Aggressive Faith

No not physical aggression, nor in your face evangelism. But, proactive and intentional confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1)

Photo Courtesy Black English (Creative Commons)

A couple of weeks ago I asked the Acts29 group on LinkedIn (A business social networking site) how they would define aggressive faith.

Here are a few of the responses:

“Aggressive faith to me is living it out loud in all you do and say. It is being ready to share the good news in and out of season…. Aggressive faith is being willing to step outside of our churches, build friendships with the unbelievers so they can see the Living Hope within us, throughout our day to day actions. It is about never hiding the truth of Jesus Christ but Living it out through our lives each and every day…” – Hoodman

“We must continue to believe God’s Word in spite of what our present situation says. This is aggressive faith. – David

“… aggressive faith is believing that what the Bible says is true, is actually true, and to allow those truths to govern what we think, say, and do on a daily basis.” – Jason

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My definition of faith is a lot like David’s. – Despite my circumstances the focus of my life and my confession (the words I speak) are founded on God’s Word, the Bible. If my focus can stay on God’s Word, and my actions are based on that Word, then I am living by faith.

Easier said than done!

To have an aggressive faith, I must be proactive and intentional with personal growth. What am I feeding into my mind? Is it always negative? I need to be tenacious to limit the media that is contrary to God’s Word (and other negative sources) that I allow to enter through my eyes and ears. What movies am I watching? What books am I reading? What music do I listen too? I am not suggesting that we live a bubble, but as Christians, our life should be set apart. Jesus has called us to go All In.

My relationship with Jesus should be very active (aggressive), always growing. I can’t leave it up to chance. What are the distractions that keep me from prayer, worship and the study of God’s Word? The Bible makes it clear that faith comes from hearing Gods Word. I need too aggressively consume His Word and realize that I am not able to do it all on my own strength. I must depend heavily on the Holy Spirit. I ask for his intervention in my life every day.

Aggressive faith will produce aggressive actions. How often do we want to play it safe? Ever prayed for safe travels? What if a difficult or even dangerous circumstance in my life would place me in the right place at the right time to share the Gospel? I really do not think that God has promised us a safe life. Just think about the Apostle Paul. He was stoned and left for dead, shipwrecked, not once but three times, bitten by a poisonous snake, imprisoned and eventually beheaded.  That is not how I would interpret a safe life.  Yet Paul probably did more than all the other Apostles to spread the Gospel around the world, and he wrote a 3rd of the New Testament. What would have been the result had Paul always prayed for and sought out safety?

Nothing really worth accomplishing is easy. In a previous post, “Easy Does It, Well not Really,” I quoted the Editor of Bible Study Magazine John D. Barry, “Easy does not change the world. Easy does not make life better for those who are hurting – for ourselves for that matter.” Jesus took on a very hard and difficult task when he gave his own life for my salvation.

I know for me at least, it its time to step up and get aggressive with my faith.

• Be intentional to focus on the Word of God, for it should be the director of my life, not my circumstances.
• Be aggressive to cut out any influences that contradict the principles of God’s Word
• Be willing to be dangerous for God’s glory.

So do I have aggressive faith? I would have to say no. However I long to grow to the place where I no longer desire to play it safe, but be willing to go through whatever it takes to spread the Gospel.

Now it is your turn. Leave me comment and let me know what you think. How would you define aggressive faith?

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About the Author: Jon Stallings

I am enthusiastic about helping others discover their purpose and grow into a deeper relationship with Jesus. It is great to see their eyes light up at their “Ah Ha!” moment when they discover they were created for something more. My hope is that this blog will help encourage and inspire you along your way. Join the conversation and take the time to share with me your own story. I have been married to my beautiful wife Janice for over 30 years. We currently live in McDonough Georgia with our daughter. Our two boys have left the nest and we have two wonderful grand kids. Of course we cannot forget about our dog Bear.