Jesus promise: Recipients of eternal life will never perish!

[FreeGrace]

Jesus said, he who endures to the end will be saved. We don't know when the end will be.

Sure we do. The Bible tells us. In that context, the "end" is not the "end of one's life" as it seems you're understanding it, but the "end of the Great Tribulation". Which is 7 years long. What we don't know is when it starts.

Matthew 10:22
and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.

Matthew 24:13
But he who endures to the end will be saved.

If these verses are speaking about eternal soul salvation, then our salvation is based on our OWN enduring. Which is just another way of saying works salvation. But the Bible teaches that we are saved by grace, through faith, and that NOT of our own (effort).

Luke 22:32
but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren.”

This verse doesn't address either salvation or the loss of it.

 

[FreeGrace]

Job had more children, yes. If one of our daughters died and then we had another, I can assure you that the second would not be a replacement for the one lost. The sting of her death would remain.

The point is that God gave Job more children. Whether one sees that as a "replacement" or not is not material.

 

[Gregg T]

Ok, lets use the analogy of the seed and soil.

The soil has no life in itself. The seed does has life in itself. The soil does not have the ability to plant the seed in itself, nor the ability to make the seed transform into a plant, nor the ability to sustain the plants growth.

The soil is a medium upon which God does His work. God plants the seed, God gives the water, and God gives the nutrients for the plant to grow. Without God, the soil is just dirt - lifeless.

God does decide if a person can believe or not. You cannot decide to be a part of Gods flock. He has to choose you.

John 10
25 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me,
26 but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock.

John 6
43 Jesus answered them, "Do not grumble among yourselves.
44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

God does not expect all men to believe, but He does desire it.

According to that type of reasoning, at his judgment the unbeliever could rightfully:
- blame God for not working in him
- accuse God for not believing for him, and
- conclude God decided that he not believe.

Rom 4:5 "But to the one not working, but believing" (action by man) "on Him justifying the ungodly, his faith" (not God's faith or God's believing for him) "is counted for righteousness."

 

[Gregg T]

To repent and to believe are two actions God commands men to do; both actions necessary to be saved by God.

 

[Nathan]

Absolutely untrue!

Rom 3:22 "even the righteousness of God through faith of Jesus Christ toward all and upon all those believing; for there is no difference,"

Not so. Righteousness is only imputed on the one who believes, but until one denies Christ he has atonement through Christ. This is the Gospel.

Romans 3
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it-
22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

However, while it is credited to the whole world to be received by faith, if you deny it, then the credit is no good for you - it is not applied to your account.

1 John 2
1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.
4 Whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,
5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him:
6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

 

[Gregg T]

Not so. Righteousness is only imputed on the one who believes, but until one denies Christ he has atonement through Christ. This is the Gospel.

The initial state of 'not believing' is the initial state of dening Christ. You misunderstand, one is denying God before he believes.

The atonement is sufficient for as many as believe, and one is atoned for upon believing.

Having atonement before believing, as you have said, is a mischaracterization of atonement and a misunderstanding of having something.

 

[Nathan]

According to that type of reasoning, at his judgment the unbeliever could rightfully:
- blame God for not working in him
- accuse God for not believing for him, and
- conclude God decided that he not believe.

Rom 4:5 "But to the one not working, but believing" (action by man) "on Him justifying the ungodly, his faith" (not God's faith or God's believing for him) "is counted for righteousness."

I'm not sure how you pulled that from the analogy, but it's so far off base I can't even respond to it.

Faith is a gift from God, not something we have till He gives it to us. If you don't like that it's your choice. I will not judge you.

 

[Nathan]

The initial state of 'not believing' is the initial state of dening Christ. You misunderstand, one is denying God before he believes.

The atonement is sufficient for as many as believe, and one is atoned for upon believing.

Having atonement before believing, as you have said, is a mischaracterization of atonement and a misunderstanding of having something.

You cannot deny something you have no clue about. Sorry, it's impossible. You cannot deny Christ until you have been given the choice to believe.

His atonement is sufficient for the whole world. If Christs death did not cover the sins of the whole world, then that would mean He would have to die each time someone came to Him in faith. His death was once for all. His righteousness is placed into the account of everyone, but only those who believe and do not deny it will His righteousness be accepted in the end.

We do not actually posses anything. All we have right now is through faith. When the end comes, our faith will be exchanged for everything He has promised. But even that faith is a gift from God.

1 Peter 1
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith-more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire-may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

 

[Gregg T]

You cannot deny something you have no clue about. Sorry, it's impossible. You cannot deny Christ until you have been given the choice to believe.

His atonement is sufficient for the whole world. If Christs death did not cover the sins of the whole world, then that would mean He would have to die each time someone came to Him in faith. His death was once for all. His righteousness is placed into the account of everyone, but only those who believe and do not deny it will His righteousness be accepted in the end.

