Build Your Faith

I've been slowly reading through Paul's letters to Timothy, maybe a verse or two at a time. The other day I came across this:

I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 2 Timothy 1:5

What stood out to me was how Paul described Timothy's faith: sincere. So, as I thought about what Paul wrote, I wondered if there could be an insincere faith. And from there I considered whether there are other words that the Bible uses to describe someone's faith. What I found is that there is quite a list. Here are a few examples.

Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Matthew 14.31

As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. Romans 14.1

Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Titus 2.2

Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith!” Matthew 15.28

No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God…  Romans 4.20

There are more examples of this, but I think that you get the idea.

What I'd like to do this morning is to take a closer look at faith.

We start where we often start, with a definition. What is faith? Faith is about trust. It exists when someone entrusts himself to someone or something. So, when you sat down earlier, you entrusted yourself to the chair. You believed that it would hold your weight and not collapse. At a wedding, two people decide to entrust themselves to each other, each one believing that the other will keep his or her vows. Someone entrusts himself to Jesus believing that He will keep His promises. Faith is about trust.

It is sometimes helpful to get a bit more formal when it comes to definitions. A more formal way to think about faith talks about the three elements of faith: knowledge, assent, trust. So, a Christian knows about Jesus' claims to be the Savior. And he agrees that those claims are true. That’s his assent. But that isn't true faith just yet. After all, Satan also knows about those claims, and he is quite convinced that they are true. But obviously, he has no faith in Jesus. It isn't true faith without that third element. A Christian is someone who has also entrusted himself to Jesus as the Savior He claims to be. Three elements: knowledge, assent, trust.

This helps us to understand some of those different kinds of faith that I mentioned earlier. That verse about doubt came from the time Peter walked on the water. You'll remember that things fell apart when Peter saw the wind stirring up the water. Where was the problem? I think that he knew what Jesus claimed to be able to do. But maybe, once the wind started to blow, he wasn't quite so convinced that Jesus could, in fact, make him walk on the water. Or maybe the problem had to do with entrusting himself to Jesus to actually do it. Peter's faith was undone by doubt when it came to one of those elements of faith. That's when Peter began to sink.

Then, there's a weak faith. In the verse I read to you, Paul wrote about some Christians who placed unnecessary food restrictions on themselves. They did that because they didn't know the freedom the Gospel gives. They lacked some knowledge

But then, there are those who are growing strong in faith. These are learning more about the Gospel and are being convinced that those things are true. And they respond to that by entrusting themselves to Jesus according to what they know and are convinced about Him. These are becoming sound in faith and will be commended because their faith is becoming great.

A lively faith is based on knowledge, assent and trust. The presence or absence of those three elements will deeply affect a person's faith.

Now, all of that was to help you to consider this bit of Scripture.

But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. Jude 1:20-21

There is a lot going on here. Jude's command is in the phrase containing the main verb, 'keep yourselves in the love of God'. Jude fills out this command using three participles: building, praying, waiting. We're going to focus on that first participial phrase: 'building yourselves up in your most holy faith'. Jude wanted those saints to work on their faith, to build it up, to make it grow. And based on that Scripture, I can say that it is something that the Spirit wants you to do also. It is when you work on that that your faith will no longer be weak or doubting or small. Instead, it will become a great faith. Jude's assumption - and mine also - is that you can have a great faith. There is no reason to settle for anything less than that.

Now, before we take a closer look at this I want to pause for a moment. I want you to understand something I have done this morning. I have called you to consider the state of your faith. In effect, I am calling you to take the time to take a good look at your soul. That is not something that American Christians do very much of. For those who are disciplined, there is a daily time to read some Scripture. The usual goal here is to learn more Bible facts. But to take time to look within? To consider the quality of one's faith? That doesn't happen very often. And what is the result? People who know a bunch of Bible facts but who can't really use them very well because their faith is small and weak and plagued by doubts. Not good. I want better for you. So, let me say it again, you can have a great faith. There is no reason to settle for anything less than that.

Now, back to Jude. Based on what he has written, you are to work at building up your faith. The obvious question now is this: how? How are you to do that? The answer to this question, just like with the many other questions we have, is in the Bible.

Let's start with this from Paul.

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. Romans 10.17

Your faith is a gift of God. And it comes to you through the Word, the Bible. That's true the first time you believe, and it's true every time your faith grows. In the verse I just read Paul refers to hearing the Word. That's because the context is about preaching. But however you get the Word - hearing it preached or read to you, or reading it yourself - it is the tool the Spirit uses to build up your faith.

Now, it's obvious that simply getting more Bible into your head does not automatically result in a growing faith. It is, however, an important first step to growing your faith.

Here's the second step: thinking about whatever part of the Scriptures that you've just heard or read. The church word for this is meditation. This isn't just a good idea some Christian thought up. It's the Bible itself that calls you to meditation.

It does that in a couple of ways. First, the Bible contains examples of saints being called to meditate on the Scripture. Here's what God said to Joshua when he became leader of Israel.

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Joshua 1.8

Here's an example from the Psalms of someone who meditated.

Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. Psalm 119.97

This next verse is more than just an example. It's part of God's description of the blessed man.

…but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. Psalms 1.2

If you want to build up your faith, meditation, thinking about what the Bible teaches, is part of what needs to happen.

And it's not as if doing this is hard, something that needs special training. All you need to do is look at the words and ask questions.

