At the time the book of Romans was written, Christianity was brand new. It was still the same century in which Christ lived, died and rose again. Many Jews were converting from Judaism to Christianity. Imagine spending half your life following the rules and regulations of the Old Testament Covenant (for example, not eating unclean meats), and then you become a Christian and are taught that the Old Covenant has passed away and that you are now free to eat pork. This would be very hard to accept and you would likely feel very sinful eating pork when it is ingrained in your mind that pork is unclean. A Gentile Christian never followed Judaism, so he quite happily eats pork because he’s eaten pork all his life. It's very easy for him to believe that it's not a sin to eat pork. The Messianic Jew, on the other hand, really struggles to let go of this lifelong belief. And indeed, prior to the New Covenant, God had commanded us to abstain from pork. Therefore, in this particular area, the Jew's faith is “weak” in comparison to the Gentile’s. So, as you can see, it's hardly a matter of strength versus weakness, but rather, individual life experience. Paul goes on to say in verses 5-6, 'He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God." We all come from different walks of life. Therefore, whether “weak” or “strong” in faith (our unique walks of life!), we have equality.

Here's the key: “So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin." (Romans 14:22-23)

Once again, we see that faith is about belief: an absence of doubt. See, it requires faith to even be able to present a request to God in the first place. We believe (have faith) that God exists and that He actually cares about us and listens to our prayers. The atheist doesn't believe in God and he wouldn't pray to God - because he has no faith. If he did pray in a moment of fear, for example, it would be a prayer without faith, for in his heart of hearts, he doesn't expect God to answer with either a yes or a no. For the atheist, prayer is always ignored, for he believes there is no one listening. James 1:6-8 says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does."

What of the Christian who has secret doubts that his faith is true; that God is real and that Christ died and rose again?

Well, you either believe it or you don’t. If you only “sort of” believe it, then you probably don’t believe it at all. If you only believe it some times and not other times, then you probably don’t believe it at all. If you have true faith (belief) in God, His existence is a reality in your life. If it’s not a reality, then it’s not real. 2 Corinthians 13:5 says, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?"

Consider: Are you quick to abandon your faith when things go wrong or do you always remain faithful - steadfast - loyal? Are you loyal to God even when you don’t understand what he is doing or allowing in your life?

If you continue to trust God and believe in His Word, even during times of great hardship, then you, my friend, have true faith. If your faith can stand the test of time and trial, then your faith is strong (real!). Plain and simple. It has nothing to do with magical powers and how many of your prayers are answered exactly the way you want them to be. Again, it takes just as much faith to accept a "no" answer as it does to receive a "yes" answer.

A Word from God or Wishful Thinking?

Sometimes Christians mistake wishful thinking for a word from God. You want something so badly that you obsess over it and pray about it constantly until you finally convince yourself that God has answered with a resounding yes. You quote verses such as Psalm 37:4 ("Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart") and Jeremiah 29:11 (" ’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.’ ") But then, when that yes you anticipated turns out to be a bitter no, you feel devastated, disappointed and disillusioned. You question your ability to discern the leadings of the Holy Spirit and are filled with self-doubt. And, after one too many let-downs, your walk with God seems ho-hum. Powerless. Unfruitful. You no longer trust yourself to hear and follow the true voice of God.

Some Christians have a tendency to say things like, “God told me this,” or “God told me to do that,” and this can really confuse those of us who've never heard an audible voice from God. It makes us wonder if we’re inferior or not as spiritual as them. The thing is, people who say “God told me” have usually just done something they felt lead to do and it turned out to be a blessing from God/in line with God’s will. It is in retrospect that they can say "God told me to do this." So yes, more than likely it was the Holy Spirit prompting them to do it, but they didn’t literally hear an audible voice from Heaven say, “Do this.”

Seeking answers to prayer through Scripture:

When you look for direction and a “word from God” by searching the Bible prayerfully, be careful to exercize wisdom and common sense when making interpretations and looking for answers. Many passages in the Bible are principles, not promises; a likely outcome, not a guarantee. For example: "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it" (Proverbs 22:6). This is a principle, not a promise. If you train your child in the right way, he will *probably* stick with it; that is the likely outcome. But it's far from a guarantee.

I refer back to Jeremiah 29:11 - a passage I feel is overused and misinterpreted. (" 'For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.' ") Always consider context when you interpret Scripture. For you see, God was speaking specifically to the individuals he had "carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon" (verse 1) when he spoke those words. So to take that passage as a personal promise is dangerous indeed. Not all of us will have prosperous, happy lives. Some Christians will experience sorrow, hardship and persecution for decades on end.

Where the Bible lays things out black and white, such as do not murder, do not steal, do not commit adultery, honor your father and mother, etc., we can always know, without question, what the right thing to do is. But with gray areas (where the Bible doesn’t specifically say), we must prayerfully study the Word of God until we feel peace in our hearts considering what route to take or which decision to make. Remember James 1:6, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."

If you do not have the gift of prophecy (and you would know it if you had it!), then you need to always be very careful that you are not convincing yourself that your wishful thinking is the voice of God. He is not our personal Genie in a Bottle. He is Sovereign. Most Christians are lead by God through His Word (the Bible) and not through prophecy and/or visions. And keep in mind that if you obsess over something long enough, chances are you'll begin dreaming about it. Don’t mistake these dreams (or daydreams) for visions! Hold onto them in your heart certainly, write them down in your private journals, but don’t count your chicks before they hatch. If a dream does turn out to be a vision (proven by that dream coming true), then rejoice and share your experience with others. But if you jump the gun and tell everyone that God has spoken to you in a dream when He hasn't, not only will you be embarrassed, you'll also be gravely disappointed and disillusioned in your faith.

These kinds of things cause us to question our faith, yet they have nothing to do with real faith in the first place. Like I’ve said previously, it’s not a matter of believing that God is able to perform a particular miracle (because you do!) - it's learning how to accept it when he says, "No." It’s realizing that not every promise in Scripture is meant for every person. Some Scriptural principles will play out in your life while others will come to pass in my life. Some Christians will have great health and wealth, children, family, etc., while others will have great wealth but poor health. Some will be orphans and widows. Some will be poverty-stricken. And still others will fall somewhere in between. But if you can say, "not my will but thine be done" (Luke 22:42), and continue to live a faithFUL life to God (fidelity), then you have all the faith you’ll ever need to discern what is and is not a word from God.

NEXT ARTICLE: Faith as Small as a Mustard Seed

ADDITIONAL ARTICLES:

The Prayer of Faith

A Measure of Faith

Though He Slay Me, Yet Will I Trust Him

Genie in a Bottle 

(c) 2007 - Bekah Ferguson

Permissions: By all means, you are welcome to reproduce and distribute my articles in excerpts or complete format as long as you don't change any of the wording. If you do reproduce any part of my articles, please include the following information: by Bekah Ferguson, Ontario, Canada. www.bekahferguson.com

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