Have you ever been explaining the gospel to someone who (like most people) believe that if you are a good person, then God will welcome you into heaven? Typically the conversation focuses on you explaining how good deeds do not merit eternal life, and how the gift of eternal life is just that... a gift, not by works. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

After going over this, have they ever asked "Well, isn't believing something I do that merits the gift of eternal life?" You may try to explain that believing is not a work, but is a condition. However, they will not be satisfied with this answer since you still have to do something to receive eternal life, and if you do something to receive a gift, then you've earned or merited that gift by your doing/believing. They fail to see the difference between this and what they naturally believe to be right.

Going back to Ephesians 2:8-10, the biblical answer is to say that we are saved by grace through faith, and this is not of ourselves. Bug what is not of ourselves? All of it! Salvation by grace through faith is not by our doing but is the gift of God so that no one can boast! Faith is included in that gift; salvation is truly a gift since we do not merit it ourselves in any way, including belief. Of course belief is necessary but it is not something that comes from us, it is a gift from God.

This leads to the question "But what if God won't give me the gift of faith?" or "If he is going to give people the gift of faith, then I'm just gonna keep doing what I'm doing since God decides if I get the gift."

Let's look at each of these concerns.

"What if God doesn't give me the gift of faith?"

I'll start with an illustration. Say you want to ask someone out to dinner, but you think to yourself "what if they say no?" Now you would be a fool never to ask because of your "what if" question, you need to ask!

Similarily, we do not know the mind of God or all the details for His plan for the ages, including who will and who will not be saved. What we do know is that if we seek God, and seek the truth, we will find it. So what should we do? Seek Him! And if we do that, we know that God was working since the natural man does not seek after God. Also, Jesus said "Come to me, and I will give you eternal life." So what should we do? Come to Him! If we do that we know God was working since no one can come to Jesus unless God draws them. (John 6:44)

So, don't ask "what if" but instead seek the truth, seek Jesus the Christ and come to Him.

"If he is going to give people the gift of faith, then why do anything now?"

The response to this is similar to above. Those who seek will find, those who come will be given eternal life. If we do nothing, then we will not recieve the gift since it is only for those who seek and come to Jesus Christ. It still boils down to the fact that we do not fully know the mind of God concerning us, but what we do know is that He tells us to seek Him and come to Christ.

Our responsibility is to turn to God just as we are, realizing that we offer nothing. We can count on the promise of Christ who said that whoever comes to Him, He will not turn away (John 6:37), and no one will be able to take you out of His hand! (John 10:28)