Stages of Faith
The Stages of Faith
Have you ever considered where you are in your life of faith? It’s a difficult thing to measure. We often think about our spiritual growth - if we think about it at all - through the lenses of biblical knowledge or how often we pray or read our Bibles. We rarely take a holistic look at ourselves or chart our spiritual development over time. We tend to view the peaks and valleys of life as something to navigate with the resources we have available rather than a natural movement of God to a deeper place of formation in him. For example, an old idiom suggests that we should beware of praying for patience because the Lord will give us opportunities for our patience to grow. The hard won patience that is developed on the other side of those opportunities is an invaluable outflowing of the work of the Holy Spirit propelling us ever further - incrementally though it may be - into greater Christ-likeness. Yet this attainment is difficult to measure in and of itself. Perhaps we notice the cultivation of patience as we sing hymns in a traffic jam or whistle in line at the DMV. Perhaps we notice new patterns of prayer and the desire for service that seem to indicate some sort of internal change reflected in our external orientations. These subtleties are often the indicators we reflect upon when considering our spiritual growth. But if we were to map out our life of faith, where are the growth points in our journey of discipleship? Are we really advancing in Christ-likeness or are we simply getting older, wiser, and less resistant to what God wants to do in and through us for the sake of others?
This is precisely why I felt the tug to pair this current sermon series on Jesus’ Parables with something called The Stages of Faith. Think of the Stages of Faith as a kind of spiritual cartography. We are mapping the journey of faith, which is simply the process by which we let God guide the entirety of our lives or, in other words, the journey in which we submit to God’s leadership and receive his direction on the road to wholeness. Wholeness is a key word because the stages of faith aims to create a map of a whole-life faith journey. My aim is to introduce a brief explanation of each of the stages so that you can begin thinking about where you might reside currently in your spiritual journey. If you are genuinely curious and desire to go deeper, let me know. I’d be happy to explore this in more detail in a counseling or group setting.
Stage 1: Recognition of God
This is the stage where the journey begins. We recognize the reality of God in our lives and begin to seek out what it means to follow God. This often entails an exploration of the many questions we might have about God. Think of the verse, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” Think of this stage as the “discovery” stage. Discovery leads to discipleship.
Stage 2: Life of Discipleship
Once a recognition of God has been established then there is a commitment to one’s new found faith. This commitment entails attending church, being part of a Bible study or a basic discipleship training course. This is the stage where one become serious about their faith. This stage is layered in the sense that someone who is simply attending church and someone who is actively involved in deepening their faith can both be at Stage 2. Stage 2 is focused on discipleship, whereas, Stage 3 is focused on “doing.” Doing presents an active kind of discipleship.
Stage 3: The Productive Life
The productive life entails getting involved in doing things for God at a consistent level. This stage usually involves the discovery of one’s gifts to be utilized in service to God and his church. Being active in church often leads to a basic level of maturity, but for maturation to continue one must persevere through through the internal and external struggles of life. Oftentimes Stage 3 can feel exhilarating and deeply meaningful, but doing work for God inside or outside the church can be a soothing distraction from confronting hurt or pain within. Where this stage emphasizes the “doing” of the Christian journey, the next stage emphasizes the “discerning” nature of discipleship. Where Stage 3 focuses on the outward journey, Stage 4 is where we must traverse inward.
Stage 4: The Inward journey
The inward journey involves a life or faith crisis that propels us into a period of discernment. The event or crisis is often quite significant involving family or relationship issues that hit close to home. These crises can be health related, involve a death in the family, loss of job or other significant loss that can mess with our identity. It is in this stage that inward examination is an essential way forward. People get caged at Stage 3 when they lean into the work of the church for their identity and peace rather than asking important questions about who they are in the midst of this crisis and where God may be present to them and with them throughout. A biblical account that is indicative of Stage 4 is Peter. Peter left his family, home, and vocation to follow Jesus. He became a rabbinical student who traced the steps of his rabbi into miracles, healings, and messianic expectations. But everything changed on Good Friday. Suddenly, all the pieces that Peter was putting together no longer fit. Jesus wasn’t supposed to be tried as a criminal and be executed. Not the messiah! His faith no longer made sense. He was plunged into a crisis that presented a necessary confrontation with reality as he perceived it. In reaction, Peter denied his rabbi and Lord disavowing any association in order to save his own skin. It was a moment that propelled him into confusion and brokenness. As we see, “the Peter who emerged after Easter to lead the Church after Pentecost was a different Peter from the man for whom the rooster had crowed.”
