Sola Fide | The Source of Faith
We can look at what faith is and how it plays in to our righteousness and justification but ultimately we must also be willing to discuss the origin of our faith. Too often, the rally cry for Christians has been to simply have faith, almost as if we would be able to muster up the strength needed to stand firm in our own faith. We use faith to ignore the concept of Sola Gratia, that all we have comes from grace and cannot be attributed to anything other than God. Sola Gratia and Sola Fide are two sides of the same coin that must be viewed in conjunction with one another in balance. We must have faith, but that faith comes by grace and that grace comes by faith. They depend on one another and find their origin in the person in work of Jesus Christ, Solus Christus, as revealed by the ultimate authority of scripture, Sola Scripture (and all for God’s glory, Soli Deo Gloria).
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Romans 10:14-17, ESV
Paul uses the idea of faith to spur the believers in the church in Rome towards proclaiming the Gospel to everyone they come into contact with. He details the actions of faith as expressed in the passage above. Yet, Paul’s conclusion is clear. Faith comes from the word of God. When we understand that the incarnation of God (Solus Christus) and the self-revelation of God (sola scripture) both originate from God, we can rightly determine the source of our faith. Simply put, our faith is not our own, rather faith originates in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Faith Originating from God
Without the works of Christ, we could not maintain an ounce of right standing before a Holy and Righteous God. Our sinful actions, produced in the blackest corners of our heart that craves flesh, render mankind unrighteous and guilty of crimes against God. Our legal status is beyond repair and our debt has risen above levels we would be able to pay. Justification is a legal term designating a persons right standing. Yet, from our sin, our legal stand holds nothing on its own. Our own action render us unjustified. Any attempt to show ourselves justified will only fall short compared to the richness and greatness of God’s holiness.
But do not think that our faith comes from God is a degradation of mankind or a renouncing of personal responsibility. We do not need to muster up our own faith and stand firm in our own power and might in order to faithfully follow God. Rather, God supplies us with our every need and paves a path for us to be able to faithfully rest in the strength and person of Jesus Christ. Nothing we do would be able to produce our own ability to approach God, even our faith. In our submission to God as Lord and Savior, God provides us with our means of salvation and the strength to follow Him with the Holy Spirit providing the faith for mankind to be obedient to God and trust in faith. Thus, as we further submit our lives to the will of God, our faith deepens in relationship with our creation who calls us to return to Him.
The Unfolding Of The Trinity For Our Salvation and God’s Glory
Faith does not originate within us, as this would actively contradict the notion that our salvation comes by grace alone. While the mechanism is definitely grace, the faith comes from the unfolding of the fullness of the Trinity within our lives. The meta narrative of scripture depicts the unfolding of God throughout the history of mankind in order to return us to Himself. Yet, everything rests fully on the work of God to rescue His people, including faith. Every aspect of God seeks our restoration and return in eternity as a blessing and expression of the love of God. We cannot and should not think any of our actions obligated or compelled God to act on our behalf but that everything stems from God’s loving nature, expressed towards us.
God the Father, send Jesus Christ the Son to be the incarnation of the Gospel proclaiming the message and calling out to the people of God to put their hope and faith in Him. Furthermore, Jesus sends the Holy Spirit, which responds to the call of God and provides the faith in the heart of the believer to come from death to life. The fullness of faith comes from the unfolding of the trinity from the throne room of heaven to the depths of death to rescue the hearts of men. When we respond in faith to the call of God given by grace, we do so from the deep well that comes by the Holy Spirit’s active presence in our lives. Our faith is not our own but the expression of our submission to the Lordship with the outpouring of faith to be the representation of God in the world.
