THE GIFT OF FAITH

by
Scott Jones

If you believe your faith is a GIFT from God, then your doctrine is CALVINIST, otherwise you believe your faith is a VIRTUE of your own possession, and thus your doctrine is NON CALVINIST. If you don't understand that these are your only two options then you do not possess a sound mind, nor are you capable of clear thinking. In that vein, and in lieu of the mass of unstable souls whose constant delight is to engage in the sport of wresting Scripture by parsing words, all references to FAITH herein assume SAVING FAITH, SUPERNATURAL FAITH, which is the only faith that matters, and which is the only faith that the Scripture speaks of.

Now then, as the Scriptures teach THROUGHOUT, God gives faith to SOME. God does NOT give faith to ALL, or even to MANY. Rather, God gives faith to FEW, even as it is written --

Therefore God discriminates between those to whom he gives faith, and those to whom he does NOT, just as God discriminates between those to whom he sends his gospel, and those to whom he does NOT, a fact that is demonstrated throughout both Scripture and history, but one of which so very many are so very, very ignorant.

Thus, in a nutshell, if your faith is a GIFT of God, then you are a CALVINIST by doctrine, nor can it otherwise be, for your faith came from WITHOUT yourself. If, on the other hand, your faith is a VIRTUE of your own, arising from WITHIN yourself, and by your own wits, then you are a NON CALVINIST by doctrine, nor can it otherwise be, for if your faith has arisen from YOURSELF, and NOT as a GIFT from God, then you yourself are a proud, unregenerate, arrogant, wicked blasphemer who has by default asserted that your own arm has brought you salvation, and thus you have no portion in Jesus Christ's kingdom. None. Not so much as a thread to a shoe-latchet. Wait and see.

There are therefore two pathways...

One, if your faith is a GIFT from God, then you are CALVINIST in doctrine and you will find the Lord Jesus saying to you on the day of judgment, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Matthew 25:34

Two, if your faith is a VIRTUE arising from yourself, and by your own wits, something that NOBODY born of the Spirit would EVER assert, then you are NON CALVINIST in doctrine, and you will find the Lord Jesus saying to your proud, arrogant, unregenerate wicked soul on the day of judgment, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Matthew 25:41

These are the only two options. There are no other, nor is there a GENUINELY BORN AGAIN Christian on this earth or in heaven who doesn't KNOW, and KNOW INFALLIBLY, that his faith was GIVEN to him by God, who doesn't KNOW, and KNOW INFALLIBLY, that his faith was SUPERNATURALLY BESTOWED UPON HIM by the Holy Spirit HIMSELF upon the MOMENT of REGENERATION. There isn't a GENUINELY BORN AGAIN Christian in existence who doesn't know that. Not one.

The fact is, a man either has faith or he doesn't. It's that simple. And faith is either saving or not. There is no middle ground. Nor is faith dead or impassive, just waiting there for a man to exercise or stir up, as so many blinded souls suppose today. No sir, SAVING FAITH, SUPERNATURAL FAITH, like the very Word of God itself, is QUICK AND POWERFUL. Indeed, SAVING FAITH is an ACTING AND LIVING FAITH, and, like the Holy Spirit it flows from, it MOVES on the waters of the soul it inhabits.

Nevertheless, no matter how clear the Scripture is on this matter, there is always that blind, ignorant, feeble-minded soul who treads into every highway and byway in a futile, fleshly attempt to invent an "intermediate" type of faith, a sort of "faith" which is not really "faith" but which actually produces a sort of "preliminary faith" which then in turn becomes a sort of "acceptable faith" -- in other words, a "faith" that doesn't REALLY save but a "faith" that nonetheless impresses God enough to then implant a "faith" that DOES save, a "faith" based upon a "faith" as it were, which is to say, a sort of "qualifying faith" that doesn't actually save or do anything spiritually efficacious, but simply excites God enough to then bestow a sort of "legitimate faith" as a consequent thereof, that is, a "non-saving faith" that somehow metamorphoses into a "saving faith", ad nauseam -- but of course such an exercise speaks only to the stupidity and feeble-mindedness of the deluded soul who engages in that type of delusional thinking, along with his penchant for habitual doctrinal confusion, which is a trademark of all who deny the absolute sovereignty of God in salvation.

As ALL who are GENUINELY born of the Holy Spirit KNOW, and KNOW INFALLIBLY, their FAITH -- their SAVING FAITH -- was a GIFT, and one WHOLLY OF GOD, and a GIFT which was SUPERNATURALLY BESTOWED by the Holy Spirit upon the MOMENT of REGENERATION, and he who asserts otherwise is a COMPLETE STRANGER to the SUPERNATURAL MIRACLE of the NEW BIRTH, as well as being the very MOUTHPIECE OF SATAN. There are no exceptions. None.

So which is it with you? Is your faith a GIFT from God, or is your faith a VIRTUE of your own self?

If the latter, your faith is nothing but a quicksand of unregenerate pride, arrogance, and presumption which will sink you into eternal damnation.

If the former, then WHEN did God give you this GIFT? And can you describe the EXPERIENCE?

