THE PROGRESSION OF FAITH.

John 4:46-53 So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die.

Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.

Here are eight verses that tell the story of the Nobleman of Capernaum, which I think marks out well what I call the progression of faith. I think there are three general progressions of faith that all true believers pass through. And I will attempt to set these in order.

FAITH OF THE CONVICTED SINNER

Consider our story, here is a Nobleman, some how he has heard about this man Jesus, whom they say is a prophet and who has performed many miracles. He has heard and he has thought, "I believe it is so". He has not salvational faith, that is trusting in Christ for salvation, but faith enough to believe the stories of Christ's miracles, and that is all. Then after some time, he finds his son deathly ill. The physicians are called but he grows rather worse. Then in his mind he remembers the stories of Christ and he thinks, "he may be able to help my son". And in great distress he runs to find Christ. After traveling about fifteen miles he finally meets the master and he cries out, "Sir, come down ere my child die."

The story of the Nobleman up to this point is a good picture of a man who is under the conviction of sin, who has from God received faith enough to seek Christ. The law of God has laid hard upon him and he knows that he is a sinner; that he, himself is nigh to death. He has heard some things about death, judgment, heaven and hell. And a little about Christ, and he thinks that Christ maybe able to help him.

So there he is, he willing to travel now. In his grief over his sin and with his burden upon his back he sets forth seeking to find peace. He is willing to go to Church to hear sermons about salvation, a place he has never wished to attend before. He turns on the Christian radio, even Christian television. He is longing to hear more about Jesus. He is seeking Christ.

Notice also that a seeking faith is a praying faith. When one is seeking Christ, he begins to pray. Though his prayers are unrefined, he still prays. I think of this Nobleman, how no doubt tears were running down his face when he called upon Christ to come and heal his son, so often the seeker weeps as he seeks to know Christ and the free pardon of sin. His faith has not brought him this yet, because his faith is still incomplete, but it has brought him even to the door steps of it. As Christ said to one Scribe, "You are not far from the Kingdom of GOD".

A Rebuke For Many Seekers

John 4:48 Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.

This may startle some, but here Christ gave a rebuke to a seeker. Here is this Nobleman, no doubt in tears, begging him to come down and to heal his son, and Christ rebukes him. Why would Christ do this, and what does it teach us about seekers of salvation?

It is clear the man at this point did not believe Christ could simply SPEAK the word and his son would be whole. He was looking for Christ to come down to his house and to do as Elijah did when he stretched himself over the body of the lad and raised him again. This was not the faith Christ was longing to see in the man. Jesus was looking for the faith the Roman possessed when he said: "Speak the word and my servant shall be made whole", to that Jesus said, "I have not found so great faith in all of Israel".

Too often the convicted sinner, the seeker, hopes to see some sign or some wonder to convince him that he is saved. He may wish for some prophecy to come to him, some dream or some vision. Or for a flash of lightning, or to be knocked unconscious, or to speak in new tongues. But to wait upon some experience before trusting in Christ is almost a mockery to him.

You see Jesus Christ cannot lie. He has proven his word to be absolutely true. And he has told us how to be saved. How shall we be saved? "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, he that believes not shall be damned". We are to trust only in Christ, we are to come to him in faith, repenting of our sins in our hearts, and simply trust in him.

Some may say, "I have done that, but I do not know if I am saved or not". If you have done that, then you are saved or Christ is a liar. He said if you would come believing, you would be saved, and he would not cast you out, and he cannot lie.

BELIEVING FAITH

John 4:49-50 The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.

This brings us to our next stage of faith, and I call it believing faith. A strange term, but still appropriate. Seeking faith was weak in that it only brought us to the door, but it was not able to bring us to believe the word of Christ. But thank God, he is able to mature that infant like faith, into believing faith. Seeking faith might be reckoned to a seed, and believing faith like a shoot coming out of the earth.

Notice the Nobleman now BELIEVES. He believes what? The words of Jesus Christ. He at first wanted Christ to physically come and heal his son, now he believes the word of GOD. Christ speaks, "Thy son liveth", and he believes it. This is the kind of faith that lays hold upon salvation. You can be a seeker all your life, but if that faith does not mature by the grace of God into believing, you will be lost. You must believe the words of Christ.

The Nobleman showed his belief because he went his way. He did not beg Christ to come any more, but he simply and obediently walked away, trusting the words of Christ. And that is how we are saved. We are brought to his door steps by conviction. We come to him seeking. Then we are presented with the Gospel, and we are told, "Believe in thine heart that God raised Christ from the dead and confess him as Lord with thy mouth, and thou shalt be saved". We hear the Word of GOD and believe the Word of GOD and we are then saved.

Some might say, "But I do not feel joy in my heart", and you won't until you believe his word. Feelings and assurances and blessings all come AFTER you believe. And we shall see that in a moment. But before we come to that let us notice the Nobleman's walk home.

QUIETNESS AND PEACE OF MIND

John 4:51-52 And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.

Remember now our Nobleman was about fifteen miles from home and it was the seventh hour, or about 3pm when Jesus told him "thy son liveth". No doubt he had traveled this distance to find Christ hurriedly, probably within several hours. But notice it is the next day when he reaches his home. It seems he was in no rush to get there, he didn't think "I must travel quickly so if Jesus' word is not so, I can find another doctor." I believe he went home with peace and quietness in his spirit, freed from that awful burden.

And it is the same for the one who has come to believe in Jesus Christ. He has peace and quietness in his soul. The burden of his sin and guilt and shame are all lifted up off of him. He believes that Christ is the Son of God and knows that he cannot lie. He is not anxious about his soul, but trusts that it is in the hands of his Maker.

