life, but is writing to them based on the assumption that they already have eternal life, but need some advice on how to look and live like Jesus in the world.

James 2:14-26 deals with living a profitable Christian life.

The issue in James 2:14-26 is not about gaining or proving that one has eternal life, but rather, living as a profitable servant of Jesus Christ. James mentions profit several times (cf. James 2:14, 16) and the opposite of profit–being dead or useless (James 2:17, 20, 26).

The “profit” he is talking about, of course, is not monetary gain, but living as an energized, successful, fully-committed, faithful, generous, loving, caring follower of Jesus Christ. None of us want to live useless lives, but profitable lives that are useful to God and His rule and reign on earth.

In James 2:14-26 we are told how.

Don’t just pray and believe God; Do Something!

The main point of James 2:14-26 is that believing God can do something is good, but if we really believe God can do something, we will personally seek to be part of the solution.

Specifically, if you see someone who is hungry or without clothes, it is okay if you tell them you are going to pray for them, or if you believe that God can provide for them. But more than just pray for them, and more than just believe that God will give them food and clothes, why don’t you actually be an answer to your own prayers and your own faith, and give them food and clothes!?

That is what James is saying: “Don’t just believe; Do something!”

This is why people get so upset at Christians when we are faced with a troubling situation, or a dire need, and our only response is, “I’ll pray for you!” or “My thoughts and prayers are with you!”

When people are homeless, jobless, hungry, sick, dying, struggling, they don’t need thoughts and prayers. They need Christians do actually do something.ย This is exactly the point that James is making as well.

James is saying, “When someone is in need … don’t just believe that God can provide for them … YOU provide for them. Don’t just tell them you’ll pray for them …. Instead, you provide for them.”

Do you see? The “believing” (or faith) of James 2:14-26 hasย nothing whatsoever to do with eternal life.ย The person is believing that God can give food and clothing to the hungry and the naked. There is nothing here about believing in Jesus for eternal life, and you do not get eternal life by believing that God can clothe and feed someone. Nor do you get eternal life by giving people clothes and food.

Again, eternal life is given to those who believe in Jesus for it.

Now, if James had stopped writing at James 2:16, there never would have been the misunderstanding about the relationship between faith and works in this passage. Everybody would have immediately recognized that James wants us to do more than just pray for people and state our belief that God can help them. We should actually do something for those in need. This point of James is pretty clear in James 2:14-16.

But he goes on to write James 2:17-26, and this is where all the problems with this passage enter. In the rest of this passage, I am not going to work though the entire passage in detail, but just provide a few of the highlights, and point you to the text of a sermon I preached on James 2 several years ago, and I also have a shorter version in Podcast episode 124 when I discussedย James 2:14-26.

But hereย is the main argument of James 2:17-26.

1. Faith Without Works is Dead

The word “dead” does not mean nonexistent, but useless, unproductive, unprofitable. Someone may still have faith, but if that faith is not put into action, it is not doing anybody any good. It does not help those who are hungry and without clothes, and it does not help the person who has the faith. Since the context of this passage is about profitable faith, then “dead” faith is unprofitable faith.

So we must never say “Dead faith is no faith” for that is absolutely not true. Dead faith exists, it is just unproductive and unprofitable.

2. The Objector States His Opinion in James 2:18-19

Someone does not agree with what James is saying, and begins to state an objection in James 2:18. On this, every Bible translation agrees. Where Bible translations do not agree is where the objection ends. If you compare Bible translations on where they put the second set of quotation marks, you will see that they are all over the place.

However, Greek did not have quotation marks, and so authors used other methods to show where the objection ends and the refutation begins. They indicated this by calling the objection foolish (cf. 1 Cor 15:35-36; Rom 9:19-20). In this way, the objector in James 2 is saying everything in James 2:18-19. (See my article on “Epistolary Diatribe.”)

Therefore, the statement “even the demons believe, and tremble” is NOT from James, and is NOT in support of his argument, but is from someone who does not like what James is saying, and is objecting to the point James is making.

In other words, when we quote James 2:19, “even the demons believe” we are siding not with James, but taking the side of someone who disagrees with James.

The basic point of the objector is that he believes there is no connection between faith and works. James says that if we have faith, we should do something with it to live profitable and useful lives. The objector says,

That’s rubbish. The two are not connected at all. Take the cardinal theological belief of Judaism as an example: the belief that God is One. The demons believe this, but ย it doesn’t affect their behavior. All they do is shudder, but beyond this, this still rebel against God.” So their faith does nothing for them.

Note, by the way, that faith in Jesus for eternal life is NOT what demons believe.

Sure, we can assume that demons believe that ifย people believe in Jesus for eternal life then those people will receive eternal life, but the demons themselves cannot believe in Jesus for eternal life, because eternal life has not been offered to them by Jesus.

But this is not the belief of demons that James is writing about. The only thing demons believe in this context is that God is One, which is the central and most important belief in Judaism.

The Masterful Refutation by James

In the rest of the passage (James 2:20-26), James refutes what this objector said.

He notes that the objector used the most important belief in Judaism, so James says “Oh yeah? Two can play that game,” and to prove his point he uses the most important figure in Judaism: Abraham, the father of faith.

Faith of AbrahamAnd he uses a particular event in the life of Abraham to prove that Abraham’s faith led him to obey God and perform certain actions, whichย in turn, allowed people to recognize that Abraham was truly God’s friend.

It is important to note that the event James is referring to takes place in Genesis 22, many years after the initial faith of Abraham in Genesis 15.

