The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And
the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to
this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you”
(Luke 17:5-6, similar to a statement Jesus made about mountains in Matt. 17:20).
If you’re like me, you may be thinking “I guess I need more
faith, because I haven’t moved any trees or mountains.” As I was dwelling on
this lately, a few pieces came together for me. The first is that faith itself
is a gift. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not
your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one my
boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). We didn’t drum up the faith that saved us. God alone gets
the glory for that.
In addition, God already moved the biggest mountain—our need
for salvation. Our sin against the Holy God separated us from Him and led to
our condemnation, but Jesus came to die on our behalf and bring us back into relationship
with God. Since God has already done that, there is no mountain we need to
move. He gives us the faith to believe in Him for what He has accomplished for
us.
It has often been said that it’s not the size of your faith,
but where your faith is placed that matters. Charles Spurgeon wrote,
“Our life is found in ‘looking unto Jesus’ (Heb. 12:2), not in looking to our
own faith. By faith all things become possible to us, yet the power is not in
the faith but in the God in whom faith relies.” We may be tempted to place our
faith in the exercise of faith rather than placing our faith in God. That may
in fact be our motivation behind desiring more faith. If my faith were strong
enough and visible enough, then I’d never be shaken by the uncertainties of
life, right? And yet it is the testing of our faith that develops endurance. Some
people may have unshakeable faith in their own egos.
A confused idea of faith can also lead us to pass judgment
on those who don’t measure up to our standards. Do we think we know who has “real”
saving faith? So did the Pharisees. God alone knows the heart. This article from TGC urges pastors at funerals, “Avoid casually declaring
someone’s eternal destiny” (Matt. 7:21-23).” Not everyone who does great works
actually has faith in God, and not everyone who appears to be irretrievably fallen
is necessarily faithless.
When Paul and Silas were asked what salvation required, they
said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). They
didn’t say, “Believe this specific set of doctrines, work hard to get rid of
all visible sin, and look like one of us, and then you will be saved.” The
thief on the cross only knew enough to plead “Remember me!” and Jesus assured
him of salvation (Luke 23:43).
Paul said of himself, “Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners, of whom I am the foremost” (1 Tim. 1:15). That’s present tense,
not past tense—not “I was the foremost.” And John reminded us, “If we say we
have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). So
how can we set a high bar for others without condemning ourselves too? God’s
grace and mercy often far exceed our own, and church culture can be
intimidating for those who are different from the “norm.”
There are many factors that influence someone’s ability to look
like a faithful Christian. We may be confused about doctrines. We may still
fall into sin in embarrassing ways. We may struggle to manage the basic tasks of
life in this world, much less engage in spiritual disciplines. But that doesn’t
necessarily mean we aren’t saved. Given the number of high-profile Christian
leaders who have fallen into disgrace in recent years, I don’t think most of us
are very good judges of the heart of man, because we simply don’t know what’s
going on beneath the surface.
Thankfully, “the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the
outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7b). Our faith
may be small, but if God gave it to us then it’s all we need!
© 2025 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.
