Grace and Faith
By Ivan Ho 24 Feb 2017
We may think that our salvation is all due to God’s GRACE, and nothing to do with us, for the Bible says that salvation is not dependent on our works. That may be partly true, but the whole truth must also involve an all important element: FAITH.
For by GRACE you have been saved through FAITH, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV
你們得救是本乎恩，也因着信；這並不是出於自己，乃是神所賜的； 也不是出於行為，免得有人自誇。
以弗所書 2:8-9
Grace is from God, Faith is from man
In Ephesians 2:8, Paul talks about GRACE as well as FAITH that leads a person to salvation. While grace originates entirely from God, faith comes from man which enables him to receive God’s grace. Some may say that the power of faith also originates from God and that is true, but to take the step of faith is a personal decision.
Faith comes by hearing God
Faith is not an assumption without base. Rather, faith comes by hearing the word of God.
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:17 NKJV
When God speaks, faith is generated in the hearts of those who would listen. But only those who mix faith with what they hear from God and make the decision to align their lives according to the word of God may walk in faith. By grace the word of God comes to us, by faith we walk according to the word.
As long as a person remains undecided, he does not have faith yet. But the moment he believes what God says is true and decide to change his life accordingly, he now begins to walk in faith.
A person who lives in faith cannot remain neutral, nor can he stay in the valley of indecision. But when he decides that what he hears from God is true and adjusts his life accordingly, he begins to walk in faith.
The trouble with a lot of us is thinking: “If it is God, it will happen. If not, it won’t”. That is not entirely true for when God speaks, it is true and what He says has already happened to those who believe.
Grace is always available to everyone ever since the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but each person must first connect himself with God the Father by his faith in Jesus Christ before he or she can be saved. Grace is always there and always available, but faith happens at certain point in a person’s life when he makes the personal decision to accept Jesus as his Lord and Saviour. By grace the Living Word comes to a person, by faith the Word becomes flesh in his life.
The step of faith
Jesus is like a bridge that links man to God. That bridge has already been built about 2000 years ago through Jesus Christ who is the only link between man and God. The bridge is always there but it takes a step of faith by an individual to cross to the other side. There is a point in time during a person’s life when he must make the decision to cross from sin and death to life eternal by accepting Jesus into his life. When he makes the decision of faith in Jesus, he becomes born again in the spirit.
Faith connects us to our destiny
The principle of faith applies to all matters in life in our walk with God.
Often times, we may think that we are waiting for God, but actually God is waiting for us. There are things God has already predestined for an individual but that person needs to activate his or her destiny by taking the step of faith. Grace and faith must work hand in hand and complete each other.
When Jesus saw Nathaniel from a distance, He already knew Nathaniel even though Jesus only met him in person for the first time. Before we were born, God already knew us. When Jesus appears to an individual, it is a God encounter that has been predestined in the sense that God already knew the person before Jesus makes Himself known to him or her. God always know us before we get to know Him.
When Samuel saw David, the Spirit of God revealed to Samuel: “That’s the one, anoint him!”. Samuel might have only met David for the first time, but David has always been known by God. By faith Samuel anointed David to be the king of Israel many years before David actually became king. By faith Samuel activated God’s grace upon David’s life.