On the Predestination of the Saints by Augustine of Hippo. Short summary

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In the work, Augustine discusses what Faith is and proves that Faith is the gift of God. God chooses whom to give it to. Without Faith there is no salvation of the soul.

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The treatise begins with an explanation of grace: «the grace of the Lord is not at all such if it is given according to what is deserved.

The author identifies three basic tenets:

Because of the sin committed by Adam, man comes into the world guilty.

No one is freed from original evil except by the holiness of the Savior.

Man’s will is preceded by the grace of the Lord to do every good work.

The author proves that faith is a gift of God. The human mind is incapable of believing on its own, for faith is entirely a gift of the Lord. God Himself must choose whom He will give faith and whom He will save. It follows that election is not conditioned on anything that God could have predetermined in human nature.

Faith is a necessary condition for the salvation of the soul. Therefore, the plea for salvation includes a request for the gift of faith. Appeals to unbelievers, however, according to the author, are not enough: our appeals to human souls are powerless if we do not ask the Lord for our words to lead to faith.