Charles H. Spurgeon defined faith as an "immediate relation to Christ, accepting, receiving, and resting upon him alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life, by virtue of the covenant of grace."
You receive Christ believing in him (John 1:11-12). You come to Christ by faith, through the Spirit of grace working in your heart. The Spirit of God leads you to confess that Jesus is Lord (1 Corinthians 12:3).
You receive eternal life as the gift of God in Christ (Romans 6:23). Eternal life is a personal relationship with the eternal God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (John 17:3). It is fellowship or communion with God (1 John 1:7). Believing is receiving Christ in a covenant relationship with God (Hebrews 13:20-21).
You receive Christ by God's grace (Ephesians 2:8-10). Christ works in you and through you, to the praise of God's glorious grace (Ephesians 1:6). It is not what you do for Christ, but what He has done for you, and continues to do in you (Philippians 1:6). Faith is resting in Christ by grace alone, to do in you what you could never do alone.
You receive Christ through the gospel, according to the Scripture (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Faith in Christ comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17). Faith receives Christ, who died for your sins. He is risen from the dead to give you eternal life.
