April 2024: Faith

Growing Strong in Faith 

Growth is a normal expectation.  We expect children to grow physically, emotionally, and cognitively.  We expect healthy relationships to grow from one degree to another.  We want our money to grow for retirement and vacations.  We not only expect plants to grow, but we also want to grow in various ways and areas of life.  And summarily, most consider it problematic if there is no growth.  And yet spiritually, too often, believers are inattentive to, or unaware of, what it means to grow in faith.  Too many believers receive Christ and presume that faith for salvation alone is enough for an entire life in Christ.

In reality, however, “the just shall live by faith”! (Romans 1:17)  As fish live by remaining in water and humanity lives by oxygen, those who belong to the Lord live by faith, not factual information or feelings but with confidence in God’s promises, inclination towards God’s ways, and with actions that reflect the same regardless of circumstance.  Hence, faith is not a fixed entity but a growing, ever-evolving capacity to believe.  And, like any living organism, if it is not growing, it is dying.  This is why growing our faith cannot be a passive endeavor but rather an intentional nurturing of the measure (Romans 12:3) we have each received.  And, while each believer has the same starting point, the process to grow strong in faith is in hearing and responding to what God has said.

Scripture points to different levels or measures of faith, saying that without faith you cannot please God (Hebrews 11:6); without works, faith is dead (James 2:14-26); and, those who worry about basic provisions have little faith (Matthew 6:30); while plenty of examples are offered of those with great faith.  And, it is from those examples that we can learn how to grow our own faith.  For instance, Matthew 13:58 says that Jesus could not do many works in a certain city because of their unbelief; however, His response was not to leave them in that state but to teach them. (Mark 6:5-7)  When sea waters roared, the disciples were afraid, (Matthew 8:26) but Jesus didn’t coddle any of them, instead, He called their faith little and challenged their doubt.  Personally, I marvel that Peter got out of the boat to walk on stormy water! (Matthew 14:29-30)  It seems like strong faith to me, yet Jesus asked Peter why he doubted after beginning to sink and called his faith, little. 

In converse, Jesus called the faith of the woman who came to Him for her daughter’s healing great! (Matthew 15:28) He seems to credit her confidence and persistence.  The same is true with the centurion who asked Jesus to heal his servant by speaking a word only. (Luke 7:9) Jesus marveled and commended his great faith.  Likewise, the men who lowered their paralytic friend through a rooftop to gain access to Jesus were said to be strong in faith.  And, we’re told that Abraham never wavered at the promise of God through unbelief—despite obstacles related to age, barrenness, and what many would call long delay, he instead gave glory to God, making him strong in faith too.

These are examples to learn from when identifying where we are and how we can begin to grow our own faith.  And, based upon Romans 10:17, “hearing” grows faith!  It reads, “So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” It’s the beginning of a process based upon v 14, where we who believe first heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and in hearing, our faith grew enough to place trust in the unseen, hope in the intangible, and confidence in a promise for eternal life through Jesus Christ alone.  We each heard a message of Truth, and it was in hearing that we set an expectation that “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord;” (2 Corinthians 5:6-8) that though this “outward man is wasting away, the inward man is being renewed day by day;” (2 Corinthians 4:16) and that there is a second coming for the bride of Christ, where a new heaven and a new earth is to unfold.  We have a living hope because we exercised our faith!  “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:10)

Thus, our decision to believe God, that is, to live by faith is more than a cerebral decision to hope in tomorrow, but it is also a daily and concerted dedication to the Word of God that spurs action; a response of illogical obedience, wide-eyed expectation, and bold expressions of confidence where we say and do what is written in Scripture even when life contradicts God’s promise or feelings outweigh the conviction of what is written.  The decision to move away from dependence and reliance on a seen world to an unseen is what it means to grow faith, and because the transition from little to strong faith can be challenging, it means that every believer must honestly assess and consciously choose to believe what the world would call unbelievable and our flesh could consider as impractical.

All of the promises of God are received by faith!  Therefore, we must hear the Word of God, and like the mother whose daughter was healed, or the friends of the paralytic man, we too must ignore barriers and replace head doubt with a continual boast in Jesus’ ability to do all things!  After all, that is child-like faith, to believe from the heart, credulous to any promise made, and impetuous along the way; thus, we follow directions and speak to mountains and trees (those difficult situations and disparaging issues), showcasing “mustard seed” faith, just as Jesus taught!  We live as if God is alive and so imitate Abraham who gave glory to God despite appearances.  We get out of the boat like Peter, keeping our eyes off of boisterous winds, a metaphor for problems, lest we too begin to sink.  Hence, we grow strong in faith by staying focused on the promise and the promise-Keeper!

It’s called being steadfast, when we have not lost expectation from what is written.  It’s called being faithful, when we adhere to God’s Word, avoiding opportunities to complain and instead offering sacrifices of joy (Psalm 27:6), righteousness (Psalm 4:5), and worship akin to Abraham.  It’s called being assured when we profess boldly the word of life, resisting temptations to doubt or second-guess Truth.  It’s called being strong when we fight the good fight of faith, giving precedence to His Word even when trials make faint.  From faith to faith, we are strengthened by holding fast to our confession of hope without wavering because He who promised is faithful.  From faith to faith, we please our Father as doers of His Word, true followers of Christ, and citizens of a different but greater kingdom.  From faith to faith, the righteousness of God is revealed through the Gospel of Jesus Christ which makes all things possible when we truly believe!

Thus, as Christians, we must grow strong and be stronger still in faith.

- Pastor Qwynn Gross