The guardians of ‘free-will’ have exemplified the saying: ‘out of the frying-pan, into the fire.’ In their zeal to disagree with the Pelagians they start denying condign merit, and by the very form of their denial they set it up more firmly! By word and pen they deny it, but really, in their hearts, they establish it, and are worse than the Pelagians upon two counts. In the first place, the Pelagians confess and assert condign merit straightforwardly, candidly and honestly, calling a spade a spade and teaching what they really hold. But our friends here, who hold and teach the same view, try to fool us with lying words and false appearances, giving out that they disagree with the Pelagians, when there is nothing that they are further from doing! ‘If you regard our pretences, we appear as the Pelagians’ bitterest foes; but if you regard the facts and our hearts, we are Pelagians double-dyed.’ (Luther, Bondage of the Will)
‘Justification by faith only’ is a truth that needs interpretation. The principle of sola fide is not rightly understood till it is seen as anchored in the broader principle of sola gratia. What is the source and status of faith? Is it the God-given means whereby the God-given justification is received, or is it a condition of justification which it is left to man to fulfill? Is it a part of God’s gift of salvation, or is it man’s own contribution to salvation? Is our salvation wholly of God, or does it ultimately depend on something that we do for ourselves? (“Historical and Theological Introduction” to Bondage of the Will)
This is a vital point in the doctrine of justification by faith alone in the teaching of the Reformers and perhaps especially Luther. The source of faith is vital to the whole issue. It is not just whether a person believes something intellectually or not, it also has to do with the source of the faith. In the paragraph from the Introduction just above, if one follows the paragraph slowly and carefully, it is clear that the broader principle of grace alone and that source of faith are tied together. They cannot be separated. Again, we have very few options in this situation. Faith is either what God gives by grace as a means to receive a free justification, or it is man’s contribution or addition to what God has done. Faith is either what Christ has purchased for His people or it is something that man does to make salvation possible for himself. Faith is that which comes from a regenerate heart that has been washed in regeneration by the Holy Spirit or it is that which a will that is free to some degree from depravity and from grace is able to do on its own. We cannot have it both ways and there is no middle ground because regeneration is either all of grace or it is partially caused by the will of man.
Regeneration is either how God brings life to the soul and as such makes it a believing soul with Christ as its life or it is the result of what God does when the soul comes up with faith on its own. Regeneration produces a believing soul or a ‘free-will’ comes up with faith and that causes God to respond with regeneration. Again, there is no real in between here. Something is the real cause of regeneration and of faith. Either regeneration produces a believing heart or a ‘free-will’ produces something that moves God to regenerate. If God responds to the one that comes up with faith from a ‘free-will,’ then faith is the condition for salvation that man must fulfill. That means that salvation is not totally and completely of grace and grace alone, but instead it would depend on something man is able to do and does for himself.
This backs us up into a corner and forces us to look at the situation with some clarity. We cannot run from this with our fingers in our ears. The Gospel of Christ alone and grace alone forces us to a position that faith itself is the gift of God and so salvation is utterly and wholly of the Lord and His grace. If not, then in some way salvation does depend on something that man does for himself. Ephesians 2:4-9 speaks very clearly to this: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Sinners are dead in sins and trespasses and are by nature children of wrath (Eph 2:1-3). There is nothing in them to cause God to raise them from the dead (regeneration) and give them life. He did this because of Himself. When dead sinners are raised to life, it is not because of anything in them that they are raised to life. It is because of the character and purposes of God. It is when dead sinners are raised to life and there is nothing in them to cause this or move God to do it that it can be said “by grace you have been saved.” What does God do this? Is it because the sinner comes up with faith and fulfilled a condition? No, it is that He may show the surpassing riches of His grace in Christ Jesus. How do we know that it was because of grace alone and not because of faith? It is because the text (v. 8) gives us the reason (“for”). Dead sinners are raised to life and will be trophies and receptacles of grace for eternity because it is by grace that they have been saved. The whole of salvation (the broader principle of salvation) is that it is all of grace and nothing but grace. This grace comes through faith, but even that is the gift of God. It is absurd to say that the text is not speaking of faith but of grace when it says “and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God.” Of course grace is not of man and of course grace is a gift and can be from nothing else. The text also goes on to show that both grace and faith are not the result of works in order that no one would boast.
Once again the text is quite black and white though many try to muddy the waters. If faith is not of grace, then faith is a work of the will of man and of the flesh of man. But whatever the text is speaking of (grace or faith or both) it says that it is not the result of works. So faith cannot be of the human will and must be a gift of God. This is necessary to make sense of this text and is necessary for salvation to be by grace alone. If it is of works (or of one work) then grace is no longer grace (Rom 11:6). Those who preach and teach in a way that makes salvation out to be by works or by a work of the human will are not preaching and teaching a Gospel of grace alone. Doing that is to teach a salvation of works and is to fall from grace. Those who teach a so-called gospel of works hiding it under the words “faith alone” and “grace alone” are very deceptive and are very dangerous in terms of the true Gospel. They are worse than those who openly teach a Gospel that is by works.
God Loves... Himself 
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