8052	Forums / Theology Forum / Which One Is The Gift?	on: January 05, 2007, 04:09:08 PM
Quote Quote "...But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:4-10) Just one of those unanswered questions i still have.  I know that grace means unmerited favor or undeserved love.  What i'm wondering is whether the "gift of God" of which Paul speaks is the faith or the being saved from hell.  I've heard both ideas taught.  I'm wondering what idea is better supported by the context and grammar.   I believe that since the context is Gods sovereign election in salvation.  Faith being the agency by which we apprehend salvation and through which we rest in Christ. First unless we know that He is God then we will not trust Him. So we must have a divine knowledge so that faith can apprehend and rest in knowing who He is. We believe in things unseen because God alone has reveal them to us in regeneration. We have human faith that we exercise on a daily basis. We sit in a chair believing that the chair will hold us up. We use our faith in every relationship , trusting people on different levels , from work relationships to family relationships to trusting strangers. But this kind of faith is not saving faith.  This kind of faith is human faith. This kind of faith is built on knowledge by experience. This kind of trust is really earned by experience. It is a fleeting trust. It is a trust that will only lead us to reject spiritual knowledge. We cannot gain salvation through human faith. Human faith is very earthy and it is defined by relationships we develop as we live out our lives. It is devoid of any knowledge of God. Human faith is built on how we are affected by others. It is entirely within the paradigm legal relationships. Human faith is entirely built on free will being exercised for self gratification. There is no fear of God before their eyes, so that those who only possess human faith are their own gods. This human faith is totally self absorbed. Because man in his natural state is in bondage, the human faith leads him to a system of self righteousness. The trust he has in people is built on a system of philosophy and not in the paradigm of super-naturalism and the sovereign will of God. The moral system of  accountability is foundational in the paradigm of human faith. The reason is because human faith is birthed in the ocean of corruption in the minds view of the external objects so that it comes out of a state of an inordinate fear of God. So that man in the exercise of human faith in relationships  views the relationships as a prerequisite or a means to obtain satisfaction from our Heavenly Father rather than as a hindrance of a denial of self. What ever comes between God and us is an idol.