Do Not Lose Faith: Why Some are Renouncing Their Faith

If you’ve been following any of the news headlines in the last few months there’s a good chance that you’ve heard stories of high-profile Christian leaders like Marty Sampson (Hillsong) and Josh Harris (author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye) who have renounced their faith.

Some may see these stories as shocking or even as reasons to question their faith themselves, but the reality is that we should not be surprised at these types of events. Jesus told us to expect in the last days for faith to waiver in the hearts of people everywhere.

“But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”

Luke 18:8b NLT

Paul the Apostle also spoke of when Christ would return and how that there must be a “falling away” first.

“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,”

2 Thes 2:3 NKJV

But despite all this falling away and faithlessness, God has still called us to a life of faith. It is this life of faith that pleases Him. And He, above all, is faithful to teach us and nurture us in our faith if we remain open to Him.

In Luke 10, we see the story of Lazarus and we are given a glimpse into the faith levels of two women — Mary and Martha.

Confronted with the devastation of the death of their brother Lazarus, Mary and Martha heard that Jesus, the One whom they both believed was the Christ, had come to see them. The problem was that He was four days too late after their brother had died.

Dealing with the emotions of the situation — Martha ran to meet Jesus saying, “If you had only been here, my brother would not have died.” Mary, on the other hand, stayed home and mourned.

Both women were at different faith levels. But Jesus was not finished.

After speaking with Jesus, Martha went to Mary and encouraged her to come out to meet Jesus. When they both had returned to Him, He went to the tomb where Lazarus had been buried. They thought He was going just to mourn.

However, when they arrived there, He had the stone that sealed the tomb removed. They didn’t know what He was doing. All of sudden – He called, “Lazarus! Come out!”

At His word, Lazarus, still bound in graveclothes, came out. He was raised back to life!

Can you imagine what that would have been like? The frustration, anger, sadness, all melting away in exchange for utter joy, shock and excitement.

Jesus walked these women through a first-hand faith-building exercise.

God still does this with us to this day. There will be times when we need a “Martha” to firm up our faith, to encourage us to let go of our disappointment or anger and come out and meet with Jesus.

God has prepared these “Martha’s” for us in order to help strengthen us when we need strengthening.

In the times where our faith may feel weak, may you and I lay aside any frustrations, disappointments and anger, and go to the one who is able to calm our storms and bring our dead situations back to life.

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This blog post was taken and inspired by this past Sunday’s message by Pastor Andaza Hezekiah. You can watch the full message here. If you’re in the Winnipeg area, we’d love for you to join us at one of our Sunday meetings. Get more details here and plan a visit this weekend.