The Quality of Faith

Most of us, from time to time, question our own faith. "Do I have enough faith? Do I believe strong enough to be saved? Is my faith sufficient for God to accept it?" And it's not a stupid question. Remember when Jesus visited His hometown? They said, "Isn't this the carpenter's son?" (Matt 13:55-56), and the Scripture says, "And He did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief" (Matt 13:58). So unbelief, by whatever means, seems to limit access to Christ. Then, what quality of faith do we need to expect anything from Him?

Remember the father who asked Jesus to save his child? His son was demon-possessed and he brought the boy to the disciples for help, but they couldn't. So they brought him to Jesus and the father said, "If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us" (Mark 9:22). Jesus answered, "'If you can'! All things are possible for one who believes." To which the desperate father cried, "I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:23-24). Not much faith. He had questions. He had doubts. He recognized in himself his lack of faith. It was there, but weak. And it was sufficient (Mark 9:25-27). In Matthew's account, Jesus afterward told His disciples, "Truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you" (Matt 17:20). Faith, the allegorical size of a mustard seed -- a questioning but existing faith -- this is sufficient.

How sufficient? What can you expect from a little faith? In Genesis we read about Abram's promise from God. In Genesis 12 God promised to give the land of Canaan to Abram's offspring (Gen 12:7). And he went out and lied about his wife so they wouldn't kill him (Gen 12:10-20). In chapter 15 God made a covenant with Abram. "Your reward shall be very great," God told him (Gen 15:1). "Yea, right," Abram answered. Well, sort of. "I am childless" (Gen 15:2-3). And God said, "One who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir" (Gen 15:4). God went on to promise him offspring like the stars of the heavens (Gen 15:5). The text says, "Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness" (Gen 15:6). Now, that is an effective faith. That is the kind of faith that gets things done. Paul references it in Romans as an example for us all (Rom 4:1-5). How much faith did Abram have? He lied twice about his wife being his sister. He slept with his wife's maid to "help God out." He questioned God. He laughed at God (Gen 17:17). And, still, Scripture calls him "the friend of God" (James 2:23) and Hebrews lists him prominently in the "Halls of Faith" (Heb 11:8-10). Paul uses him as his prime proof of "saved by faith apart from works." A little faith. A shaky faith. A questioning faith. But it was sufficient to be reckoned by God as righteousness. A small faith can produce the ultimate -- your salvation.

Faith is clearly necessary for salvation. A lack of faith can limit our access to God's riches in some ways. But, in the end, it takes precious little faith to do great things including being declared righteous by God. Trust that. It's enough.