What does it mean to have weak faith?

It’s not a bad thing. It doesn’t mean “wrong faith” or someone who does not have saving faith. We have to remember that Paul uses the word for faith in at least two different ways in his letters. There is the sense that we are saved by faith alone – as he says in Ephesians 2:8: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–“. Earlier in Romans he says that Abraham is the father of all believers because his righteousness came through his faith and not his obedience to the law. Romans 4:13: “It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but faith.”

At the same time, Paul talks about faith as a set of beliefs and practices. In 1 Thessalonians 1:3 he writes, “We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.” In 1 Timothy 1:1 he calls Timothy “my true son in the faith.”

So, there is a distinction between salvation by faith alone and growing in the faith. Here Paul is talking about one whose faith is new and undeveloped or is still overly concerned with what they must do to please God and avoid displeasing him. In other words, there is a relationship between weak faith or immature faith and fear. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says, “…the weaker brother is governed by the spirit of fear – that is why he multiplies rules and regulations. He is so anxious to hedge himself in, and to prevent himself from falling, that he gets to the point at which he is a legalist, falling back on justification by works, and denying justification by faith only.” They have accepted the gospel but they have trouble being confident in the gospel and God’s now being pleased with them through their trust in the complete work of Christ. There is yet something more to be done to assure them of their security. This is what Paul was saying to the Galatians. They had been convinced that faith was not enough and God still required something more of them. “Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? What has happened to all your joy?” And, of course, that is the same for us, isn’t it? We worry that we need to do more than accept the gift of grace and start adding things to our list that will give us more certainty of our pleasing God. More of everything and some of them are good things in and of themselves…but it eventually eats away at our joy and our gratitude.

Weak in the faith describes those who have not yet come to confidence in Christ alone so they need additional rules and regulations. It’s not all bad…unless we never get past it. It’s even necessary in any new practice. What are the fundamental habits you first learned playing golf? Keep your head down. Firm stance. Right grip. Eventually, those things become ingrained and while they are still fundamental they are not re-learned over and over again. Same as with playing our scales on an instrument. Absolutely necessary but not the goal. The fundamentals allow us to move on and to experience the joy of what we are doing.

Paul describes all of these fundamentals when he tells us the Law was our tutor. The rules were necessary and useful when we were just learning how to behave but now we have something far more powerful than a tutor. We have the Holy Spirit not only to instruct us but to provide the power to live this impossible life. Have you tried steering a car with power steering when the engine is off? It is far more difficult than manual steering, isn’t it? That is a good description of the Christian life. We have not been designed for manual steering and when the power goes off living the Christian life is actually harder than the non-Christian life. The weak faith with all the rules and regulations needs the control of manual steering – but that is not the Christian life Paul desires for us.

How is the church to respond? Paul says the church is to accept them. Now, that word means something more than mere acceptance. It means to take into yourself in the same way you would absorb and digest food. Take them in completely and accept responsibility for them – not just include them as members to be counted. Incorporate them.

It does not mean put them into leadership or hold them up as examples of new faith if they happen to be celebrities. It means find a place for them to quietly grow.

Don’t dumb down the church in order to attract people of weak faith. But, don’t try to indoctrinate them or force them into believing things that are really inconsequential. Instead, expect them to grow and not to stay weak in their faith. They may still hold to some of their rules of conscience but they will have a chance to examine them. We are not simply to write them off as the weaker brothers and judge them as being legalists. Instead, we are to give them a place to grow and become “fully convinced” of the validity of what they believe or have the option to change.

Paul often uses the phrase “I am convinced” and that is what he means here. Becoming fully convinced or confident is a process. Paul says we are to make up our minds – not to stop thinking. Paul says he is “fully persuaded” and that does not mean he was overwhelmed or pressured. It means he came to a belief over time that he finds no need to argue or be defensive about. That is the kind of environment the church can be in which people with widely different interpretations and preferences can be fully persuaded and not forced into a set of rigid opinions. The church is not a place of arguing, debates, name calling and win at all costs. We’ll leave that up to the politicians and talk show hosts. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10:3:”For although we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.” In some ways, we in the church have contributed to the atmosphere of partisan strife and bitterness because we have made every difference we have with each other a pitched battle instead of being a place where people have the freedom to become fully persuaded over time and in their own way. Yes, there are matters which are fundamental but we cannot make every matter fundamental.

