Fighting for Faith

Sometimes faith is a fight. Consider these Bible descriptions. (All quotations are from the NASB.)

“Your faith . . . even though tested by fire.” I Peter 1:7

“Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. . . . Resist in the evil day. . . . All the flaming arrows of the evil one.” Ephesians 6:12-13,16

“Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” I Peter 5:8

“Behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat.” Luke 22:31

There is indeed a very real spiritual battle. Our faith is tried like metals that are placed into a raging fire. God describes the attack by using battlefield terminology, as well as by comparing it to the stalking of a ferocious wild beast, the threshing out of wheat, and the demanding rigor of a marathon (Hebrews 12:1). None of these descriptions refer to something easy or trivial.

When our faith encounters these harsh and intense battles, victory can seem impossible. Answers and help can seem elusive. Our situation may seem hopeless. Our natural tendency when faced by such daunting situations is to want to give up. There seems little point in fighting when the enemy is so strong, the battle is so demanding, and the outcome looks so bleak. Since we are being beaten up anyway, why exert effort to try to stop it?

We cannot take such a defeatist attitude. It is true that the battle will be hard and it might be long. It may lead to setbacks, to injury, and to weariness. Nevertheless, we must fight the battle. We cannot allow Satan to win the victory without opposition. We cannot accept defeat when God offers victory. When faith is faltering, we must fight to maintain it.

The best way to fight for our faith is by focusing on the Scriptures. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). Our faith is not blind. It is not a nebulous concept or an empty chant: “I believe. I believe.” No, we must believe in something. There must be a basis for our faith, and that basis is the truth of God revealed through the Bible. God’s words form the foundation and the pillars upon which our faith can rest. God makes promises, and “it is impossible for God to lie,” so we can take “refuge and have strong encouragement” (Hebrews 6:18) in the Word of God.

A focus on Scripture is effective for building our faith because of various things that the Scripture reveals to us. First, we are able to focus on the hope of heaven. Jesus Himself identified the certainty of heaven as a source of hope in troubling times (John 14:1-3). Hebrews 6:19 refers to the hope of heaven as “an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast.” When we know that heaven is coming, that our eternal status is secure, we also know that God will get us to that point. The one who is dependable for our eternity is also dependable for every moment until then. We may not be sure of the outcome in each individual circumstance, but we know the ultimate outcome.

Second, Scripture helps us to focus on our salvation. God has saved us and holds us securely in His hand. We have trusted God and put our faith in Him for our eternal security, which He has already won. We can also trust and put our faith in Him for the battles of daily life. God provides for us the armor needed to stand in the day of battle. This everyday armor described in Ephesians 6 is called the armor of God; not our own, it is God’s armor, and it is closely linked to our salvation.

When we need faith to stand firm in battle, we have our loins girded with truth; the ultimate truth of the Bible is about salvation. We have the breastplate of righteousness; because of Christ’s vicarious death to achieve our salvation, we are now dressed in His righteousness. We have our feet shod with the gospel of peace; the good news of salvation achieves peace for us. We have the shield of faith; our trust in God started with salvation, and that same faith continues to protect us. We have the helmet of salvation, and we have the sword of the spirit, the Word of God. Every bit of the armor is rooted in our salvation, which God has already won. The armor allows us to shout out, “My salvation protects me! God has already won the victory! Satan, you are defeated!”

Third, Scripture helps us to focus on our Savior. When we understand who our God really is, it ought to be very hard for us not to trust Him. One of the key purposes of the book of Hebrews is to exalt our Savior to such a high position that we find our faith in Him to be completely reasonable. We are able to endure in the difficult marathon that stretches before us by “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:2). We trade our despair for faith when we “hope in God” (Psalm 43:5). When we remember God’s character and goodness, we win the victory over despair and have faith to “wait for the LORD [and to] be strong and let [our] heart take courage” (Psalm 27:14). When our faith is weak, we must remember the incredible God in whom we place our faith.

The bottom line is that life is a battle. It is hard, and our faith does face difficult assaults. In those battles, we cannot give up. “Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has great reward” (Hebrews 10:35). We must stand and fight. “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. . . . Stand firm against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:10-11). This is possible when we keep our focus in the right place – on Scripture, which speaks of heaven, of our salvation, and of our Savior. We can be encouraged that we have the armor of God to help us and that “the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses” (II Corinthians 10:4).

Is maintaining faith a fight? Then we must stand firm and fight. We need to get into the Word to strengthen our faith. We can never be satisfied to let our faith falter and quake.

 

"Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation." Habakkuk 3:17-18 (NASB)