In Stage 4, new questions emerge as we are faced with shattered expectations and a new reality. Some may even liken this stage to a sort of deconstruction. Oftentimes, those who have been passive about their discipleship can have difficulty coming back to their faith in critical moments. The breadth and depth of Stages 2 and 3 are essential for relying on God for our inner direction rather than letting our feelings in the moment dictate our future. Peter came back to the faith stronger and more capable for having gone through the wall of all of his beliefs being thrown into question. This leads us to the next part of the journey known as The Wall.
The Wall:
The Wall awaits for us on the other side of Stage 4. It is the moment where we push through the crisis. The wall is something that requires us to entrust God to the healing and transformative power that awaits on the other side. Those who remain caged at Stage 4 never quite make it through the wall. They are riddled with same questions that never have sufficient answers, simply because the answers are not sought in the right places. Going through the wall requires a confrontation of our inner hurts. Often these hurts go back to childhood. We human beings cannot help but project parental issues from the past upon God. So that we find the same struggle in our faith is actually the difficulty of confronting the inner hurt or trauma that we carry with us. Going through the wall oftentimes requires more than Scripture and personal exploration. It requires someone to walk alongside us on the journey - a spouse, mentor, or spiritual director. Breaking through the Wall brick by brick requires community. The Wall is not something that we only go through once. As other crises present themselves, additional walls will be erected that we will need to piece through again. But the process results in the benefit of inner transformation and deeper, intimate communion with Christ.
Stage 5: The Outward Journey
Stage 5 can be categorized as living “horizontally.” At Stage 5 we are healed and transformed and thus give our lives away for the sake of God and others. This constitutes an inner peace that cannot be replicated except for Christ’s hard won cultivation over many years of discipleship. At this Stage we become a mentor, discipler, and spiritual sage that others may glean from while also continuing in lifelong healthy spiritual rhythms that have been engrained while following the way. If we think of Stage 4 as the stage of discernment, which ends up forcing us to either face our wall or retreat; Stage 5 is the location of dissemination where the wisdom of Christ is disseminated to all with whom we come in contact.
Stage 6: The Life of Love
We reach Stage 6 after many years of living faithfully ate Stage 5. Stage 6 is simply an extension and increase of Stage 5 where we enter into a Christ-like lifestyle of total obedience to God. This final stage of the journey of faith is indicative of what Matthew 6:33 looks like lived out: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.” It isn’t likely to find anyone in their 20’s or 30’s or even 40’s at this stage. To reach this stage is one of decades of surrender to Christ emanating from the place of desiring only to serve others for the sake of Christ. At this Stage we continue as a mentor to mentors, and a spiritual sage to spiritual sages. Think of Stage 6 as a contented and compassionate life that exceeds human capacity. It is clear that Christ has had His way and it is moving to behold.
Parables
I have paired these stages of faith with the parables because parables reveal hidden truths about God’s Kingdom, while spiritual cartography enables us to discover hidden truths about our motivations and spiritual inclinations that we may grow ever more mature in Christlikeness. Just as the word parable means “to place one thing alongside another” I am doing just that by examining some key parables while also highlighting various stages of Christian maturity along the way.
Again, if you are genuinely curious and desire to go deeper, let me know. I’d be happy to explore this in more detail in a counseling or group setting. Perhaps a small group gathering at your home.
May we all grow ever more mature in Christlikeness as we follow the Way of Jesus together!
- Pastor Dan Hues