Increasing Faith (5)

Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name…Romans 1.5

To be, or not to be?
Jesus plainly told His disciples that a primary reason He was leaving to return to His Father was so that the Spirit of God might be poured out on earth (Jn. 16.7).

He further insisted that when the power of the Spirit comes upon His followers, they will be His witnesses (Acts 1.8). The book of Acts records the proof of this promise. When the Spirit fell on that Pentecost morning, those who received Him poured out into the streets proclaiming the Good News of Christ and His Kingdom. The rest of the book of Acts, and the New Testament, records the story of the ongoing work of Christ as He employed His people in replacing the kingdom of darkness and sin with the Kingdom of light and life, through the proclamation of and obedience to the Gospel of the Kingdom.

Being a witness to Christ is a matter, not of some extraordinary spiritual gift, but of obedience to the Gospel. If the Spirit of God lives in us, we can be sure that He will daily prepare, prod, and prompt us about being witnesses for Christ. He will get us ready and send us out to live – soul and body – in such a way as to declare to everyone around us, by deed and word, that Jesus Christ is alive and His Kingdom is advancing on earth as it is in heaven.

Whether or not we will be the witnesses Christ intends us to be depends on whether we have full faith in Jesus and the Gospel. For full faith – the assurance of things hoped for – is always unto obedience – the evidence of things not seen (Heb. 11.1).

The obedience of faith
Paul says that the Gospel is proclaimed and received to promote “the obedience of faith”. In his book, The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer raises the question of which comes first, faith or obedience. Some people will say, “I just don’t have the faith to bear witness to Jesus. I’d like the Lord to increase my faith, so that I could be His witness, but so far, He has not done so.” Not having sufficient faith, some believers excuse themselves from being witnesses for Christ, and thus from fulfilling a primary reason for the giving of the Holy Spirit.

But Bonhoeffer challenges this reasoning. He insists that if we can understand what God requires of us, then we must obey Him. Faith will come with obedience and as a result of obedience. Faith is not the necessary precondition for obedience; understanding is. Do we understand that Jesus has redeemed us to be His witnesses? To live lives of good works of love? If we understand this, then we must obey, whenever the Spirit prompts us, drawing on the Spirit’s indwelling presence and power to take the next steps of what we understand is required of us.

As we do, Bonhoeffer explains, faith increases, making us thereby better prepared for the next opportunity to practice the obedience which leads to faith.

Nike night
Some years ago I undertook to train the young people of our church in how to bear witness to the Lord. We studied the Gospel of the Kingdom and learned what makes it such Good News. We wrote out our personal testimonies and shared them with one another. We practiced conversations about spiritual things and learned to ask questions that might lead to an opportunity to share the Gospel. We spent six weeks of focused study and practical experience, learning what is involved in being a witness for the Lord.

On the first night of our study I told the kids and the adults who were helping us that week 7, the final week of our study, would be “NikeNight.” On that night everyone was to wear something with the Nike “swoosh” insignia on it. I reminded them of this every week, as we learned to give our testimonies, ask good questions, and explain the Gospel, and as we practiced these together in class.

On that last night everyone showed up wearing or carrying something Nike – hats, shirts, shoes, a bag. After we had gathered I asked the group, “Does anyone know what the Nikeslogan is?” Hands went up around the room. I called on a young man who stood and said, “Just do it!”

As he spoke those words, his face turned pale, and so did the face of every person in that room. All at once they understood the meaning of “Nike Night.” And as we piled into cars and headed out to the local shopping mall, questionnaires and Gospel tracts in hand, they began to understand what “the obedience of faith” entails.

But while they went with trepidation, they returned with triumph, telling stories of exciting Gospel conversations and emboldened spirits. No one came to faith in Jesus that night, but a good many young people – and a handful of adults – by practicing the obedience of faith, saw their own faith increased in ways many of them had never known before.

Our Nike moments are not merely occasional events; they are the moments and opportunities in all the relationships, roles, and responsibilities of our daily lives. Here is where we are called to be obedient to the Lord and “Just do it!”

What will it take to get you to “Just do it!” today?

For reflection
1.  What “Just do it!” opportunities might you expect to encounter today?

2.  How can you prepare for those opportunities, so as to make the most of them (Eph. 5.15-17)?

3.  Can you expect to increase faith in Jesus without increased obedience to what you understand from His Word? Explain.

Next steps – Boasting in the Lord: What is God calling you to “just do” today? All day? In every aspect of your life? Get ready in prayer. Make sure you understand what faith requires. Then, when the opportunity presents itself, “just do it!” Share your experience with a Christian friend.

T. M. Moore

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This week’s ReVision study is Part 10 of a 10-part series, “Full Faith.” You can download “Increasing Faith” as a free PDF, prepared for personal or group study. Simply click here.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.