Faith is not salvation; it is the means of receiving salvation!
Technically speaking, I am giving my trust to God, not receiving. To “have faith” is to place or give my trust in God or something else. Thus, it is not the ability to believe that is the issue, but in whom or what we trust!
No, the topic is does God fail to save! You claim that God fails to save those who don’t believe.
Amen
yes there goes the " I " in tulip
Nope. It served His purpose. Are you suggesting His conviction failed in that instance?
No. That's not the topic.
And there ya go. It's the means to a end provided by God. "You are saved by grace THROUGH faith."
It is not provided by God, except for it being part of the image of God in which we are created. The fact that I am created by God implies that I have the ability to trust. Nothing says that faith is provided by God, as if we couldn’t express trust and belief in someone or something without his intervention.
I believe it does. Ephesians 1 says salvation is a gift of God. Faith is part of salvation as is grace. Hence you are saved by grace THROUGH faith. Not because of faith.
Grace and faith are the means of salvation, they are not salvation. Hands and mouth are the means of enjoying an apple; hands and mouth are not the apple!
No one said they were. I certainly did not.
You said “Faith is part of salvation as is grace”, as in “your eyes and nose are part of your face.”. A car is the means to the grocery store, but the car is not part of the grocery.
Spot on
You cannot be saved without can you? If faith is not part of salvation then is it really necessary??
I can’t get to the grocery without a means of transportation.
You tell me; in your system of thought you are regenerated/born again before you believe. So what’s the purpose of faith if you are already born again?
Ah, so now you move the goalposts: yes faith and grace are part of the process of being saved, as is preaching the gospel, but you did not say that faith is part of the process, you said grace and faith are part of salvation and thus are a gift.
Again, if we are regenerated before we believe, faith is superfluous at best and meaningless in its purpose at worst.
No kidding. So faith is necessary because God has decided so. It's His chosen means.
Does God require anything that’s unnecessary? Yes, it is his chosen means!
Truer words were never spoken!
This is just as true as your last statement; but it doesn’t mean regeneration precedes faith.
What is regeneration and what is its purpose post faith?Does God require anything that’s unnecessary? Yes, it is his chosen means!
Truer words were never spoken!
This is just as true as your last statement; but it doesn’t mean regeneration precedes faith.
That we are regenerated!
Doug
