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Download Is Faith A Gift from God or a Human Exercise?

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Author:
Dr. René A. López

theWord Version:
3.x - 4.x

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Is Faith A Gift from God or a Human Exercise?

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Faith, Gift

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Is Faith a Gift from God or a Human Exercise - René A. López.gbk.twm

THE FUNCTION OF FAITH IN SALVATION is an important theological issue.
Since faith is essential for salvation, what is faith‘s origin? Does God give sinners faith,1 since they are dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1)? If not, does that mean a person exercises faith in order to receive eternal life? And if so, is this a meritorious work?
To avoid viewing faith as a work of merit, many evangelicals say faith is a gift of God. In addition they say faith is a gift because people are unable to believe.2 Therefore an individual, it is argued, must be regenerated before he or she can believe. This is the Reformed view that regeneration precedes faith.3
Viewing faith as a gift is used to judge whether a person is a genuine believer or merely professing to be saved. That is, if God endows a person with faith to believe, it logically follows that God will also bestow and guarantee repentance, submission, and commitment, thus enabling that person to persevere the rest of his or her life.4 A person‘s works then become a barometer by which to validate his or her salvation.