Are you confident in your faith?
In Luke 13:24 Jesus talks about the narrow door (in Matthew 7:13 it is referred to as a gate). He encourages people to work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s kingdom. Then alarmingly He says that many will try and fail.
I don’t know about you, but I find this concerning. Especially when He goes on to say that people will claim they did all sorts of things for God and He will say that He doesn’t know them. It caused me to pause and take stock of my journey with God.
I remember a time in my 20’s where I had a ‘Sunday Jesus’ kind of faith. On Sunday I would go to church and be involved but during the week I pretty much did as I liked. Would I say I was a Christian who was secure in my faith? Yes, but was I really?
Mark 1:15, Acts 2:38 and other verses tell us to repent and be saved. It’s interesting that the original word for repent is “metanoeo”, meaning to change your mind. When we make a decision for Christ and repent of the sin that we know keeps us captive we are also committing to change. Then, as the Holy Spirit guides us, we are compelled to live out God’s will for our lives.
Without that change of direction and the renewing of our heart and mind we stand in danger of being one of those people that God says He does not know.
So how do we live our life of faith in a way that leads us through the narrow door? How do we become confident in our faith?
I feel there two key scriptures that can help us today.
Firstly in 2 Corinthians 13:5, Paul encourages the church at Corinth to examine themselves. We need to consistently examine ourselves to see whether or not we are living in a Godly way. How is our attitude when things don’t go our way? Are we spending time connecting with God and obeying Him? Do we see the fruit of the Holy Spirit working within us? It’s so important that we take the time to stop and examine ourselves. When we do this, we will quickly be able to see if we are living in light of Christ’s teaching or going our own way.
Secondly, in 2 Peter 1:5-8, Peter tells us to supplement our faith. He encourages us to supplement it with moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, patient endurance, godliness and brotherly affection and love for everyone. This sounds very similar to the fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5. The way we enter through the narrow door is by supplementing our faith with the fruit of the Holy Spirit. When we allow Him to guide and direct us He helps us to manifest these Godly qualities in our lives.
When we decided to turn from our sin, we were also deciding to go on a path different from the previous one we were on. This decision means that we will have growth and change in our lives. It is important for us to take the time to examine ourselves regularly to make sure we are still on this track and to supplement our faith through the work of the Holy Spirit.
How are you traveling at the moment? Are you pursuing a godly life or do you feel like you are just coasting along? Are you confident in your faith? Remember, the door is narrow, and it requires us to work to enter in.
Lord,
Would You please examine my heart and show me the things in my life that are not in line with You. Holy Spirit I ask You to supplement my faith with the fruit You give so that I may live out my faith journey well.
Amen
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