THE GROWTH OF FAITH
Why is it that one person hears the gospel message and responds while others hear it time and again and nothing takes place in the heart? The individuals on the day of Pentecost responded immediately to the message of salvation through Jesus Christ the Lord (Acts 2:38-41). They were called upon to save themselves from the crooked generation in which they lived (Acts 2:40). A man from Ethiopia put together what he knew with the life of Christ through the teaching of Philip and was baptized (Acts 8:35-39). Lydia, a successful businesswoman, applied her understanding of the Old Testament to the life of Christ through the teaching of Paul and was baptized (Acts 16:14,15).
In these cases there was knowledge about God as revealed in the Old Testament. Those who obeyed had already learned to trust what God revealed. When the evidences of the life of Christ were presented to them, they weighed the evidence and came to faith in Jesus the Christ. The life of Jesus matched up perfectly with what the Old Testament had shown about the coming Messiah. They reached valid conclusions based on the existing evidence of the revealed will of God (Old Testament) and the life of Jesus (New Testament). Paul spoke about how the Ephesians had trusted in Christ after they heard the word of truth, the gospel of their salvation (Ephesians 1:13).
One might reach a false conclusion along these lines. That is, that all we have to do is tell them the truth and they will come to faith in Jesus. If such were true, all we would have to do is get on the television or radio and broadcast the truth and people would come to believe in Jesus. Consider once more what we have seen thus far. Those on Pentecost, the Ethiopian and Lydia all had prior knowledge via the Old Testament. The claims made by their teachers were that the Man, Jesus is the One the prophets had in mind. Even accepting the presence of prior knowledge of the Old Testament they still had to connect that knowledge with the life of Jesus as being the fulfillment of what the prophets had said.
There must, then, be a willingness to be honest as one searches the evidence. Jesus explained the parable of the sower. His explanation began with the truth that the seed is the Word of God (Luke 8:11). He then proceeded to explain how there are different kinds of hearts. He names four kinds. One rejected the seed outright. A second accepted it but did not have root in themselves. A third accepted but allowed the things of this life to choke out the influence of that Word. A fourth received the Word and brought forth fruit with patience. Look at how the fourth heart was so named. It is called an honest and good heart (Luke 8:15).
If the heart is not honest and good, then the Word cannot do what it was designed to do. Those on the day of Pentecost asked, “…what shall we do…” (Acts 2:37). Such a question arises from a heart that is seeking relief from the burden which truth placed on them. They had knowledge of the Old Testament but not until the apostles applied truth by means of the life of Jesus did their hearts become pricked or stabbed. The man from Ethiopia was honest enough to say that he did not understand what he was reading. Lydia possessed such a heart in as much as she listen or attended to the things which Paul taught her about Jesus.
What about people who did not have prior knowledge of the Old Testament? Such would be the jailer in the city of Philippi. The traumatic events around midnight so shocked this family man that he almost took his own life. He was prevented from doing so by Paul screaming out to him to not harm himself. The jailer then brought them out and asked what he could do. It was a question brought about by shock and fear of the moment. He was told to believe in Jesus. He had no previous knowledge of the Scriptures and, hence, could not have made application to the life of Jesus as those cited earlier did. Paul and Silas then proceeded to speak to him the word of the Lord. He accepted the evidence that was presented and was baptized.
The growth of faith then comes from a body of evidence presented in the revealed will of God in the scriptures. It is not just the presenting of evidence but it is the accepting of the presented evidence that brings about faith. In every case of conversion of people to Christ, evidence is presented and then acted on. Have you obeyed Jesus the Christ?