Faith's Failure: When Beliefs Betray Us

Faith is the engine that drives Christianity from the beginning to the end. It is by faith that we receive Jesus as Lord and Saviour and the gift of salvation. However, it is not only at the beginning of our walk with Christ that faith is engaged but is required perpetually and grows stronger as time passes.

Faith is a broad term, appearing in locutions that point to a range of different phenomena. We speak of 'having faith that you will succeed, despite setbacks', 'having faith in democracy', 'putting faith in God', 'believing that God exists by faith', 'being a person of faith', 'professing and keeping the faith (or losing it)', 'keeping (or failing to keep) faith with someone', and so on. At its most general, 'faith' means much the same as 'trust'.

Philosophical reflection on theistic religious faith has produced markedly different accounts or models of its nature. Some philosophers hold that faith is to be identified simply with a certain kind of affective psychological state: having a feeling of assurance or trust. Others identify faith as propositional knowledge of specific truths, revealed by God.

The question of faith outside of a theistic context, such as whether it is apt to speak of the faith of a humanist, or even an atheist, using the same general sense of 'faith' as applies to the theist case, is a matter of debate.

Faith is traditionally regarded as one of the 'theological' virtues. If a virtue is a 'disposition of character which instantiates or promotes responsiveness to one or more basic goods', then theistic faith qualifies since it is 'a responsiveness to practical hope and truth', provided theistic faith-claims are indeed true.

Faith will not be a virtue as such, if it is accepted that faith can be misplaced or, even, 'demonic', directed upon a 'false ultimate'. To be virtuous, faith must be faith in a worthy object: it is faith in God that is the theological virtue.

There are many people in Scripture who have failed miserably and been restored and re-commissioned by God. Such people were assigned important tasks in the kingdom of God and achieved great things for God by His grace. It is important to consider the whole notion of 'faith and failure' from a Scriptural perspective and meet the people whose lives (including their mistakes and sins) are recorded for our instruction and edification.

Faith fails when it cannot carry out its expected function

Faith is the engine that drives Christianity. It is by faith that we receive Jesus as Lord and Saviour and the gift of salvation. However, faith is not only engaged at the beginning of our walk with Christ but is also required perpetually and grows stronger as time passes.

Our faith fails when situations or circumstances weaken our hearts to no longer believe in God. When our faith fails, we may be overwhelmed by guilt and shame and never believe again that God still loves us or wants us. We may even lose our salvation. However, Jesus knew that there would be pressure on our faith in the last days, and he prayed that our faith would not fail.

Faith fails when it is unable to do what it is expected to do

Faith is a broad term, but in the context of religion, it is often understood as theistic faith, or faith in God. This type of faith is characterised by a commitment to a theistic interpretation of reality and typically involves a combination of affective, cognitive, and practical components.

For example, fear and doubt can weaken faith, as seen in the case of Peter, who began to sink when he took his eyes off Jesus and focused on the circumstances around him. Similarly, Abraham's faith was tested when he faced a famine, and he and his wife, Sarai, had to go to Egypt, where their purity and God's promise were jeopardised.

However, it is important to note that faith is not always expected to remove temptations, heartaches, and fears. Sometimes, faith is about enduring and remaining steadfast even in the face of adversity. For instance, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego remained faithful to God even when faced with the threat of being thrown into a fiery furnace if they refused to worship the king's idol.

Ultimately, faith is about trusting and committing to God, even when circumstances are challenging or uncertain. It is about taking that leap of faith, knowing that God is always there to catch us if we fall.

Faith fails when it becomes weakened or polluted in some way

Faith is the engine that drives Christianity. It is by faith that we receive Jesus as Lord and Saviour and the gift of salvation. However, it is not only at the beginning of our walk with Christ that faith is engaged but is required perpetually and grows stronger as time passes.

In Matthew 14:30, Peter, whose faith had made him walk on water, began to sink and almost drowned to death in Jesus’ presence because his faith became weakened by fear and doubt.

Our faith fails when situations or circumstances weaken our hearts to no longer believe in God. If Jesus had not prayed for Peter, he would have been overwhelmed by the guilt and shame of denying Jesus and never believed again that God still loved him or wanted him in the ministry.

