Is Faith a Good Work?

Ok, so I'm blogging on a good buddy's site the other day and made the statement (paraphrased I'm sure), "surely saying a prayer - or even 'trusting' in God for that matter, cannot save us as they are both works." To which I received an unsolicited reprimand from one to whom I was not addressing akin to: (again paraphrased) "I'm a bit lost as to how someone is supposed to be saved prior to being justified". So, being the intellectual and theological babe that I am, I began to think - I mean REALLY think - about what exactly I believe faith to be and what, exactly, I think faith accomplishes.
To what faith is first: according to Heb. 11: 1, faith is "the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen." and in Heb. 11:3, by faith we "understand" things of a spiritual nature that the natural man cannot understand (I Cor. 2:14). So, then, faith is a supernatural ability to understand things of a spiritual nature which blossoms into a supernatural hope and trust in Christ, God, and an assurance in God's sovereign ability to accomplish what the Bible says He will accomplish - which would include things personal (Rom. 8:28 for example) as well as things eschatological (where we go when we die for example). I think, to this point, I will be in general agreement with my 'choice' brethren - even those who are quick to reprimand me for my ideas regarding faith.
So, then, I know what I believe faith to be, but (1) how do I 'get' this faith, and (2) what does this type of faith accomplish? I will address first what I think faith accomplishes. There are numerous places in the Bible that imply that faith results in justification. Rom. 5:1 is a shining example of such doctrine. This presents a dilemna, however. If I believe that salvation is based on nothing more than God's unmerited favor toward me - and that I can do nothing to advance my salvation save for God's 'special' grace, and yet I believe that I am justified by faith, then I MUST believe that faith is not a 'work' in the sense that it is something I 'bring' to the salvation table. So, then, where does this faith come from? Is it something that I 'work up' within myself or is it something that God graciously gives to His elect? Rom. 5:1 says we are justified by our faith, but Rom. 5:9 says we are justified by His blood; are the two related? Can we be justified by two different things, or are the two things inseperately related? I believe they are related. I believe we are justified by His blood and the evidence of such is our faith which we have because of God's regenerating grace bestowed on his elect.
Eph. 2:8,9 says, "for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of works lest any man should boast; it is the gift of God." This passage raises at least two questions for me. (1) what does 'that' refer to (i.e. and THAT not of works), grace or faith?, and (2) what is the 'gift of God', faith or grace? For the longest time I believed that 'that' referred to faith, but I have come to believe it refers to grace. So, to restate the sentance in a manner which reflects where I'm at in my walk, "For by grace I have been saved through faith, and that grace is not of works." You see, the 'grace' that saves me also affords in me the ability to respond to God in faith - by which I know that I am justified. Does that make sense? And what is the free gift? It is the ability to believe.
So, then, the crux of this post is whether I believe that faith comes before regeneration or regeneration comes before faith. If faith comes before regeneration, it is something that I 'work up' on my own and is thus a work - and salvation is NOT by works. If, however, regeneration comes before faith, then faith is something that I have - in response to God's supernatural work of 'replacing my heart of stone with a heart of flesh'. And, the more I've studied the subject, the more great theologians I've found who adhered to the doctrine of 'reneration before faith'. This group obviously includes Luther, Calvin, Edwards, Spurgeon, and Sproul, but - much to my intrigue - the great Catholic theologians Augustine and Aquinas.


Grace and peace to all,

Posttinebraelux

Guiding the Errant - My responsibility?