We do not actually posses anything. All we have right now is through faith. When the end comes, our faith will be exchanged for everything He has promised. But even that faith is a gift from God.

1 Peter 1
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith-more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire-may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

You say Christ's rightousness is placed into the account of everyone. Please demonstrate this claim with Scripture.

You say we do not actually possess anything. Please demonstrate this claim with Scripture.

 

[Gregg T]

I'm not sure how you pulled that from the analogy, but it's so far off base I can't even respond to it.

Faith is a gift from God, not something we have till He gives it to us. If you don't like that it's your choice. I will not judge you.

God gives faith, but He does not do the believing. We are commanded to believe.

Somewhere in between 1. God giving faith to a person . . . . . and 3. that person being saved by God is 2. the person's responsibilty to believe and his believing.

God does believe on behalf of someone. The person believes.

 

[Nathan]

You say Christ's rightousness is placed into the account of everyone. Please demonstrate this claim with Scripture.

You say we do not actually possess anything. Please demonstrate this claim with Scripture.

1 John 2:2 (ESV) 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Either He is the propitiation for all sin, or He is not.

You want me to prove that we do not have something? Think about that for a while.

If we had eternal life, as in possessing it, we would not die. The very simple fact you will see death proves that you do not posses eternal life.

We will be resurrected into eternal life.

Mark 10
29 Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel,
30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.

John 6:40 (ESV)
For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

Romans 6:22 (ESV)
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.

If the end of sanctification is eternal life, can you posses it before the end?

Jude 1:21 (ESV)
keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

If mercy leads to eternal life, can you posses something you are being led to?

1 John 2
23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.
24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father.
25 And this is the promise that he made to us-eternal life.

Does someone promise something that a person already possess?

If you gave one of your kids a car, would you promise them a year later that you are still giving them a car?

 

[Nathan]

God gives faith, but He does not do the believing. We are commanded to believe.

Somewhere in between 1. God giving faith to a person . . . . . and 3. that person being saved by God is 2. the person's responsibilty to believe and his believing.

God does believe on behalf of someone. The person believes.

We are called to believe because in that belief we turn from our own righteousness to His. That is the purpose of belief, not a condition for being saved.

God saved the Israelites out of Egypt before they believed, but when it came time for them to believe He destroyed those who did not.

Exodus 32
33 But the LORD said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book.
34 But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.

God gives us the ability to believe just like He did the Israelites. If we turn from Him after that, in unbelief, and turn to believe in something else - like the people did the calf - then it's our choice to leave and not believe in Him.

Exodus 32
1 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, "Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."
2 So Aaron said to them, "Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me."
3 So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron.
4 And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!"
5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD."
6 And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.

These people purposefully turned from God, who had saved them, and deliberately made gods to worship. They called on it as their Lord.

Everyone has a Lord. They either obey and follow the true God, or they obey and follow a false one.

A person may say that Jesus is Lord, but if He is not then just saying He is does not make it so anymore than Arron declaring that golden calf was.

God blotted those who sinned in this manor from His book. He will do the same for those who turn away from Him today.

Revelation 3
2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.
3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.
4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.
5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.
6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'

 

[FreeGrace]

Faith is a gift from God, not something we have till He gives it to us.

Which text says that?

Eph 2:8 says this: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—"

The word "it" in the last phrase refers back to "have been saved", or our salvation. It's our salvation that is the gift of God. Which aligns with Rom 11:29 about God's gifts, one of which is eternal life, from Rom 6:23, that are irrevocable.

 

[MarkT]

Sure we do. The Bible tells us. In that context, the "end" is not the "end of one's life" as it seems you're understanding it, but the "end of the Great Tribulation". Which is 7 years long. What we don't know is when it starts.

I didn't say the end refers to the end of ones life. The end is the end of the age. This age ends when Jesus returns and the new age begins.

The disciples ask, "when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?” Matthew 24:3

And Jesus said no one knows the day or the hour, not even the Son. “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37 As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of man. Mt. 24:36-37

The Tribulation precedes the second coming, but the end of the age is when Jesus returns.

If these verses are speaking about eternal soul salvation, then our salvation is based on our OWN enduring. Which is just another way of saying works salvation. But the Bible teaches that we are saved by grace, through faith, and that NOT of our own (effort).

I don't think enduring and not losing hope count as work. Unless it's God working in us.

 

[Nathan]

Which text says that?

Eph 2:8 says this: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—"

The word "it" in the last phrase refers back to "have been saved", or our salvation. It's our salvation that is the gift of God. Which aligns with Rom 11:29 about God's gifts, one of which is eternal life, from Rom 6:23, that are irrevocable.

No, the "it" refers back to faith. Faith is not from ourselves. If faith was from yourself then salvation would be based on you. Do you believe salvation is based on you?

