Faith
The Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms defines Christian “faith” as belief, trust, and obedience to God as revealed in Jesus Christ. Both the Dictionary and Scripture (see, for example, 1 Cor 12:8-9 and Eph 2:8-9) also define “faith” as a spiritual gift God gives through an unmerited act of love. In Christianity, faith is belief, trust, and obedience to God as revealed in Jesus Christ. Faith affects all dimensions of your existence: intellect, emotions, and will (McKim, 1996). Not only that, but faith is also the hand that reaches out to receive grace.
Grace
Grace is unmerited favor (McKim, 1996), lovingly extended to sinful humanity to provide undeserved salvation and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. By this definition, grace is a gift you can never earn. When you’re saved by grace, something fundamental shifts. You no longer have to keep proving your worth or trying to earn what’s already been given. Scripture puts it plainly: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Therefore, grace is God’s free, unearned favor, God’s kindness given when we deserved the opposite. But grace doesn’t force itself on anyone. It’s offered, like a gift held out, waiting. Faith is what reaches up and takes it.
The Interaction
Without faith, grace remains an offer never accepted. But with faith, everything changes. The faithful are justified, declared righteous, not because their faith is perfect, but because faith unites them to Christ, who is perfect. Yet faith doesn’t end when they receive grace. It continues. The same trust that first received grace is the trust that sustains you day by day. Believers walk by faith, not by sight. As they abide in Christ, their lives begin to bear fruit, not because they’re trying harder, but because they remain connected to the vine (John 15:4-5). In this way, faith is both the beginning and the ongoing rhythm of a redeemed life.
Renewal
That being said, grace doesn’t leave believers where it found them. It changes them from the inside out. Instead of living out of obligation and trying to secure their salvation through good works, they begin to live out of gratitude. Because of this unearned gift, they begin to live differently as God changes their hearts from the inside out. The change affects their walk, their talk, and their desires as they embrace the Divine Creator. One of those desires is to serve one another in love, walking by the Spirit and bearing fruit of gratitude and faith (Galatians 5:13-25).
Reference
McKim, D. K. (1996). Westminster dictionary of theological terms. Westminster John Knox Press.
