On his website, Arminian Perspectives, Ben Henshaw has a questions page at which he answers questions about Arminianism and Calvinism that visitors to his site pose in the comment section of the page. Here is a revision of question from a man named Yochanan followed by a revision of Ben’s answer:
Question: In Ephesians 2:8-9, is the gift of God referring to salvation or faith? To me it makes a big difference. Faith, I believe is given to everyone to answer our God-given “conscience, which either accuses or excuses our thinking and actions.”
Answer: It is generally held that the grammar doesn’t really fit the idea that the “gift” is faith. However, it could refer to the whole economy of salvation by grace through grace. There is some debate on those issues. Still, given the context, it seems that the gift most likely refers to salvation, and it is highly unlikely, given the grammar and context, that faith can be considered the “gift.”
As an Arminian, it really doesn’t matter if the gift is faith since Arminians do believe that faith is a gift from God in the sense that no one could believe if God didn’t first enable a faith response. That is what we call prevenient grace — the grace that precedes and makes faith possible. In that case, to receive the gift of faith would simply be to believe as God enables us. The key difference is that the Arminian sees this enabling as resistible. God makes faith possible, but we can resist God’s working and continue in unbelief.