I have recently been dealing with the issue of what, exactly, my responsibility is as a Christian. I've decided it isn't proselytizing, but I've also decided it isn't 'making' others conform to my interpretation of the Bible. As Christians, we read and study God's Word, commentaries on God's Word, and study books on God's Word. As we study these different media regarding the Word, we develop opinions which, at some point, become beliefs, convictions, and philosophies. Some are WAY off base (as with the wise men at the manger) and some are pretty universally accepted within Christendom (as with the virgin birth). In between, however, lies the vast expanse of 'opinion'. And, within that expanse, are the opinions of well learned scholars and the opinions of obstinate, ignorant oafs. I mean no ill will toward anyone but, to be honest, there are many professing Christians who devote NO time to the study of God's word, but are still willing to proffer opinions about the Bible - often based simply on what someone else has told them.
As anyone who spends any time at all in 'blogosphere' will realize, the blogworld is a fascinating place to witness this phenomenon. There are, in blogworld, bloggers whose Biblical prowess ranges from not being able to quote John 3:16 (i.e. pretty ignorant of things Biblical) to those who are PhD or DDiv professors in Christian universities. And, as most are aware, people are often VERY defensive of their own beliefs/convictions and are easily offended when someone else disparages these strongly held beliefs.
One particular blog I frequent has, as a ground rule, 'no attacking the blogger - just the issue'. On some level, however, isn't even an attack on someone's dearly held belief an attack on that person? For instance, it is easy for me to get offended when someone refers to the doctrines of Grace as a 'radical 5-point belief'. Am I radical? I don't think I am, but others may take issue with my perception of myself. :)
At any rate, I have become keenly interested in what my responsibility is with regard to helping others along the road to Spiritual wisdom. And, over the past few weeks, as I've studied how Christ responded to similar situations, I've begun to understand that it is not my repsponsibility to make sure others have 'good doctrine' - that's God's responsibility. Christ said that the Holy Spirit would 'guide us into all truth' (John 16:8). I noticed - for the first time it seems - that He didn't say that 'Greg' (my first name) would guide others into all truth. So, then, how does the Holy Spirit do that without me helping Him 'beat' the truth into someone else? I think that maybe I am to share with others what I believe, why I believe it, and why I hold that belief so dearly - and then allow God to guide my brother or sister as HE chooses to guide them. Whether or not they agree with me is not my concern - that is between them and their God.
Ever notice who Christ spent most of His time arguing with? It was not with those who disagreed with him (I'm sure there were legions of that type), but rather it was those who 'forced' others to accept their own interpretations of the Bible - i.e. the Pharisees. I DESPERATELY don't want to be a pharisee.
I am becoming more and more convinced that phariseeism is not just 'parading' my religion for others to see, but - and the but is MUCH worse than the parading - rather coercing others into their own form of religion by using peer pressure and fear tactics.
To use an example, do I believe Mormonism to be a wrong path? Yes. Am I obligated to share with a Mormon (or anyone else for that matter) what I believe to be the right path? Yes. Am I to force them to believe like I do? Never.
to use an example closer to home for most of us, do I believe the doctrines of Grace to be a correct interpretation of salvation? Absolutely. Am I obligated to share with others why I believe this? Absolutely (I Pet. 3:15). Am I to 'beat' others down until they agree with me? Never.
May God grant me the grace to accept that others may not agree with me - and to love them without regard of our differences.

Grace and peace,

Posttinebraelux

Evangelism - My responsiblity?

Recently, I've been inundated from several sides regarding a particular issue. Have you ever noticed that, when God is impressing on you the need to study and respond to a particular issue, He uses many media to get your attention. In this particular case, I had been re-reading the Gospels, blogging with a couple of different people, reading a book (Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller), fellowshipping about this issue in my Sunday school class, and then hearing it from the pulpit during a service. I have found that, when God uses so many different media to get my attention, I'd better listen and respond - or, as has been my experience, God will gently (or not so gently) and lovingly continue the lesson until I do respond. :)
The issue I've been confronted with over the last couple of weeks is the issue of what, exactly, my first and most important responsibility to God (I've always thought is was evangelism).
I've long been convinced of God's sovereignty with regard to every aspect of life - including salvation. One of the basic tenets of this type of belief is that God 'saves' who He saves when He wants to save them and how He wants to save them - regardless of what anyone else wants, needs, desires, or demands of Him (Holy Trinity excepted). An extreme view of this doctrine is what some call 'hyper-Calvinism' which is the philosophy that it doesn't matter if we 'spread the Gospel' because God will save who He will save with or without us. This is NOT Christianity and, I'm afraid, most of those who hold this type of belief will have missed the boat, so to speak. True Christianity, as I see it, is 'spreading the Gospel' as we're commanded to do (Mat. 28 & Rom. 10) with both our mouths and our lives. But I've recently begun to understand a difference between 'living out Christ' - which is the 'spreading the Gospel with my mouth and life' - and evangelizing. I see evangelism as more of a proselytizing thing now than before. And, I've become convinced that it is not my responsibility to help God save those whom He has elected to save. Salvation is God's responsibility - period. My responsibility, I've come to understand, is to: love God with all my heart strength, mind, and soul.

Grace and peace to all,

Posttinebraelux