There are false teachings and Paul warns us about those time and again. In Galatians he warns against those who teach the Law and works are just as important as faith. In Colossians he warns us about those who would take us captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. In 1 Timothy he warns us of false abstinence and extreme disciplines. In that same letter he warns us to stay away from those who have an unhealthy interest in controversies and arguments that result in envy, quarreling, malicious talk, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth…” It’s a good example of an uncomfortable conscience that becomes doctrinaire and controlling and eventually becomes false teaching.

We are not to sweep these things under the rug or to overlook sinful behavior. But, we are to never stop working at unity, humility and putting others interests in front of our own. Our goal is always the maturity of the church.

Becoming fully persuaded is hard work and it takes time, teaching and trust. People still want easy answers that do not require dependence on the Holy Spirit. We want policies instead of maturity. We want certainty instead of growth. That is why Paul says we are not to argue about these things but to commit ourselves to listening and growing. Being confident in our freedom is not the same as being reactive or rebellious or throwing off our upbringing or demanding that others do the same. It means holding to things that really matter and that strengthen the body and turning loose of those that only cause problems.

What is our guide for what to keep and what to abandon? Just this.

“Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.” 1 Corinthians 10:23-24

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Philippians 2:3

“Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” Romans 14:19

This does not mean making all things relative. It doesn’t mean accepting everything anyone does or half-heartedly agreeing to disagree. However, it does mean accepting the tension of living in a fellowship with differences and having the trust and confidence in God to allow him to give people freedom without offending the conscience of others. In other words, the whole intent of Paul is the maturity of the body of Christ – not just individuals. Paul wrote for the church and it was the church as a whole that he worked so hard to prepare for Christ. If the body of Christ could not model harmony and unity then his work was in vain. All of our gifts are to “prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

But then Paul says something that has really helped me. Can I give thanks no matter what I do? There has to be a certain amount of confidence, trust and freedom that allows us to give thanks instead of worrying if we have offended God or displeased a fellow Christian. That’s the test of gratitude. If we are fully convinced – whatever our position – then we can be grateful and not fearful or defensive. Gratitude and pride are not compatible. Gratitude and guilt are not compatible. Gratitude is a measure of maturity and a test of our conscience. If I am openly grateful to God for something then it is probably not a point of pride or guilt.

Finally, there must be a mutual commitment and responsibility to move toward maturity. If we bend too far toward the “weaker brother” we are only hindering his growth. If we give up things that are perfectly acceptable to our conscience then we are being held hostage. Paul says we are to give up things that will truly cause another to fall or cause their deep hurt or their destruction. It is not just confusion or discomfort but something that will directly cause them to fall back into sin. “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, won’t he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.”

That does not mean we are to live in bondage to their weak conscience. Only if it would truly mean we would directly cause them to be destroyed and fall away from faith.

But, the weaker brother has an obligation to grow and not remain stubbornly weak or be permanently biased instead of fully convinced. If they continue to control others by their own weakness then they are not fulfilling their responsibility to become mature. Otherwise, the weaker brother sets the standard and the stronger brother becomes a caretaker. That is not love and that is not freedom.

So, let me paraphrase as I close:

Advice to veteran believers: So, don’t judge or criticize those who are learning the ropes. Don’t cause them to give up or quit by holding the standards too high or making fun of their progress but don’t let them settle for less than their best. Commit to helping them stretch and see things differently without feeling they have to give up everything they believe. Don’t offend them with your freedom but don’t let your freedom become your master. Don’t lord it over them with your opinions or make them feel stupid. Play your own game without bragging or pride. Remember what it was like to be a rookie.

Advice to new believers: Don’t condemn people as liberals who have worked their way through these issues and have freedoms you don’t at this point. Learn from them as they learn from you. Don’t be afraid of them or being seen with them. If you are unsure of yourself ask those who have done the hard work of becoming confident in what they believe to be your mentor and find out what they have learned. But don’t try to become who they are without going through what they have. Don’t get out in front of yourself. Relax, practice and grow. Be fully convinced. Don’t resist changing your mind about things – but don’t just acquiesce.

“Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” Romans 14:19

“The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.” Isaiah 32:17