Effective and Productive Faith Part 1

"For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins." 

- 2 Peter 1:5-9 (ESV)

    God provides infinite resources for us to grow in our faith. Yet for many Christians, spiritual growth is a struggle. Habitual sins are difficult to overcome, they lack self-control, they don't understand the Bible, their relationship with God goes hot and cold, and their relationships with others are still mired in conflict and unforgiveness.

    Does this describe your spiritual life? If so,it should be immensely helpful for you to know that the root-cause of ineffective and unproductive faith is a lack of understanding of the gospel. When you do not comprehend the meaning of the gospel, you fail to grasp your identity in Christ and the work that God does in your life. As a result, your spiritual life fails to produce the expected fruit of faith. The Apostle Peter declares that whoever lacks Christ-like qualities is "so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from former sins". Spiritual growth is lacking is because you may have underestimated the presence and power of indwelling sin. You may be surprised to find how so easily swayed you are by the world and its ways. Your heart is prone to wander from the God you love, as the hymn says.

   So how can the spiritual blindness be removed?

"For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard..."

-Colossians 1:19-23 (ESV) 

    Stick to the gospel! True Christians are not sinless but they sin less because their hearts are transformed such that they loathe themselves because of their sins but look to the cross where the blood of Jesus has brought them peace and reconciliation with God. They don't try harder to be good through their self-effort but the Holy Spirit that dwells in them gives them the desire to follow Jesus and causes them to walk in obedience to God's laws (Ezekiel 36:26-27). Remember that the gospel is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). God is stronger than the power of sin! He not only gets us saved but also keeps us saved. Jesus does not lose any of His sheep (John 10:27-30)!

    So remember the gospel by looking to the cross daily. Thank Jesus that his blood covers your sins, even those that you commit after you were saved. That's the first key to effective and productive faith.

More in the next post....