Remember where I started this sermon. I told you that I had read a sentence in one of Paul's letters. I noticed the words 'sincere faith' and started asking questions. And as I thought about it, I was able to get a few answers to those questions. That's meditating on the Word. Look at the words. What do they mean? What questions come to mind? It is as you take the time to do this that your faith will be built up. It will grow strong.

We're still not done. First step: Bible intake. Second step: meditation. Then, there's the third step. Here we're back to those three elements. You've gathered some knowledge, and you agree that it's true. Now, it's time for trust.

I have told you before about my drivenness. It's that inner goad that pokes at me to push me, to rush me. It's that voice in my head that yells at me, 'Let's get going! There's so much to do! Come on! Hurry it up!' And one result of hearing that voice has been fear. It was my habit to react to the fear. 'There is all this stuff that has to get done. I'll never be able to finish! What am I going to do!?!' And off I'd go, scurrying here and there. But, the Spirit has been dealing with me and my drivenness. He has blessed me with the faith I need to respond better.  And instead of fear, He has given me His peace. And this is how He has done that.

First, He made me see my drivenness for what it is. It's sin. And He called me to repent of it. As part of my repentance I began to pray about it. I began to pray that I would no longer give in to this terrible habit of drivenness. In response to that the Spirit guided me to a very helpful Scripture.

…cast all your cares on him, because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5.7

That was the little bit of the Scriptures that I needed to hear so that I could build up my faith when it came to my abiding sin of drivenness. It still is something that I return to quite regularly.

So, there I am, doing whatever, when the voice starts yelling at me like it has for years. It's at this point that I have a choice. I can choose fear or I can choose faith. If I choose faith there are those three elements of faith: knowledge, assent, trust. So, what do I know? I know that verse.

…cast all your cares on him, because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5.7

There it is. I can throw this problem with its drivenness and its fears onto the Father who will take care of it all because He is so very for me. That's what the verse says. I know that.

But then, there's assent. Do I agree that it is true? Is it something that God can and will actually do? Well, it's in the Bible. So, of course, it's true.

Ah, but now for the last element: trust. In light of what I know and am convinced of, will I trust the Father? Would you if you were in this kind of situation? Now, be careful. Don't tell yourself, 'I'm going to trust God for this!' What is that? It's asserting that you will do what is necessary to avoid this sin. Or to say that more bluntly, it's saving yourself. When you say it that way, your hope is in what you will do. Don't do that. First, it's sin and second, it doesn't work.

No, instead, pray something like this. 'Father, I want to trust You now. But I know that I am weak and fragile. So, I look to You. Please, give me the ability to trust You now. Please, make that happen.' What is this? It's looking to God to save you just like He promised. It’s being saved by His grace.

Knowledge. Assent. Trust. And it's all based on the grace of God which is ours in Jesus.

Now, I'm not saying that you pray once and, presto-changeo, the problem is solved. God can do that. And I’m sure that He has done that in some situations. But more often than not, for reasons He thinks good, there is a process where the power of the temptation, whether we're talking about being driven or something else, is bit by bit reduced. The Spirit responds to that prayer to be able to trust. He responds to it by strengthening your faith. Then, the next time you're confronted, the temptation isn't as strong. Your faith is being built up. It is being built up as you grow in your knowledge of the Gospel, as you are convinced that it really is true and as you cry out for the grace to entrust yourself to Jesus, the Savior.

We've covered a good bit of territory. But there is one more thing that we need to do. We need to deal with a question. Why is all of this about building up your faith important?

I fear that there are way too many Christians these days for whom this isn't important. They tell themselves that they have enough faith to get to heaven, and that's all that matters. No need to build it up at all. There is great danger in thinking that way. Please, don't be fooled by that scheme of Satan.

Then, there are those who are not at all convinced that they have enough faith to get to heaven. So, panicking a bit, they grasp at whatever they can so that they can at least feel that they are doing well enough to make it to heaven. What is this but a false assurance and another demonic trap to avoid.

Both of these attitudes have something in common. For people like this, the point of the Gospel is for them to live happily ever after. They assume that the Gospel is all about them and their happiness. But it's not. The Gospel is about God.

Consider what, for many of you, will be familiar words. What is the chief end of man? Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. That's a good summary of what life is supposed to be about.

But, how can you glorify God - make Him look as good as He is - if you don't trust Him? And how is it possible to enjoy Him, again, if you don't trust Him? Being driven is neither enjoyable nor does it make God look good. Being controlled by that sin - or any sin - is a great failure for a Christian.

Consider Adam and Eve. The thing with the tree boiled down to something quite simple. It was God saying to them, 'Will you trust Me now? Will you place your faith in Me?' Imagine if they had and just walked away from the serpent. Imagine what life would have been like. As those two, and the children born to them, explored and developed this universe imagine the marvels they would have discovered, marvels placed there by the Creator. It would have been amazing. They would have glorified God by their discoveries. And it would have been supremely satisfying to be doing that. They, we, would have enjoyed it all. All they needed to do is to choose faith at that tree.

What a difference if they had had a conversation like this.

'What do we know?

‘God is really good. So, His command about the tree must be good, too.’

‘Are we convinced that this is true?’

‘Yes, we are.’

‘So, what do you think? Should we trust Him?’

‘Absolutely.'

How different things would have been.

It is important to build up your faith because we are no longer in that paradise. We live in a world that is filled with temptations and sin. But we are on our way to a paradise. And the way to get there, to draw other people to join us in getting there, to make the living and true God look good as we make our way there, is by building up our faith so that we will choose to trust Him.