Is believing the role of man in John 3:16? Is believing not by Holy Spirit work?

Question

Is believing a work for salvation but human? When people say or preach to believe does that means our work for salvation? People say that to have faith in God is also by Holy Spirit that works on us. Will the only elected One by Holy Spirit believe in Jesus? Is it contradicting? When Jesus say to believe in Him, does meant not to everyone by our own will?

Answer 1

[Jhn 6:28-29 ESV] Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."

They ask him what work they must do: He tells them that God does the work, causing us to believe.

[Eph 2:8-9 ESV] For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. [Jhn 1:12-13 ESV] 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Answer 2

Jesus clearly stated that some would believe in him and so walk in the light, having believing faith, and others would not believe in him and so continue walking in the dark of unbelief. That's just a few verses further on.

Then Jesus adds something significant about the idea of deeds and work. Here are the verses following 16 that help answer the question:

"He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." John 3:18-21 A.V.

For 'deeds', read 'works'. For 'wrought', read 'through', and the answer is clear. Works that are done by those who come to the light of Christ are done through God.

And believing faith is a gift given by God - "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9

And how does God bestow that gift? Through the word of God being preached and heard, after which a person may believe as "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." - Romans 10:17

And when it is the word of Christ that is preached, then we can understand why the Bible also says that Jesus "is the author and finisher of our faith." - Hebrews 6:1

It further says that believers are to think humbly of themselves, "according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith." - Romans 12:3

Yes, those who are to be saved are called to believe in Christ. But the Bible is clear that even that is wrought in us by God, who apportions the measure of faith he will gift us with. And, yes, also, this is accomplished by the invisible working of the Holy Spirit in sinners (2 Corinthians 3:17), bringing them to repentance before the one who died for them. Only then can they put faith in Christ as their Saviour and their Lord.

Answer 3

Is believing the role of man in John 3:16? Is believing not by Holy Spirit work?

John 3:16 says,

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

This clearly says that belief plays a role in salvation.

Is believing a work for salvation but human?

Ephesians 2:8-9 says:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Salvation is the deliverance of human beings from the consequences of sin, which include death and separation from God. This salvation is made available by Christ’s death and resurrection.

What we see in this verse is that salvation is a gift from God and cannot be earned by human effort.

When people say or preach to believe, does that mean our work for salvation?

When people preach about belief, they are often referring to faith in Jesus Christ as the path to salvation. Belief is not the salvation itself. If our belief saved us then it could indeed be argued to be a work of man. Salvation is a gift from God, not a result of human effort. We are not saved by faith or belief. We are saved by grace through faith.

“Our faith will always have flaws in this life, but God saves us based on Jesus’ perfection, not our own.” – John Piper.

People say that to have faith in God is also by the Holy Spirit that works on us.

Romans 10:17 says:

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

It has been argued:

...the act of saving faith must involve the free response of the human will to the Holy Spirit’s conviction and drawing. This understanding does not make saving faith a work that we perform, as our Reformed brethren allege... Paul consistently opposes faith to works; he does not think of faith as a kind of meritorious work. The Christian philosopher Eleanore Stump has given a good account of the relationship between human free will and the work of the Holy Spirit in producing saving faith. On her account faith is not even a positive act of our will to accept God’s grace in response to the convicting and drawing of the Holy Spirit. Rather it is the purely negative act of ceasing to resist the Holy Spirit and so allowing Him to produce saving faith in our hearts. On this view saving faith is wrought by God, a gift of the Holy Spirit, but it is not something that overrides human free will. [1]

Will the only elected One by Holy Spirit believe in Jesus? Is it contradicting?

I don't think it can be argued that election for those who are saved isn't biblical truth.

John 6:44 says:

No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

Also see Romans 8:28-30 and Ephesians 1:4-5.

Now, the method and process by which God selects people who will be saved is up for debate. Many have wrestled with the idea of the mutual existence of God's sovereignty and human volition.

What we do know is that salvation is made available to all:

Titus 2:11

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,

When Jesus says to believe in Him, does it mean not to everyone by our own will?

2 Peter 3:9 says:

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

Jesus invites all people to believe in Him. It is an invitation open to everyone. However, the decision to accept this invitation and believe in Jesus is a choice. It ultimately involves the individual’s will.

Answer 4

Believing is not a "work". It is not something one could boast about. It is both of our own free will and also a gift "according to the foreknowledge of God".

1 Peter 1:2

Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

Romans 8:29

For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Essentially, God allows those who will believe to believe.