Grant What You Command
Faith in God feels like something you do, but maybe it’s not. In trusting God we are not so much doing as we are receiving. In grammar this distinction is called being passive. I don’t mean we are passive in salvation as in sitting around doing nothing. Rather, a grammatical passive is the difference between doing and receiving, as in, “I hit the ball,” vs. “I was hit by the ball.” The second sentence is passive because I received something rather than did something. Biblical faith has similar qualities.
When believing God, we trust him for something as opposed to doing something for him. When I instruct my children to love God, I instruct them to be active. Loving God entails all kinds of activities, such as praying, reading the Bible, going to church, or helping the needy. When I instruct my children to have faith in God, I instruct them to receive from God. We believe in God for the forgiveness of sins, his supply of strength every day, food on our tables, and spiritual power in the face of temptations.
This is probably why so many talk of faith as making a decision for Christ. It is easier to do something than it is to receive something. But, the difference is profound.
Faith in God also feels like something everybody ought to be able to do, but maybe it’s not. Where does the ability to believe God come from? Is every human capable, without divine aid, of trusting God in a saving way? No matter how you answer those two questions, the ultimate and deciding factor in salvation is not man. No sincere Christian believes they are their own savior.
In the 5th century the pastor of the church in Hippo, a city in North Africa, made this profession, “All my hope is nowhere except in your great mercy. Grant us what you command, and command us what you will” (Augustine, Confessions book 10 ch 29). Augustine understood if humans were expected to believe God, then God would supply the ability to do it. The Apostle Paul tells us in two passages concerning faith, this is indeed the case.
In Ephesians 2:8-9 the Apostle writes, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” According to the passage faith and grace are gifts from God. Romans 12:3 shares the same emphasis, “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”
God gives. He gives grace, and he gives faith. Salvation begins and ends with what God does. Yes, in the middle we respond and truly participate, but we do not save ourselves. We rely on God to supply all we need. If my faith has become mine because God gave it, then salvation is all from God.
In the past certain theologians have sought a middle way. Augustine had said salvation is all of God by recognizing God must give what he commands. His opponent, Pelagius, said if God commanded it, we must be able to do it. In the middle stood Pelagius’ students. Realizing the necessity of divine grace, they worked out a theology of cooperation. Man takes the first step, then God supplies the grace. The majority of the church has seemed stuck there for centuries. Even after the Reformation re-emphasized Augustine’s perspective, the next generation began a return to this middle way.
Notice, however, God’s initiative when he says through Ezekiel, “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees.” He invites no cooperation. Instead, he promises gifts of grace.
Delighting in the grace of God,
Pastor Andy
