READING TIME: 1 MINUTE
Sept 10, 2019
David, does Acts 3:16 teach that faith is a gift?
MacArthur says that the phrase “faith which comes through Him” means that faith is a divine gift. However, in the first part of this verse faith is how the healing took place, and “in His name” stresses the object (God) of that faith. The latter half of the passage is repetitious to rule out anything magical about the source of the healing. The man’s faith in Peter’s words resulted in healing through Jesus. “Such faith was possible through Jesus: the proclamation of his power made it possible for people to believe.” Therefore, nothing in Acts 3:16 supports the gift-of-faith view.
For information from MacArthur’s books that faith is a gift, see The Gospel according to Jesus (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1988), 33, 173 and Faith Works: The Gospel according to the Apostles (Dallas: Word, 1993), 69.
Source Used
Lopez, René A. “Is Faith a Gift from God or a Human Exercise?” Bibliotheca Sacra 164 (July-September 2007): 259-276.