Through Faith - Equals Faith Being Utilized to Accomplish a Goal

False teachers attack truth by redefining the meaning of words. Many times in scripture the statement is made that salvation is "through faith." Often the Greek preposition "dia" which means "by means of" or "by reason of" when used to indicate instrumentality, is nullified by a non-literal corruption rather than literal interpretation.

If individuals were chosen for salvation unconditionally, then salvation would not be "through faith."

Thus when you see "through faith" (or by faith) some non-literal expositors claim the meaning is by reason of gifted and instilled faith due to individual election before creation via irresistible grace.

However that gross addition to scripture, based purely on the speculation of people, is not how scripture actually reads.

And this repeated rewriting of scripture violates at least two Baptist distinctives, in that the view does not adhere to a literal interpretation, and that individual soul liberty to believe or not in Christ is denied.

Here are some of the verses that liberals rewrite via interpretation:
Romans 3:25
Galatians 3:14
Galatians 3:26
Ephesians 2:8
Colossians 2:12

Romans 3:25 NASB1995
whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;

God displayed Christ, high and lifted up on the Cross, as the means of salvation because of His life blood sacrifice. The means of obtaining that salvation is by reason of our faith in Christ, if credited by God as righteousness. Thus Christ provides the means of salvation through (dia) faith. Since faith is utilized in obtaining salvation, our faith must pre-exist our salvation, rather than the bogus rewrite that our faith is instilled after salvation.

Galatians 3:14 (NASB)
in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

First this verse says in order that we gain entry into Christ, that entry is "through or by reason of" faith. Next, entry, whether of a Jew or Gentile, results in receiving the Holy Spirit, for we are "sealed" in Christ with the Holy Spirit, as a pledge to our future bodily redemption. And finally, this blessing was promised to Abraham and his descendants. We become a descendant of Abraham through faith.

Galatians 3:26
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

How did we become children of God? Through or by reason of faith in Christ Jesus.

Once again non-literal interpreters would rewrite the verse to say we became children of God and then were given faith. Not how it reads...

Ephesians 2 :8
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this salvation not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

Once again we are saved by means of God crediting our faith in Christ as righteousness, thus our faith is utilized by God in bestowing salvation upon those of His choosing.

Colossians 2:12
having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

Finally we see not only that our salvation is through or is based on God crediting our faith as righteousness, but that at least a part of our faith was that God raised Christ from the dead.

 

Romans 4:13 NASB
For the promise to Abraham or to his seed that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.

Here we have several ambiguous phrases that might misled if not studied carefully and prayerfully.

1) Which promise to Abraham or his seed (Jesus?) indicated he (or He) would be heir of the world?

2) What does it mean to be "heir of the world?"

3) What is "the righteousness of faith?"

 

Abraham's seed could refer to his entire collective blood-line descendant. But we can rule out this view because not all of them were saved. The seed could refer to Christ, the promised Messiah, who will rule from David's throne. Or, to those God transfers into Christ spiritually, becoming the "world" (humanity) inherited (given) to Christ.

I come down on the side of the view, that all the born anew believers are the seed of Abraham, and Christ is the heir of (this) world.

 

I disagree with those who claim the "righteousness of faith" refers to an individual being made righteous by the washing of regeneration. Rather I think this refers to our righteous faith once credited as such by God.

Interpretive translation:
The promise to Abraham's seed, believers and Christ Jesus, that He would be heir of the born anew creation was not through the Law given to Moses, but through faith credited as righteousness.