Strong Enough?
Over the centuries, many men and women in the Church have struggled with doubts about their salvation. For many of these individuals, they have no problem admitting and mourning over their wrongdoings against God. They affirm wholeheartedly that Jesus died on the cross in the place of sinners, and rose again from the dead. He was strong enough to do it. Moreover, they firmly acknowledge that salvation from sin comes “by grace… through faith” (cf. Ephesians 2:8).
But when these men and women have tried to discern whether or not they have faith in Christ, many of them have become discouraged. Because they haven’t always been able to feel the presence of their faith. On some days, their experience of faith has felt very strong and persistent. But on other days, their faith is scarcely perceptible. Instead, of feeling confidence in Christ, they have intense feelings of fear or uncertainty. Or, perhaps just as troubling, they don’t feel anything at all. Their hearts are numb and apathetic toward Christ. And many of these people begin to wonder, quite anxiously, “How strong does my faith need to be in order to save me?”
I want to make two points on this topic that I hope will be helpful for people wrestling with this question.
Your Faith Is Distinct From Your Emotions
First, we need to understand that there’s a distinction between having saving faith and being able to sense saving faith. In a perfect world, we would expect that everyone who has faith would be able to observe and experience their faith without hindrance. But the world we live in, and the flesh that we inhabit – even as Christians – is still affected by sin. This is why believers are urged into the lifelong pursuit of putting sin to death and putting on Christlikeness (cf. Colossians 3:5-13, 1 Peter 1:14-16).
Our emotions can be impacted by our sleeping patterns, by diet and exercise, by pharmaceuticals and their side effects, by hormones and happenstance. And on top of this, we recognize from the Bible (Ephesians 6:12) that the world is engaged in spiritual conflict, which we should expect to impact how we’re feeling day to day. Our emotions may be a good indicator of the world’s instability and brokenness. But we shouldn’t trust in our emotions to tell us whether or not we’re trusting in Jesus.
The Relationship Between Emotions and Truth
In saying this, I’m not saying that emotions don’t matter. I absolutely affirm that truth isn’t just a point of information, to be received cognitively. We want to embrace truth with our hearts, and love it, and live it. Faith is intended to be experiential and life-changing, and not just a Christianese vocabulary term.
But as Christians, we don’t listen to our feelings to tell us what’s true. Instead, we speak the truth to our fluctuating emotions, in order to bring them in line with what’s real. We don’t have to be enslaved by feelings of depression, anxiety, doubt, fear, or anything else, as though those feelings are telling us who we are, or how secure our salvation is. We have the freedom to recognize that faith isn’t just a feeling, but faith is something more like a conviction that continues to lean on Jesus, and seek his grace, even in the absence of party balloons and fireworks.
Not Is Your Faith Strong Enough, but What Is Your Faith In?
The second point I want to make here is that faith isn’t what saves us. It’s faith in Christ that saves us. Because Christ alone has the power to save. I could have very strong faith in the prophet Mohammed – a sense of absolute certainty – but I would still be left dead in my sins. Why? Because he doesn’t have the message or the might to make me perfectly righteous in God’s eyes. He can’t save me! The strength of my faith isn’t the decisive factor as to whether or not I’m saved. The important question is what is my faith in.
If my faith is in my wisdom, my morality, or my religious rituals, I’m not going to make it to heaven. I even want to be careful to make sure that my faith isn’t in my faith – how strong (or weak) it feels. Because, again, the power to save isn’t found in the potency of my faith. Instead, my faith must be in Christ. And if it is – whether it feels strong or weak, whether it seems immaculate or imperfect – if my faith is in Christ, that’s saving faith. Because Jesus Christ has the power to save.
An Analogy of Saving Faith
Imagine that there are two men dying of a cancerous tumor. Both of the men visit with the surgeon, and he tells them, “I have good news! If I operate tomorrow, I’ll be able to remove the whole tumor, and your life will be saved.”
One of them men nods and says, “Great. Sign me up. I have no concerns, and I’m fully confident that this surgery will be a good thing. See you tomorrow!” And with that, the man trundles out the door whistling a happy tune.
But the other man breaks out into a cold sweat. Surgery? He starts to get dizzy. Fumbling for his words, he asks the doctor if there’s any other way. He really isn’t sure about this whole surgery business. He gets talked into scheduling an appointment for the surgery the next day, but for the rest of the evening he has no appetite. He tries to go to sleep, but lays awake the whole night fearfully anticipating the surgery. The next morning, he talks himself in circles, debating whether or not he should really follow through. He feels exceptionally feeble, uncertain, and tired. But he manages to clamber into the vehicle and motor himself over to the hospital. He’s suddenly overwhelmed with a powerful urge to turn around and go home, but somehow, still trembling, the man parks his car and gives himself over to the surgeon for the operation. Now tell me, when both of these men go in for surgery, which man is going to be saved from the tumor?
The Saving Power of the Physician
The answer is pretty obvious. Assuming the surgeon knows what he’s doing, both men will be saved, regardless of how confident and happy they felt. Because salvation, in this case, comes from the skill of the physician. Not from the strength of our faith.
So continue to entrust yourself to the Great Physician, Jesus Christ. When you’re stressed and fretful, enjoy the fact that Christ’s power to save is unchanging. Remind yourself of what’s true and enduring, rather than listening to the impulses of your emotions. In Christ there is stability, there is peace, there is hope. So rest in him.
