The Gift of Faith

How did you come to faith in Christ? Certainly every Christian would agree it was by God’s grace, but what role did grace play in your salvation? Did grace make it possible for you to choose faith, or did you receive faith as a gift of God’s grace? Said another way, is salvation a cooperative work between man and God, or a work of God alone? The Scriptures say that we were born dead in our sins. We were not spiritually neutral; rather we were active enemies of God controlled by evil impulses. There was nothing in us that desired His gospel invitation, and no spiritual spark that any amount of persuasion could fan into flames. But in His mercy, God drew us to Himself and made us alive, enabling us to respond to His Word, and gave us the very faith that we then willingly expressed as the first action of a new creature in Christ. Salvation is a work of God alone, not as a result of our works, so that our only boast would be in Him.