Whenever Paul refers to the faith of Abraham, he is referring to Genesis 15, when Abram was declared righteous by God. But James is referring to the events in Genesis 22, when Abraham was declared righteous by men, that is, they saw what Abraham did, and said, “Wow. He truly does believe in the God he claims to serve, and look what happened as a result! He truly is the friend of God!”

James then goes on with the knock-out punch. He has proven his point with the Forefather of Faith, Abraham, so he now takes the opposite extreme and shows how his point applies to the foreign, sinful, prostitute Rahab.

Rahab also believed something about God, and when the spies came to her, she acted on what she believed to deliver and rescue them. If she had just believed in God and done nothing, she still would have had the faith, but it would have done nothing to deliver her, her family, or the two spies. But because she acted on her faith, her faith became profitable.

James has proved his case and proved the objector wrong. If all you do with faith is believe, that is well and good, and it is still faith, but to truly be profitable, effective, energizing, and helpful in your own life and in the lives of others around us, you must act on what you believe (James 2:26).

This is the meaning of James 2.

Eternal Life IS received by Faith ALONE in Jesus Christ ALONE

So don’t let anyone tell you that faith is not enough when it comes to receiving eternal life. Of course it is! Jesus Himself promises it!ย 

But when it comes to helping others, and getting rid of sin in our lives, and clothing the naked, feeding the hungry (James 2:14-26), taking care of orphans and widows (James 1:27), controlling our tongue (James 3:1-12), etc., etc., etc., just believing that God can take care of these situations isย not enough.

Faith is the beginning, but in all these areas where God calls us to get involved, we must do more than just pray; we must do more than just believe. We must do something!

What do you think of this explanation of James 2:14-26, and especially the statement in James 2:19 about the faith of demons? Does it help this passage make more sense to you?

Does it help it fit better with what we read in the teachings of Jesus and the writings of Paul? Has it cleared up in your own mind some of the confusion around the role of faith and works?

Let me know in the comments below, and if you want more clarification, get my book,ย (#AmazonAdLink) What is Faith?

The Gospel DictionaryUnderstanding the Gospel requires us to properly understand the key words and terms of the Gospel. Take my course, "The Gospel Dictionary" to learn about the 52 key words of the Gospel, and hundreds of Bible passages that use these words.

This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

“Faithfulness” is not a good translation of pistis (Titus 2:10)

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faithfulness pistis

There are Christian books and teachings out there which say that the Greek word pistis is best translated as “faithfulness” or “allegiance.”

If this is true, then rather than eternal life being gained by believing in Jesus for it (and not by works of any kind), eternal life is instead gained by living a life of faithful obedience and allegiance to Jesus.

But is eternal life gained by allegiance to Jesus? No. This is a gospel of good works, which is no gospel at all.

Indeed, I believe that there is not a single use of the Greek word pistis in the New Testament which is properly translated as “faithfulness.”

Yes, The BDAG Greek lexicon does list six verses where pistis can be translated as “faithfulness,” but not all English translations of these passages translate it in such a way.

In fact, โ€œmajor contemporary English versions translate pistis as โ€˜faithfulnessโ€™ or โ€˜fidelityโ€™ in only three or four New Testament versesโ€ (Brindle, “Faith in Christ Does Not Mean Faithfulness or Fidelity“). And even in these three or four verses, pistis could arguably be translated as โ€œfaithโ€ (Matt 23:23; Rom 3:3; Gal 5:22; Titus 2:10).

Let me show you why this is so, and then we will consider a sample verse from Scripture which helps illustrate this view.

Note: The following is drawn from my book, (#AmazonAdLink) What is Faith?

Faithfulness vs Faith for the Greekย pistis)

For numerous reasons, it does not seem best to understand the word โ€œfaithโ€ (Gk., pistis) as โ€œfaithfulness.โ€

faith pistis definition

While there does initially seem to be some evidence for this understanding in various biblical and extra-biblical contexts, such a view opens the door for a works-based approach to gaining, proving, or keeping our eternal life, and so should be rejected.

After all, if pistis can sometimes refer to allegiance, loyalty, or ongoing obedience, then there is nothing to stop someone from saying that most references to faith in the New Testament carry this idea, and therefore, eternal life is not gained by simply believing in Jesus for it, but instead by living loyally and obediently to Him.

This is indeed what some argueย (see, for example, Michael Bates, (#AmazonAdLink) Salvation by Allegiance Alone).

Yet once we properly understand that faith is a conviction or persuasion that something is true, we are then positioned to better understand the various texts in English Bibles which translate pistis as faithfulnessย (Matt 23:23; Rom 3:3; Gal 5:22; Titus 2:10).

When studied in their contexts, we see that these controversial passages do not require for pistis to refer to loyalty, allegiance, or ongoing obedience, but could instead refer to a persistent and ongoing faith.

Faith is like a light switch. When it comes to the various truths we can believe, faith is either โ€œOnโ€ or โ€œOff.โ€ If it stays โ€œOnโ€ for a long time, then it is persistent faith.

Not all beliefs stay โ€œOnโ€ all the time. We often change our beliefs due to new evidence that is presented to us. Sometimes we change our beliefs as we learn more about God through Scripture and in fellowship with other believers.

In such instances, we turn away from falsehood and embrace the truth, so that our network of beliefs comes to more closely match what is actually true.

We can also stray from the truth and fall into dangerous and unhealthy teachings. It is not uncommon for true believers to fall prey to false teaching so that they come to deny the truth and turn instead toward lies and deceptive ideas.

But as long as a Christian maintains a belief in what is actually true, their belief is persistent. This persistent faith is which Scripture invites us to strive and long for.

