Faith is one of the virtues of the fruit of the Spirit. When we speak of faith, we are not simply talking about the ability to believe something. Faith is that God-given attribute that is able to lay hold on eternal things.
Faith is always seen as evidence, never the cause of eternal life. Since faith is a fruit of the Spirit, the Spirit must be present before faith can be exercised. Just as it is true in the natural realm, so too in the Spiritual realm, life must precede action. Believing something to be true does not make the thing to be true. Faith is the means whereby our hearts testify to the spiritual life within. Every person born of the Spirit of God has been given the faith required to seek God. It is the purpose of the gospel to draw that faith out, not to produce faith. The gospel brings life and immortality to light, giving our faith something to lay hold upon, revealing to us the Author and Finisher of our faith.
Throughout Scripture, when faith is manifest in an individual, it is always regarded as the evidence of spiritual life, evidence of the new birth, and evidence of a justified state. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Nothing within the corrupt nature of man can please God. Without faith being given to us in the new birth, we can neither receive nor believe spiritual things, such as the gospel message. Before the gospel can have an affect on a person, that person must be born again by the sovereign work of God, giving that person spiritual life and faith.
