What causes one person who hears God’s word (the gospel of Christ) to believe, while another does not? If faith does not come through the animation and authorship of God alone, then the cause must be something within the person. And if the cause comes from within the person, we must conclude that whether or not someone believes the gospel depends on man, not God. This is the false conclusion of today’s Christian/Catholic orthodoxy, because the New Testament repeatedly demonstrates that whether or not a person has faith depends on God, not them.
Consider for a moment the implications of what I am contending. If God alone is the cause (author) of faith, how does that affect everything you currently believe?
For example:
With regard to our eternal destiny, does it make sense to say that people are punished forever for lacking faith if God alone can give them faith?
With regard to Christian living, does it make sense to do everything you can to strengthen and increase your faith if God alone strengthens and increases faith? What does that say about all the books and sermons you have heard on how to have more faith because “without faith it’s impossible to please God?”
With regard to how we treat others, does it make sense to hold sinners responsible for their unbelief if God alone can bring about their belief?
The implications of this truth are profound, and I have barely touched upon them, to say the least. By the mercy of God, I pray that He would encourage you to consider more deeply what is being said here, because we live by faith, not by sight, and what the current church has to say about faith is contrary to Scripture.
See Chapter 3 and the appendix to Chapter 3 for all the New Testament texts that inform this view.