Hindrances to Faith Living

Acts 26:28

Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.

There is only one way to please God in life or for your payment for eternity, and that is through faith. It takes faith to get saved. It takes faith to believe that Jesus is the Son of God who left Heaven and lived thirty-three years and never sinned one time, and then He died on the cross to pay for the sins of eternity. If you don't have the faith to trust that Christ’s payment is all you need to be saved, you will not please God, resulting in you spending an eternity in Hell.

Likewise, it takes faith after you have trusted Christ to live the Christian life. Let’s face it, we don't always understand God’s ways, but we don't have to understand, we just need to have the faith to obey Him and what He tells us to do and how to live.

Many throughout history, both saved and lost, have struggled with faith living. Paul ran into this when he was being tried. Every time he presented the Gospel, the faith hindrances of those he witnessed to kept them from getting saved. Those faith hindrances will also hinder you from living by faith for God. Let me share four hindrances that keep people from faith living.

First, convenience has kept many from faith living. Felix told Paul in Acts 24:25, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee. Faith is never convenient. If faith was convenient, everyone would live by faith. It was not convenient for the three Hebrew children to obey God by faith. It was not convenient for Daniel to continue praying. It was not convenient for Noah to build an ark by faith because God said He would send a flood, something the world had never heard of. It was not convenient for Abram to leave his home and country to go to a place that God had yet to tell him where it was. Faith will tell you to leave everything for Christ, and most are unwilling to do that because it is not convenient.

Second, reason has kept many from faith living. Felix reasoned about faith, and it did not seem reasonable to him. If you will only do what seems to make sense, you will never live a life of faith. Faith never makes sense to those who live by the flesh. Many will think you are wasting your life living by faith, but I would rather “waste” my life living by faith than waste my eternal rewards because I lived for pleasure.

Third, “one day I will do it” has kept many from faith living. Agrippa and Felix both thought they would accept Christ one day, but they didn’t. “One day” never comes; now is the time to live by faith. Every day not living by faith is a wasted day that faith would have caused God to use you mightily for His cause. You will never serve God by faith if you plan on doing it one day. Now is the day you must serve God by faith.

Fourth, not caring about the things of God has kept many from faith living. In Acts 18:17, Gallio cared for none of those things. Sadly, many who are saved don't care for the things of God. Many saved people will one day regret when they enter Heaven that they did not care for the things of God. All the things you can care for in this earth will pale in comparison to the splendor of Heaven and the rewards you could have received had you live by faith for God. Let me challenge you to care for the things of God. There is nothing this world can offer that will ever give more fulfillment than living by faith.