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Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
(John 15:13)
In our self-centeredness, we have no real knowledge of God. We cannot know Him except in the ways He has chosen to reveal Himself. But we have no interest in God or the things of God. We neither know about Him nor care that He has spoken, and therefore we cannot and will not do what He says. Without faith in God we have no idea what pleases Him (Hebrews 10:38; Hebrews 11:6). Furthermore, we have no awareness of the Lord Jesus Christ and no love for him and are unable to believe in the one whom God has sent (John 5:38; John 6:29). When something attributed to God confronts us, we neither believe it nor act upon it. Separated from God, the Bible says we are bound in sin (Romans 7:14-21; Galatians 4:3).
Our first step towards faith occurs when we start to consider the things we hear about God. For example, we hear someone say that there is a God, and though we would have once ignored what was said or even argued against it, for some unknown reason we consider it and begin to explore the reality of God. Though we may be full of doubts, we find ourselves intrigued, even interested in what we are hearing. There are lots of things attributed to God which are not true and thus every one of us is at risk of being deceived or led astray. However, we come to faith in Christ as we investigate the things we hear about who God is. Assuming that our heart is being drawn to know the truth of God, our first steps towards faith lead us to accept what we hear. In turn we come back again and again to hear more about God. Exposure to the truth of God may come through people we know, a book we read, or something we watch. We may be exposed to God in a church or by what seems to be odd coincidences. God is drawing us and we are receptive without being able to explain why we feel drawn. The more we hear about God, the more we are exposed to the biblical claim that God has spoken to humanity. When we hear the gospel, we are hearing what God has specifically spoken through Jesus Christ His Son, through the Hebrew people, and through the biblical accounts of God's redemptive plan for humanity. The more intentional we become about listening to Him, the more we are confronted with deciding whether what we hear is true. There is a battle for our soul as we seek to listen to God. The devil tries to tell us that God is not trustworthy (Genesis 3:1-5), but as we trust what God and act upon what we hear from Him, these victories become steps of faith towards Him. God took the initiative in calling us to come to Him through what we hear. Our responsibility is to believe that it is God who is calling us.
As we listen to God's message we realize that we come up short in doing what He has said, not just us individually, but all of humanity (Romans 3:23). We begin to see the world and ourselves in the light of God's word, that we are all full of sin and rebellion. We realize that neither we nor the majority of the world live in the light of what God has said. The Holy Spirit is making us aware of our sin nature and our bent towards selfishness (John 16 8-11) such that our heart breaks in the reality of our condition. In this state of self-awareness, we are challenged to believe what God has said about sin and death (James 1:14-15). Perhaps a fear of God's judgment dawns on us. Maybe we start to sense our need for the grace of God. Whatever the particular cause, we respond by crying out to Him to save us. For us to cry out to Him, we have to trust that He can save us from sin and death, and that He wants to have mercy on us. Believing in God's desire and power to save us is a step of faith which comes through hearing the gospel (Romans 10:13-14). It is a step made possible for us through the death of Christ Jesus on the cross. It is a step in which we confess our sins, truly realizing that we are incapable of setting ourselves free. It is also a step in which we hear the call to live for God rather than ourselves. We have begun to realize that God knows us and cares about us. This is a level of faith we did not pervious have or exercise. We finally trust that what God says about sin and salvation is really true. Though it is only in part, we grasp the good news of what God has done for us as well as what He has said He is going to do. To believe God's message is to believe God, which in turn leads us to confession and repentance, accepting the truth that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us (I John 1:9). It is an act of faith to take this step of trusting God, and in the process we realize and demonstrate that we do indeed believe God. Our response is the cause of our salvation. God initiated the offer and means of salvation. Our response was simply the exercise that flows out of truly believing God, revealing that we trust what God had said regarding the salvation offered in Christ. Not only does the news of salvation in Christ increase our faith, it is confirmed in us by the Holy Spirit sent to dwell in us. Therefore, since God has given us all that we need to be able to live for Him, we believe Him and respond to His grace.
God's desire for us is actually very simple: He wants us to listen to Him and do what He says, not for the purpose of controlling us, but because He is the author of life and has the absolute best in mind for all of His creation. Furthermore, He is patient with us as we grow in faith (Isaiah 30:18). Time and time again God makes Himself known to us through what He says. As we trust Him, we do what He says, this our faith is exercised and grows. In those times where we resist what God says, He remains persistent and we are not able to move forward until we believe Him and do what He is calling us to do. Whatever He may call us to do, His directives always align with what He has revealed through Scripture. Ultimately all that we hear from God involves dying to ourselves and living for Him (Galatians 2:20). Our faith in God grows through our frequent and consistent obedience to what He reveals. As we grow, we notice that our priorities and thinking shift from doing what we think benefits ourselves, to doing what God has said simply because we have come to know that what God has said is always best (Matthew 13:44-46; Philippians 3:7). Our heart's desire shifts from self to God; from what we may get, to the glory God deserves. Our faith is moving towards maturity as evidenced in our acting upon what God says much more quickly and consistently. Our actions show the reality of our faith (James 2:26).
The shift by which we begin living more for God than for ourselves eventually develops into faith that is expressed in love. It may now be said that we are daily living in complete trust of God. All that we do is done out of love for God (II Corinthians 5:14-15), showing up in all areas of our life (I Corinthians 13:4-7; Galatians 5:22). It is present in every relationship we have (John 13:35). It is lived out with friend and foe (Luke 6:27-35). It is revealed in every circumstance whether it appears to be good or bad. We love God and love neighbor. That is not a phrase that we say, but the actions we take. We do what honors God in all circumstances (I Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:17; I Peter 4:11), whether or not it is received as such by anyone else. Our heart's desire is to honor God (Psalm 37:4), not out of fear, though we revere God for who He is and what He has revealed about things to come. The words we speak, we speak in love. If someone could examine the desires of our heart, they would find God's love resides there. We love because God first loved us (I John 4:19; John 3:16; Romans 5:8). We share the gospel with people because we are compelled by God's love for the world. Our faith takes action, for it is not only words and thoughts.
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