Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Ephesians 2:1 KJT
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in
trespasses and sins;
It's common sense that life precedes the actions
of that life; faith is an activity of spiritual life. Except a man be born
again (regenerated) with spiritual life, he is still dead in trespasses and
sins, utterly incapable of exercising faith.
EVEN SO...
To say that your faith is the cause of your
justification by God is to put the cart before the horse.
It's equally common sense to say that a man's
justification freely by God precedes his faith in Jesus Christ. Why? You ask.
It's common sense.
An unjustified man is a man still in his
native state of condemnation and death; a man in his native state can't
possibly exercise faith in order to be justified by God. Sola fide is fiction.
Have you not read these words:
Romans 3:24 KJT — Being justified FREELY by
his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Romans 5:18 KJT — Therefore as by the offence
of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness
of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
Adam's sin brought the condemnation of death
upon all represented by him; EVEN SO, Christ's righteousness secured the
justification of life to all represented by Him. Amen.
At the justification freely by God's grace,
the righteousness of Christ is freely APPLIED to an elect personally (it's
already IMPUTED to all the elect during the double imputation at the cross) in
his native state of condemnation and death UNTO the justification of life.
The Father's free and gracious act of
applying Christ's righteousness to the redeemed gives the divine warrant to the
Spirit of God to regenerate such; that is why justification is termed as
justification of life. (Rom 5:18)
Your faith evidences your justified state,
freely by God's grace; even so, your breath evidences the prior impartation of
life; your breath is not the cause of getting you your life.
May the gracious Lord grant you to understand
this blessed good news.
p/s - just in case, if any is misguided in
this too:
- Faith is NOT the gift of God; eternal
salvation is the gift of God, Eph 2:8. Eternal salvation is through the faith
of Christ, i.e. Christ's faithfulness in discharging the redemptive work to
save His people.
- Faith is ONE of the many saving graces
worked in a child of God (an elect that has been justified, regenerated,
adopted and bestowed with the Spirit of adoption to indwell him) by the Holy
Spirit, Gal 5:22.
- A gift comes from without; it's a saving
grace that is worked from within by the indwelling Spirit of God.
May our gracious Lord grant you understanding.
Amen.
