Have you ever considered the question, “What is sin?” We talk about it. We do it. Some warn of it, but most prefer not to mention it.

Sin used to be the core of a preacher’s message not too many years ago. Today, the subject matter of “sin” is often avoided.

We now live in a world where most think God “winks” at sin. He is a God of love and understands our weaknesses. He is a God of love and He does understand our weakness, but does that mean sin is any less offensive toward God?

The Lord God is righteous and without sin. If it were such a minor issue why has God taken so many severe actions against it?

Sin has been defined in many ways, but the best definition in my opinion is best described as “missing the mark.” Anything short of God’s standard is in violation of His holiness and therefore is sin.

God evicted Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden due to their sin against Him. He flooded the entire world, destroying everything and everyone except eight people due to sin. He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities because of their sin. Hundreds and multiplied hundreds of examples could be given throughout the Bible of God taking action against individuals, cities, and nations because of sin. Sin is an act of rebellion against a holy God and therefore cannot and will not be tolerated.

The world says however, “It’s my mind I can think whatever I like. It’s my body I can do with it whatever I want.” So we think what we like and shove it in the face of others. We do whatever we like and everyone else be damned. Have you ever considered that if it weren’t for local, state and federal laws, our sins would reach their peak of offensiveness? Only the laws of the land deter many from going even further with their wanton aggression against the commandments of a holy and righteous God.

Sin has now become so rampant in our country alone that nothing remains but judgment, and judgment will come.

Some classify sins as small or great. It is true that some sins will reap greater judgment. The Bible demonstrates that. However, any sin is a violation against God and will be judged.

Some may say for example, “I just told a white lie so it really doesn’t count.” Does God tell white lies? God never lies, whether it is white or black. His Word is always Truth. Perhaps this is why the world hates God so much? You think?

If sin were so unimportant, why did God deem it necessary to take on our form, become a man and die for our sins that some may be saved? He must consider sin to be a very big issue.

God says that we all have sinned and come short of His glory. (Romans 3:23) He goes on to tell us that the wages for sin is death. (Romans 6:23) Since we have all sinned, from Adam and Eve to the last human breathing on earth, then we will all die, unless something can be done about it.

Something was done about it. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him, will have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Our penalty for sins must be paid in order that we may receive eternal life. Only God qualifies. Therefore God personally paid for our sins and told us that through Him we can receive the eternal life that sin snatched from us all. Those who believe Him and rest their faith in His Son Jesus will receive eternal life. Those who do not have no hope.

Why must the unbeliever be punished forever and ever, eternally, in hell? We can never pay our sin debt, so therefore, the punishment is never ending. God, on the other hand, has paid our sin debt, and through Jesus, the eternal punishment can be avoided if we put our faith in Him. In its place we receive an eternal reward, and that is life in Jesus.

What about those who are God’s children (Christians) through Jesus? How does God deal with our sins? We can never lose our salvation. That is a Biblical fact. So are we Christians given carte blanche to sin and still retain our salvation? Of course not. We cannot lose our position in God’s family, but we most certainly can be disciplined as His child. When we as a Christian sin against our Lord, we are as an unruly child that needs to be corrected because we have broken the fellowship between our Father in Heaven and ourselves. Because we are His child, He has provided a way for us to ask forgiveness and be restored to that happy fellowship we once had prior to our disobedience (sin).

Our Heavenly Father tells us, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all our unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

I’ve seen children attempt to con their parents into believing that they are sorry for their disobedience, but God cannot be conned. He will know if we are or are not being honest with Him and will act accordingly.

I find the following verse to be quite interesting concerning those of us who are Christians: “That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.” (1 Corinthians 11:30)  Could it be that some Christians are weak, some are sick, and some have even died because of this very issue we are now discussing? Think about that. Notice also the next two verses. “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.” Now obviously this does not mean that this applies to every Christian who is weak, sick or dead. If we are weak or sick, we need to search our own heart. There could be many different reasons for our circumstances.