Therefore, the texts that seem to require a translation of โ€œfaithfulnessโ€ are not referring to allegiance and obedience, but to this ongoing and persistent faith. It is a faith that remains.

The “Faithfulness of Jesus” is His Ongoing, Persistent Faith

faithfulness of GodThis is even true when the Bible refers to the faith of God or the faith of Jesus.

It is not necessary to understand these texts as referring to the faithfulness of God or the faithfulness of Jesus.

Since faith is the knowledge, conviction, or persuasion that something is true, then it is obvious that both God and Jesus can have faith.

Indeed, the Trinitarian God is the only being in the universe who has perfect faith.

All other beings in the universe do not have perfect knowledge of all things, and therefore, do not believe or know all things. Only Godโ€™s faith is eternally perfect and persistent.

Since faith or belief is the conviction that something is true, God knows everything that is true, and therefore, believes it and will always believe it.

Furthermore, He even has faith toward us. He knows what is true about us, even when we do not (Rom 3:3-4). He also knows what will be true about us, and He speaks these things to us so that we might be inspired by His testimony toward us to believe these things as well.

God wants us to live as He sees us; not as we see ourselves. God believes in us and invites us to believe in Him so that together, our belief will bring Godโ€™s vision of the future into reality.

Faith vs. Faithfulness in Tricky Bible Texts

This understanding helps clarify some of the tricky texts which seem to require โ€œfaithfulnessโ€ as a translation of pistis.

Such texts do not refer to allegiance or ongoing obedience, but to an ongoing and persistent belief.

And this belief can lead to other beliefs as well. For example, once we have believed in Jesus for eternal life, this does not mean that faith has no more place in the life of the believer. Just as we have received Jesus Christ, so also we must continue to walk with Him (Col 2:6). And how is it that we received Jesus? By faith. So we are to continue our life with Him by faith as well.

This is not only true because ongoing faith gives us the best life possible with Jesus, but also because other truths we can believe depend on continuing to believe previous truths.

Remember that all of our beliefs are interconnected like a vast Excel spreadsheet.

Many of the more advanced truths and ideas on this spreadsheet will not be discovered and cannot be believed unless we maintain our belief in some of the earlier, foundational truths.

In other words, future faith builds upon our former faith. Believing simple and elementary things allows us to later believe more difficult and hard things.

This is what Paul means when it talks about going from โ€œfaith to faithโ€ (cf. Rom 1:17) and when he refers to faith as a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22). As we walk with God in faith and by the Spirit, we grow in our faith and come to believe things that draw us closer to God and make us more like Jesus.

So regardless of which stage of faith we are talking about, faith does not involve ongoing obedience.

Faith does not begin with simple belief and then end with allegiance and loyalty.

There are no works in faith, for faith is the opposite of works. While faith can lead to works, the presence or absence of works do not necessarily indicate anything one way or another about a personโ€™s faith.

In all cases, faith is simply being persuaded and convinced about what we have been told.

When we believe in Jesus for eternal life, we are persuaded that Jesus, as the author and finisher of our faith, loves us, forgives us, and freely grants eternal life to us, not because of anything we have done but simply and only because of Godโ€™s grace toward us.

No commitment to allegiance or ongoing obedience are required.

Therefore, the word pistis is not ever properly translated as โ€œfaithfulness.โ€

Titus 2:10 faith

Faith vs. Faithfulness in Titus 2:10

Of the various passages that sometimes use the word โ€œfaithfulness.โ€ as a translation of pistisย (Matt 23:23; Rom 3:3; Gal 5:22; Col 2:6; Titus 2:10), I have already briefly considered Romans 3:3, Colossians 2:6, and Galatians 5:22 above.

In Matthew 23:23, the NKJV properly translates the Greek as “faith,” so let us consider the final text, Titus 2:10, here.

The first thing to note about Titus 2:10, is that it fits within the broader context of Titus 2. And Paul begins in Titus 2:1f by telling Titus to teach and encourage others to have sound doctrine and godly practices. In other words, Titus is to call others to proper beliefs and behavior.

And then Paul goes through various categories of people among whom Titus ministers. He gives instructions for older men (Titus 2:2), older women (Titus 2:3), young women (Titus 2:4-5), young men (Titus 2:6-8), and servants (Titus 2:9-10).

In each case, Paul encourages the various groups to watch their life and doctrine closely … that is, their beliefs and their behaviors. As for the beliefs, the older men are to be “sound in faith.” The older women are to be “teachers of good things.” The younger women are to be careful not to blaspheme the word of God. The younger men are to have integrity in their doctrine.

The bondservants are to have “good fidelity,” which is the controversial phrase. I propose it should be translated as “good faith” (as in the NAS).

Three lines of argument from the context show that this should be translated as “good faith” instead of “good fidelity.”

First,ย the wordย pistisย is already used in the context. At the beginning of this section when he gives instructions to the older men, and most English Bibles translate this word as “faith.” The use of the same word here at the end of this section creates a nice frame for the entire section. By usingย ย pistisย at both the beginning and end, Paul shows that he desires both proper beliefs and proper behaviors from all.

And sinceย pistisย is best translates as “faith” in Titus 2:2, then it seems that it should also be translated as “faith” in Titus 2:10.

Support for this idea is found in the next phrase of Titus 2:10, where Paul goes on to write about the doctrine of God our Savior. This is the second reason “faith” is the best translation for pistis in Titus 2:10. The following phrase refers to doctrine.

What are you to do with doctrine, or theology, other than believe it? Doctrine is taught so that it can be believed.

