Reply to Allinall
Jesus is the Author (meaning originator) and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).
The only ones who believe are those whom God grants the gift of faith (Phi 1:29), who God chooses to believe truth (2 The 2:13), who God calls, both from the Gentiles and Jews (1 Cor 1:23-24), who God appoints to eternal life (Acts 13:48), those whom the Father draws (John 6:44), etc.
That should be enough.
Dave
Thanks for sharing what you believe provides the biblical support for the "gift of faith."
My version of Hebrews 12:2 does not read, "...author and finisher (perfecter) of our faith." It reads, "...author and perfecter of faith." God created us with the capacity to trust in what we believe is the truth, and God provided through Christ, the message of the truth, the gospel of Christ. That makes God the author and perfecter of faith. So based on my understanding of this verse, it provides no support whatsoever for the "gift of faith."
The ESV, the HCSB, the NET and the NKJV adds "our" to the text, but it is not found in the Greek. The NASB, the NIV, YLT, Darby, and Wycliffe do not add "our."
My version of Philippians 1:29 does not read, "...The only ones who believe are those whom God grants the gift of faith." It reads, "For to you [Philippian believers] it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake." What this says is God did not preclude the Philippians from believing, He did not harden their hearts, and it also says He did not intervene and protect them from suffering for Christ's sake, He allowed it. So based on my understanding of the verse, it provides no support whatsoever for the gift of faith.
My version of 2 Thessalonians 2:13 does not read, "who God chooses to believe truth." It reads, ...,"because God has chosen you from the beginning [or as firstfruit] for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth." Thus it says God chose you based on faith in the truth, rather than to give you faith in the truth. So based on my understanding of the verse, it provides no support whatsoever for the gift of faith.
1 Corinthians 1:26-30 says God chooses ...things of this world, which puts the order, as being called, then being chosen. So God chooses those who respond to the call by trusting in Christ as determined by God who credits or not, our faith in Christ as righteousness, Romans 4:4-5.
Acts 13:48 does not say God appoints people so they believe. The word translated appointed mean an agreement by mutual consent, thus God, through Paul, laid out the requirement, and the Gentiles agreed, and therefore as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. They took Paul's direction to eternal life which required them to trust in Christ.
So no support for the gift of faith yet again.
And finally, God does not necessarily give to Christ everyone He draws with lovingkindness. Only those who have both understood and learned from the Father are given, and so the second and third soils of Matthew 13 understood but did not learn as required by God, and so were not given.
At the end of the day, there is no support in scripture for the so called "gift of pre-salvation faith."