Mankind has a tendency to follow along with what most everyone else is doing; i.e. the monkey-see-monkey-do mentality. How often have you heard a child say, “But everyone else is doing it?” Maybe you were the child. I’m sure I was.

The world around us is swimming in Satan’s cesspool and advancing further and further toward the deep end. Unfortunately, church folks today are jumping in the pool right along with them and saying, “But everyone else is doing it.” When God says for us to “Do this” that is exactly what He means. When He says “Do not do this” that too is exactly what He means. It doesn’t matter what everyone else is doing. What does God say? If our actions violate His Word, it is sin to us and we place ourselves out of that close fellowship with Him, assuming of course we are a Christian.

Sin does one of two things, depending on where you stand: (1) it provides eternal damnation for all who refuse the only door of eternal life, Jesus Christ, or (2) it disrupts the fellowship of a child of God and our Heavenly Father.

Does God wink at sin? Most definitely not.

If you have not come to Jesus and put your faith in Him to save you, do so now. He died and rose again to be your Savior.

If the Holy Spirit already lives in you because you have put your faith in Jesus, but you have sin in your life that is harming the fellowship between you and our Heavenly Father, go to Him and ask forgiveness, then forsake the sin. Jesus is your Savior already. Worship Him as your Lord.

This is what God has made possible :

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)

Grant Phillips

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1 NIV)

Faith is defined in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, first verse, and illustrations are given (explained) in the remaining verses of this chapter.

Faith is something we all wish we had more of. Jesus said in Luke 17:6 “…If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” (NIV)

What we think takes a large amount of; i.e. faith, Jesus says actually takes very little. So apparently most of us fall in the zero and under range.

I believe that God, in His boundless grace, has made it possible that we only need a “smidgen” to work with. This is only my opinion, but I believe it to be so. He knows we are human, weak and frail so He doesn’t put more on us than we can bear. I also recall Jesus saying, “…Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29 NIV)

I would hope that all of us, as Christians, would like to have more faith. Going back to Luke 17 we see that the apostles wanted the same. “And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.” (Luke 17:5 NIV) If you recall, this is when Jesus responded with the mustard seed comparison.

Is it possible to grow in faith, or as some prefer to phrase it, “have more faith?” By reading the Bible and through the personal experience of millions of Christians over the ages, the answer can be nothing other than a resounding “Yes!”

Now it is time to insert the “However.” “However” is needed because some seem to think God has a funnel He keeps in His pocket to pour additional faith through and into our spiritual being. Not so.

Have you been guilty of asking God, “Lord, give me more faith?” I have. Perhaps we all have at one stage or another of our Christian life. Sadly though, most of us don’t connect God’s response with our request.

I believe, from personal experience, that there are at least three things that are necessary for our faith to grow. The first two are obvious, or at least they should be. The first is found in Psalms 119:105 and the second is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, but what is the third?

Let me say first that these two verses are not the only two on their respective topics. There are many more. Enrich your life by searching them out.

FIRST:

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” (Psalms 119:105 KJV)

I personally do not see any way possible to have a stronger faith without reading the Bible. What Jesus has to say to each and every one of us as Christians is critically important for our spiritual growth.

If a student does not listen in school (elementary, junior, high, college or trade … doesn’t matter) they will go through life with a severe shortfall of knowledge. They will be severely handicapped in getting a job and will be limited in the type of job they may acquire. Not only that, they may be limited in doing the job they have as it should be done.

A wise child will listen to their parents loving advice. For one reason, they may avoid the same mistakes their parents may have made. For another, they can take advantage of the knowledge their parents have obtained over the years. They can blaze new trails of success, instead of being a knucklehead all their lives. They can avoid harmful situations and broken hearts and lives, if they will just listen to those who are more knowledgeable.

