Short Answer
Yes, faith can be understood as a gift from God. Salvation—including grace, faith, and repentance—is ultimately initiated and enabled by God.
The Overview
Ephesians 2:8 says, “by grace you have been saved through faith… it is the gift of God.” While some debate whether “gift” refers specifically to faith or to salvation as a whole, the broader teaching of Scripture points to God as the source of the entire process of salvation.
The context of Ephesians 2 is crucial. It begins by describing humanity as “dead in sin,” meaning we are spiritually unable to save ourselves. God, in His mercy, makes us alive in Christ. This shows that salvation is not something we initiate—it is something God initiates and provides.
Other passages reinforce this idea. For example, Acts 11:18 says that God grants repentance that leads to life. Since repentance and faith are inseparable responses to the gospel, if repentance is granted, then faith must also be enabled by God.
Additionally, Jesus teaches that the Holy Spirit convicts people of sin (John 16), which is the starting point for turning to God. Without this divine work, no one would even recognize their need for salvation.
In summary, while people personally experience faith and make real decisions, those responses are made possible by God’s grace. Faith, repentance, and salvation together can rightly be seen as gifts from God.
Key Takeaways
- Salvation Starts with God
We were spiritually unable to save ourselves. - Faith and Grace Work Together
Faith is the means through which grace saves. - Repentance Is Granted by God
Acts 11:18 supports this clearly. - Holy Spirit Initiates Conviction
No one comes without God’s work. - Faith Is Experienced Personally
Yet enabled by divine grace. - All of Salvation Is a Gift
Not earned, but given by God.
Bible Verse Mentioned
- Ephesians 2:8
- Acts 11:18
- John 16
Read Full Raw Transcript
Pastor Mike. Hey, I have a question on faith being a gift. I’m looking at Ephesians two eight and just trying to understand this a little bit more, because I’ve always understood it, that grace is the gift, right? But I’m just because it says it is the gift of God. Yeah. Just wondering how faith is also a gift, and if there’s any other passages that help answer that?
Well, the whole thing. Right. You have to say if you read the scripture, I mean, I’m thinking of first John chapter one, for instance, verse 13 talks about being born of God. It says, we’re born right, not by the will of the flesh, nor by the will of man, but the will of God. I mean, all these passages speak of the fact that, okay, here we’ve got a problem.
Like a chapter two talks about your dead in your transgressions and sins. Right? But all of a sudden now we’re made alive in God. So even at the beginning of that chapter, you’ve got this concept of you’ve got a problem that’s so serious, right, that we’re not going to be able to fix this problem without an exercise of God’s grace.
If I’m dead to my transgressions and sins, my trespasses and sins. Well, then I have to. As it goes on to say in verse four, God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses and sins, he made us alive together with Christ. If that’s the point, and then that’s the first expression in the bottom of verse five says, then by grace you’ve been saved.
You’d think that gift, right? By grace you’ve been saved. That must mean the whole kit and caboodle, right? The whole point of this is God is gifting us this amazing gift of grace to be saved. Well, it’s through faith, right? That grace is through faith. But the whole point of how this is set up is that God is doing this great thing, this expenditure of grace, to give us this thing.
It even starts with is the Bible talks about in John 16, the spirit is sent out into the world to convict us of sin, righteousness, and judgment. I can’t even get started without the Spirit of God coming in convicting me. And that’s why people, even if they’re in different camps regarding their theological labels, we all start with the fact that if the spirit didn’t get involved, if the spirit didn’t do the work to convict me of sin, I would never I would never have the inkling to think that I needed salvation.
So, you know, regardless of your label, I think that’s where we come to the sense that this is something that while I experience a decision, I experience the, you know, the conviction I experienced that my need for Christ, I experienced, I got to throw myself on the mercy of God that at the end of it all, the the, the faith expression, the repentance, all of this is like, wow, this is a gift that you’re granting me.
You know, that’s that’s, I think, where it comes from. Of course, the grammar in Ephesians two about the faith being a gift. It’s debated, right? Grammatically it’s debated. I mean, people, I think will will take issue with you, which I think it can be understood that way, there’s no doubt about that. But other passages you can’t debate, like in acts 11, verse 18, the other side of it, because it’s always not just faith, it’s a it’s repentance and faith, a penitent faith.
In acts 11, they’re discussing, you know, Gentile salvation. And it says when they heard these things, they fell silent about the Gentiles being saved. And they glorify God, saying, then to the Gentiles also, God has granted repentance that leads to life. Okay. Well, we know we’re talking about penitent faith. We’re not talking about the thing that makes them Christians that leads to life.
And it says God has granted them this repentance. Well, if it’s going to lead to life, then we know it’s the kind of repentance that is this faith, repentance, this trusting the grace, this penitent faith. And it says in that passage that it’s been it’s been granted, it’s been given to them. So yeah, because repentance and faith are, as I like to say.
And maybe I heard this from someone else years and years ago, but there are two sides of one coin, as I say. And I may have borrowed this from someone initially years and years ago, but they’re they’re distinguishable in the sense that you can define them, repentance and faith differently, but they’re inextricable, right? We can’t separate the two in the response to the gospel, right?
If you have biblical faith, you’re going to have biblical repentance or you’re not going to be saved, right? So repentance and faith, they go together. There are two sides of one coin. And so if it’s granted, right. If, if if repentance is granted saving repentance is granted. Well then then the faith has to be granted. And while people can debate Ephesians chapter two, right, verse eight, you can’t debate, you know, grammatically acts chapter 11, verse 18.
So I think that helps us sometimes go back to Ephesians chapter two, verse eight and go, well, it must be that when you look back it is the gift of God. The it must not just be salvation, right? You’re saved. It must be the faith as well as the grace. So I think that’s the easier way to go than trying to argue with someone about the grammar of verse eight, because it can be argued that it’s somewhat ambiguous.
Does that help at all? Matthew, that was really good. Thank you.
