Missed previous emails in the series? You can read all the emails we sent online by clicking here.

Why faith without works is dead.

What does it mean to grow in your faith?

We use that term all the time in Christian circles but have you ever stopped and asked yourself what it really means practically?

I am going to use a metaphor today to try and explain.

But before I dive into the metaphor though I am going to replace the word faith with trust. 

The reason for this is that when you say “I want to grow in trust’ the question is begged, in what or in whom?

And I think that is key for understanding what it means to grow in faith. When you are talking about growing in faith, it is not abstract “faith” it is about growing your trust in a specific person – namely God.

The Metaphor

Now lets dive into the metaphor to try and explain what it means to grow in trust more.

Imagine one day your boss at work quits. And you get a brand new boss. An outside hire, you don’t know him.

Now your new boss comes in, takes a look around, gets familarized, and then tells you, “hey, you know this task you have been doing one way for years, I want you to do it differently.”

Now you are indignant.

Who is this guy who just waltzes in and tells you that the way you have been operating for years is wrong? But, he is your boss so you listen grumbingly.

And guess what – you discover the new way is in fact much better than the old way. 

Now the boss tells you to do another task differently, you are still very skeptical, but you do it, and again the new way is much better.

Again and again this happens and everytime you grumble less and become more enthusiastic about the new way of working.

Your trust in your boss grows.

You see that your boss does know what he is doing. And not only that, but you also see that when you adopt the new way of working everything flourishes — your own work and life, the company itself, your colleagues.  

And so after a while you come to completely trust without questioning exactly what your boss says.

Why faith without works is dead

I think the metaphor is clear. The metaphor also illustrates why James says in 2:20

But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

Trust, faith, is to a great extent, works. If God is telling you how to live your life, you ‘prove’ – or perhaps better said – you ‘display’ that you trust Him when you do what he is telling you to do.

Again that is why in John 15:8 it says

This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

If you fail to show works, you prove or display that you actually do not trust Him. At least not in the area you are failing to follow him.

So coming back to the question – what does it mean to ‘grow in faith?’

In summary it means: You are acting in a new/transformed Godly way that displays/ shows that you trust God's way is the right way.

And the thing is – funny enough – this takes faith.

You have to choose to trust/have faith in God, before he can prove you right.

You must choose to act in God’s way first.

And you may do this out of love or genuine faith, but often this comes down to something very simple – obedience.

He is King. 

He is our boss who has entered our lives with radical new ideas about the way things should be done. And sometimes it's just a matter of saying – you’re the boss God – I will do what you say.

And if you do that, I promise you – you will grow in faith.

Until next time,

Be Blessed,

Aaron

Theophilus Newsletter