Ephesians 2:8 NASB95
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
Romans 4:16 NASB95
For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace…
Ephesians 2 makes it very clear that we are saved by grace, not by faith. Can you be saved apart from faith? Absolutely not! Faith, or “trust,” is the proper response to grace that allows grace to accomplish what grace intends to accomplish. It’s important to remember that salvation from new birth to full glorification is Jesus. The whole “kit and caboodle” (you probably haven’t heard that phrase in a while, and I have not a clue who invented it, but it is a cool phrase) of the Christian life is realized in the person of Christ. Therefore, grace is not a thing given to us, but grace is the free gift of the activity of Jesus on our behalf in whatever form that activity takes.
When our focus is on our faith, then we have fallen into a very deceptive religious form of performance. We’ve again become bent towards ourselves. I know so many Christians who are trying so hard to believe enough when the truth is their focus needs to be on Jesus and His grace. Faith comes by hearing a word concerning Jesus. Romans 10:17. I’m not saying that faith is unimportant, “for the just shall live by faith,” and “without faith, it is impossible to please God.” What I am saying is that faith doesn’t come first; grace does. If you sit down in a chair, you’ve exercised faith that the chair will hold you up. Your faith isn’t holding you up; the chair is, but your faith allows your chair to do what a chair does. When you sit down, you simply trust in and receive the ability of the chair. Faith receives grace, but faith doesn’t accomplish anything other than receiving the ability of Jesus to do what Jesus intends to do as a free gift. How many Christians do I know that are worrying about whether or not God will keep a promise based on whether there faith is good enough. What if you told someone that you were going to do something for them, and their response was, “I’m trying really hard to believe you.” Wouldn’t that sadden you that they are trying hard to trust you? Don’t you think it saddens Jesus that we have to try so hard to trust Him? It’s not perfect faith that you need. What you need is a perfectly faithful Jesus. That you have! “Even when we believe not, He abides faithful, for He cannot deny himself.” 2 Timothy 2:13.