Faith-first application is my term for sermon applications that call for Believers to believe some aspect of the Gospel before asking for life-change. This application approach is the result of reading the Gospels and Scott Hafemann’s book, The God of Promise and the Life of Faith. When you read the Gospels you hear Jesus asking in Luke 8:25, “Where is your faith?” In other places you hear Him address His disciples, “O you of little faith” (cf. Matt. 6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8; Luke 12:28). Jesus could have easily addressed other issues, such as their anxiety in Matt. 6:30 or their fear in Matt. 14:31. But He addressed their faith.

Scott Hafemann’s book helps show that faith in the promises of God leads to obedience. He also states, of course, that the opposite is true–that unbelief leads to disobedience. So, if it’s true that every act of disobedience is first and foremost an act of unbelief, then I must attack unbelief in my efforts to attack disobedience. And the opposite? I must urge faith first, before I try to urge righteousness. 

I know you know the connection between anxiety and little faith and between fear and little faith in our examples above. That’s the point. Jesus touches on our little faith because He knows that when faith grows, righteousness also grows. The story of Jesus calming the storm challenges our faith. Take a look at your sermon application in yesterday’s sermon or the one you’re creating for this coming Sunday. See if there is a way for you to feed the faith of your congregants. See if you can make a connection between their faith and applying their lives to your preaching portion.

There is a fringe benefit to this approach to application. Faith-first application eliminates commonly heard self-help moralism by connecting faith with practical application, making the latter distinctly Christian.