When Deborah and I started vocational ministry in the early 1980s, we didn’t know much and we had almost no training, but we were taught how to “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12).
My generation of church planters and campus missionaries generally believed that to have faith meant to actively fight doubt. Faith required rejecting lies and confessing Scripture truth.
I’m not sure how or when it happened, but many ministers today seem to think doubt is a virtue. In the name of authenticity, many proudly testify about their doubt as if it is a mark of spiritual maturity.
Today’s text shows us that:
- Faith is active, not passive.
- Faith is vocal, not just mental.
- Faith is plural and personal.