Why Christians Stop Growing in Their Faith

Only One Thing Matters on Judgment Day: Does Christ Know You? Learn how to Grow in Your Faith and Gain a True Knowledge of God

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Jun 16, 2024

The Barna Group recently determined through extensive surveys that only 4% of professing Christians hold a Christian worldview. To put that in perspective, the surveys determined that 60% believed that Christ wasn’t the only way to eternal life, and 40% believed that Christ sinned at some point. Both of these beliefs violate the very pillars of Christianity. If you believe either of these statements, then you could not qualify even to be called a Christian.

Anyone monitoring the controversies concerning specific ministries across the nation realizes that many ministries, from megachurches to small churches, are being accused of teaching false doctrine. This has to be the case for us to reach such an appalling 4% figure. The deeper concern here is that the American Church is dangerously close to a turning point in becoming an Apostate Church.

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. (2) Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; (3) and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. (2 Peter 2:1-3)

The Dividing Line

A universal issue is missing from virtually all Christian teaching in America today. This issue marks a serious dividing line between those who know about Christ (which apparently is 96% of the church) and those who know Christ Himself (4% or less).

Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. (22) Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' (23)And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.' (Matthew 7:21-23)

On judgment day when all is finally revealed, Jesus doesn’t address false doctrine or false teaching, but rather a lack of knowing Himself. The issue of apostasy ultimately comes down to truly knowing Jesus Himself over holding a superficial knowledge about Jesus.

Notice that these people tell Jesus that they know Him, but Jesus’ response to them and the true test of salvation is whether Jesus knows you. This “knowing” is the intimate knowledge of a husband “knowing” his wife (we are, after all, the Bride of Christ!).

True Knowledge of Christ

Two passages from the Apostles Paul and Peter deal with what they indicate to be the sources of the greatest spiritual wisdom and anointing, or knowing Jesus Himself, through which “you may be partakers of the divine nature.”

The first passage is Colossians 1:9-12 where the Apostle Paul is praying for the believers in Colossae:

For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, (10) so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; (11) strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously (12) giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. (Colossians 1:9-12)

This passage can be understood in more depth by studying the following corollary in 2 Peter 1:2-4:

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; (3) seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. (4) For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. (2 Peter 1:2-4)

What will readily be missed by people who do not study in the original languages is tucked away in verses 9 and 10 in the Colossians passage and verses 2 and 3 in the 2nd Peter passage. “Knowledge” and "True knowledge" in these two passages are epignosis not gnosis, the alternate word for knowledge in the Koine Greek of the New Testament (NT).

Gnosis is book or classroom (sermon) knowledge, second-hand knowledge. Whereas, epignosis refers to the “application knowledge” received from the Spirit by actually being obedient to do what God’s word has commanded.

True Knowledge Leads to Obedience & Fellowship

We cannot divorce our knowledge of scripture and God Himself from obedience and fellowship. Being in fellowship means having no unconfessed sin.

If we are willing to obey the truth we know, God will immediately take our superficial knowledge (gnosis) of His word and write it on the fleshly tablets of our hearts and make it experiential knowledge (epignosis) of Himself.

I can read everything written about rebuilding a transmission, but I will never gain the "application knowledge" until I actually tear a transmission down and rebuild it. In the natural realm, this is called active learning, but in the spiritual realm, it is a much deeper concept as the Holy Spirit empowers this process from the inside out.

This is why any scripture involving epignosis is always in the passive voice, meaning it is being received through anointing from the Spirit as a consequence of our obedience. Scripture also indicates that obedience should be immediate and done with diligence. If we could get epignosis in our strength, human understanding, and effort it would be in the active voice.

True Knowledge Leads to Life

We see this concept emphasized in Philippians 1 in terms of its ongoing effect on a believer:

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge [epignosis] and all discernment, (10) so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; (11) having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11)

The Apostle Paul stresses the importance of receiving epignosis from the Spirit “in order to be sincere and blameless” and to be “filled with the fruit of righteousness.” “May abound” is in the present or continuous tense again requiring that we are in fellowship as a lifestyle.

These passages clearly tell us that to gain everything “pertaining to life and godliness,” it is not enough to know these things by having heard or read scriptural truth. No, we receive the fullness of Christ’s promises through the Word and the Spirit only when we are obedient to follow God’s instructions in our three functions when God brings the opportunity.

Moreover, the Apostle James tells us clearly in James 2:17 that “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself,” and further in verse 26, “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” Then James deals the final blow to lack of obedient action in James 4:17 where he deals with sins of omission: “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.”

This is further testified to by our Lord’s words in John 14:15 "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” and in John 15:10-14:

If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. (11) These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. (12) This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. (13) Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. (14) You are My friends if you do what I command you. (John 15:10-14).

So, you can see that Christ clearly defines how we have a relationship with Him. The closer that relationship is through our obedience, the more supernatural grace and epignosis we will receive.