Thirdly and finally, then, we know that Paul does not mean “faithfulness” or “fidelity” with the wordย pistisย in Titus 2:10, because he has been referring to beliefs and behaviors of all the various groups of people throughout this passage. If the reference toย pistisย in this verse also refers to allegiance, fidelity, or faithful obedience, then Paul’s instructions to the servants is only about their behavior and not about their beliefs at all.

But shouldn’t servants also have proper beliefs? Of course they should! And just as Paul encourages the previous four groups of people to have good beliefs and good behaviors, he gives similar instructions to this final group, the servants. The wordย pistisย must refer to the beliefs of the servants, while all the preceding terms refer to their behaviors.

Conclusion

It is not helpful to translateย pistisย as “faithfulness, allegiance, or fidelity” in any passage in the Bible. When Scripture wants to use terms for obedience and dedicated allegiance, it has good words to use in those cases.

Butย pistisย always refers to faith or belief, and includes no actions or obedience whatsoever.

Don’t allow good works to sneak in the back door of the gospel by thinking thatย pistisย can sometimes refer to faithfulness or ongoing obedience. Such a gospel is no gospel at all, for if we receive eternal life by ongoing, faithful obedience to God, then no person would ever receive eternal life, for no person can ever be “faithful” enough.

Thankfully, good works do not help us earn or keep the free gift of eternal life. It is freely given by God’s grace to anyone who simply and only believes in Jesus for it.

Get my book, (#AmazonAdLink) What is Faith?ย to learn more about faith.

The Gospel DictionaryUnderstanding the Gospel requires us to properly understand the key words and terms of the Gospel. Take my course, "The Gospel Dictionary" to learn about the 52 key words of the Gospel, and hundreds of Bible passages that use these words.

This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

Bob Dutko Interviews J. D. Myers about Faith

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Bob Dutko Jeremy MyersThe Bob Dutko Show (noon โ€“ 4pm, Mon-Fri) is Detroitโ€™s number one talk Christian radio show. He is heard on radio stations across the country, making him one of the most listened to Christian talk show hosts in the United States. Go here to learn more about Bob Dutko.

Today he interviewed me about my book, (#AmazonAdLink) What is Faith?

Here is a replay of this interview.

 

What is childlike faith? (Matthew 18:3; Mark 10:14; Luke 18:17)

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(#AmazonAdLink) What is faithI have previously written about faith like a child here, but in light of the release of (#AmazonAdLink) my new book on faith, let me revisit the idea of childlike faith.

Some Christians say that they donโ€™t need reasons or explanations for what they believe, because they have โ€œfaith like a childโ€ or โ€œchildlike faith.โ€

When they say this, they mean that they donโ€™t ask questions about their beliefs, nor do they wonder if what they believe is true. Childlike faith is often described as a faith that does not doubt, question, or seek explanations; it just believes.

But this is not childlike faith.

So what is childlike faith?

what is childlike faithIn seeking to understand what childlike faith actually is, let us look at four reasons why the lack of desire to ask questions is not โ€œchildlike faith.โ€

1. Those with “Childlike faith” sometimes look down on those who ask questions

First, while it is completely fine if a person does not want to ask questions about what they believe or seek answers about why they believe what they do, they should not look down upon those who do ask questions. Nor should they prohibit people from doing so.

Some who claim to have โ€œchildlike faithโ€ wear it as a badge of honor, seeming to indicate to others that their unquestioning faith is superior to those who ask questions and seek explanations.

For this reason, โ€œchildlike faithโ€ could actually be called โ€œarrogant faithโ€ for those who claim to have it sometimes look down on those who require reason, logic, and explanations for what they believe.

People who have this attitude will often say โ€œI just believe the Bibleโ€ or โ€œGod says it, I believe it, that settles it.โ€

In reality, they donโ€™t โ€œjust believe the Bible.โ€ They believe a particular interpretation or explanation of the Bible, and often claim to โ€œjust believe the Bibleโ€ when someone comes along and presents a different perspective or explanation.

When faith is thought of as โ€œblind faithโ€ or a โ€œleap into the voidโ€ in a way that does not require reason, logic, or explanation, those who are able to maintain this sort of faith sometimes have the tendency to look down on those who require reason, logic, and explanation for their beliefs.

Of course, the opposite is also true. People who use reason and logic to support their beliefs often condemn those who donโ€™t for having an โ€œignorant and uneducated faith.โ€ This is not good either.

So if a person does not want to ask questions, there is no requirement to do so.

Many people do not enjoy the โ€œlife of the mindโ€ and should not be expected to engage in such practices.

However, this preference should not be equated with childlike faith.

Those who do not seek to dive deep into theology and seek answers to questions should not look down on those who do seek such answers as having a โ€œlesser faithโ€ (and vice versa).

So rather than say that a faith which does not question is โ€œchildlike faithโ€ it might be better to simply call it an unquestioning faith.

childlike faithThis is the second reason that childlike faith cannot be equated with the lack of desire to ask questions.

2. Children ask LOTS of Questions

Childlike faith is not about the avoidance of questions, for children ask many, many questions.

As any parent will tell you, the unrelenting barrage of questions from a two-year old can become quite exhausting.

Therefore, it could easily be argued that true โ€œchildlike faithโ€ is actually a faith that asks lots of questions.

So the desire (or lack of desire) to ask questions has nothing to do with whether or not a person has childlike faith.

3. Children always have reasons for what they believe

The third reason that a faith which does not ask question or seek explanations cannot be called โ€œchildlike faithโ€ is because there are explanations and reasons for what a child believes โ€ฆ even if they themselves are not aware of what those reasons are.

