Philippians 2:8 says, “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” but what does that really mean? We were sinners saved by grace. You were by Old Covenant standards in breach of contract, which was punishable by death, and were saved from that death sentence only through the favor that comes through being a child of God, in the form of an optional grace clause exercised – if, and only if, you received Jesus as your Lord and King, were adopted by God the Father and expressed some form of genuine repentence.
Grace or a grace clause is only exercisable within a breached contract and is only designed to allow the repentant perpetrator of said breach to re-enter the contract and move forward as if the contract had never been breached.
Your being in breach made you “unrighteous” and caused you to have a bad reputation, which made things hard for you. Whereas after God adopted you, you no longer had to depend upon your own reputation or credibility since you could now start anew under your new family name.
This gave you a fresh record, freedom and access to many benefits but it also came with responsibilities. Now every time you breach a contract, covenant, agreement, pact, promise or relationship, it not only reflects on you, but also on Father God, King Jesus and all the rest of your brothers and sisters in the family of God.
Good faith came when we heard the good news of what Jesus provided us in the form of an offer or new contract to supercede the old contract in which we were in breach.
Before we ever heard this good news we were still at least somewhat justified by our ignorance. But once someone has heard the good news and rejects it and thereby rejects the King who offered it, their breach become compounded and there no longer remained any credible justification to protect them from the death sentence of their breach.
The faith that it takes to please God is not your religion, it’s not your denomination, it’s not your doctrine, catechism or personal set of beliefs. The faith that pleases God, that is to say the God kind of faith, is what the secular world refers to as good faith. And the acting upon that good faith refers to trusting God’s Word and coming into agreement with Him by giving and keeping your word in good faith.