59. What is saving faith?

Jesus said, ‘And I the Messiah came to save the lost’ (Matthew 18:11). Jesus is also recorded in John 12 v 47 as saying ‘I will not judge those who hear me but do not obey me, for I came to save the world and not to judge it’. God is concerned for all his creation, and wants everyone to come to the knowledge of His saving grace. ‘Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law’ (Romans 3:28). Faith pleases God, and we have all been given faith even if it is as small as a mustard seed. Paul said in Galatians 2 verse 19, ‘For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God”. “So faith comes from hearing that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.’ (Romans 10:17).