If Almighty God controls the outcome of all things – past, present, and future, and if he knows all things and there is nothing he cannot do, why didn’t he create mankind as righteous and holy beings, thereby eliminating the need for a savior, bypassing the human experience, and creating God’s people in Heaven from the beginning? Why was mankind created innocent, then allowed to fall into sin, requiring salvation by faith in Jesus Christ, or be doomed to perish in Hell? What might be the reason for the operation of redemption by faith?  

God’s Objective

It is helpful to know God’s objective for humanity as we seek the answer to this question. God tells us clearly what he wants – a people fit to be his adopted children, the brethren of his Son, who love him with all their heart, mind, and soul; who are worthy of a relationship with him, of ruling with him, and of being conformed to the holy qualities of his Son. God desires a people for his own possession. ^{Romans 8:29, Colossians 1:12-13, Matthew 22:37-38, Titus 2:14}

 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; For you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. ^{1st Peter 2:9-10}

Made in the Image of God

To achieve his objective of cultivating a people fit to be his children, a “royal priesthood”, a “holy nation” to rule with him, ^{2nd Timothy 2:12} God created mankind in his own image, that is, with the attributes of personhood. ^{Genesis 1:27} These attributes, which set humans apart from animals, include conscience, intellect, reasoning ability, conversational skill, the capacity to grasp abstract concepts, and profound emotions.

Most consequential, personhood also includes self-determination or free will – the capacity to act on one’s desires and to function as individuals with personal agency, meaning the power and freedom to make choices. ^{Genesis 2:16-17} It’s obvious why God bestowed free will upon humanity – only those who believe, love, and serve God of their own volition can participate in a sincere, genuine relationship with him. Without free will, professions of faith, love, devotion, worship, gratitude, and service lack any merit at all. Slaves do not work in the fields out of love.

The Risk of Free Will Realized

Tragically and predictably, with the freedom to choose obedience or disobedience, humanity instantly went off the rails. Eve believed Satan’s lies, defied her creator, and took a bite of the apple to become enlightened, but also cursed. Adam followed suit, hilariously blaming Eve and then God for giving him Eve. Eve blamed the snake. ^{Genesis 3:6-13}

Since mankind was ejected from the paradise of Eden to toil in the dust from which he had come, he has understood good and evil, experienced pain and death, and exists as inherently unrighteous creatures from generation to generation. In this wretched condition, it was no surprise that humanity’s firstborn son turned out to be a murderer, killing his brother in a jealous rage. ^{Genesis 4:8-10}

God clearly tells us that perfect righteousness is his standard, and the penalty for falling short of that (to have committed any sin, at any time) is separation from himself and an eternity of punishment in the fire of Hell. Thousands of years later, the status of mankind remains unchanged – none righteous, all deserving hell.

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; ^{Romans 3:23}

Rescue by Substitutionary Atonement

An unrighteous man, by his own effort and merit, is incapable of meeting God’s requirement of perfect righteousness. ^{Romans 3:10-12} God could have written humanity off and almost did when he killed everyone on earth except for 8 souls. ^{Genesis 6:5-21} But to salvage an unholy race, he provided a means of rescue from alienation and the terrible punishment for sin through the doctrine of substitutionary atonement, in which an innocent life is sacrificed to atone for the sins of a guilty one. For about 1,400 years after the exodus from Egyptian captivity, the Jews slaughtered untold numbers of animals under the sacrificial system prescribed by God, a symbolic, temporary covering for sins and an acknowledgment that atonement for sin requires death. This bloody liturgy did not bring salvation to the Jews but foreshadowed the final, perfect sacrifice of the Son of God, which would permanently take away the sins of the world. ^{2nd Corinthians 5:21; 1st Peter 2:24}

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. ^{Romans 6:23}

From the Slaughter of Farm Animals to Faith

Escape from the penalty of sin, reconciliation to, and peace with God, is not found in slitting the throats of lambs or calves, nor in anything a man does in his life, but God has made the efficacy of substitutional atonement an operation of Faith. ^{Ephesians 2:8-9}

Faith is a firm conviction that what God tells you is true, and then living accordingly. Faith is belief in things that are unseen, spiritual things. It is on one’s faith that Jesus is God, crucified in substitutional atonement for your sins, and raised from the dead, that salvation and reconciliation with God rest.

