Expert: Pastor Don Carpenter - 11/8/2008

Question
Hello Pastor,

Recently I've been in discussion with an extreme Calvinist. He tells me that regeneration always precedes faith in Christ.

My reply was that God gives salvation as a free gift after a person believes.

He said that belief is a work, and that if what I said was true, that would therefore be salvation by works, what is not what God demands.

So, my question is this... is belief, is faith, a work?

Thank you,

James

Answer
Hi James,

Thanks for this great question.  I am sorry for my late response.  The typical Calvinist believes that faith is a gift from God given by grace to the elect.  The problem with that is the Bible tells us that the opposite is true.

Romans 5:1-2

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.

We are justified by faith.  We do not get faith as a gift of grace, we access grace by our faith.  Now let us consider faith and works.

Paul tells us that the opposite of works is faith.

Galatians 3:2
2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.

Therefore, faith cannot be a work.

I hope that this helps you.

By the way, if Calvanism is true, then one cannot resist the grace of God,  If He wants to save you, He does.  Jesus tells us that He desired to save the folks of Jerusalem, yet they resisted and therefore were not saved.  So much for irresistable grace.

Matthew 23:37
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.

In Christ
Pastor Don