Romans 12:3 (ESV)
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

 

[Gregg T]

Which text says that?

Eph 2:8 says this: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—"

The word "it" in the last phrase refers back to "have been saved", or our salvation. It's our salvation that is the gift of God. Which aligns with Rom 11:29 about God's gifts, one of which is eternal life, from Rom 6:23, that are irrevocable.

No, the "it" refers back to faith. Faith is not from ourselves. If faith was from yourself then salvation would be based on you. Do you believe salvation is based on you?

Romans 12:3 (ESV)
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

Eph 2:8 For by grace you are saved, through faith, and this not of yourselves; [it is] the gift of God;

'it is' does not appear in the Gk. text, but was added for translation.

'this' and 'gift' are the only two neuter gender words, and likely refer to the preceding phrase in its entirety 'by grace (feminine) you are saved (masculine participle) through faith (feminine);'

I hope this helps in that particular discussion.

 

[FreeGrace]

I didn't say the end refers to the end of ones life. The end is the end of the age. This age ends when Jesus returns and the new age begins.

The disciples ask, "when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?” Matthew 24:3

The context is STILL the 7 year Tribulation. Which DOES close the age.

 

[FreeGrace]

No, the "it" refers back to faith. Faith is not from ourselves.

I figured on this response. But the Greek shows that "it" refers to "having been saved". That's the gift. Just as eternal life is a gift.

If faith was from yourself then salvation would be based on you.

Faith (the noun) is WHAT is believed. The CONTENT of what we believe. And that comes from God. But the Bible never describes the content of what we believe as a gift.

Do you believe salvation is based on you?

Of course not. God saves us, and He keeps us.

Jude 1 - Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:

 

[Nathan]

Eph 2:8 For by grace you are saved, through faith, and this not of yourselves; [it is] the gift of God;

'it is' does not appear in the Gk. text, but was added for translation.

'this' and 'gift' are the only two neuter gender words, and likely refer to the preceding phrase in its entirety 'by grace (feminine) you are saved (masculine participle) through faith (feminine);'

I hope this helps in that particular discussion.

I figured on this response. But the Greek shows that "it" refers to "having been saved". That's the gift. Just as eternal life is a gift.


Faith (the noun) is WHAT is believed. The CONTENT of what we believe. And that comes from God. But the Bible never describes the content of what we believe as a gift.


Of course not. God saves us, and He keeps us.

Jude 1 - Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:

Paul is stating that faith is a gift from God, and through it we are saved. We can know this to be true, if we had any doubt in the Ephesians passage, by studying all of Paul's letters.

Eph 2:1-9
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

For one, we see that Paul makes the statement "by grace you have been saved" already once in this dialog. Then, when we look at the rest of the passage, we see that the "gift of God" is contrasted with "result of works" and "boasting". What do we know about that contrast?

Rom 3:27
Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith.

Gal 2:16
yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

If we look at Romans 5 we see the clear distinction between 'the gift' and 'grace'.

Rom 5
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more ***have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace*** of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

If we simply read the 5th chapter above, we see that grace and the free gift are two separate things. We also see that the free gift is what brings us justification, which Paul clearly states(not only in this letter but others also) that faith is how we are justified.

That faith is a gift of God so that we cannot boast. Grace is God's covering on us, faith is His gift to us.

 

[Gregg T]

Paul is stating that faith is a gift from God, and through it we are saved. We can know this to be true, if we had any doubt in the Ephesians passage, by studying all of Paul's letters.

Eph 2:1-9
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

For one, we see that Paul makes the statement "by grace you have been saved" already once in this dialog. Then, when we look at the rest of the passage, we see that the "gift of God" is contrasted with "result of works" and "boasting". What do we know about that contrast?

Rom 3:27
Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith.

Gal 2:16
yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

If we look at Romans 5 we see the clear distinction between 'the gift' and 'grace'.

Rom 5
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more ***have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace*** of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

If we simply read the 5th chapter above, we see that grace and the free gift are two separate things. We also see that the free gift is what brings us justification, which Paul clearly states(not only in this letter but others also) that faith is how we are justified.

That faith is a gift of God so that we cannot boast. Grace is God's covering on us, faith is His gift to us.

Faith is a noun (which doesn't save you in and of itself). You, the individual sentient being with a heart and will and ability to believe, must believe.

Heb 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please God. For it is right that the one drawing near to God should believe that He is, and that He becomes a rewarder to the ones seeking Him out."

Gal 2:16 "knowing that a man is not justified by works of Law, but that it is through faith in Jesus Christ (we also believed into Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of Law, because all flesh will not be justified by works of Law)."

Paul was not reluctant to confess that he believed; who never hinted that faith is passive, or that God believes for you, or that faith given (a noun) is the same as believing (a verbal substantive describing one who has believed).