GROWING IN THE FAITH

     In examining faith, it becomes clear that there are varying degrees of faith. Mark records Jesus as having accused the apostles of having no faith. When the apostles were crossing the sea a great storm arose while Jesus was sleeping in the stern of the ship. When the disciples awoke Him in fear for their lives and questioned His lack of concern for their lives He said:

      "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" (Mark 4:40).

     You know the rest of the story. Jesus clams the sea and the disciples are left standing in awe of what has just happened. Jesus was often recorded to have said to His disciples, “O’ ye of little faith.” When Jesus criticized those who suffered anxiety by worrying about getting food and clothes He said,

     “Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little       faith?” (Matthew 6:30).

     However, there were times when Jesus accused someone of having great faith, as He did with the Canaanite woman in Matthew15: 28. After she had begged for the healing of her daughter Jesus put her through a test of her resolve and humility. When she showed the power of her faith and love He said:

      "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire." (Matthew 15:28)

     From these examples we can see that faith comes in varying degrees. At one point in the lives of the apostles they realized that they fell short in the degree of faith they should have. They asked the Lord to increase their faith:

     “And the apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith’" (Luke 17:5).

     There is something that every Christian must know. It is imperative that we increase in our faith. Standing still or regressing is not an option in the kingdom of God. In the text of Hebrews chapter 5 and beginning in verse 11, the Holy Spirit condemns the Christians for their lack of growth. In chapter 6 He makes it clear that those who continue on this path will fall away and no one will be able to bring them to repentance again. After teaching them about the priesthood of Christ He said,

     “…of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.  And this we will do if God permits.  For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit,  and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,  if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. (Hebrews 5:11-6:6)

     The time had come in the lives of these Christians that they should have been teachers in the church. They should have been chewing on the meat, but instead they were like babies still sucking on the milk. That is an ugly picture. How would you like to see a 40 0r 50 year old man being nursed by his mommy? That is what God sees when He looks at those in the church who have had time to grow up, but they are still acting like babies. He warns them adamantly to move on from the basic principles and to go on to perfection. If they do not move on they will fall and no one will be able to pick them up. The idea of moving to perfection here is the idea of coming to the fullness of what they are called to be by God. Paul exhorted the Christians at Ephesus to grow in their faith as he expounded on those whom God had ordained to equip the saints for growth.

      “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ…” (Ephesians 4:11-15)

     Growth is an imperative.

Knowledge Increases Faith

     What does it take to grow in the faith? For one thing is requires growing in knowledge. In Romans 10:17 Paul said,

      “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the work of God.”

     When Peter was writing to the Church in His first epistle he wrote,

     “…as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby…” (1 Peter 2:2).

     While milk was not going to do the job for the older Christians in the Hebrew letter, it was exactly what was needed for the babes on Christ. It is the same in the physical realm. If an adult man only drinks milk and does not eat he will become sickly and wither away because he lacks proper nutrition. But for the baby, it is just what they need to grow. When someone is a new Christian they need to desire the sincere milk of the word. Without the milk of the word they will starve to death. It is the responsibility of the evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip the saints with the knowledge of the word. I often travel to churches in various locations and often I will have a new Christian come to me and tell me that they have recently been immersed. I will ask them if they are being given any kind of a discipling program and almost every time I will get the same answer, “No!” It is important for church leaders to realize that we are not in the entertainment business. It is great to have a church that is a joy to be at, but if the leaders are not fulfilling their obligation, their calling of God, their duty to equip the saints, God will require a reckoning.

     The desire for God’s word is not limited to the babes in Christ, it is to be an even more zealous trait among the mature Christians. If someone is truly in the faith and has the Spirit of God in them, then the Spirit Himself in them will increase their desire for the word of truth. It is great to read the 119th Psalm. In it, you cannot help but be inspired by the zeal of the writer as he gushes over the word of God for 176 verses; such as verses 13-16,

      “With my lips I have declared All the judgments of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.” 

     And verses 46-48,

      "I will speak of Your testimonies also before kings, And will not be ashamed.  And I will delight myself in Your commandments, Which I love.  My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments, Which I love, And I will meditate on Your statutes.”

     Those who are filled with the Spirit will grow to love the word of God more and more and they will desire the meat of the word. Their desire for His word will not be due to a duty or to fulfill some program, it will be from a true heart of love for Him.

