Refuting effectually caused faith

Heb 9:14 teaches to them who have eyes to see, the death of Christ causes faith to serve the Living God. We certainly cant serve Him without Faith that pleases Him.

14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Gill writes:
to purge your conscience from dead works; that is, "from the works of sin", as the Ethiopic version renders it; which are performed by dead men, separate and alienated from the life of God, are the cause of the death of the soul, and expose to eternal death, and are like dead carcasses, nauseous and infectious; and even duties themselves, performed without faith and love, are dead works; nor can they procure life, and being depended on, issue in death; and even the works of believers themselves are sometimes performed in a very lifeless manner, and are attended with sin and pollution, and need purging: the allusion is to the pollution by the touch of dead bodies; and there may be some respect to the sacrifices of slain beasts, after the sacrifice and death of Christ, by believing Jews, who were sticklers for the ceremonies of the law, and thereby contracted guilt; but immoralities are chiefly designed, and with these the conscience of man is defiled; and nothing short of the blood of Christ can remove the pollution of sin; as that being shed procures atonement, and so purges away the guilt of sin, or makes reconciliation for it, so being sprinkled on the conscience by the Spirit of God, it speaks peace and pardon, and pacifies and purges it, and removes every incumbrance from it: the Alexandrian copy, the Vulgate Latin, and Syriac versions, read, "our conscience". The end and use of such purgation is, "to serve the living God"; so called to distinguish him from the idols of the Gentiles, and in opposition to dead works; and because he has life in himself, essentially and independently, and is the author and giver of life to others; and it is but the reasonable service of his people, to present their souls and bodies as a living sacrifice to him; and who ought to serve him in a lively manner, in faith, and with fervency, and not with a slavish, but a godly filial fear; and one that has his conscience purged by the blood of Christ, and is sensibly impressed with a discovery of pardoning grace, is in the best capacity for such service. The Alexandrian copy reads, "the living and true God".
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This indicates that the Death of Christ secures for them the renewing of the Spirit, an inward work Titus 3:5-6

5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
 
Faith will always accompany Grace. Eph 2:7-9

7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

So the believer is caused to believe because of Grace Acts 18:27

27 And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace: Grace here is counted as the source by which one believed

The same here Rom4:16

16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,
 
It does not take a great mind to figure out that grace is not something which comes from within man but is something granted to him from without. Being saved by grace is something which obviously could not be of ourselves. So we see then that faith, spoken of in Ephesians 2, is also that which is not of ourselves. A man does not need to be told that grace is something which is not of him but of another, but he does need to be informed of the biblical fact, it needs to be made perfectly clear to him, that the faith through which a man is saved is not his own faith, not something which is of him, but something which is connected to grace and so, of necessity, must be something which is not of man but of God. A man is saved by grace through faith and neither of these two salvation essentials come from man. They are not of us but of God. They are not works but gifts
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https://www.godsonlygospel.com/faith-to-believe-what-part-1Parag 9
 
We believe, are made believers from unbelief because God shows us Mercy, as He did with Paul who was a Pattern set forth 1 Tim 1:13-16

13 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

14 And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.
 
Sanctification of the Spirit must and does precede Faith or belief of the Truth 2 Thess 2:13

13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
 
As Paul reflects on what God did in the Thessalonians' lives, he gives thanks constantly. They are his spiritual brothers in whom God's love abides. He is thankful specifically that God chose them from the very first to grant them salvation.

This divine choosing does not rule out human accountability. The gospel summons sinners to believe on Christ, which Paul's readers did (1 Thessalonians 1:4–6). However, the Holy Spirit fills a significant role in salvation by setting sinners apart for salvation.

In response to the work of the Holy Spirit, the Thessalonians had put their trust in the truth, the message of salvation that Paul and his fellow missionaries had preached in Thessalonica.

Salvation is entirely by grace, but no one is saved unless he accepts it by faith as a gift from God. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8–9: "for by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." And in Romans 6:23 Paul declared that eternal life is the gift of God "in Christ Jesus our Lord."
 