In other words, children do not believe anything without reason. The most common reason that children believe what they believe is because someone they trust told them what to believe. Children often simply believe whatever their parents and teachers tell them.

Therefore, true childlike faith is not an unthinking faith, for the authority of the person who teaches is a factor that faith takes into consideration.

Something similar occurs whenever a person has a so-called โ€œunquestioning faith.โ€ They do not believe without reason; they simply have not thought through what the reasons and explanations for their beliefs might be.

Instead, they believe what a pastor or teacher taught them, or what seems to be the โ€œplain readingโ€ of Scripture (though careful, contextual studies of the text often reveal that the โ€œplain readingโ€ is not the best reading).

There is nothing wrong with not knowing exactly why you have the beliefs you have, but a lack of understanding about why should not be confused with a lack of explanation. There are explanations for why you believe what you believe, even if you donโ€™t know what these explanations are.

And thatโ€™s okay.

Nobody has a complete explanation and understanding for why they believe what they believe. \

But everybody, over time, naturally and normally grows in their understanding and gains explanations for their beliefs. While initially, a belief might be gained because โ€œI learned it in Kindergarten,โ€ this belief will either remain unquestioned and unchallenged throughout life, or it will be challenged and questioned.

If it is challenged and questioned, the belief will either be supported and affirmed, or disproven and denied.

But nobodyโ€™s beliefs all stay the same throughout all of life. Instead, everybody matures and grows in what they think and believe. This is normal, natural, and just as God intended.

faith like a childJust as children grow and mature, so also does faith. This is the way God made humans, and this is the way God made faith.

4. The term “childlike faith” is not found in the Bible

Which brings up the fourth and final reason that unquestioning faith cannot be equated with childlike faith. And it is this: โ€œchildlike faithโ€ is not found in the Bible.

There is no such thing as biblical โ€œchildlike faith.โ€

When people refer to โ€œchildlike faithโ€ or โ€œfaith like a child,โ€ they have in mind the sorts of things Jesus says in Matthew 18:3, Mark 10:14, and Luke 18:17, where He teaches that the kingdom of heaven belongs to little children.

But in these passages, Jesus isnโ€™t talking about faith. In fact, He doesnโ€™t mention โ€œfaithโ€ at all. Instead, Jesus is talking about entering the kingdom of heaven, and He encourages His listeners to humble themselves like a child and receive Him like a child (Matt 18:4-5; Mark 10:14) if they want to see the kingdom of heaven.

In other words, there is something essential about the childlike perspective for the person who wants to see the kingdom of heaven.

But what is Jesus talking about? What is this childlike perspective that Jesus has in mind?
faith like a child Matthew 18:3

What does Jesus mean in Matthew 18:3 about entering the Kingdom like a child?

To begin with, it is critical to recognize that the kingdom of heaven is not eternal life. The phrase โ€œsee the kingdom of heavenโ€ does not mean โ€œgo to heaven when you die.โ€

Similarly, โ€œSeeing the kingdom of heavenโ€ is not the same thing as โ€œgoing to heaven.โ€

The two concepts of entering (or seeing) the kingdom and going to heaven when you die are not equivalent in the Bible.

It is important that we recognize this, because Jesus says that seeing the kingdom of heaven requires humility. If seeing the kingdom of heaven was the same as going to heaven, then the good work of personal humility would be required for entrance into heaven after death.

But eternal life is received by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone (John 3:16; 5:24; 6:47); not by living humbly before God.

Good works are not required to gain entrance into heaven.

What then is the kingdom of heaven?

In the Gospels, the phrase โ€œkingdom of heavenโ€ or โ€œkingdom of Godโ€ refers to the rule and reign of God in our lives now on earth. It is about Godโ€™s will being done on earth, as it is done in heaven (Matthew 6:10).

All the kingdom imagery and terminology in the Gospels is not about โ€œleaving earth and going to heaven when we dieโ€ but about โ€œheaven coming down to earth while we live.โ€

Seeing the kingdom of heaven is not about life after death, but about living and experiencing Godโ€™s life in this life here and now.

This is what Jesus has in mind when He teaches about becoming like a little child. Experiencing the life of God in this life requires humility like a little child.

In what way? Not by remaining ignorant, for God gave us Scripture so that we might learn, grow, mature, reason (Isaiah 1:18), and become students, disciples, and followers of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19-20; 2 Timothy 2:2).

Instead, becoming like a little child means that we maintain the wonderful and beautiful characteristics and qualities of children that life in this sinful world tends to beat out of us.

Like what?

Like tenderness of conscience.

Openness about emotions and feelings.

Creativity and imagination.

Wonder and awe.

Joy.

Eternal hope.

Playfulness and humor.

Trust.

Easy forgiveness.

Undying love.

Boundless exuberance and energy.

Always thinking the best about life and other people.

Being willing to learn and grow.

These are the sort of qualities that tend to define children, but which get stripped out of people as they encounter the sin and brokenness of this world.

As adults, we get bored with flowers, bugs, and sunsets. We lose delight in talking with others about nothing.

We become jaded and disinterested.

Adults hold grudges, harbor fears, and stay angry.

Adults refuse to forgive.

Adults remember slights.

Adults lose hope because their hopes have been dashed and destroyed so many time.

Adults do things โ€œbecause theyโ€™ve always been done that wayโ€ and have trouble imagining anything different.

But children do not behave in any of these ways. Nor did Jesus.

