Forging Our Faith

OPENING ILLUSTRATION: Imagine a blacksmith forging a sword. The process begins with raw, unshaped metal. The blacksmith must heat this metal to extremely high temperatures, making it malleable enough to be hammered, shaped, and ultimately refined into a strong, sharp blade fit for battle.

Spiritual Parallel: Similarly, "Forging our Faith" involves a transformative process where our spiritual lives are subject to heat—the challenges and trials of life. Like the iron and steel in the blacksmith's forge, our faith is tested and shaped by these difficulties. Each trial heats our faith, making it malleable and ready for God's shaping hand.

Here the blacksmith's forge represents life's trials, the blacksmith's tools symbolize spiritual disciplines, and the forged sword exemplifies a mature, effective faith capable of overcoming challenges and advancing God's kingdom. This powerful imagery not only clarifies the necessity of trials in developing faith but also encourages believers that the outcome of their spiritual formation is both beautiful and purposeful.

INTRODUCTION: Faith is a fundamental aspect of the Christian life, often compared to a journey or a process of growth and development. Throughout the Bible, faith is not presented as passive but rather as something dynamic and evolving, forged and refined through various experiences and challenges. The Scriptures tell countless stories of individuals who, through their encounters with God, grow from doubt to trust, from fear to confidence.

"Forging our Faith" involves the ways in which trials, demands, delays, and daily dependence on God shape and reinforce our reliance on His promises and power. As seen in biblical narratives, individuals like Abraham, who "believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness" (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3), and the disciples, whose faith grew as they walked with Jesus, exemplify this journey. The apostle Peter, referring to the trials that test faith, likened them to gold refined by fire, indicating that our faith, proven genuine, leads to praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:7).

Faith is not developed in a vacuum but in the context of real-world challenges and in constant dialogue with God through prayer, Scripture, and the community of believers. "Forging our Faith" explores these dimensions, recognizing that faith's true strength is shown through perseverance and trust in God's character and his ultimate plans for us, even when those plans are not immediate or clear. As we embark on this exploration of faith's formation, we delve into how God uses every element of our lives to mold us into faithful witnesses of His grace and truth.

WHY DOES GOD BUILD OUR FAITH?

1. TO STRENGTHEN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD:

• Trust and Dependence: Proverbs 3:5-6 encourages believers to trust in the Lord with all their heart and not lean on their own understanding. Faith strengthens our reliance on God rather than on our wisdom or strength.

• Intimacy: James 4:8 instructs believers to draw near to God, and He will draw near to them. Faith is the bridge that connects humanity to the divine, fostering a deeper relationship with God.

2. FOR OUR SPIRITUAL GROWTH AND MATURATION:

• Testing Produces Steadfastness: James 1:2-4 tells of joy in trials because testing of faith produces steadfastness, leading to spiritual maturity. God builds our faith through challenges to refine us like gold (1 Peter 1:6-7).

• Fruit of the Spirit: Galatians 5:22-23 lists the fruit of the Spirit, such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These characteristics are developed as our faith in God grows.

3. TO EQUIP US FOR GOD’S PURPOSE:

• Walking by Faith, Not Sight: 2 Corinthians 5:7 emphasizes living by faith, not by sight. Faith equips believers to follow God’s leading, even when the path is not visible.

• For Service and Ministry: Ephesians 2:10 states that we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand. Faith motivates and empowers us to fulfill these divine assignments.

4. FOUNDATION FOR SALVATION AND PLEASING GOD:

• Faith is the foundation of our salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9).

• Without Faith, we cannot please God (Hebrews 11:6) and the entire roll call of the stalwarts who God chose because of their faith (Hebrews 11).

HOW DOES GOD BUILD OUR FAITH?

God builds our faith using PRACTICAL METHODS that involve REAL-LIFE CHALLENGES and EXPERIENCES.

1. DIFFICULTIES

God builds our faith by allowing us to FACE TRIALS and HARDSHIPS, which REFINE OUR CHARACTER and DEEPEN OUR DEPENDENCE on Him.

• 1 Peter 1:6-7: "In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."