Faith

 Whenever the topic of being sober-minded, rightly dividing the Word, and living a life worthy of the name of Jesus arises, there’s always bound to be someone wondering aloud as to what the harm is in letting people live the way they want. What’s the harm if they don’t go beyond that one time they raised their hand in church? What’s the harm if they don’t grow from faith to faith? They’re not hurting anyone; what’s it to you? We all see in a mirror dimly, don’t we? Why does everyone have to see the same thing? How do you know you’re right anyway?

That last one is easy. I know I’m right because all I do is echo the Bible in what it says. As long as what you say is in harmony with what the Word of God says, you can be confident that you’ve taken the correct position in any given argument. As far as what the harm is, I guess I’m just a big ole softy, and I don’t want to see people despondent and beside themselves once the storm comes and they realize they’ve built their house upon the sand.

As to how this discussion ties into the epistle of James, in order for one’s faith to be tested, one must first possess it. You must have faith for the testing thereof to produce patience in the same way you must have a car in order for the key in your hand to turn the engine and make it run.

Patience cannot be produced unless faith is present, for only if faith is present can it be tested. Yes, I am well aware that the freshly tattooed Joyce Meyer and others of her ilk have come up with the fast pass to heaven, wherein all you have to do is touch your television screen, but the question of whether or not it’s Biblical still needs to be addressed, even with running the risk of contradicting a spiritual juggernaut such as Joyce.

We felt the need to compete with the world and make it so easy to get saved that it required nothing more than a few seconds of one’s time to ensure eternity. We adopted the mantra of the customer always being right and gave the disingenuous and lukewarm what they wanted, only to be told that we should’ve known better than to give them what they wanted. What did they know of spiritual growth, maturity, faith, sanctification, or righteousness after all? They showed up expecting those they deemed mature in the faith to disciple and grow them, not acquiesce to their childish tantrums.

Before you can expect a return on your investment, you must invest. Before you can expect the testing of your faith to produce patience, you must possess faith. Faith is an ever-expanding reality in the believer’s life. It is substantive and discernible, and all that is required for you to know how much faith you possess is honesty. The problem is that we’ve gotten so accustomed to pretending we’re more spiritual than we are, and we have more faith than we do that we can’t even be honest with ourselves anymore.

We compare ourselves and our lived experiences to other people, and because we’re averse to confrontation, not only do we help perpetuate the lie by not calling someone who said they went to heaven and sat on God’s lap via a porta-potty a liar, we insist we had similar experiences so we don’t seem less spiritual. Not only are we feeding the delusions of unhinged people, but we’re not assessing where we are spiritually and, as such, take no measures to remedy our condition.

If I’m honest with myself and acknowledge I need more faith, the Bible tells me how I can get more. All I have to do is follow the instructions outlined in the Word. If I’m not honest with myself and pretend to be a giant of the faith while I’m not, then at some crucial point in my walk, I will falter.

Romans 10:17, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

If you feel your faith is lacking, increase the time you spend in the Word. If you’re not spending time in the Word regularly, habitually, and as consistently as drinking coffee in the morning or brushing your teeth at night, start. Don’t delay; do it today, and you will see how your faith begins to increase, expand, and grow.

Faith is a prerequisite for a healthy spiritual walk. It is something we can nurture, grow, and mature, and with each new level of faith, we learn to trust God for greater things. You can make do without a new wardrobe, a better car, a bigger house, or another cat, but the same can’t be said of faith.

Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

You’d think there would be more focus on faith than prosperity in the contemporary church, given that it is impossible to please God without faith. Yet, here we are, calling money down from heaven, blathering on about having our best lives and being driven by purpose while neglecting the non-negotiable prerequisites such as faith, repentance, and righteousness.

When we finally realize the true extent of this generation’s spiritual vacuousness, we will come to understand that sackcloth and ash should be our daily attire.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.