Faith

The New Year is a great time to self-evaluate and make plans for the person that you want to be. Of all nine of the fruits of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23, Which fruit would you like to produce more of in your life this year?

-As with every fruit that we’ve studied throughout this series, we want to know exactly what that fruit is, and how God can produce more of it in our lives.

Fruit #7 - Faith

What is faith?

The Greek word used in Galatians 5:22 - Pistis - This is the noun form of the word faith/faithfulness. Your translation will either use one of these two forms, but they are the same general form of the word. I’ll use them interchangeably in this lesson.

-The action form, or verb, that comes from pistis is pisteuo. (ex. John 6:29, same form)

-Both of these derive from the root verb, peitho, which means to persuade, convince, believe. 

Many of the spiritual fruits do not have explicit definitions in Scripture, but rather, we develop implicit definitions based on the way that Scripture speaks of the term. Faith is one spiritual fruit where the Bible gives us a clear and direct definition of what it is. Hebrews 11:1 defines faith for us.

“Now faith (pistis) is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not yet seen” - ESV

Clear enough right? Faith is confidence in the things you hope for. As with all of the fruits of the Spirit, God is the embodiment of all of these traits. (God is love, joy, etc.)

-God is always faithful, we are not.

-He is unwavering, and knows what it right and is confident in it.

-Jesus stuck it through suffering and temptation.

-He sticks it through with his children, and doesn’t give up on us when we go wayward.

God is faithfulness

Faithfulness is steady even when you don’t see results. It is not sensationalized. We don’t always have to see something crazy to know that God is working. We actually have more faith when we believe without seeing.

Now since we know what faith is, and that it comes from God himself, there are other questions that come to mind when we try to produce more of it in our lives.. like..

-Is it something we can initiate? Is it something we can lose? Is there a faith container within us?

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)

Faith is a gift from God

It is not something that you can conjure up by your own works. He offers it, and you have the choice to receive faith and walk in it. (2 Peter 1:1, Philippians 1:29, and Acts 3:16 are examples of faith ‘granted’ to people)

-We can pray, asking God to “help me with my unbelief” (Mark 9:24), because we need something that we don’t have. We need a gift.

Faith saves our souls

Similar to any gift, if you don’t accept it, you don’t have it. God offers salvation to all through faith, but they must receive the gift and use it. (Yes, there is still freewill even though God initiates and gives faith and salvation.)

-You could make the argument that faith is the most powerful of all the fruits of the Spirit.

-The fruit of faith is what makes us righteous. Faith determines our salvation! And faith comes only from God. 

Faith is the opposite of works

This is the message of salvation, and it is the thesis of the entire New Testament.

-Some might argue that faith is a work. It might be a concept that we put into action, but you only put it into action after you’ve received the gift. Faith is the means by which God can work.

-Remember, this is a fruit of God, so it isn’t something we can attain more of apart from Him.

-Where is your confidence? God, yourself, the world?

“The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” Luke 17:5-6 (NIV)

Faith is measurable

The existence of our faith is what brings salvation to us, yet the more that our faith grows, the more that we walk in the joy and power of God. You are able to have more faith! (“increase our faith!”)

-God has “assigned” a “measure of faith” to you (Romans 12:3), which requires accurate self-evaluation and obedience.

-Jesus’ healing and miracles were somewhat conditional to the people’s faith in the areas that he visited, particularly in his hometown of Nazareth, where “ he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.” (Matthew 13:58) This wasn’t because their faith empowered Jesus, but because God desires our participation in His power. Faith is how we join in God and His work in the world. 

-The measuring of faith can be abused easily, and you see it in much of the “health and wealth” theology where human will is emphasized over God’s. This is misplaced faith.

-Jesus often commended, or condemned people because of how much or little faith they had. So by implication, there are scales of faith that we have. Within the container of our souls, we can possess a lot of faith, or little faith.

• What does life look like when we are full of faith in God? How do you act?

• On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the level of your faith right now?

Faith has serious, literal power in this world

Jesus said that “nothing is impossible with God”, and that even if we had a little bit of faith, we could move mountains. I believe Him.

-We have to use wisdom when interpreting what is literal and figurative in Scripture. I firmly believe that passages like Matthew 17:20 need to be understood more literally. We can begin rationalizing our lack of faith, which is popular in mainline Christian thought in America.

-With undoubting faith in Christ, God can work through us in truly miraculous ways. We as Christians believe in the supernatural, the dead come to life, people are healed, sins are overcome, mountains can actually move.

-When you have a high amount of faith, people WILL start questioning your sanity. Embrace it.

How do we produce more of it in our lives?

Self-evaluate your faith level

-Nobody knows you better than God and yourself. Evaluate yourself humbly and honestly.

-Know your strengths and weaknesses well, so you can know exactly what to ask God for.

Ask God for more faith

-God is eager to give you more faith if you are willing to please Him.

-Faith is a gift, and it is something that only the Holy Spirit can bring about in you.

-Be willing to change and grow, but ask God specifically for it.

Relax. Stop the religion.

-Faith and works can not co-exist. You either have one or the other.

-Stop trying to earn God’s approval by good works, simply believe that Christ is enough for you.

Prepare yourself

“Proper preparation prevent poor performance” - James Baker, former secretary of state.

-If you want more faith, put it more into practice in your life. Know your weak spots of faith and challenge yourself to believe that God is working something in those places.

-Know Scripture and God’s heart really well. This will increase your confidence in Him when you know His character well.

-Ask yourself what you would do in a difficult situation where much faith is needed.

With this fruit produced more often in us, there are no boundaries on the beautiful things that God can do through us. Let’s seek the Lord together and strengthen one another’s faith.