Often I get questions regarding faith, Jesus, the Gospel etc. I like to use these Enews articles to answer questions should someone ask similar questions of you. Today I want to answer a question I was asked by someone pondering their own faith in Jesus. The question was Pastor Claude How can I know I’m growing in my faith in Jesus? I know Jesus loves me and I love him but sometimes I feel like I’m slipping away from him. I keep sinning and feel like I’m constantly repenting for my sins? The more I try to grow in my relationship with him the dirtier I feel! I think I repent now more than I ever have!!

I said well I think you have your answer!! The fact that you notice your tendency to repent of your sins and feel like it’s more than ever clearly shows you’re getting closer to Jesus all the time! He was like what!!?? I said yeah let’s think about it!

After becoming a follower of Jesus what’s our primary actionable responsibility? To become his disciple. In Matthew 28:19 Jesus commanded us to go make disciples. For us to make disciples we first have to be disciples. You can’t take anyone further than where you are so technically a disciple is someone who’s one step behind you!

Now salvation is not works based. Becoming a follower of Jesus isn’t based on anything we do. You and I can’t do enough good works to earn salvation with Christ. We can’t pay enough money to buy a position of salvation with Christ. We can’t practice enough religion to qualify for a salvation relationship with Christ. But once we’re born again, a member of his family, we can have an active part in maturing our faith and growing as a disciple of Jesus. There’s a sort of partnership we engage in to grow and mature as Jesus followers.    

Becoming a disciple occurs through both the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and our working toward holiness. Jesus is our disciple maker. In Matthew 4:19 Jesus said “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men”. Jesus uses all of our learning from the word, relationships, circumstances, service, and interactions with him to grow and mature us as his followers, his disciples. These threads of our lives he uses to weave the picture of himself onto our minds and into our hearts. Jesus transforms us into his disciple.

However, we’re required to DO the work of a disciple. Primarily that means we’re to strive to live a disciplined holy life. That growing discipline manifests in us as we yield to the work he wants to do in our hearts. Our yielding comes as we spend time with him in his word and in prayer, engage with other followers of Jesus through community relationships in church and small group settings, serve and speak the truth to those who don’t yet know Jesus, and live through all the circumstances of our life growing in God’s long range perspective. His perspective; this trouble I’m in God knows, God knows what he’s doing and this too shall pass! Trouble doesn’t wreck me and success doesn’t charm me!

The challenge is though the closer we get to Jesus the more we see our own sinfulness. Growing as a disciple means I’m getting closer to his light! The more of his light I’m exposed to the more dirt I see in me. Growing in my relationship with Jesus doesn’t mean I’ll have less sin to repent, I’m not becoming better in my own power to overcome sin!! Growing in my relationship with Jesus often means I’ll be more repentant as I’m more exposed to his light! I’ll trust the Holy Spirit even more so to cleanse me and keep me from sin.

We see this expressed so well in the life of the Apostle Paul. The closer he grew to Jesus, the more of a mature believer he became, the more he realized his true condition. Paul wrote 1 Corinthians around 55 AD. In chapter 15 of that book he wrote these words “I am least of the Apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” In 55 AD Paul believed himself to be the least of the Apostles!

Then around 60 AD Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians. In chapter 3 of Ephesians we hear him say “to me though I am the least of all saints this grace was given…” He did consider himself the least of the Apostles but now here 5 years later he proclaims he’s the least of all those who believe in Jesus…least of all saints!

Lastly, Paul writes an instructional letter to one of his sons in the faith, Timothy. This letter he wrote around 64 AD. In it he makes a final confession about his status. Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:15 “The saying is trustworthy and of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief”

In 9 short years, as he matured in his faith, got closer to Jesus, closer to the light, Paul’s attitude about himself, his worthiness, his value and perspective evolved from least of the Apostles to chief of sinners! Paul gripped the grace and mercy of Jesus that much tighter as he understood his real condition; as he was able to better grasp the power of the cross and empty tomb to transform him.

The question put to me was How can I know I’m growing in my faith in Jesus?  There’re many ways to gauge this but one sure way is to truly embrace the words of John the Baptist when he said “He must increase but I must decrease”!

The closer I get to Jesus the more despicable I see myself and the more I cherish and embrace the Gospel. I can’t save myself I need a savior! Jesus is the only one who can save. Yes my friend you are growing in your relationship with Jesus! The more inclined you are to repent is evidence the Holy Spirit is working to clean your heart and mind that much more!

I think I repent now more than I ever have!! Yep…I think you have your answer!