God loves all people. Jesus died for all people. God’s verdict of “not-guilty” stands for all people.

But not all people are going to heaven.

For a person to go to heaven, he must be brought by the Holy Spirit to repentance and trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15). This grasping of Christ’s completed work through faith we call subjective justification or personal justification.

But what is faith? Saving faith is not mere knowledge of facts. Satan and his demons know all the facts about Jesus and his completed salvation. The apostle James says, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder” (James 2:19).

Faith begins with genuine sorrow over sins. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51:17).

Faith is implicit trust in the promises and actions of God. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). “The one who trusts in him will never be put to shame” (1 Peter 2:6).

Faith lays hold of the completed work of Christ for comfort and the certainty of salvation. “Whoever believes in him is not condemned” (John 3:18). “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1).

Faith is not the product of human reason, intellect, or will. Faith is a gift from our gracious God: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8,9). Yet, while faith does not start as an act of will on our part, it engages and involves a believer’s mind, assent, and will.

The Holy Spirit works faith, without any cooperation on our part. “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3). “It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy” (Romans 9:16).

Faith is produced in human hearts by the Spirit working through his instrument or means of grace. This instrument is the gospel, coming to us verbally in the spoken and written Word of God and both verbally and tangibly in the sacraments. “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17).