What is an effective faith? Is it merely one who acknowledges who Jesus is and becomes saved, or is it something more?

Paul exhorts us to constantly be examining ourselves (2 Corinthians 13:5). It is not a call to check once, then done, but rather to regularly be self-examining our walk to see if it is reflective of the Light within us.

Do you have an effective faith? Take time to evaluate your prayer life and determine if it is centered on only your needs instead of the needs of others. Do you feel God is answering your prayers? If not, what could be the barrier in your life? Look around at others for an example, if need be. If you see someone whose faith is working, learn from them.

Consider also your discipleship. Are you growing in the wisdom of God’s Word? We must all be careful of being led astray by false teaching (Matthew 16:11-12; 24:4; Acts 20:30; 2 Timothy 4:3-4). Is your discernment strong enough to recognize such falsehoods? Just because someone teaches in a church does not mean they are truthful to God’s Word. The virtue of any teaching is in its ability to either equip you to do God’s will or draw you closer to Him. If either of these is missing, it should be concerning (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).

This was such an important topic for Jesus, as recorded in Matthew. He reminded His disciples to be weary of deception (see Matthew 24: 4-5; 11; 23-24; 26) and that many believers will be led astray (Matthew 24:10), likely due to their own arrogance in believing they know the truth. This is a product of lazy indifference to maturing in faith, believing we know all we need to know to be saved.

Christian faith is not a blind faith—it is a faith strengthened by the Word of God. If we are not actively seeking to strengthen our walk in Christ, we are playing right into the hands of the deceiver. It is in our maturity that we see the cross emerge off the printed page, standing upright before us, convicting us but also resurrecting us into the true presence of the Lord. We begin to understand Paul’s words that emphasize his position so earnestly (Galatians 2:20).

Do not allow your Christian walk to only consist of an hour on Sundays. If this is the extent of your faith, you need to do some deep soul-searching.

Test yourself often.