I think maybe on his trip home one said to him, "Why are you smiling, is not your son ill?" Oh no, he was just healed. "How do you know?" Jesus of Nazareth said it was so. "Can you believe him? Will you simply take his word for it?" Yes, I believe he is of God, and he will not lie. I trust him".

No doubt the young believer is harassed on his journey also. Satan comes to him, "Why are you smiling, are you not a sinner?" Yes, but Christ has forgiven me of my sins. "How do you know this, you may be deceiving yourself". It is because Christ said if I believe, I would be saved; and I have trusted in Christ and repented of my sins, and I trust he has saved me. "What if he has not?" Are you saying Christ is a liar? You are the liar Satan and the father of them. Now get behind me.

THE FRUITFUL BELIEVER.

John 4:53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.

Now we come to the final progression of faith. We have come from the seed, to the stalk, now we come to the ripe fruit of faith. We have seen the seeker, the believer, and now the fruitful.

The Nobleman reaches his home, and into his arms jumps his son. He is now all better, the fever is gone, he is as if he has never been sick. And the Scripture says of the Nobleman that: "himself believed". Now some question this seeing that he believed in verse fifty, but this is no contradiction. For the Nobleman he first believed merely the Word of Christ, that it would come to pass. Now he believes upon the person of Christ and receives him as his Savior. But we wish to use this as an example of faith in its full maturity, faith in all of its glory.

Evidences For the Enquirer

As the stalk of faith matures in the believer it soon brings forth fruit. Some thirty, some sixty, and some a hundred fold. With the fruit comes the mature assurance of the faith. There are evidences all about, that is for the believer who enquires of them. Just as our Nobleman enquired about what hour his son was healed, so should we enquire. Notice the prayers that have been answered. Look at your past and consider the Providence of GOD in it. How he has been working all things out to your salvation. Consider those sweet evidences of God's Spirit in your life. The peace, the hope, the joy. Even, if you must, remember the times you have erred since you believed, and the chastening rod that fell upon you. He only chastens those he loves. You do not have to be saved very long to see the evidence of it in your life. No the Spirit will certainly bear witness with you, that you are a child of God.

THE SALVATION OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.

I want you to also get hope from this text dear Saint of God, for it says: "and himself believed, and his whole house." The house of the Nobleman believed unto salvation with him. By his prayer and testimony he lead his loved ones to faith in Christ. And you can have much hope for the same. Commit your children to prayer. Pray often for them, that God will save them. And live your religion before them. Let them know that you are sincere, and that you truly believe in Christ. And trust God to save them.

The Apostles gave this promise to the Jailor, "And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house". The Apostle promised that even the household of the jailor would be saved if he would believe. And so it was. By his testimony his family was lead to repentance and faith in Christ, and they were all baptized. You that are heads of your houses, you can claim this promise for yourself. May your loved ones be fruit for your harvest.

But one may say, "You do not know my children, they always break my heart". Then I urge you to pray that God breaks theirs.

Another may add: "My children are so hard hearted and cold!" But consider how cold and hard hearted you once were. If God saved you, he can save them. Pray, and pray fervently for them. Your tears are kept in God's bottle, and your cries are recorded. He will deal with your children accordingly.

EVIDENCES OF SAVING FAITH

I think the question that should be most asked in Churches today is: Do I have real faith? If you remember the Apostle Paul told us to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith. Now I would like to consider some evidences of salvation that are common among all believers, that we may have the proper assurance, but never false assurance, that we are saved. We will begin with a simple one:

Do You Pray? Our Nobleman prayed. He prayed when he was a seeker, and no doubt he prayed right on in his life. Prayer is the breath of the believer. A true believer prays. When Paul was converted Christ told the prophet Ananias "Behold he Prayeth". This was given as evidence of Paul's conversion, and it is evidence of yours. If you do not ever pray, then you are not alive.

Do You Read The Bible? Peter told the believers this:

"As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby" – 1 Peter 2:2

If prayer is our air to breath, then the Word is the milk for our growth. As a new born baby naturally desires milk, so do those who are born of God. They have a special love for the word of God. Do you enjoy the Bible? Are you fed by the Bible? If we despise the Milk of God, then we are not children of God.

Do you obey God? When Christ told the Nobleman to go his way, he went right away. He was obedient. The Bible teaches that if we have faith, we will obey God. Here is probably the truest of all marks. And a mark lacking greatly in the Church world today. Too many people are deceiving themselves, for they are hearers of the Word but not doers of the word. If we have true faith, it will cause us to do what Christ commands.

Now I do not preach perfection, but I do preach honesty and holiness. Sadly there are unbelievers who are more honest and true than professed believers today. But it ought not to be so. If we love Christ we WILL obey Christ. And if we fail, it will grieve our souls, and we will not continue in disobedience. Those who can lay in the mire of sin and rebellion are not children, but swine.

Conclusion:

I think this sermon has presented an adequate picture of the progression of faith. There could be much more said I know, and there are some wise-men who would give seven or more progressions instead of three; but though I know these three are general, I believe they are yet close enough to touch home with all of you.

Now let me ask you: As you listened, where did you find yourself? And could you remember yourself passing through these progressions? I hope that all within the sound of my voice are in one of the three.

Also let me say this: If you are here and you are a seeker, I want to urge you to believe the words of Christ. I will say them again, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved". Christ has died for your sins, paying your penalty in full. If you believe upon him all thine sins shall be washed away by his blood. And he will come into your heart by his Spirit, and make you a new creature. Simply believe his word in your heart, repenting of your sins, and you shall be saved. As the Bible says, "As many as received him to them he gave power to become the sons of God".