Introduction
I am often perplexed by the conversations and debates between secularists and Christians about the meaning of faith. These discussions usually arise from a fundamental misunderstanding of what biblical faith truly entails. It is frustrating to see some Christian leaders mishandling the secular world’s inaccurate characterization of faith in Christ (God). It is essential to set the record straight so that we can establish a clear understanding of the origin of biblical faith and its true implications. We must grasp what it really means to have faith.
Understanding Faith
In our journey of understanding God and our relationship with Him, few concepts are as central—and perhaps as challenging—as faith. We often talk about “having faith,” “keeping the faith,” or even taking a “leap of faith.” But what is faith, really, according to Scripture? And where does it come from? Within the Christian Reformed tradition, rooted deeply in the insights of the Protestant Reformation, we understand faith not primarily as something we do or conjure up ourselves, but as something we receive. It is a foundational, supernatural gift from God, absolutely essential for a relationship with Him.
The reality is starkly presented in Scripture: “And without faith it is impossible to please God.”¹ This simple declaration from the book of Hebrews cuts through all our attempts to reach God through our own merits. It establishes faith as the non-negotiable starting point. Why? Because approaching God requires believing not only “that he exists” but also “that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”¹ This isn’t just intellectual assent; it’s a foundational trust in God’s very being and His benevolent character as revealed in His promises, supremely in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
But where does this essential, pleasing-to-God faith originate? Can we simply decide to possess it? Can we work hard enough, study long enough, or be sincere enough to generate it? Scripture resoundingly answers, “No.” The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, provides a cornerstone text for understanding this: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”²
Notice the careful construction: salvation comes “by grace” (God’s undeserved favor) and “through faith” (our trust and reliance). Paul then immediately clarifies the ultimate source of this entire salvific event: “this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”² Within the Reformed understanding, this emphasizes that the very faith through which we receive grace is itself graciously given by God. It is not a human achievement we present to God, but a divine enablement we receive from God. It flows directly from His Sola Gratia—Grace Alone. Faith is the hand, created and extended by God’s grace, which receives the gift of salvation.
The Apostle Paul further illustrates this principle in Romans 4, using the example of Abraham, the father of faith. What was credited to Abraham as righteousness? It wasn’t his works, his circumcision, or his adherence to a law he didn’t yet have. Rather, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”³ Paul argues forcefully that this crediting happened before Abraham performed the sign of circumcision, demonstrating that righteousness comes through faith in God’s promise, entirely apart from works.⁴ Abraham’s faith was his God-enabled response to God’s specific, gracious promise. It wasn’t a work he performed to earn favor, but a trust he exercised in response to God’s trustworthy word, a trust that God Himself worked in him.
Why must faith be a gift? Because, in our natural state, humanity is affected by sin to such an extent that we are spiritually unable and unwilling to turn to God on our own initiative. Scripture describes this state as being “dead” in transgressions⁵ and naturally hostile to God, unable to comprehend the things of His Spirit.⁶ Therefore, God must sovereignly intervene. He must graciously work in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, regenerating us (giving us new spiritual life) and thereby enabling us to believe. As the esteemed Dutch Reformed theologian Herman Bavinck explains, this divine action necessarily precedes our active response of faith:
Regeneration in the restricted sense, therefore, consists in that divine act whereby God implants the principle of the new life in the sinner’s heart… By regeneration, God first brings the faculty of faith (fides qua creditur) into being, which subsequently, under the influence of the call, actively lays hold of the content of faith (fides quae creditur).⁷
Bavinck highlights that God first plants the ability to believe (the faculty of faith) within us through the Spirit’s regenerating work. Only then can we actively exercise that faith by trusting in Christ as revealed in the Gospel.
This understanding of faith as a divine gift, resulting from the Spirit’s work, helps us avoid a common modern confusion: equating genuine faith with blind faith. Sometimes, perhaps even within church contexts, faith is presented as a leap into the dark, a belief despite evidence or reason, or an unquestioning acceptance of dogma simply because it is asserted. We might see examples where asking hard questions is discouraged as demonstrating a “lack of faith,” or where people feel pressured to accept teachings without understanding their biblical basis, confusing submission with intellectual shutdown.
However, biblical faith, because it is granted by God through the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit upon God’s own self-revelation (Scripture), is not blind. It is Spirit-enabled seeing. It is a conviction rooted not in irrationality, but in the trustworthiness of God Himself as revealed in His Word and supremely in His Son, Jesus Christ. Theologian R.C. Sproul spoke often of the certainty that accompanies true, saving faith, distinguishing it from mere opinion or wishful thinking:
Saving faith involves the mind, the affections, and the will. It is not enough merely to believe that God exists or that Jesus is the Christ. The demons believe that much… Saving faith requires trust, a reliance upon Christ and His finished work for salvation. This trust is not a blind leap but is grounded in the objective reality of Christ’s person and work, made real and certain to us by the internal testimony of the Holy Spirit.⁸
Sproul emphasizes that genuine faith engages the whole person and rests on the objective, historical realities of the Gospel, which the Holy Spirit makes convincingly real to the believer’s heart and mind. It’s not belief without evidence, but trust because of the sufficient evidence God has provided and the Spirit’s work in making that evidence compelling.
This perspective also informs how we view Scripture. While the Bible is available for all to read, it is written primarily to and for believers—the community of faith established by God. Its deepest spiritual truths, especially the interconnected realities of sin, grace, redemption, and faith itself, are spiritually discerned. “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.”⁶ This doesn’t imply non-believers are incapable of historical or literary analysis, but the true spiritual import, the life-giving reality the words convey, can only be grasped when the Holy Spirit illuminates the heart and mind—the very Spirit who grants the gift of faith.
Does this emphasis on God’s initiative render human response irrelevant? Not at all. God ordains means to bring about His ends. Scripture is clear: “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”⁹ God calls people to faith through the preaching, teaching, reading, and sharing of His Word. But the hearing that blossoms into saving faith is only possible because the Holy Spirit works powerfully alongside the Word, opening spiritually deaf ears, softening hardened hearts, and granting the indispensable gift of faith to believe the message heard.
Conclusion
Understanding faith as a gift is profoundly humbling and deeply comforting. It strips away any basis for human boasting and focuses our adoration entirely on God’s sovereign grace and boundless mercy. It anchors our assurance not in the fluctuating strength of our own belief, but in the unwavering faithfulness of the God who initiated our salvation and gifted us the very faith to receive it. It is an indispensable gift, graciously given, through which we are united to Christ, receive salvation, and are finally enabled, by His grace alone, to truly please God.
Bibliography
Bavinck, Herman. Reformed Dogmatics. Vol. 4, Holy Spirit, Church, and New Life. Edited by John Bolt. Translated by John Vriend. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008.
Holy Bible. New International Version. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011.
Sproul, R. C. Faith Alone: The Evangelical Doctrine of Justification. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1995.
Footnotes
¹ Hebrews 11:6 (NIV).
² Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV).
³ Romans 4:3 (NIV).
⁴ See Romans 4:9-12 (NIV).
⁵ Ephesians 2:1 (NIV).
⁶ 1 Corinthians 2:14 (NIV).
⁷ Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, vol. 4, Holy Spirit, Church, and New Life, ed. John Bolt, trans. John Vriend (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008), 145.
⁸ Paraphrased conceptual summary based on R.C. Sproul’s consistent teaching on the nature of saving faith across various works, e.g., Faith Alone: The Evangelical Doctrine of Justification (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1995) and his teaching series. Specific citation requires locating a direct quote capturing this synthesized point.
⁹ Romans 10:17 (NIV).
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