Something from ... Augustine re: Faith and Grace

          Something from Augustine, Bishop of Hippo  (November 13, 254 - August 28, 430), regarding faith and grace.  St. Paul wrote that faith is "not of yourselves, it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8-9).  Augustine highlights this, reminding every Christian that salvation is completely God's work.  Even the faith, which we often call our own, is God's doing and God's gift.

“His last clause runs thus: I have kept the faith.  But he who says this is the same who declares in another passage, I have obtained mercy that I might be faithful. 1 Corinthians 7:25  He does not say, I obtained mercy because I was faithful, but in order that I might be faithful, thus showing that even faith itself cannot be had without God's mercy, and that it is the gift of God.” (Augustine, Selections from “On Grace and Free Will,” chapter 17)