One of the things that attracted people to Jesus is that He was โ€œchildlike.โ€

Does this mean He lacked wisdom and understanding? Far from it. Jesus was โ€œchildlikeโ€ because He was full of the wonder of life, the hope for humanity, and the beauty of creation.

Jesus lived in awe of life, awe of God, and awe of humanity.

And this awe was contagious. People who saw how Jesus lived began to see how life should be lived. Jesus revealed how God intended life to be lived. In other words, those who begin to live life like Jesus are those who begin to see heaven come down to earth.

They begin to see the rule and reign of God unfold in their own life with all its beauty, majesty, glory, and creativity. This is what Jesus Himself lived, and this is what Jesus invited others to live also. He taught that if you want to experience Godโ€™s life in this life (the kingdom of heaven), then you need to become like a little child once again.

Do you want to enter the Kingdom like a child?

If so, then ask questions. Lots of questions.

But also have fun. Laugh. Play. Imagine. Sing. Dance. Hope. Dream. Forgive. Create. Trust. Live life to the full. Be excited. Be adventuresome. Be tender of heart.

And most of all, love. When you live this way, you will become like a little child, and will see the kingdom of heaven rise again in your life.

The Gospel DictionaryUnderstanding the Gospel requires us to properly understand the key words and terms of the Gospel. Take my course, "The Gospel Dictionary" to learn about the 52 key words of the Gospel, and hundreds of Bible passages that use these words.

This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

Faith is NOT a Gift from God (Ephesians 2:8)

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faith is not a gift from god

Some teach that faithย is a work of God performed in the heart or mind of a person. Another way of saying this is that faith is a gift from God to the heart of human beings.

Those who hold to this view say that God gives faith to those whom He has chosen for eternal life. There are three reasons that some people teach that faith is a gift of God.

People are Dead and Trespasses and Sins, and so Cannot Believe

First, some believe that since unregenerate people are โ€œdead in trespasses and sinsโ€ (Eph 2:1), and have had their minds darkened or blinded (cf. (Eph 4:18; 2 Cor 3:14), they cannot do anything good, including believing in Jesus for eternal life.

Those who hold to this view teach that if a person is going to believe in Jesus for eternal life (or even believe anything good and pleasing about God at all), they can only believe if God sovereignly bestowed up them the gift of faith.

Various texts are often referenced in defense of this idea (cf. Acts 5:31; 11:18; 13:48; 16:14; Rom 12:3; 1 Cor 12:8-9; Eph 2:8-9; Php 1:29; 2 Tim 2:25; 2 Pet 1:1). But in several of these, faith is not even mentioned (e.g., Acts 5:31; 11:18; 2 Tim 2:25), and the others can all be reasonably explained in the context.

Sadly, I cannot look at all of these texts in this post … but we will consider the primary text below, Ephesians 2:8-9. (I also explain several of the other texts in my book,ย (#AmazonAdLink) What is Faith?)

Note, however, that this entire line of thought stems from thinking that faith is a good work.

In other words, the idea that faith is a gift derives from the false idea that faith is somehow meritorious. After all, if faith is a work, then we must say that faith is a gift from God, for we cannot teach that humans are able to work for eternal life.

But Scripture is clear about faith, that it is not a work; it is not meritorious. Faith is the opposite of works (cf. Romans 4:4-5). Faith does not earn, achieve, or gain good standing with God in any way.

Therefore, faith does not need to be a gift from God. People are persuaded about all sorts of things, and no such persuasion is ever considered to be a good work or a meritorious action, or a gift from God.

So the faith to believe in Jesus is also not a gift from God.

But there is a Spiritual Gift of Faith!

The second reason that some people believe and teach that faith is a gift of God is because they confuse this idea with the biblical teaching about the โ€œspiritual giftโ€ of faith.

Even though Paul does write about the gift of faith in 1 Corinthians 12:9, this is the spiritual gift of faith, and is not the same thing as the so-called โ€œgift of faithโ€ which some teach God gives to people before they can believe in Jesus for eternal life.

Furthermore, Paul is quite clear that we all have different spiritual gifts (Rom 12:6). If everyone had to receive the โ€œgift of faithโ€ from God in order to receive eternal life (John 3:16; 5:24; 6:47), then this would mean that all Christians have the spiritual gift of faith, which Paul says we do not.

So what is the spiritual gift of faith? As (#AmazonAdLink) I wrote in my book on the spiritual gifts, a personย  has the spiritual gift of faith when they firmly persuaded of Godโ€™s power and promises to accomplish His will and purpose and to display such a confidence in Him that circumstances and obstacles do not shake that conviction (1 Cor 12:8-10; cf. Heb 11).

People with the spiritual gift of faith know what they believe and why they believe it, and are able to inspire action in others based on their beliefs. Those with the gift of faith are often called upon to encourage others to step out in faith and follow God to accomplish seemingly impossible tasks.

The spiritual gift of faith to some Christians for the edification and encouragement of others isย not the same thing as God giving faith to all Christians so that they can believe in Jesus for eternal life.

So biblical passages about the spiritual gift of faith cannot be used to support the idea that God gives faith to unregenerate people so they can believe.

But Ephesians 2:8 says God gives the gift of Faith

The third reason that some people think faith is a gift from God is because of what Paul seems to say in Ephesians 2:8.

Ephesians 2:8 faith is not a giftHe writes, โ€œFor by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.โ€

Some people see the phrase โ€œand that not of yourselves, it is the gift of Godโ€ as referring back to the word โ€œfaith.โ€

They read Ephesians 2:8 this way: โ€œFor by grace you have been saved through faith, and faith is not of yourselves, faith is the gift of God.โ€

There are numerous problems with this approach to Ephesians 2:8, the greatest being that it reveals a complete disregard for the Greek text.