If not, then your GIFT is IMAGINARY, and so is your faith, just like the self-deluded will-worshipper who imagines that his own natural faith is salvific.

Friend, if you are GENUINELY BORN AGAIN, then your faith -- your SAVING FAITH -- was a GIFT from God, given you DIRECTLY by the Holy Spirit HIMSELF upon the MOMENT of REGENERATION, and this GIFT is an EXPERIENCE you can REMEMBER RECEIVING, and REMEMBER as if it only happened seconds ago, no matter how long ago it might have actually happened..

Alas, if this is not the case with you, then you are no better off than the blasphemer who arrogantly asserts that his faith has arisen from his own proud fountain of self, and neither of you will ever set foot inside of the New Jerusalem.

Finally, in closing let me say... YOU may have made a commitment to Jesus Christ, but unless you have EVIDENCE -- SUPERNATURAL EVIDENCE -- unless you have SUPERNATURAL EVIDENCE that Jesus Christ has made a commitment to YOU, by FILLING you with his Spirit, indeed, unless you have SUPERNATURAL EVIDENCE that Jesus Christ has made a commitment to YOU by FILLING you with his Spirit, EXACTLY as described in the quotations noted earlier -- I, II -- then you will NEVER enter the kingdom of heaven, for if Jesus Christ has not borne witness to you here by FILLING you with his Spirit, neither will he bear witness to you there, when you stand before him at his judgment seat.

Consequently, I challenge every one of you, every one of you reading this right now, to SERIOUSLY EXAMINE YOURSELF, and be BRUTALLY HONEST with YOURSELF, for you can NEVER be FILLED with the Holy Spirit until you are BORN of the Holy Spirit in a MANIFEST SUPERNATURAL EXPERIENCE -- MANIFEST -- MANIFEST -- MANIFEST SUPERNATURAL EXPERIENCE -- and you will NEVER be BORN of the Holy Spirit unless you are BRUTALLY HONEST about your condition [2 Corinthians 13:5]. Accordingly, I warn you again, if you cannot HONESTLY and LEGITIMATELY claim the EXPERIENCE of being FILLED with the Holy Spirit, EXACTLY as demonstrated in the quotations above -- I, II -- a FILLING which occurs IMMEDIATELY UPON the MOMENT of REGENERATION, then do something about it NOW, while you still can -- I say, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT NOW, WHILE YOU STILL CAN -- for if you INSIST on DECEIVING YOURSELF, God not only will NOT STOP YOU, but God will actually ENHANCE YOUR ABILITY to FURTHER DECEIVE YOURSELF, and God will do this by imposing JUDICIAL BLINDNESS upon you, for God HATES LIES, and there is NO LIE that God HATES WORSE than the SELF-DECEIVING LIE, for the SELF-DECEIVING LIE is ROOTED IN PRIDE, and that is the very NATURE of wickedness and iniquity [2 Thessalonians 2:11, John 8:44, Matthew 11:25-26].

Have you ever FELT, have you ever EXPERIENCED, the MANIFEST POWER of the Holy Spirit SUPERNATURALLY INDWELLING YOU? If not, then never think of going to heaven, for you are not yet meet for heaven. And yet...

I tell you -- and I call Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to record against that day I stand before the Lord Jesus at his judgment seat -- indeed, I tell you that Jesus Christ can be KNOWN, and KNOWN more INTIMATELY than ANY other person in existence. Jesus Christ is not only the source of all life, he is likewise the sustainer and dispenser of all life, and he is therefore capable of making HIMSELF MANIFEST to his ELECT more certainly than any created being can make himself known to you, exactly as he has promised in [John 14:21-23], and numerous other passages.

If you will not prize your soul above ALL ELSE, you will NEVER be granted a SAVING audience with Jesus Christ. Blind Bartimaeus, as recorded in the gospels, would be saved at all costs. Will you be saved at all costs? If you will not be saved at all costs, you will not be saved by Jesus Christ at all.

Would you be born again? GENUINELY born again?

Then take wise counsel -- pick up a Bible based on the Traditional Text -- in English, the ONLY VALID Bible based on the Traditional Text is the King James Bible -- and then read with SOLEMNITY, beginning in the Gospels preferably, and beg Jesus Christ to reveal himself to you, and give him no rest until he does, for if you read the TRUE written Word of God, you will find the Lord of Glory, even Jesus Christ, moving upon the face of the waters in its pages, just as he moved upon the face of the waters when he walked across the Sea of Galilee, and if you follow the advice just given, and if you persist, Jesus Christ HIMSELF will verily MANIFEST HIMSELF to you (for he HIMSELF promises to do this for those who truly heed this advice), just as he MANIFESTED HIMSELF to his disciples when he moved upon the face of the waters as he walked across the stormy sea some two thousand years ago, and just as he did with ME not too many years ago, and just as he has done with a FEW others from day to day since that time, in this very generation, and just as he will do for YOU if -- IF -- you heed my advice, and if -- IF -- you persist therein, for he who promised is FAITHFUL. John 14:21-23, Matthew 14:25-27
 

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