Losing Faith

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. (Philippians 1:27-28a)


Faith is not a private possession we can either obtain or dispose of according to our personal desires. Faith is a gift from God in Jesus Christ. The question is - what do we do with this gift?

The Scriptures tell us to stand firm in faith, to let the faith of Christ be the foundation of our lives. When we have genuine faith, we need not be worried about losing it.

As Georges Bernanos puts it -

"Faith is not a thing which one loses, we merely cease to shape our lives by it."

Moving Mountains

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. (Matthew 21:21)

There is great power in faith, but it’s not a power we can control. Taken out of context, it would seem this verse says we can cause anything to happen as long as we have a doubt-free faith.

But faith is more than personal desire. Faith is not ours to make with it what we want. Instead of pointing in the direction of personal wish-fulfillment, this verse indicates that when we have the faith of Christ, we can participate with him to accomplish God’s will, no matter how great the task.

The outcome of faith may not even be something we desire. A man named Mason Cooley put it this way -

"Faith no doubt moves mountains, but not necessarily to where we want them." (Mason Cooley)

Believing is Seeing

Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)

"To have faith is to believe what you can't see and the reward of faith is to see what you believe.” (St. Augustine)

It took not just seeing, but touching the body of the Resurrected Christ to convince Thomas to believe Jesus had been risen from the grave. What does it take us? What motivates us to believe?

In one way or another, our faith is a gift from the Holy Spirit, moving through Scripture, the fellowship of other Christians and worship within the faith community. We can’t often see it coming, but once it does – when the Spirit of Christ enters our heart, everything in life begins to take on more focus.

Seeing isn’t believing. Believing is seeing. And the ultimate benefit to believing is to see the One who sees us most clearly and has given us the means to believe.

See what I mean? Can you believe it?

Not Now

[Jesus said,] “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” (Matthew 25:13)

None of us know when Christ will return. All efforts to try to predict when it will be have failed. The Bible tells us He will come “as a thief in the night.” We know neither the day nor the hour.

In the face of this, we need to busy ourselves getting ready. We need to live out our faith each moment as if it were our last. Martin Luther reminds us of the urgency of this, when he writes:


“How soon not now becomes never.”

It’s not too late to live in faith. Not yet. But you never know when it will be.

A Reasonable Faith

[Jesus] said, “I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

Many people today claim that faith has little or nothing to do with reason. They believe scientific “facts” have taken the place of “superstitious” faith and that, as a result of this, we better understand the world we live in.

But the notion of faith is contrary to reason is just not true. Faith does not restrict reason. It goes beyond it. With faith, we catch a glimpse what can not be seen otherwise. As C.S. Lewis put it --

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."

Faith is not unreasonable. Faith not only builds on reason, but gives us a reason to reason. Otherwise, what reason do we have to think?

Close to Church, Far from God

[Jesus said,] “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.” (Matthew 6:5)

Self-avowed Christians (particularly church members and leaders) need to exercise great care in how we live out our faith. Do we make a show of it or does it show itself in our words and actions? If we are motivated to demonstrate faith in order to gain personal benefits, we won’t enjoy eternal rewards.

Matthew Henry once wrote --

“It is common for those that are farthest from God, to boast themselves most of their being near to the Church.”

Doing Prayer

And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God. (Colossians 1:10)

Prayer should not so much take us away from the world, but give us a fresh perspective on it in order to more faithfully live in it. Authentic prayer propels a believer into action. Whether we be praying for ourselves or others, honest and sincere prayer draws on faith in Christ and bears fruit in faithful living. Prayer is the first step toward a life well lived with God and God’s creation.

Our Puritan ancestor, John Owen, wrote --

"He who prays as he ought will endeavour to live as he prays."

When you pray, don't just ask God what you want Him to do. Ask God to give you the wisdom to know what you need to do and the courage to do it.

Leaving God Behind

[The LORD says] “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” (Isaiah 29:13)

How genuine is your faith? I’ve wondered this about myself many times. When I began to worship God on a regular basis, I often questioned my motives. There were times that my worship seemed to have little impact on my life. I would speak the words, sing the songs, says the prayers – all the while feeling empty inside.

When we experience this emptiness in worship, it is natural for us to question God’s presence in our lives. The Psalmists do this quite often, wondering where and why God was hiding from them. But there is another way to look at these. Maybe we are hiding from God.

The Christian mystic, Meister Eckart wrote this --

“God is at home; it is we who have gone for a walk.”

Have you gone for a walk and left God behind?