Introduction
Faith is something that every true Christian would like to have more of. The scriptures constantly exhort us towards it. We know we need it. It’s something that we must frequently confess our lack of before the Lord. Our faithfulness or failure at any given point is directly related to the waxing and waning of our faith.
And if you’ve been a Christian for any amount of time, you know that you can have all the promises of God piled up in front of you like so many gold bricks, but without the hand of faith to pick them up and deposit them in the heart’s bank, they will do you no good. It’s like having all of the wind necessary to carry the ship along, but you don’t have the sails hoisted. You could be moving along at a great clip, but here you are bobbing up and down.
Bad Thinking
Part of our problem is that we fail to recognize our lack of faith for what it is – sin. Sin isn’t just violating God’s standards (sins of commission); we also sin when we fail to meet His standards (sins of omission). You’re commanded not to murder, but you’re also called to love your enemies. You must not lie, but you also need to show hospitality. While you could make the case that God’s standards regarding faith fall into both categories – “Don’t disbelieve, believe.” John 20:27 – to be unbelieving is generally a sin of omission.
This is tricky for us because we can struggle to differentiate categories. Someone might say, “I can’t be blamed for being 5’4 rather than 6’1.” Or, “I can’t help it that I’m fair-skinned, so I cook in the July sun.” Fair enough, but a lack of faith isn’t like a lack of height or melanin. There is no good reason for you to lack faith. This isn’t a matter of your genetic makeup, but rather your sinful heart’s willful rebellion. God has given you every reason to believe. In fact, all of the evidence indicates you have an obligation to have an abundance of faith.Your lack of faith is your fault.
Various Kinds of Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing
The various sinful jukes our hearts make when we don’t want to admit or repent of our sin don’t help either. One of the ways we do this is by dressing up our sins as virtues. We talk about wolves in sheep’s clothing, referring to those who enter the church under false pretenses to prey on God’s flock. It’s also true, though, that we can dress up various wolves in our own hearts, either because we like having them around or because it’s just too much work to try and chase them off.
Unbelief often gets dressed up as humility. We piously tell ourselves we don’t want to presume upon the Lord. We don’t want to arrogantly assume that He’ll do this thing or that thing. We don’t want to be like Israel when they presumptuously went into the promised land without the Lord (Num. 14:39-45).But remember, it was Israel’s unbelief that spawned the presumption. They refused to enter the land when they were told to because they didn’t believe that the Lord would give them the victory. And after the terrible judgment was pronounced for their sin, they didn’t believe Him enough to mind Him when He told them not to go in on their own.
The fact is that what we often pass off as humility, or a lack of presumption, is actually just unbelief. We tell ourselves we’re being good little Christians who believe in the sovereign right of God to do what He wants, but it’s just an excuse to sit on our hands. You don’t serve the church, you take no risks for the Lord, you show no drive or ambition in your home or profession, or anywhere else, because unbelief has clipped the wings of your faith. You’re crippled by comparing yourself to others, by the thought of failure, by self-loathing pride, and all of it from unbelief.
Call It What It Is
There are two solutions to this problem. First, you need to call this ugly serpent what it is. This is a hard pill to swallow because by dressing our sins up as virtues, we not only protect ourselves from repenting, but we can actually turn our sins into something we take pride in. You can look down your nose at the ambitious young person who is making real strides professionally or in a ministry because, if he only knew what you did, he’d be humbler and not so zealous. If he were less presumptuous, he wouldn’t be so rash, confident, and willing to put himself out there. Rather than learning and being motivated by his faithful example, you insulate and prop yourself up. You tell yourself you’re not proud like he is; that’s why you’re not doing the ambitious things he is. You play the part of David’s oldest brother, Eliab, when he blamed David’s indignation on his being presumptuous and wanting to see the battle (1 Sam. 17:28).
1 Sam. 17:28–29 – “28 Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.” 29 And David said, “What have I done now? Was it not but a word?” Don’t be content to play dress-up with your sinful doubts. Name them. Confess them to God and ask Him to deal with them.
It’s hard to confess that not only are you not David, but you’re also actually Eliab, but that’s the first step to getting on track. Not only have you been unbelieving, but you’ve been playing it off as humility. Name it. Confess it to God. Know that you’re forgiven in Christ. That’s the first step to moving on from it.
The Logic of Faith
The second step is to learn the logic of faith. When David is brought before Saul, he exudes confidence – “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine (1 Sam. 17:32).” Saul, of course, pushes back. David was just a youth, but Goliath had been a man of war from his youth, and there was also the matter of Goliath’s physical stature.
But this is where David gives us a paradigm for how to think in faith. David looks back at the past faithfulness of the Lord and applies it forward. When a lion or a bear came and stole from his father’s flock, David would go and strike them and deliver the lamb. If the predator rose against him, he killed it (1 Sam. 17:34-35). David then does the math; this is what God has done in the past for him, and so this is what will happen here.
1 Sam. 17:37 – “And David said, ‘The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”
If you’re a Christian, you can’t look back on any instance in your life and say that the Lord was unfaithful to you. It’s an impossibility. You can look back at seasons that were hard, but even there, you know the Lord sustained you and was refining and bringing you more into the image of His Son, for His glory.
What you must do is look back and see all the instances where the Lord delivered you from the lion and the bear. A check came in the mail out of nowhere. The diagnoses left even the doctor stunned. That brother or sister shared the exact scripture you needed. That family member trusted in Christ. As Spurgeon said, “Why, I can furnish my whole house with the bears’ skins and lions’ skins. Are we going to be discouraged now?”
Let your answer be “no”! Don’t continue in unbelief, pretending it’s something else. Look back on the trophies! On your personal experience! In the treasure trove of the Scriptures!
And finally, look to Christ. Your Savior has slain the giants of Satan, sin, and death. He was faithful unto death. Our Shepherd was not hireling but laid his life down for His sheep. Like David, who cut off Goliath’s head with Goliath’s own sword (1 Sam. 17:51), Christ defeated Satan with his own weapon.
Heb. 2:14-15 – “14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.”
Trust Christ. In Him, there is no reason to be discouraged or doubt. Slay today’s lion or bear by His grace. Work and strive and risk with Godly ambition. Remember the past faithfulness of your God and apply it forward in the faith that runs to meet the giant.