Trials and Tribulation Increase Faith

     There is something else we need to increase our faith. It is something that most Christians do all that they can to avoid; trials and tribulations. James said,

     “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its             perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” (James 1:2-4)

     This is a great passage. The word that is translated perfect and the word that is translated complete have similar meaning. The Greek word for perfect is “τέλειος” (teleios) which is defined, complete (in various applications of labor, growth, mental and moral character, etc.); —Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary. The Greek word for complete is “ὁλόκληρος” (holoklaros) which is defined, “from (holos) and (kleros); complete in every part, i.e. perfectly sound (in body) :- entire, whole.”—Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary. The difference in the two words is that the first is referring to the idea of being complete in one thing (patience) while the other is referring to the eventual goal of being complete in all things. It is the trials and tribulations of life that make us strong. Even the unbelievers know this fact. Strenuous exercise will increase our strength and stamina. Going through struggle and toil (whether it is physical or emotional) increases our ability to handle adversity. It was Fredrick Nietzsche who said, “What does not destroy me makes me strong.” This is why James said we should rejoice in the various trials of life. It is our trials that perfect us and make us strong. The apostle Paul told the Corinthians,

     “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working in us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17).

     Paul was writing to a church that was under great persecution. The church was being attacked, dragged to prison, beaten in the streets, stoned, crucified, and killed with the sword and yet Paul calls it a light affliction. Whatever we go through here is nothing compared to the weight of eternal glory that God has prepared for us. As a Christian I can and do rejoice in every physical and emotional trial of this life because I know that God is in me making me strong. Every trial of our lives is an opportunity to prove that He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world.

Humility Increases Our Faith

     Faith cannot increase without humility. Until we humble ourselves completely to God and stop thinking that we deserve anything from Him our faith will not be perfected. If we think we deserve a better life with freedom from our trials we will fail the test that is to make us strong and bring us closer to Him. If we think that God owes us some respect, or if we think we deserve the grace that He has so graciously given us, we will stumble. According to the scriptures, there were only two times that Jesus expressed that someone had great faith. In both cases those whom He exalted had shown great humility. Once was when He was going to go to heal the servant of a Gentile centurion. As he was heading off to do this work, the centurion said that He was not worthy for Christ to come into his house. He told Jesus that he was,

     “a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my                  servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." (Matthew 8:9)

     Then Jesus said to the crowd,

     "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” (Matthew 8:10)

     The other time that Jesus expressed that someone had great faith was the previously mentioned Canaanite woman. This story gives us a clear insight into Jesus testing this woman and using her to teach His disciples a lesson on persistence and humility. The story goes,

     “Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon.  And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.’  But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she cries out after us.’  But He answered and said, ‘I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’  Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, ‘Lord, help me!’  But He answered and said, ‘It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs.’  And she said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.’   Then Jesus answered and said to her, ‘O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.’ And her daughter was healed from that very hour.” (Matthew 15:21-28)

     This woman cried for mercy. She was ignored by Jesus. Most people would have stopped at this point. “How dare He ignore me!” She persisted. Jesus informed her that she and her sick dying daughter are like little dogs under the table and it is not right to take the children’s bread and give it to the little dogs. How many people would put up with that? “And you call yourself the Christ!” But what was her answer to Him? “Yes Lord…” Yes, you are correct. Yes, we are no more than the little dogs. Yet don’t even the little dogs get the crumbs? When we come to the point where we realize that we have no right to exist in the presence of our God and Christ, that we are unworthy to be called the children of God, and that what we truly deserve is His wrath and not His grace, then, and only then, can we achieve great faith.

We Must Ask

     There is one more thing we must do to grow in faith. We must ask. Like every spiritual blessing faith is a gift from God. In 1 Corinthians 12:9, faith is listed as a gift from the Holy Spirit. If you want to get a gift from God, do what the apostles did Ask for God to increase your faith. Jesus said, 

     "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks          finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)

     This quote of Jesus was not about receiving physical gifts, since Jesus had already told them not to seek such things but to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness. This message was about seeking spiritual gifts from God. If we are seeking spiritual gifts from our spiritual Father, will He turn us down? After James had spoken to the Christians about being complete in all things from James chapter one, he added this,

      “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  But let him ask in faith,         with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.  For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:5-8)

     When we need to get a spiritual gift from God, all we have to do is ask God who gives liberally to all who ask IN FAITH. Pray, pray, and pray some more.

     At the core of the issue there is only one catalyst necessary for growth in the faith and that is to seek it diligently. Do you want it? Do you want to grow in the faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ? Do you want to know Him more and serve Him in a greater way? Are you willing to sacrifice whatever it takes to get great faith?