As we read through the Bible, one of the things we learn is that it is God who draws people to Himself. Sure, in our human way of thinking, we might want to believe that we read about God, or we heard about God, and then we chose to believe in Him, but from God's perspective, nothing happens in terms of faith without the Holy Spirit creating that faith within us.
So we believe that it is God who creates and nurtures and sustains our faith in what God has done for us through Jesus. And yet, even though that is God's work alone, God still doesn't leave His creation out of the process. As Paul wrote in his letter to the Roman Christians, faith comes from hearing the word of God. To put it in a little bit of a different way, faith comes when we either read God's Word of the Bible, or when another person tells us about what God has done, as revealed in the Bible.
In other words, God works through some specific ways, or means. God's Holy Spirit may be the agent that causes faith to exist, but that same Spirit links Himself to the reading or speaking of God's Word. God links Himself to a physical part of His creation in order to make people His own. Sure, God could simply choose to speak to someone without that means, whether through a bodiless voice or in a dream it doesn't matter, but God has uniquely tied Himself to this physical means of opening doors for the Spirit.
This places us, as God's people, into a unique position. We are people who have received the gift of faith by God's Spirit. Now, God's Spirit continues to work through us as the means of drawing people to Jesus in faith. True, we aren't the ones who actually do the work of creating faith in those with whom we share the message. That's the Spirit's work, and not ours. However, we still would be wise to be thoughtful about the way we go about sharing that message. While God's Spirit could still work through an person who shares the message, "God loves you and forgives you in Jesus," with a scowl and an angry voice, for some reason, that message seems more likely to make its way into that persons heart if it's spoken in a reassuring, caring fashion.
In His wisdom, God has chosen to tie Himself to the spread of His message of Good News through the physical things of this world. Thanks be to God that we get to be a part of that message.
So we believe that it is God who creates and nurtures and sustains our faith in what God has done for us through Jesus. And yet, even though that is God's work alone, God still doesn't leave His creation out of the process. As Paul wrote in his letter to the Roman Christians, faith comes from hearing the word of God. To put it in a little bit of a different way, faith comes when we either read God's Word of the Bible, or when another person tells us about what God has done, as revealed in the Bible.
In other words, God works through some specific ways, or means. God's Holy Spirit may be the agent that causes faith to exist, but that same Spirit links Himself to the reading or speaking of God's Word. God links Himself to a physical part of His creation in order to make people His own. Sure, God could simply choose to speak to someone without that means, whether through a bodiless voice or in a dream it doesn't matter, but God has uniquely tied Himself to this physical means of opening doors for the Spirit.
This places us, as God's people, into a unique position. We are people who have received the gift of faith by God's Spirit. Now, God's Spirit continues to work through us as the means of drawing people to Jesus in faith. True, we aren't the ones who actually do the work of creating faith in those with whom we share the message. That's the Spirit's work, and not ours. However, we still would be wise to be thoughtful about the way we go about sharing that message. While God's Spirit could still work through an person who shares the message, "God loves you and forgives you in Jesus," with a scowl and an angry voice, for some reason, that message seems more likely to make its way into that persons heart if it's spoken in a reassuring, caring fashion.
In His wisdom, God has chosen to tie Himself to the spread of His message of Good News through the physical things of this world. Thanks be to God that we get to be a part of that message.
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