FAITH
The Greek word (pis'-tis) which is rendered “faith”, denotes total unconditional commitment or trust. Faith is the reliance and confidence in what God has said in His word and is not dependent on what is perceived with ones natural senses. For we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7) It is the spiritual intelligence of God conveyed as a gift to the living spirits of His elect, enabling them to comprehend and thus communicate the things that are eternal and unseen (2 Corinthians 4:18). It is the vehicle by which one is able to acknowledge the truth of the gospel, that Jesus Christ paid the debt of sin and has eradicated the penalty and curse of sin through His shed blood on the cross. This conveyance of faith is limited to those whom God has chosen in eternity to convey it to. For all do not possess faith, only those who are chosen to believe will accept the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ death, burial and resurrection. Those who are not chosen will not (II Thessalonians 3:2; II Timothy 3:8).
Faith is the mechanism by which the gift of salvation is granted. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9). This verse is better understood examining the verse from the Greek text, which is rendered "The gift of God, and this not out of you, you are, having been saved by grace through the faithfulness, not out of works, that no one may boast." It was the faithful accomplishments of Jesus Christ’s work on behalf of the elect which has wrought our deliverance. It is in this light that we understand that we are justified by faith alone, or freely, or by faith without works. Accordingly, the assurance of one’s salvation is actually invested in the merits of the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.