Jesus could see into people’s hearts and know what degree of faith each had. We have to rely on peripheral signs to determine where another disciple is in their walk with God. In this class we are going to learn the external indicators of Affiliating Faith.
Welcome to another class in our study of “Reaching New Levels of Faith.” I’m truly grateful you’ve stuck with the study this far. We’re on Lesson 5 now, and I promise you, if you hang in through the groundwork, things are about to get really practical and powerful as we start diving into character studies and real-life application. But first, let’s make sure we can recognize where we are—and where others are—in this journey of faith.
Today, I want to help you recognize affiliating faith—both in yourself and in others.
Now remember, there are five levels of faith we’ve been working through:
- Imitating Faith
- Affiliating Faith
- Searching Faith
- Solidifying Faith
- Mature Faith
So what exactly is affiliating faith?
Let me put it plainly: If you believe what you believe because others believe it, that’s affiliating faith. It’s not bad—it’s just not enough. It’s the stage where you’ve adopted beliefs based on your environment, your family, your friends, or your church—but you haven’t yet truly searched it out for yourself.
So how do you recognize affiliating faith—especially in someone else?
Let me show you three key ways to spot it:
- Affiliating Prayer
Prayer reveals a lot about where a person is in their walk with God.
People with affiliating faith often pray like everyone else around them. They repeat the same phrases they’ve heard others say. Now, there’s nothing wrong with learning from others—that’s how we grow! But if your prayer life hasn’t yet become personal and spontaneous, you might be stuck in affiliating faith.
Jesus warned against vain repetition in Matthew 6:5–13. He said not to pray just to be seen by men, and not to heap up meaningless phrases like the Gentiles did. He taught us to talk to God with sincerity and reverence, not to show off or to simply go through motions.
I’ve heard some heartfelt, honest prayers from new Christians—people just talking to God from the heart. That’s what He wants. Not performance. Not memorized routines. And definitely not meaningless repetition.
Now, don’t misunderstand me—just because someone prays the same way every time doesn’t automatically mean they have affiliating faith. Nervousness can cause people to fall back on familiar words. So don’t be quick to judge—but do listen for sincerity and depth.
People with affiliating faith often lack confidence that prayer can bring results beyond what naturally happens. They might pray for safe travel or for food to be nourishing—things that would likely happen anyway. But mature faith prays for the impossible, because it trusts God to intervene.
- Affiliating Response to Change
Another big sign of affiliating faith is how someone reacts to change.
If your faith is built around what you’re used to, change feels threatening. Even biblically sound changes—like adjusting a worship time or a church process—can feel like a crisis for someone with affiliating faith. Because they haven’t built their beliefs on biblical convictions, they’ve built them on tradition and comfort.
That’s why the Pharisees resisted Jesus. Mark 2 shows us they were clinging to old ways even as the Son of God stood before them with something new and better. Jesus said you can’t put new wine in old wineskins. Some things have to change—and mature faith is open to that, because it’s grounded in truth, not comfort.
- Affiliating Comments in Bible Study
You can often tell where someone is in their faith by listening to what they say—especially in a Bible class.
Affiliate believers tend to repeat common answers or things they’ve heard others say without much thought. That’s not inherently wrong—we all start somewhere—but it shows they haven’t taken time to dig into the Word themselves.
In Acts 19, we see a perfect example of this. A crowd in Ephesus got stirred up shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”—most of them didn’t even know why. That’s affiliating behavior. Just going along with the crowd.
But as Proverbs 2 teaches us, true wisdom comes when we search for it like silver, when we cry out for understanding, when we treasure God’s commands. And when someone’s been doing that, it shows up in how they speak and the wisdom they bring to discussion.
A Word of Caution: Be Patient
I want to remind you—don’t use this knowledge to label people.
Just because someone is in the affiliating stage doesn’t mean they’re doing something wrong. It’s a natural stage of growth! This lesson isn’t about judging others—it’s about learning how to help others (and ourselves) move forward.
And if you find yourself in affiliating faith right now, don’t be discouraged. You’re not meant to stay there, but it’s a necessary part of the journey. And the good news is: you can move forward. We’ll talk about how to acquire searching faith in the next class.
Final Thoughts
Growth doesn’t happen overnight. But it does happen when you’re intentional, and when you have people around you who are willing to walk with you in that process.
So ask yourself:
- Is my faith rooted in others—or in truth?
- Do I pray with confidence and honesty—or with repetition and routine?
- Do I resist change—or welcome it when it aligns with God’s Word?
- Do my words reflect someone else’s faith—or my own?
If you’re ready to move beyond affiliating faith, stay with me. Because in the next lesson, I’m going to show you how to develop searching faith—faith that is your own, built on conviction and truth.
I hope you’ll join me for that.
Thank you for being here. Keep growing. Keep reaching. Keep pressing on.
Discussion Questions
- How do you know whether you have Affiliating Faith or not?
- What are the three outward signs that someone you are working with has Affiliating Faith?
- What kind of faith did the Pharisees have?
- Why do Affiliating believers resist change?
- Without looking, can you list the five different levels of faith?