The bottom line is that for a believer to qualify to receive any of the promises in scripture, they must first be in fellowship, having no unconfessed sins, and then they must be diligent to act in obedience to God’s mandates in scripture when the opportunity arises, as failure to do so is sin. Fulfilling these requirements will result in immediate blessing, insight, understanding, and the supernatural power (grace) to obey these commands and to face whatever circumstances God places us in. And God will place us in many situations to test, grow, and purify our faith and knowledge of Himself.

Learning vs True Knowledge

This principle of true knowledge is further testified to by 2 Timothy 3, which deals with weak women weighed down with sin. It describes them in verse 7 as “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Again, “knowledge” here is epignosis.” “Learning” is translated from manthanō and means “to learn or understand from teaching or reading” and is in the active voice and is therefore through man’s own faculties.

Verse 6 indicates they are “weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses.” So whether they are truly saved or not, they would not have been qualified to receive insight or anointing from the Holy Spirit, which is the only way to receive epignosis.

We read in Psalm 34:8 "O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!" However, what is meant is to obey God's commands while in fellowship having no unconfessed sins, then you will experience (taste) His blessings. Moreover, “taking refuge” in Him requires having a sincere faith, or truly "trusting in and relying upon" Him, which is the very Koine Greek definition of pisteuo, which is translated as “believe” throughout the NT.

A major problem with many Christians today is they think that if they attend church and tithe that the pastor and church staff somehow can fulfill what the Bible defines as their duty in their three functions by proxy, which could not be further from the truth.

“Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” (James 4:16).

Conclusion - 3 Steps to Knowing God

If you’re reading this and you think you might be a part of the 95% who know about Christ and go through religious motions, but you don’t have a true experiential knowledge of the indwelling Christ as discussed above, here are 3 steps to take.

Step one is to maintain a lifestyle of fellowship

Fellowship is the cornerstone of our relationship with God once we are saved. Being in fellowship is accomplished by simply having no unconfessed sins. Sin causes a separation between ourselves and every member of the Trinity because God cannot fellowship with sin (Isaiah 59:2, Proverbs 28:13, Psalm 66:18). So when we have unconfessed sins God does not hear our prayer that doesn’t begin with repentance and confession (1 John 1:6-9).

“If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; (7) but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. (8) If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. (9) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (10) If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:6-10).

Moreover, unconfessed sin will “grieve” and “quench” the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30, 1 Thessalonians 5:19), which means while we are out of fellowship the Spirit is not able to guide us or give us the insight we so desperately need to negotiate this evil world. You can review the entire Doctrine of Fellowship at this link: https://substack.com/history/post/144156051

Step two is to familiarize yourself with your three Christian Functions

These are simply God’s commands for fulfilling your relationship to Him, which is your Priesthood (1 Peter 2:5,9), your relationship to the lost, which is your Ministry of Reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-20), and your relationship to other believers, which is your Ministry to Build-up and Edify the Body of Christ (1 Peter 4:10, Romans 14:19, Hebrews 10:24-25, Philippians 2:3)

The majority of the commands that you need to fulfill to qualify to receive “true knowledge” (epignosis) is involved in these three functional areas of responsibility or duties. You can find these detailed in the scriptures covered in the “Three Functions of Believers” document at https://substack.com/home/post/p-144227478?source=queue

Step three is to develop a ministry strategy to fulfill your three functions that is centered around your spiritual gift(s)

To begin with, start each day by confessing any sin you may have overlooked in your bedtime prayers. If none come to mind pray that God will forgive you for your sins of omission and commission and to cleanse you of all unrighteousness.

Secondly, develop a schedule you can commit to for reading and meditating on the word of God daily starting first thing in the morning for at least 15 minutes or more.

Get a three-ring notebook that you can use to record prayer requests by date and jot down any leading you feel you are getting from the Spirit, especially while you are studying God’s word or listening to a teaching. Then revisit that guidance, pray about it, examine it in scripture, and share it. When we honor God's guidance, we open the door to receive more insight. If we fail to record it we will generally soon forget it and that can serve to lessen what we receive.

Next, you can email the articles you find on Alive In Jesus Christ to your saved and unsaved acquaintances. First, ensure you are in fellowship and ask God to bless the articles to impact those receiving them for Christ. This is the easiest way to begin to operate in God’s army of Christian soldiers and God will accord your efforts to your spiritual account as righteousness, which He will be faithful to reward.

Lastly, since you are in the Bible business purchase some paperback Bibles and tracts (or preferably write them yourself) and have them available to give away when God brings you the opportunity. People who are prepared to share the word are many times more likely to share it than those who make no preparation. (Keep watch; we will shortly be posting a more in-depth guide for maximizing your time in the word and developing effective strategies for sharing the gospel.)

Questions or further thoughts? We’d love your feedback in the comments.

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