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. ^{Romans 10:9-11}

Why Faith?

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ^{Hebrews 11:1}

It is interesting that man’s eternal destiny is determined by the intangible attribute of faith, namely, the belief that the words of a God we cannot see, hear, or touch are true. I would submit that faith, rather than human effort, is the chosen measure because it is the perfect element that bears witness to a heart, soul, and mind that genuinely loves God. Because saving faith occurs involuntarily, it is never spurious or inauthentic. It attests to and confirms a humble, receptive, and transformed heart. Faith cannot be conjured; it is either present or not. It is a gift from God.

Those whose fertile hearts receive, believe, and submit to the good news of Jesus Christ of their own accord are, by the grace of God, imputed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and the penalty for their sin is laid on him. They are deemed righteous in the eyes of God and are now qualified by his mercy and grace to be his people. 

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast. ^{Ephesians 2:8-9}

The Answer

We can therefore surmise that the reason for the operation of redemption by faith is that salvation is required for the unrighteous to populate his kingdom with a chosen, holy people who love, worship, and serve him of their own accord. The following 5 points taken together support the reason for the operation of salvation by faith:

• Free will is required for a voluntary, genuine relationship of love, worship, and gratitude toward God^{.  Joshua 24:15}

• With free will, mankind is incapable of resisting all that is in the secular world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; that is, mankind is unable to resist sin. ^{1 John 2:16}

• Rescue from the terrible penalty for sin is provided by the work of Jesus on the cross. Access to that substitutional atonement is by faith that Jesus Christ is who he claimed to be. ^{Romans 6:23}

• It is faith, not works or effort, that measures the condition of one’s heart. It is through faith that, by the mercy of God, we are saved. ^{Ephesians 2:8-9}

• The purpose of this program is to cultivate a people qualified to be God’s adopted children from an unrighteous, unworthy populace. ^{John 1:12; Romans 8:14-17; 1st Corinthians 6:9-11; Galatians 3:26; Galatians 4:4-7}

This program of salvation by faith was planned by God, including the crucifixion of his Son. It is his sovereign will.

The Impact on Those with Faith

Those who place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, with an eternal future secure, live their mortal lives in anticipation of glorification, when they will enter Heaven and live in the presence of their loving Father for eternity. We look forward to the time when faith is over, and sin, with its awful consequences, is eradicated from our lives.

Until then, Christians respond to their high calling by enduring, persevering, and maturing in faith during their time here on earth. With priorities, attitudes, and conduct transformed by the Holy Spirit of God, we joyfully live in obedience to God and in service to our fellow man, always ready to give an answer for the hope we have, that is, to tell others of our salvation and the blessings of our reconciliation with God, in the hope that they respond to the revelation and find salvation in Jesus Christ.

Because of our standing, we do not fear man. We endure trials with calm joy, ^{James 1:2-4} because the suffering in this world is insignificant compared to the joy in store for us, ^{Romans 8:18} we do not fear death, as our mortal fate is in God’s loving hands, and our lives have transcendent meaning and purpose as we strive to please God in all we do. We do not fear the world; instead, we fear God. ^{Matthew 10:28}

The operation of salvation by faith is God’s sieve to separate the wheat from the chaff, to confirm those fit to be his people. The chosen few, who understand the terrible fate we were saved from, and the incomprehensible inheritance we were saved for, are grateful to tears and unending devotion.

 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye t love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. ^{1st Peter 1:6-9}

A Scarce and Precious Commodity

Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it. ^{Matthew 7:13-14}

Though available to everyone, saving faith is relatively uncommon. Most will not find the narrow gate, as the impediments to faith are so overwhelming that it is indeed a miracle when someone comes to know Jesus Christ. Pride, self-sufficiency, a hardened heart wallowing in sin, intellectual enlightenment, our culture’s rejection of God, and the nonsense of contrived traditions, ridiculous liturgy, corruption, and false doctrines of organized religion conspire to lead souls away from Christ. Given mankind’s freedom, the abundant opportunity for sin, and the strong appeal of the world’s fleeting enticements, it is no surprise that most souls end up in Hell. The consequences of this for the majority of mankind are catastrophic.