Standing In Faith

My mentor once emphasized that faith is not just a mere saying or attitude in our Christian journey. It is not something we use to label ourselves as Christians but rather something that we must stand in. We should stand not just in our own faith, but in the faith of Jesus Christ and his righeousness. Jesus believes in us more than we believe in Him. He provided a solution for our sins through His blood, making our faith in Him alive, possible and available.

When we come together with other believers and stand in faith, we are encouraged and empowered to stand together in unity. Context is important, in Romans, Paul speaks to the brothers and sisters gathering in Rome, reminding them that they have a position in the faith of Jesus Christ, as well as a position of faith amongst their fellow believers. Faith is a belief or trust that leads to action. It is a noun, but we are called to make it a verb, an action word that positively impacts the lives of others.

The Roman gathering that Paul wrote to was under severe persecution from Claudius, and Nero later raised the persecution to an even higher level. Many Christians were killed outright or burned alive as human torches to light the city streets. Aquilla and Pricilla were a stabilizing force in the Roman gatherings, bringing many to Christ and providing a safe place for believers amidst the inhuman persecution.  Paul’s letters were welcomed encouragement.

It is hard to imagine such persecution in our modern world, but persecution is one of the many mechanisms that forces us to resolve our faith position in Christ, either we boldly stand for Him who died for us and become salt and light to others or capitulate and make faith of no effect out of our own fear.

Faith is a gift from God, just like grace. Grace is like a firehose that never stops spraying at full force. It is unyielding and never-ending, giving us grace upon grace upon grace. This is the source of our faith – hence the analogy of the firehose of grace. We stand drenched in grace, just as Jesus described it as "rivers of living water flowing from our bellies." The Greek word for rivers is “Torrent”, Jesus wanted us to know the power behind the grace he was giving.

In Ezekiel 47:1-6, Ezekiel had a vision of the temple where water flowed out from the threshold and the Lord had him measure the distance of the temple and the water. The water became so deep that he had to swim in it.  The Lord had to ask Ezekiel “…Son of man, have you seen this?”  How can a man be in something he cannot see?  This is another analogy of grace being lavishly poured out, an endless supply. We are in the supply of grace, and we should be thankful for it, and be drenched by it.  But like Ezekiel, we must see it.

Jesus has made it possible for everyone to access the flow of grace by us having the desire to step into it. Through this, God is pursuing us, and He desires us to become His children. Faith involves standing in the flow of grace and extending this same grace to others, inviting them to stand in that same endless flow.

We must understand that we have nothing to offer to God except our willingness to obey and respond to His call. Our identity lies in being sons and daughters of the King, and we have received His grace through faith. We are not just sinners saved by grace, but rather we are royal children with a heavenly calling to serve our King.

We derive joy from hoping for the glory of God, for why should we hope in things that we can see? However, if we wait patiently for what we cannot see, we will be rewarded. That is the reward for standing in faith!"

Stephen Barnett