“You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” (James 2:19 ESV) As R.C. Sproul has said, “Faith isn’t believing IN God, faith is believing God” (paraphrase). Faith is believing what God has said and done in history, written in Scripture for our salvation. As Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1 ESV) In true, real faith, there is an assured, hopeful, anticipatory rest in the promises of God. And this faith is a God-wrought work. A faith of our own making will not last, because you struggle in your own power to maintain your conviction. This cannot stand in the wake of the world’s belief systems. You need God to give you new life, to be born again, in which He grants this very divine faith that is of God, not yourself.
Ultimately, the promises of God have been fulfilled in history and will be brought to completion in the completed, finished work of Christ at His return; His perfect life lived, His perfect sacrificial death for us, and His resurrection, all for His glory and the salvation of His people. We wait, in faith, for His Day when He returns to consumate His Kingdom and bring judgment on His enemies. He is the King of kings, the Master of masters, who fulfills all in all. “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36 ESV) What a joy and hope of salvation! And He imparts the faith necessary to be saved, the faith that holds these promises in assured hope. He receives all the glory and His people get to participate in His glory for all eternity!