 We know that salvation is a gift from God, but what about the faith? Is the actual faith that we place in Christ also a gift from God? Hey smart Christians, welcome back. I want to talk about a passage that can be kind of controversial. Some people also debated about having to deal with our salvation. We know again that our salvation is a gift of God, but now the issue is what about the very act, the very faith that we have the act of believing? Is that also a gift from God? So let's go ahead and look at Ephesians 2 and go ahead and jump into it. It says, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God. Now the result of works so that no one may boast. So let's go ahead and also, because we're going to have to, to get a good understanding, look at it in the Greek. It says, for the, or by faith, you are plural, present active, and then has been saved. This is the perfect tense. So you have been saved through or by faith or through faith, and to type this, not of your or your own doing, of God, the gift. The issue is this word here, to type. Now real quickly, the simple rule of Greek is that this to type because it's neuter is going to refer back to the entirety of the whole previous statement. That is what it's really saying is that the grace that you have been saved through faith, all of that, this or that, depending upon your translation, this to type is referring back to all of it. Now the question is going to be to what degree, if that also includes faith, to what degree is this faith of ours a gift? Is that God initiates the faith, which some people are going to have a problem with, or is it that God is responsible for the entirety of our faith, which more folks are going to have a problem with some folks would rather be more up to them that they have more of an active role. But in this case, it's clear that because again, this this that is referring to, which also refers again to the entirety of it, the salvation that you have through faith, this all is a gift, which is why he says in verse nine, not of your own workings, not of your own doing in order that, in order that makes it so that no one is able to boast. So it's clear that what he's saying is that you can't come along and say that, yes, salvation is a gift, but I have to place my trust in it. And so I did so well, that would be you boasting that would be something that you did, something that you exercise. And so he's it's clear here that he's saying that none of that the salvation, nor the faith, whether it be the totality of it, how we want to work this out, or at least him initiating it, whatever portion of faith that you want to relate to your salvation, that also is a gift, not from you, but from God. Now, obviously, we don't want to just look at this just just this one text. But before we go to other passages, let's look at the next portion, the next verse, verse 10. He says, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. So that ought to, depending upon again, depending upon your theological system that you refer to that you lean on, some people are going to have a problem with that. But what he's saying, let's go back and look at it again, that we are his, his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works. So we were created, we were created in Christ, those of us who are believers, we were created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand in order that we should walk in them. Well, what is that that he prepared beforehand? Well, it's going to be the good works, but we were created in Christ for these good works. And so it would be hard to come back and say that the things that I do since I've become a believer is my doing, and even becoming a believer in the very first place is also my doing. Because if you have the belief that it was your faith, your own doing, your own believing that caused this salvation, that caused you to receive that gift, well then now you've got something to boast about. This harkens back to Romans chapter eight, this very Saint Paul, where he says, for those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to become conformed to the image of his son. Meaning beforehand, not that he knew what you were going to do beforehand, no, beforehand he knew you and he conformed to you, he predestined. It would not make sense to say that he predestined you if he saw what you were going to do, then he didn't predestine you. He didn't predestine you to become something that he saw you were going to do. He just acknowledged it. That's not what the word predestination means. So this is kind of in keeping with what he says in Ephesians, not just chapter two, but also one, that he chose us to be in him before the foundation of the world. Before the world was, he chose us. He chose us to do what? To be conformed to the image of his son. And he chose us to be his workmanship. He chose to give the gift of salvation. And this very mechanism of faith that causes that, he also at the very least initiated that in us. And so similarly, we also see this brought up in John three, when Jesus is speaking in Nicodemus. Truly truly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of heaven. Well, he gives us chronology before a person can see the kingdom of heaven, which is salvation. He's speaking about, you must first be born again. That is to be born from above. This word again, that they know them. It's got two meanings. One is to be born a second time or again or from above. Well, we know it's not the being born a second time because that's what Nicodemus thought and Jesus corrects him. And so this person is born from above. The Holy Spirit regenerates this person's heart. Then this person can then exercise faith to choose God. But again, the very faith that we're talking about to choose God, to place faith in Christ that causes salvation was initiated at the very least by God. And so then after that, the Holy Spirit comes in you and then you live out your walk through the guiding of the Holy Spirit. So even still in that is a work because again, he predestined us, he chose us to be conformed. It's this constant walking in him that he is going to keep us doing. Remember the Bible says that he who began a good work in us, he began the good work in us. He's faithful to continue it. And so this entire act, the salvation that we have is a byproduct of his doing. It's a byproduct of his giving. It's a gift of him. And therefore, though we can boast about him, we cannot boast about us and what we've done. And so though it may be controversial and though some folks might want to assume that they have more of an active role in it, it's clear in scripture that we do not. We are going to respond after, after he first chooses and shows his love on us. Amen.