Contrary to what calvinists claim, biblical faith is a choice.
The following bunch of verses clearly prove this:
Matthew 6:30; 8:10; 8:26; 9:2; 9:22, 29; 14:31; 15:28; 16:8; 17:20; 21:21
Mark 2:5; 4:40; 5:34; 10:52
Luke 7:9; 7:50; 8:25, 48; 17:19.
List in full (thanks to Kate Snyder):
“Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?” – Matthew 6:30
“When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” – Matthew 8:10
“And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.” – Matthew 8:26
“And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.” – Matthew 9:2
“But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.” – Matthew 9:22
“Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.” – Matthew 9:29
“And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” – Matthew 14:31
“Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.” – Matthew 15:28
“Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?” – Matthew 16:8
“And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” – Matthew 17:20
“Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.” – Matthew 21:21
“When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” – Mark 2:5
“And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?” – Mark 4:40
“And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.” – Mark 5:34
“And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.” – Mark 10:52
“When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” – Luke 7:9
“And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.” – Luke 7:50
“And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.” – Luke 8:25
“And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.” – Luke 8:48
“And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.” – Luke 17:19
These references are only taken from 3 Gospels! Having faith in someone / putting your trust in someone (= the same in the Greek language) is a choice.
God’s love tries to have an influence on us, so that we would put out faith in Him.
CONCLUSION:
Passages which show Jesus marvelling at how great / small someone’s faith is, should make one think again before saying that God put that amount of faith in someone’s heart.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Irenaeus said:
‘“Not merely in works, but also in faith, has God preserved the will of man free and under his own control, saying, “According to thy faith be it unto thee; “ thus showing that there is a faith specially belonging to man, since he has an opinion specially his own. And again, “All things are possible to him that believeth;” and, “Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.” Now all such expressions demonstrate that man is in his own power with respect to faith.’
– Irenaeus, Against Heresies, book IV, 37
Jesse Morrell wrote:
‘Faith itself is not something that we passively have or don’t have, independent of our choice or will. Rather, faith is an active and personal choice. Jesus said, “Have faith in God.” The word translated “have” is “Ἕχετε” and it present active imperative, meaning that faith is a choice that we make. To “believe” is always in the active voice in the Greek. Faith is the choice to trust and rely on what we know about God.’
– Jesse Morrell, “How to be Holy – Christian Living” (biblicaltruthresources)
William Lance Huget rightfully wrote a reply beneath this article on facebook:
“Faith is a manward response to God involving will and mind. Calvinists wrongly say that free will faith is a work. It is the way we receive the Godward provision of grace as a free gift. Jn. 3:16 vs Jn. 3:36”
Wil Birch wrote:
‘ “What must I do to be saved?” This eternally-significant question is asked of the apostles Paul and Silas, the answer to which remains, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your whole household.” (Acts 16:31 NRSV, emphasis added) Let us carefully study this passage, especially as we underscore the conclusion of household salvation.
The word believe, πίστευσον, refers to trusting in an object, or a person; or to entrust or to credit toward an object or a person. This, claims Paul, is the condition to one being graciously saved by the regenerative act of God. In other words, faith precedes salvation. Note carefully the tense: “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved,” σωθήσῃ, future passive indicative, you will be in the futuresaved if you first believe in Jesus. If Boettner and Calvinists are correct, then the apostle Paul is wrong, and what he should have said to the sinner is: “You will be saved if God has unconditionally elected you, and then you will believe on the Lord Jesus, you and your whole household.” But Boettner and Calvinists are not granted license to contort and distort the Word of God in such fashion.
A person is not saved so that he can believe in Christ; but he is saved by the grace of God because he believes in Christ. This is explicitly what the Bible teaches — emphatically and explicitly. (Acts 2:21;4:12; 11:14; 14:22, 27; 15:9, 11; 16:30, 31; 20:21; 26:18; Rom. 1:5, 16, 17; 3:22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30;4:5, 9, 11, 12, 16, 22; 5:9, 10; 10:9, 10, 13; 1 Cor. 15:2; Eph. 2:5, 8, 2 Thess. 2:10; 1 Tim. 2:4; Titus 3:5; Heb. 10:39) But the conclusion of the apostle is noteworthy: If the head of the household trusts in Christ as Lord and Savior, then Paul assumes, given the first-century cultural aspect of headship, that the rest of the family will follow the lead of the convert. This indicates that even the slaves of the head of the house will adopt his God and be saved. This is rarely mentioned in evangelical circles and especially Calvinist circles. Why? Because the notion wreaks havoc on the theory of unconditional election. The apostolic tradition regarding salvation remains: a person is not saved to faith, but through faith, as Scripture explicitly teaches. (Eph. 2:5, 8)’
– Will Birch, “Loraine Boettner’s Botched Church History” (williambirch)
Bible verses taken from the King James Version (KJV). International copyright: public domain. Copyright within the United Kingdom: The British Crown.
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