When Faith Is Weak

When Faith Is Weak

By Apostle Felix

1  Offer an open hand of fellowship to welcome every true believer, even though their faith may be weak and immature. And refuse to engage in debates with them concerning nothing more than opinions. 

Romans 14: 1

It is a common thing to have a believer whose faith is weak. We will commonly hear brethren asking for prayers because at that particular moment do not feel that their faith is strong enough. Their understanding of strong faith has got to do with emotionalism. Emotionalism is the tendency to act on or display emotions excessively, often favoring feelings over logic or reason. They first want to see before they can believe. For them, manifestations are regarded highly than the word of God. Such an individual is living according to how he/she feels, and not according to what the word of the Lord says. Weak faith can also be due to legalism.

13  A voice said to him, “Peter, go and prepare them to be eaten.”
14  Peter replied, “There’s no way I could do that, Lord, for I’ve never eaten anything forbidden or impure according to our Jewish laws.”
15  The voice spoke again. “Nothing is unclean if God declares it to be clean.”

Acts 10: 13 – 15

Under the law, Israel was not permitted to eat certain foods, which were termed as unclean, Leviticus 11: 1 – 47. And Israel lived by that standard since the law was given to Moses at Sinai. The law became a culture of the people of Israel. It was no longer about the Lord, but a religious prestige. The law does not make faith stronger. This is because the law is not of faith.

12  And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. 

Galatians 3: 12

A believer with a weak faith is one who is trying to attain righteousness by the observance of the law. The law was not meant to be the source of faith. Faith comes by hearing the gospel of Christ, which is grace. The gospel of Christ is the gospel of grace. It is all about what Christ Jesus has done for man, as opposed to what man has to do for God. This is what apostle Paul meant when he said faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, Romans 10: 17.

8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9  Not of works, lest any man should boast. 

Ephesians 2: 8, 9

Relying on your own works for righteous living will weaken your faith. It is not your good works that makes your faith strong, but your reliance on the finished work of Christ, which is grace. Paul regarded a believer who is still observing the law of not eating unclean foods as one with weak faith. This is not to say that one should just anything. There are personal preferences, and nothing to do with religious beliefs. There are those that may not eat pork, not because the Bible says so. But the problem starts with not eating pork for religious purposes. It is not about what goes into bodies that defiles a man but what comes out of a man.

11  Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. 

Matthew 15: 11

Religious practices can be an hindrance to faith. It can actually hamper spiritual growth. You cannot feed on the law and expect to be spiritual. As already alluded to, spirituality is not emotionalism or observing a certain moral code. It is a life that has decided to life by the faith of Jesus, which is absolute trust in the atoning work of Christ.