What is Growing in Grace?
There are several terms used for essentially the same process in a Christian’s life, “increasing faith”, “growing in grace”, “spiritual maturity”, and “sanctification”.
Increasing Faith # 2 PET 1:5-12 EPH 4:14-24
When we talk about increasing our faith, we are talking about spiritual maturity in terms of “putting on” something new. When we were “born again”, we didn’t get a new old (old being the Flesh). We were not made righteous in the Flesh. By the grace of God, we are being changed from the image of Adam into the image of Christ. This change comes by responding to what God puts into our heart. He is not looking for “sacrifice” but a contrite heart. The Psalms 37:4 “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart”. I think this means He is changing the desires of our heart, not giving us what we want.
Spiritual maturity # ROM 1:1-5 EPH 1:17,18 1 JOH 3:2 COL 1:15,18 COL 3:10 PHP 3:20,21
We (the NEW MAN), because of Christ, are righteous before God.
We, in spite of the OLD MAN, are being changed -
· BY RENEWING OUR MIND – # EPH 4:23 ROM 12:2
· BY WALKING IN THE SPIRIT – # GAL 6:8 GAL 5:16-18,25 ROM 8:1-4
· BY TRIBULATION – # Rom 5:1-5 2 COR 12:9.10 PHP 1:29 JAM 1:2.3.12
· BY TRUTH – # JOH 8:32 1 PET 1:22 JOH 14:17 16:13 EPH 4:15
· BY KNOWING HIS LOVE – # GAL 2:20 ROM 5:8-10 1 JOH 2:15,16
Discuss how these can be prioritized. (Spirit – Truth – Love)
What difference does it make?
In us - We should experience the fruit of the spirit and grow by coming to know God and depend on Him more and more.# GAL 5:22-26 Eph 1:17-23
In others - We share this GOOD NEWS with others, in love. # JOH 13:34,35 ROM 12:10 GAL 5:6-13 6:2
If faith is responding to what God puts into our heart, how do we increase our faith?
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How do We Increase in Faith?
Christian faith is not our intellectual resolve and commitment to something, this is just religious belief.
Faith is not our hope in a promise.
Faith has to do with our experiencing the object of our faith in our heart.
God has never spoken to me, or anyone I’ve ever known, verbally, or through any means of direct revelation. But, I know Him through a “spiritual” communication in my heart. I believe God speaks to us spiritually with a still small voice deep in our inner being which is also called our heart.
If this is true, then faith should be defined as “responding to what God puts into our heart”.
This definition of faith is consistent with scripture and clarifies how faith should work in our life. It is consistent with Eph 2:8-9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”, so our faith has to be responding to God’s grace which He puts into our heart. It also explains Romans 14:23b “for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”, so no matter how good we think it is if we are not responding to what God put into our heart, then it is not of faith and it is sin. So, not only is faith without works dead, but works without faith are sin.
We are not only “saved” by faith, but we are to walk by faith.
1 ¶ O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? 2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? 4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. 5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Think about this. If faith is responding to what God puts into my heart, can I increase my faith by my resolve and commitment? Do I increase my faith by doing more for others? The answer is no.
We increase our faith by knowing and responding to what God puts into our heart. And there is a big difference between what God puts into our heart and what someone else puts into our mind.
How do we know what God puts into our heart? I believe it takes time. We must learn to ignore our own thoughts and imaginations, and the thoughts and imaginations of others, and this is not easy. Our tendency is to get on with it. We have a hard time waiting and seeking. I believe when we hear God we will feel enlightened and it will be about something that will make a difference in our life. It is not like pondering the meaning of a scripture and coming to some understanding of it.That is knowledge.
Knowing what God puts into our heart, will have to do with understanding the fulness of God’s grace in our life.
Faith is responding to what God puts into our heart. # Eph 3:14-16Eph 3:14-16 Php 3:13-16
Walking by faith, in the Spirit, not the flesh. # Rom 1:5Rom 1:5 1 Cor 2:4.5 Gal 2:20-3:3Rom 1:5 1 Cor 2:4.5 Gal 2:20-3:3 5:4-6 Col 2:6.7
SAVING FAITH: is responding to what God puts into our heart concerning our fallen and lost condition.
WALKING FAITH: we walk the same way we came responding to what God puts into our heart.
Following are some statements relative to this definition of faith:
- It is not just an intellectual decision.
- It is not initiated by us.
- We must learn to know how God speaks to us.
- There is a big difference between what God puts into our heart and what someone else puts into our mind, we must be discerning and not just accept any teaching.
- Requires thoughtful and prayerful consideration.
- Requires humility and setting aside of all self-interest (desire) and self-effort, coming to rest.
- Allows grace to be grace, “God acting in our life”. God initiates and we respond as we walk.
- It is not necessarily a frequent occurance. If God is not dealing with us in a matter, then we are free to live and choose according to our own decisions being consistent with who we are. 2 Peter 1:3
- It is consistent with “whatever is not of faith is sin”. If we are not responding to what God puts into our heart, then we are doing it for some other reason (self-effort, self interest) and that is sin.
- It is consistent with “faith without works is dead”. If we are responding, we are doing something. If it is not responding to God, then the faith is dead no matter what we are doing.
- People not responding to what God has put into their heart have no faith. They may have a lot of works and pretending, but it is not of faith.
The key to growing in faith is to spend enough time to get to know God personally, not what preaching says and not copying what others claim and pretend, but personally. To learn to know God and how He acts in our life in a personal relationship, we may need to discard some things which we have been taught on how to “look” and “act” like a Christian.
Walking by faith is not trying to do the things Jesus did or doing “Christian duty”, or trying to clean up the flesh to be as good as Jesus is. We are to be “like” Jesus in His attitude. His attitude was that He could do nothing except what came from the Father. Making Jesus lord Vs. living by grace
How do we grow in faith?
Increasing faith is not increasing duties or spiritual disciplines. Jesus said if we had faith as a grain of mustard seed we would move mountains. How many of us are moving mountains? So, it is increasing our connection to or dependence on God, understanding how God works in our lives which increases our faith. There are a lot of views about this. It takes a lot of discernment, prayer and study to sort it out.
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GOD |
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Faith increases as we increase our understanding of how God works in our heart. |
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CHURCH |
US | OTHERS |
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Do we grow by doing more for church, God, others and cleaning up our “flesh” or by understanding how God teaches us spiritually?
It is the attitude of the heart not what we do.
How do we grow in understanding the fulness of God’s grace?
Humility – we must be open to God and have a teachable spirit.
Scripture
Testing
Edification by God and by others
Seeking truth
Depending on God