Greek words have gender: masculine, feminine, and neuter. When relative pronouns (such as โ€œthatโ€ and โ€œitโ€) are used to refer back to a noun, they always agree with the gender of the noun. The word โ€œfaithโ€ in Greek is feminine. Therefore, if Paul was intending to say that faith is not of ourselves, but faith is a gift of God, he would have used a feminine relative pronoun for the word โ€œthatโ€ (the word โ€œitโ€ is not actually in the Greek).

But the word โ€œthatโ€ is not feminine; it is neuter.

Therefore, it is impossible for Paul to be thinking about โ€œfaithโ€ when he wrote โ€œand that is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.โ€

It is grammatically impossible for the word โ€œthatโ€ to refer to โ€œfaithโ€ in Ephesians 2:8.

So what was Paul referring to, if not to faith?

Ephesians 2:8-9 in Context

You can read my longer explanation of Ephesians 2:8-9 here, or in my bookย (#AmazonAdLink) What is Faith?,ย but let me summarize the meaning of the text for you here.

As stated previously, Greek pronouns must agree with their antecedent in gender, number, and case. Faith is feminine, and the pronoun “that” is neuter, so the pronoun cannot be pointing back to faith.

So to what does the pronoun refer?

The problem is that there is no neuter noun in the preceding context.

So what was Paul referring to, if not to faith?

The answer is that Paul is referring to the entire โ€œsalvation packageโ€ that he has written about in Ephesians 2. The description of Paul about what God has provided to us in Jesus contains a mixture of masculine and feminine nouns. So Paul uses a neuter pronoun to refer to the entire โ€œsalvation package.โ€

Paulโ€™s overall point in Ephesians 2 is about how God solved the problem of human division and strife that is caused by racial, religious, and political differences (Eph 2:1-4). Paul shows how God revealed the problem and the solution through the crucifixion of Jesus (Eph 2:5-10) so that we can all live in peace and unity with one another in this life (Eph 2:11-22), as God has always wanted and desired.

Everything Paul mentions in Ephesians 2 is the gift of God to us.

The gift is not faith itself, but everything else that God has done and taught and provided through Jesus Christ, and which we can benefit from when we believe in Jesus for it.

faith is not a gift

So faith is not the gift of God.

The gift of God is His revelation to humanity and the salvation which comes to us by His grace. When we see, understand, and believe what God has revealed to us and done for us through the life, death, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus, it is then that the peace of God starts to become a reality in our life here and now.

It is then that all who were formerly at enmity with each other are fitted together to grow into the holy temple in the Lord, as a dwelling place of God in the Spirit (Eph 2:21-22). This is the mystery of the church, which Paul goes on to explain in Ephesians 3โ€“4.

All of this is the gift of God, and when we receive it by faith, we begin to experience this new reality in this life and on this earth.

See my article here for more reasons why Faith is Not a Gift From God.

Therefore, since faith is not a gift from God, this means that every person is able to believe in Jesus for eternal life. Just as any person can believe that 2+2=4, or that gravity is a force of nature, so also, anybody is able to believe in Jesus for eternal life, once the truth is presented to them.

Since faith is not a work, but is the opposite of works, a person who believes in Jesus is not doing anything meritorious for eternal life, but is only accepting the free gift of God.

So … have you believed in Jesus for eternal life? If not, what is holding you back?

If you want to learn more about this, try my online course mentioned below, or get my book, (#AmazonAdLink) What is Faith?

The Gospel DictionaryUnderstanding the Gospel requires us to properly understand the key words and terms of the Gospel. Take my course, "The Gospel Dictionary" to learn about the 52 key words of the Gospel, and hundreds of Bible passages that use these words.

This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

What is Great Faith and Little Faith? (Matthew 8:10; 15:28; Luke 7:9)

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(#AmazonAdLink) What is FaithIf faith is best understood as reasonable certaintyย then this means that we either believe something or we don’t. If we doubt something, then we don’t believe it.

If we think of our network of beliefs as a vast Excel spreadsheet with each individual cell holding a single statement that we either agree with or not, then this means that there are no degrees of faith. You cannot have 10%, 50%, 90%, or even 99% faith. Each individual belief on the spreadsheet of faith is either “On” or “Off.”

But if this is true, then what are we to make of the statements by Jesus about people having “little faith” and “great faith”? (cf. Matt 6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8; Luke 4:14-30; 12:28).

There are also numerous passages in the Bible which seem to indicate that we must have โ€œenough faithโ€ before God answers our prayers (cf. Matt 13:58; 21:22; Mark 11:24; Luke 7:9, 50; 18:42; Jas 5:15-16).

But if there are no degrees of faith, then what do these descriptions of faith mean?

What is “Great Faith” and “Little Faith”?

The terms “Great faith” and “Little faith” simply mean this: Some truths are easy to believe while others are difficult. If you believe something that is difficult to believe, then you have great faith. If you do not believe something that is relatively easy to believe, then you have little faith.

Since faith is the conviction or persuasion that something is true, people who have little faith have not been persuaded or convinced of even the basic truths, whereas, people who have great faith have been persuaded or convinced of some of the hard and difficult truths which few people come to believe.

You and I do not have faith containers in our souls which overflow when our faith is great, but are nearly empty when our faith is little. Faith does not work like that.

Great faith and little faith have nothing to do with the size, amount, or degree of faith.

