A NEWSLETTER FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE GREENWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST

VOLUME 2 NO. 48                                         January 15, 2006

“A GIANT STEP OF FAITH”

BY STEVE NIEMEIER

Many times in our lives we take steps of courage and often refer to those steps as “a leap of faith”.  Joshua certainly had to take a giant step of faith when upon the death of Moses he was appointed to replace a leader that the Lord knew “face to face” and was a prophet above what any other prophet had been (Deuteronomy 34:10).  On top of this challenge he was instructed to lead the Israelite people to the Promised Land.  All that he had to do was guide several hundred thousand folks over a raging river that was overflowing its banks.  Then when he did that, he had to take the land away from residents who had lived there for many generations.  Upon the completion of that challenge, he would have to establish a nation out of a group of vagabonds that hadn't had a permanent home in decades.  Of course, he was able to accomplish the tasks that were given him because he stayed faithful to the Lord who had made a promise to him that as long as he was faithful, he would accomplish the tasks that were ahead (The Book of Joshua).

While this story is well known, it is just one of many that we read about in the pages of God's Word giving instructions and examples of those who took “a giant step of faith” by trusting in the Lord.  What about today?  How do we take a “giant step of faith” when it comes to stepping out of our comfort zone and leaping into the spiritual warfare being conducted between God and Satan?

We take this leap of faith by HEARING the Word of God (Romans 10:17; BELIEVING this Word (Mark 16:16); REPENTING of our sins (Acts 2:38); CONFESSING that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Acts 8:37); being BAPTIZED in the name of the Lord (Acts 10:48) and then BEING FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH (Revelation 2:10).

Unfortunately, many follow the first five points of hearing, believing, repenting, confessing and being baptized and somehow fail to realize the sixth point of being faithful unto death.  Certainly it is a “giant step of faith” to come out of the world into Christ However, the leap does not stop with these five steps, the leap continues for the rest of our life.  The leap from the world to Christ involves our acceptance of His teachings and His death, burial and resurrection.  It involves our acceptance that He was the ultimate and perfect sacrifice for our sins.  However, we are warned about not following the sixth step in Hebrews 10:26 “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.” This actually means that we have voided the first five steps of our leap of faith by not adhering to the sixth step of being faithful unto death.

Being faithful involves a number of things, studying the Word of God so that we can rightly divide His Word (II Timothy 2:15); it means worshipping with the saints and fulfilling all the requirements of worship (i.e. Hebrews 10:25; Acts 20:7; I Corinthians 16:1&2, etc.); it means bearing the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-26) it means growing in the faith (II Peter 1:1-8); in summary in means BEING STEADFAST AND UNMOVABLE (I Corinthians 15:58).  Should we decide to follow the sixth step in its entirety, the Lord has promised that our labor would not be in vain (I Cor. 15:58).

Taking a giant leap of faith is a hard thing to do, however, having a guarantee of a reward for doing so eliminates the risk.  The reward the Lord has promised is certainly worth the leap He is asking us to take!