The Order of Salvation: Faith

 By Jeffrey Stivason - Posted at Place for Truth:

Once the Spirit of the Lord has resurrected a dead sinner by the divine breath, life begins. This is the monergism that theologians reference in the work of regeneration. The dead sinner lives through God’s singular work. He initiated the life. The spiritual cadaver is no longer cold and icy but is now oriented and animated toward God by grace alone. And as life comes so too does the fruit of life or conversion. Conversion is shorthand for faith and repentance. This article will deal with the former and it will do so by following the three sections of chapter fourteen of the Westminster Confession of Faith.

The Origin of Faith

Here the Divines want us to make no mistake. Faith does not originate with us. Faith is a “grace” whereby the person is “enabled to believe” and that “to the saving of their souls” because it is the “work of the Spirit” in the heart of the believer. The thread that is sown through this first paragraph leaves us with no doubt as to the origin of belief. Believing begins with God. However, we should not make the opposite mistake and so believe that faith is God’s activity. In other words, though God enables faith, He does not do the believing for us.

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