Rather, the terms โ€œgreat faithโ€ and โ€œlittle faithโ€ describe the difficulty of the truths that are believed.

When a person fails to believe even some of the simple or easy truths, this means that some of the basic, fundamental cells in their network of beliefs are turned โ€œOff.โ€ Since they do not believe these simple truths, vast segments of their spreadsheet are also turned โ€œOff.โ€

Their spreadsheet is darkened with unbelief because they donโ€™t even believe some of the simple, foundational, basic truths of life or Christianity.

They have little faith, that is, an undeveloped and unexamined spreadsheet of beliefs. On such a spreadsheet of faith, most of the basic truths are still turned โ€œOff.โ€

On the other hand, there are some people who have great faith. These are those people who are persuaded or convinced of some difficult things to believe.

People who have great faith believe truths and ideas that relatively few people understand and believe.

There are truths in Scripture, life, and theology that are hard to believe, but people with great faith believe them. Such ideas often take great thought, insight, understanding, research, investigation, or deep spiritual experiences in order to believe them.

When people come to believe these things, they believe something that few others believe, and can therefore be described as having great faith. Vast segments of their spreadsheet of beliefs are lit up with the light of the truth of God.

faith

Some examples about great faith and little faithย from Scripture

There are numerous truths from Scripture that are easy to believe.

These might include the statements that โ€œA man named Jesus existedโ€ or that โ€œI am a sinner.โ€ Almost everybody believes these, including most non-Christians.

Yet people with little faith do not even understand or believe these truths. People with little faith have trouble believing some of the simple, elementary, and introductory truths of Scripture, such as โ€œGod is loveโ€ or โ€œJesus gives eternal life to anyone who believes in Him for it.โ€

It is a telling fact of the condition of faith in our churches when most Christians donโ€™t truly believe these things. As simple as these truths are, many do not believe them.

However, there are other truths in Scripture which are hard to believe. People who believe these difficult truths have great faith. For example, it is difficult to believe that โ€œGod will supply all of your needs according to His riches in gloryโ€ (Philippians 4:19).

Frankly, since I often worry about tomorrow, this means that I donโ€™t believe this promise. I donโ€™t believe that God will supply all my needs, and often find myself trying to supply for my own needs. So this means I donโ€™t yet believe this statement. But those who have great faith believe it. (See “Now That’s Faith!“)

So great faith and little faith have nothing to do with the amount of faith one has, or the percentage to which one believes a particular fact. Faith does not come in degrees or amounts.

great faith

An Example of Great Faith from Matthew 8:10

There are two kinds of faith that amazed Jesus: great faith and little faith. As seen above, there were times when Jesus marveled at the little faith of His disciples (cf. Matt 6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8; Luke 4:14-30; 12:28).

But in Matthew 8:10, Jesus was impressed by the great faith of a Gentile. He said, โ€œI have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!โ€ (See my sermon on Luke 7:1-10 for a longer explanation of this text.)

In Matthew 8:10, Jesus praises a Roman Centurion for having great faith.

What did the Centurion believe that few others believe? He believed two advanced truths that are quite rare for people to believe (even today).

First, he believed in his own lack of merit. Though he was courteous, humble, and a good man, though he loved the Jewish people and built a synagogue for them, he knew he didnโ€™t deserve anything from God, or from Jesus Christ. Despite his high standing and all he had done, he knew he was unworthy to meet with Jesus (Matt 8:8).

Most people do not believe this.

Most people think they do deserve favors from God. Most people think they are pretty good people and that God owes them something. It is much harder to believe that all we have and all we are given is simply and only by the grace of God. But the centurion believed this, and told Jesus that he was not worthy to have Jesus visit his house.

The second thing the Centurion believed is that healing could be done at a distance. He believed in the divine authority of Jesus, even over sickness and disease through space and time. He likened Jesus to a military commander who simply had to give orders for them to be followed (Matt 8:9).

The Centurion knew that what Jesus commanded would be done, even if Jesus was not present where the healing was to take place. He knew that the words of Jesus were sufficient to accomplish whatever He said.

Most people do not believe this. Most people believe, even today, that if a person is going to be healed, they need to be touched by the person praying for them. They believe that they have to go visit the healer, and have the healer lay hands on them, say special prayers over them, and anoint them with oil.

If a person was seeking healing for their friend and they went to one of the โ€œmiracle healersโ€ of today for help, and the healer said, โ€œGo home, your friend will be fine,โ€ that person would feel like they had been ignored, slighted, or brushed off.

But this Centurion knew differently. The Centurion believed some truths that few others believed. He believed that if Jesus wanted to heal someone, He could do it with a simple word and from a great distance.

He told Jesus, โ€œOnly speak a word, and my servant will be healedโ€ (Matt 8:8).

This truly is great faith, and few believe such an idea, either in the days of Jesus or today. As a result, Jesus marveled at this manโ€™s great faith, and healed his servant from a distance, simply by the power of His word.

All of the other โ€œgreat faithโ€ passages in the Bible can be understood in similar ways. The context always reveals that someone is believing something that is difficult to believe, and that few people do believe.

So great faith is not a large amount of faith or a high percentage of faith. Great faith simply believes truths that are difficult to believe.

Do you have more questions about faith, how it works, and what various passages in Scripture teach about faith? Try taking my online course, The Gospel Dictionary:

The Gospel DictionaryUnderstanding the Gospel requires us to properly understand the key words and terms of the Gospel. Take my course, "The Gospel Dictionary" to learn about the 52 key words of the Gospel, and hundreds of Bible passages that use these words.

This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

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