And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” [Luke 17:5]
Why ask for this? Does it really matter if faith is increased? What does it mean for faith to be increased? Why should it matter that faith be increased?
It could be because of statements Jesus makes like this:
Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” [Mark 9:23]
Which earned this response…
Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” [Mark 9:24]
The apostles’ request is not that different from what the father of the demonized boy said. Both groups claimed a level of faith, but both also acknowledged a deficiency. The first step of resolving a problem is recognizing that one exists.
More importantly, both sets of people recognized Jesus as being the One capable of rectifying the problem.
Before we talk about how Jesus responded, I want to first discuss what He didn’t do.
- He didn’t . . . dismiss the idea as not important,
- He didn’t . . . say their faith was already sufficient,
- He didn’t . . . put them in a 12-step program,
- He didn’t . . . perform more miracles for them,
- He didn’t . . . review His own high-light reel,
- He didn’t . . . lay hands on them,
- He didn’t . . . drop them into a situation that required “exercising” their faith,
- He didn’t . . . even pray for them.
So what did He do to address the apostles’ request to increase their faith?
Please get this: He gave them another promise! To their request Jesus replies:
So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. [Luke 17:6]
If it hasn’t occurred to you yet, it is essential to understand this: Without a promise, there can be no faith.
Only where there are promises, can faith exist. If God had not promised salvation, there could be no faith for salvation. There might be wishing or wanting salvation, but that is not faith. Faith is hearing a promise, recognizing Who it is that is offering the promise, and then believing that the One who said it will see that it is done. In other words, faith is an expression of confidence in God and His Word.
Consider Abraham.
And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore “IT WAS ACCOUNTED TO HIM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” [Romans 4:19-22]
The bible says that Abraham saw himself “as good as dead” when God told him he would be a father. Regardless of the circumstances, he believed God. He had confidence that God would do as He had said.
He had a choice: believe or doubt. There is no middle ground with faith. It is belief or unbelief.
Look back at that passage about Abraham. It said he was fully convinced. You cannot believe a promise of God partially. You can’t say I half-believe or even I believe 99.9%. God does not round up as mathematicians might. To say you believe God or His Word 99% is to say you doubt it 1%.
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; [James 1:6-7]
Anything. Let that sink in: ANYTHING.
Here’s the deal. Pick a promise of God. Any one of them. You either believe it or you don’t. If you don’t, you need help believing it. “Help my unbelief” the man said to Jesus.
Let’s say my wife wanted me to go to the store for her and pick up some items on my way home and never told me, and I never said anything about going to the store either. She can cross her fingers and see if I do it, she can hope that I do it, or worry about it, but she cannot have faith for me to do it. However, if she calls me at work and tells me her need, I could then tell her that I will stop at the store and get those things. Now she can begin to have faith. She can believe that I will do what I have told her I will do. Based on my track-record, she may find it easy or difficult to believe I will keep this promise.
For any given promise of God, faith can increase from not having it to having it. If you already believe a promise, does it profit you to believe it more?
See, Jesus made it perfectly clear that quantity is not the issue. It is not an issue of size or magnitude. That is why he chose the mustard seed. It demonstrates His point. You don’t need a truckload or even a bushel of it. You need a grain. The smallest quantity of mustard is still mustard. So it is with faith.
The issue is quality. And it is like this. A woman nine seconds after conceiving a child is no less pregnant than one nine months along. Ask either woman if she is pregnant. The answer is: both are. To the rest of us, it is more obvious that one is, but the fact is both are. It makes no sense to ask a woman if she is a little bit pregnant. She is or she isn’t pregnant.
Likewise, you either believe or you don’t believe God’s promises.
Now you might find it easier to believe some of God’s promises than others. You may have faith for promises A and B, but not for C or D. When faith increases, you will believe God for some of His other promises or more of His promises than what you currently believe. Where promises abound, faith can abound.
I think this is what Jesus was doing for His disciples. You see, the bible says
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. [Romans 10:17]
When God says I will do this or I will do that, and you have never heard of it, you cannot have faith for it. Nothing has been proclaimed to you. Once you are made aware of the promise, a seed of faith is planted. For faith to increase, your awareness of His promises must increase. That means you must grow in your knowledge of what He has promised.
But not all of God’s promises are that He will do something. Many of His promises are that WE can do something. This still requires faith, because we are more challenged to believe those kinds of things. It still requires us to believe the One who promised.
The promise that Jesus gave was one of those kind of promises.
Believe it or not.