For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
...according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Some will claim, “See? God has given every man a measure of faith!”
Uh, no. Paul is still referring to the same group of men, “...to every man that is among you,” How can I say that with confidence? Easy, because Paul writes elsewhere that every man does not have faith (2 Thessalonians 3:2). If God gave a man faith He would save him. God uses faith to quicken the dead spirit in a lost man the same way you would use a key to start a car. We are saved by grace through faith, the faith that God gives us (Romans 12:3; Ephesians 2:8). God then gives us belief (John 6:29; Philippians 1:29), and repentance (2 Timothy 2:25).
It is written elsewhere in Romans that everything that does not come from faith is sin (Romans 14:23). Do the lost have faith, spiritual faith? No. They have no faith whatsoever because if they did, they would believe in Jesus as their Savior and repent of their sins. They do not have faith because God has not given them faith. This is just another verse that supports Romans 8:8, the lost CAN’T please God, ONLY the saved can please Him and even then, only when we’re not following the sinful nature. This is one of the verses that makes it clear God has GIVEN Christians their level of faith (some more than others). This is why we should not be aggravated by the lack of faith in the lost or even of other Christians, nor be jealous of other believers who have much faith.
Some will claim, “See? God has given every man a measure of faith!”
Uh, no. Paul is still referring to the same group of men, “...to every man that is among you,” How can I say that with confidence? Easy, because Paul writes elsewhere that every man does not have faith (2 Thessalonians 3:2). If God gave a man faith He would save him. God uses faith to quicken the dead spirit in a lost man the same way you would use a key to start a car. We are saved by grace through faith, the faith that God gives us (Romans 12:3; Ephesians 2:8). God then gives us belief (John 6:29; Philippians 1:29), and repentance (2 Timothy 2:25).
It is written elsewhere in Romans that everything that does not come from faith is sin (Romans 14:23). Do the lost have faith, spiritual faith? No. They have no faith whatsoever because if they did, they would believe in Jesus as their Savior and repent of their sins. They do not have faith because God has not given them faith. This is just another verse that supports Romans 8:8, the lost CAN’T please God, ONLY the saved can please Him and even then, only when we’re not following the sinful nature. This is one of the verses that makes it clear God has GIVEN Christians their level of faith (some more than others). This is why we should not be aggravated by the lack of faith in the lost or even of other Christians, nor be jealous of other believers who have much faith.
There are some who I KNOW have a lot of faith and still others who don’t accept God’s sovereignty in Election. Am I frustrated or aggravated by it? I should not be for if I am, I am frustrated or aggravated by God’s plan in the lives of others, because as the verse above makes clear - God gives us the measure of faith we have which INCLUDES THE MEASURE OF FAITH TO BE SAVED.
As I just wrote, the lost have no faith whatsoever and will never have the faith it takes to believe and repent for salvation unless God grants it to them. And God grants it only to His Elect. If you know of any Scripture that refutes this, please show me.
Do you believe the Bible, regardless what it says and that it has no error in it? Or do you believe the Bible only when it’s plausible and logical? That it a very important issue. You may reply, “Why that’s silly for you to ask a question like that. You know good and well I believe the Bible regardless.” Well the only way you can find out if you really do is by examining your reaction to that which goes against the the flesh, and goes against human emotion, and defies logical explanation. Will you say, “That makes no sense. Why would God tell a man to repent and believe if he couldn’t do it?” Or will you say, “I don’t understand it, but God’s Word says it and I accept it on faith and believe it.” That will tell you, and other believers, just how much faith God has given you.
God has given us the amount of faith we have and all we can do is pray for more faith for ourselves as well as others. Said another way - the amount of faith anyone has, OR THE LACK OF IT, is and has been determined by God, not man.
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