It is no different for any Christian. Jesus would never tell us something that would be harmful to us. To the contrary, we could avoid many pitfalls by listening to His Words. They are not only words of wisdom, but the very Truth of God, for He is God. As we listen to him by the Word He left us, the Bible, our faith grows because we know that what He says can always be trusted.

SECOND:

“Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 KJV)

Constant communication with our Heavenly Father is another must for growing in faith. We call it prayer. One thing about prayer, we can pray anytime, anywhere, for any reason. He is always listening to us.

Many Christians have a poor prayer life for one reason; they don’t pray. The only way to improve your prayer life is to actually pray. Just do it. It may seem awkward at first, but as we keep praying, it will be as natural as talking to our parents, our siblings, our spouse, our children, to anyone. Maybe it is difficult at first because we can’t actually see Him with our physical eyes, but as we continue in our prayer life, we realize He is listening and He cares.

As we continue in our prayer life, we find ourselves talking to our Lord just as we should; anytime, anywhere, and for any reason. We find ourselves looking forward to it. We find that our prayers are longer because we just have so much to say.

By the way, it isn’t the length of the prayer that matters. Some prayers should be kept short; such as in public or for a specific purpose for example. Other prayers might be longer because we are alone and just want to spend quality time talking to Him.

As we spend each day in prayer and in the Bible our faith is growing. Perhaps it isn’t even noticed by us at first, but it is. Our faith is growing because we are maturing. We’re growing from a spiritual child to a spiritual adult. I find it tragic that so many adults, who are adults physically, are still children spiritually. If you are an adult and have just been saved, it is understandable, but not when one has been a Christian for many years.

THIRD:

“These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.” (2 Peter 1:7 KJV)

So the third item that is needed for strengthening our faith is for our faith to be tested. Now understand God does not tempt us. We are not talking about temptation, but testing. However, our faith can also grow through responding to temptation as Jesus did with the devil (Matthew 4:1-11).

“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:” (James 1:13 KJV)

Temptation not only comes from Satan and his minions but more often than not, our own hearts.

“But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” (James 1:14-15 KJV)

Satan will use temptations in an attempt to foil us and he will also use adversities that come into our lives to weaken our faith.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” (1 Peter 5:8 KJV)

I guess Satan never did learn (remember Job), because through trials a Christian’s faith can actually grow.

If everything always goes smoothly in our lives without any adversities, can we grow in faith? I don’t think we can. Our faith must be tested to make it stronger, just as our muscles must be tested (exercised) to make them stronger and just as our minds must be used to make them stronger.

Let’s face it, none of us enjoy adversity. Not only that, we just don’t want it. I’m with you. I’ve had enough, and I really don’t care for anymore. Some adversity isn’t too onerous, but on the other hand, there are other adversities that are just down-right scary. Leave me out of it! Agreed?

Sorry, but that just isn’t how life works. Life is a series of adversities. The bad news is original sin has laid upon us all many adversities. The good news is we can come through any adversity stronger than ever, but only when we trust God at His Word.

Each time we exercise our faith it gets a little stronger. Now that doesn’t mean that everything always works out the way we want, but it does mean that God will see to it that it works out for our good if we belong to Him.

As 2 Peter 1:7 says (above), we can come out of the fire like gold that has been purified, and not only that, but bring much praise, glory and honor to ourselves on the day Jesus Christ will be revealed to the whole world.

So do we still long for God to increase our faith? If so, listen to Him by diligently reading the Bible, talking to Him through continual prayer, and standing strong by trusting in Him as a small child.

The Lord Jesus Christ has promised that our faith will increase when we focus our lives upon Him. He has given us His Word (the Bible).  He has provided open communication directly to the throne of God (prayer). He allows opportunities of testing in our lives that we may then use the faith He has provided us and grow in Him.

Each time we use this faith, it grows. Just as a seed planted in the ground keeps growing when nurtured, our faith will grow. It will eventually burst forth from its pod and break through the ground, until its leaves reach toward Heaven.

Grant Phillips