Many of us can identify with this story because it is a common human experience. How many of us have been so disappointed by an event in life that we cannot believe again that God still loves us or is with us? Or we believed God for healing, and it did not happen, and now it is almost impossible to believe that God still heals. Satan is out to use events in life, often traumatic events, to make us lose confidence, trust, or hope in God. Scripture calls it the fight of faith.

Jesus knew that there would be pressure on our faith in the last days. He, therefore, asked, "when the Son of Man returns, shall He find faith on the earth?".

When our faith fails, God doesn't. Our faith, like Abram's, will fail. But the blessed truth of God's Word is that when our faith fails, God doesn't.

Abram chose to doubt God's presence and power in the face of a famine. His actions were those that showed he was willing to sacrifice principle for self-preservation. In spite of Abram's failure of faith, God preserved him and even prospered him. Ultimately, God brought Abram to the place that he should have been.

This principle of God's faithfulness in the face of our failure is one that applies to us today as well: "If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself" (II Timothy 2:13).

Faith fails when situations or circumstances weaken our hearts to no longer believe in God

Faith is the engine that drives Christianity and is required perpetually, growing stronger as time passes. It is by faith that we receive Jesus as Lord and Saviour and the gift of salvation. However, faith can fail.

Our faith fails when situations or circumstances weaken our hearts to no longer believe in God. When our faith becomes weakened or polluted in some way that it functions abnormally, it will fail to produce any desired outcomes.

In the Bible, Jesus foretold that Peter would deny Him, and Jesus prayed that Peter's faith would not fail. Peter's faith had already failed him before – in Matthew 14:30, Peter, whose faith had made him walk on water, began to sink and almost drowned to death because his faith became weakened by fear and doubt.

When our faith fails, we may be so disappointed by an event in life that we can no longer believe that God still loves us or is with us. We may have believed God for healing, and it did not happen, and now it is almost impossible to believe that God still heals. Satan is out to use events in life, often traumatic events, to make us lose confidence, trust, or hope in God. Scripture calls it the fight of faith.

However, Jesus is still interceding for us, and one of His prayer points is likely that our faith will not fail because of current news events, bad news, or the marital, financial, or health challenges that plague human beings. Jesus knew that there would be pressure on our faith in the last days, and He asked, "when the Son of Man returns, shall He find faith on the earth?"

We must fight the good fight of faith. Even though life's pressures will seek to convince us that God is not with us or does not love us, we must stand our ground and not let our faith fail.

Faith fails when it is doubted

Faith is the engine that drives Christianity from the beginning to the end. It is by faith that we receive Jesus as Lord and Saviour and the gift of salvation. However, it is not only at the beginning of our walk with Christ that faith is engaged but is required perpetually and grows stronger as time passes.

In the Bible, Jesus foretold that Peter would deny Him, which was arguably the most traumatic event of Peter’s life. Jesus prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail. Peter's faith did fail, but it was a temporary failure, foreknown and forgiven. Peter was overwhelmed with grief but although he was devastated, he was not destroyed.

In Matthew 14:30, Peter, whose faith had made him walk on water, began to sink and almost drowned to death in Jesus’ presence because his faith became weakened by fear and doubt. Peter had a history of faith failure.

Our faith fails when situations or circumstances weaken our hearts to no longer believe in God. If Jesus had not prayed for Peter, he would have been overwhelmed by the guilt and shame of denying Jesus and never believed again that God still loved him or wanted him in the ministry.

Many of us can identify with this story because it is a common human experience. How many of us have been so disappointed by an event in life that we cannot believe again that God still loves us or is with us? Or we believed God for healing, and it did not happen, and now it is almost impossible to believe that God still heals.

Jesus knew that there would be pressure on our faith in the last days. He, therefore, asked, "when the Son of Man returns, shall He find faith on the earth?"

When our faith fails, God doesn’t. Our faith, like Abram’s, will fail. But the blessed truth of God’s Word is that when our faith fails, God doesn’t.

Abram chose to doubt God’s presence and power in the face of a famine. His actions were those that showed he was willing to sacrifice principle for self-preservation. In spite of Abram’s failure of faith, God preserved him and even prospered him. Ultimately, God brought Abram to the place that he should have been.

This principle of God’s faithfulness in the face of our failure is one that applies to us today as well.

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