Commentary on 2 Thess 2:13

2 Th 2:13 (KJB)But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Beginning - OriginChosen - ChooseSanctification - A setting apart, holiness Here Paul begins this verse with a conjunction showing a contrast between those he was just speaking about which were the unbelievers, the men of sin, and now he speaks to the believers. This is a similar style to the sixth chapter of Hebrews where it speaks about those who were once enlightened and cannot be renewed again unto repentance. The author was speaking about the unbelievers and then in verse 9 he states, “But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you,…” There he shows a difference between the unbelievers who were not chosen in God and were unable to be saved and those who were believers. He thanks God for these Thessalonians even though they had problems understanding the timing of the Lord’s return. A misunderstanding is always solved by a thorough teaching and understanding by the hearers so they may see where the confusion lies. Paul was not chiding them but showed that he had much patience and love for them. He continued to pray for them because he knew they were beloved of the Lord, that is, they were as saved as he was and level of biblical understanding does not diminish a person’s salvation at all.Then Paul goes on to say that they, like all other Christians were chosen from the beginning and that word beginning may be understood as “origin.” (Eph 1:4 KJV) According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: As Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:4, all Christians were chosen from before the foundation of the world and this is confirmed in two passages in Revelation. (Rev 13:8 KJV) And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Rev 17:8 KJV) The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. Then Paul gives two approaches their salvation in two ways. First, they were saved through sanctification of the Spirit. This means that the Holy Spirit, upon the moment of salvation, indwelled them and made them alive unto God. Secondly, because they received the Holy Spirit they were now able to believe the truth and this is because the Holy Spirit will guide them into all truth. (John16:13) https://www.scionofzion.com/2_thessalonians_2_13_17.htm
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@Richard

In response to the work of the Holy Spirit, the Thessalonians had put their trust in the truth, the message of salvation that Paul and his fellow missionaries had preached in Thessalonica.
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The Holy Spirit causes the faith/belief of the Truth response. He sets the person apart and gives them the gift of faith, for faith is the fruit of the Spirit Gal 5:22
 
God used the apostles’ gospel to call the Thessalonians to salvation: “To this he called you through our gospel” 2 Thessalonians 2:14

Once again, we encounter the preposition “through,” which indicates means. God uses the gospel that is preached by Paul to call the Thessalonians to salvation.
 
Richard said:
God used the apostles’ gospel to call the Thessalonians to salvation: “To this he called you through our gospel” 2 Thessalonians 2:14

Once again, we encounter the preposition “through,” which indicates means. God uses the gospel that is preached by Paul to call the Thessalonians to salvation.
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Yes because they were chosen to Salvation, the Gospel call is to the chosen of God. Paul mentioned that in his first letter to them as well 1 Thess 1:4-5

4 Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.

5 For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.
 
Jesus himself proclaims the ‘good news’.

THE SPIRIT of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed and qualified me to preach the Gospel of good tidings to the meek, the poor, and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up and heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the [physical and spiritual] captives and the opening of the prison and of the eyes to those who are bound,
Isaiah 61:1
 
Richard said:
Jesus himself proclaims the ‘good news’.

THE SPIRIT of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed and qualified me to preach the Gospel of good tidings to the meek, the poor, and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up and heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the [physical and spiritual] captives and the opening of the prison and of the eyes to those who are bound,
Isaiah 61:1
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Faith and repentance. This is what marks out those who are Christ’s people, or “Christians.” In other words, a Christian is one who turns away from his sin and trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ—and nothing else—to save him from sin and the coming judgment.
 
Richard said:
Jesus himself proclaims the ‘good news’.

THE SPIRIT of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed and qualified me to preach the Gospel of good tidings to the meek, the poor, and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up and heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the [physical and spiritual] captives and the opening of the prison and of the eyes to those who are bound,
Isaiah 61:1
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You not Jesus. Whats the Gospel you believe ? Who is the Jesus you believe in and exactly what did He do and accomplish ?
 
brightfame52 said:
You not Jesus. Whats the Gospel you believe ? Who is the Jesus you believe in and exactly what did He do and accomplish ?
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I know I'm not Jesus but I'm being transformed into His image. There is only one Gospel.

Jesus is God Incarnate is. Jesus is God in human form. This is the part of the Trinity known as 'God the Son'. Incarnation means 'made flesh'. It is the Christian belief that God became a man in the person of Jesus, fully human and fully divine.

I trust that Jesus as Christ can do what he says he can do, that he can save us from all of our sin. That's what it means to believe in Jesus, and everyone who believes that about Jesus has been born of God.

There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.​

 

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