Side Effects of Faith

Romans 5:1
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”

The doctor says, “I am going to prescribe this medicine for you, but let me tell you about the side effects.” These side effects can sometimes be worse than the problem you went to the doctor about. My father-in-law has had problems with his kidneys for years, and he recently went to the doctor, which resulted in the doctor giving him a prescription for his situation. The problem with the prescription was that it caused my father-in-law more problems than it helped. The side effects were simply the result of taking medicine.

Faith is the focus of the verse above. Everything else in the verse would be not be listed if it were not for faith. Yes, the verse above is talking about a person being saved by faith, but the side effects that putting your faith in Christ for salvation produces are the same side effects that a believer will experience when they choose to step by faith to serve God. Let me point out several side effects of faith that you will find to be encouraging as you serve God by faith.

First, faith justifies. The verse above says, “Therefore being justified by faith…” Many people will think you are crazy when you choose to step out by faith to serve God. Some will think that living by faith is a waste of your life, but faith eventually justifies the act of trusting God. Faith justifies the person immediately when they get saved, but it doesn’t justify the action of the believer immediately when they choose to step out by faith to do something for God. You must be patient with the life of faith because it will justify your trust in God when the purpose of stepping out on faith becomes a reality.

Second, faith gives peace. Because of faith, “we have peace.” You will never come to peace with yourself as a believer until you live by faith. Faith not only makes you at peace with yourself, but it also makes you at peace with God. The reason faith makes you at peace with yourself and God is because you are doing what God created you to do. You will always struggle with what to do in life until you learn to step out by faith because whatever God made you for will only be realized through a life of faith.

Third, faith builds a relationship with God. You will always find yourself walking “with God” when you are living the life of faith. You learn more about God by walking with Him in the life of faith than you ever will by living a sight-driven walk. Faith proves God to you and you to God. Faith shows you how powerful God is, and it proves to God how much you are willing to trust Him. You will never see the power of God without a faith-driven life.

Fourth, faith gives access. God always honors the prayer of those who live by faith. The more a person steps out by faith, the more power they will have in prayer. My friend, faith has a way of making you pray because you can’t make it without God and live the life of faith. The life of faith forces the believer to their knees for God’s intervention because faith is going beyond the believer’s capabilities. When you study history, you always find that those who had the greatest prayer lives had the greatest accomplishments because of their willingness to step out by faith. Stepping out by faith is never comfortable, but it gives the believer power in prayer and the joy of seeing God do the miraculous through their life.

Author: Allen Domelle