Faith itself is not meritorious, and it cannot directly ( or even indirectly ) "cause" salvation, since it is a gift from God ( Ephesians 2:8 ) and not "hardwired" into us as men.
Agreed.
True, godly faith in Christ as Saviour and Deliverer is not a work of men, neither can it be, since it originated and came forth from Jesus Christ, it's Author and Finisher ( Hebrews 12:2 ).
It is exactly the
opposite of keeping the Law, and cannot be possessed apart from it being
given to someone.
Believers rest in His finished work on the cross for them,
by that faith.
With that said, your thread question was this:
" If faith is predestined and cause by God, then answer me this....."
As I understand Scripture describing, faith is
not predestined, but it is "caused" within a person of God's choosing and goes right along with the new birth.
Everything that accompanies the gift of eternal life,
including faith, are gifts given to those whom the Lord, in His grace and mercy, have saved from His wrath and for Himself and made born again.
True faith is also a fruit of the Spirit ( Galatians 5:22-23 ), and cannot be present in someone who is not indwelt by Him.
Only the saved can have true faith, as it is said to be the faith of God's elect ( Titus 1:1 ).
These saved individuals are foreknown, predestinated, called, justified and glorified ( Romans 8:29-30 ) by God, who believe on His Son because it was given to them to do so ( Philippians 1:29 ).
Their faith is a spiritual
benefit of a heart to heart relationship with their Saviour, Jesus Christ...
It is not, nor will it ever be, the
means to attaining that relationship.
It is the
evidence of the believer's salvation ( Hebrews 11:1 ), and was authored ( created ) and finished ( perfected ) by Him and Him alone.
Several passages describe it as the faith "of" Christ...that is, "by" or "from" Him...Romans 3:22, Galatians 2:16, Galatians 2:20, Galatians 3:22 are but some of those passages.
So, even though it originated and came forth from Him to His sheep, faith
itself is not what was predestined, but the
individual was predestined, conformed to the image of God's dear Son, in the spiritual sense.
Vessels of mercy, afore ( before ) prepared unto glory ( Romans 9:22-24 ).
True faith "carries" the blood-bought believer through all of their trials and tribulations, and it never leaves them, just as His Spirit will never leave them ( Ephesians 1:13-14, Hebrews 13:5 ).
Those that do not have God-given and
true faith, fail at some point during their time after "believing" the Gospel and fall away...back into the world and its ways.
That failure to endure those trials and tribulations, failing to hold on through thick and thin, is what proves that "tares" were not really saved to begin with.
Apologies for seeming to wander, but many who view "saving faith" as something other than works, tend not to see where it actually comes from:
Outside of sinful men and their desires, and directly from God.
All men do not have faith ( 2 Thessalonians 3:2 ), as it was ( and is ) delivered to the saints, and the saints alone ( Jude 1:3 ).
It isn't something that a person can "work up", neither is it something that all men will ever "have the chance" at gaining.
Case-in-point:
Just because a person hears God's word, does not guarantee that they will ever "hear" His words deep down in their hearts, since there is a "supernatural" component that must be present for His words to actually do their work...
His Spirit.
Only someone that is "of God" will ever "hear" ( John 8:47 ), and only someone who has been given "ears to hear" ( Matthew 11:15 and many others ) will ever be able to hear and understand His words, spiritually;
One must have their understanding opened by God in order to do so ( Luke 24:45 ).
One must have their heart opened, so that they "attend" ( listen intently to, with the heart and mind ) the things spoken of in His word ( Acts of the Apostles 16:14 ).
"Natural" men ( 1 Corinthians 2:14 ), who have not been born from above, will never be able
or willing to receive that which they are incapable of receiving and discerning.
In other words, persistent resistance to His words is a mark of the natural man, not the child of God.
That is what marked the difference between Christ's disciples, and most of the Jews who followed Jesus around and eventually left Him in passages like John 6.
Back to faith:
Like salvation, faith is a gift... as are all of God's heavenly gifts, and apart from God, a man can have nothing ( John 3:27 ).
Only He can give someone true faith,
and He will only give it to one of His elect.
This is my last reply in this thread.
I wish you well, and may God bless you, sir.
