This is the fifth blog in the 2 Peter 1 series and the second half of faith. The last blog laid the foundation where we saw what faith is, where it comes from, what it does at salvation, how the just live by it, and how it grows.
Now we pick up the same chain and follow it into the harder side of faith. The side that gets tested, tried, and proved. It is easy to talk a good game about faith on a calm day. The question is what his faith does on the day the wind picks up. Peter says we are adding to a faith that has to stand up under fire, and the rest of this chapter assumes that fire is coming.
So in this blog we look at great faith, tested faith, faith that works, and faith that wins.
Great Faith Is Faith That Will Not Quit
Matthew 15:28, “Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt: and her daughter was made whole from that very hour.”
This Gentile mother came to Jesus crying for her demon-possessed daughter, and Jesus put her faith through three tests in a row. She passed every one of them.
- Test One was His silence.
Matthew 15:23, “But he answered her not a word.”
Most people quit here. They pray once, hear nothing back, and walk away. She kept crying after Him.
- Test Two was His statement about His mission.
Matthew 15:24
“I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
That sounded like a closed door because she was not a Jew. She did not turn around. She came closer and worshipped Him saying, “Lord, help me.”
- Test Three was the hard saying.
Matthew 15:26, “It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.”
She did not get offended. She agreed with the Lord and said, “Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” A crumb from Christ was enough for her, and that was the answer that opened heaven.
Jesus called her faith great, and her daughter was healed that very hour. The same Jesus who called His disciples “little faith” called this Gentile mother “great faith.”
Great faith is faith that does not quit at the first hard word.
Faith Is Tried by Fire and Comes Out Stronger
1 Peter 1:6-7, “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.”
Faith is tried like gold in the fire. The fire burns out the dross and leaves the faith stronger on the other side.
Faith Without Works Is Dead
Real faith always shows up in the way a man lives. It is not just something he says; it is something he does.
James 2:17, “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”
James 2:26, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
Faith without works is words without action. James puts it plainly that even the devils believe and tremble. Believing the right facts is not enough.
The fruit of real faith is a life that lines up with what the man says he believes. If your faith does not produce works for the Lord, I would examine myself before Christ.
Faith Wins the Battle and Overcomes the World
Faith is not just the front door of the Christian life. It is the shield in the battle and the victory over the world.
Ephesians 6:16, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”
Paul lists the whole armor of God in Ephesians 6, but he singles faith out and says it is above all. The shield of faith catches every fiery dart the devil shoots, doubt, fear, accusation, lust, and depression. A strong shield quenches them. A small or broken shield lets them through.
1 John 5:4-5, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”
Faith is the victory. The Christian who walks by faith walks as a conqueror.
Living This Out
If you want to grow in faith, start by feeding it. Read the Bible every day. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God, so the Christian who is in his Bible is the Christian whose faith is growing.
Keep your eyes on Jesus and not on the waves. When the storm rolls in, fix your eyes on Christ and not on what the wind is doing. Count the trial for joy when it hits, because the trying of your faith is what builds patience. Pick up the shield every day before you walk out the door, and let the fiery darts of the devil hit the shield instead of your heart. Make choices by faith and not by sight, cast your cares on God, and lean hard on His promises.
That is the life of faith. Hand on the plow, eyes on Christ, shield up, Bible open, knees on the floor.
The next blog stacks the next stair on top of faith. Faith is the foundation, and virtue is the first thing Peter says to add on top of it.
