Increasing Faith (1)

And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”Luke 17.5

The necessary thing
The Lord Jesus had just finished instructing His disciples concerning the need to forgive those who sinned against them, no matter how many times they did, as long as they came with repentance, seeking to be forgiven.

The disciples apparently regarded this as a duty beyond what they were able to perform, for they immediately responded to the Lord, asking Him to increase their faith. Without faith, they understood, they would not be able to overcome the natural tendency to want to “get even”, or the equally natural tendency to hold a grudge against those who had injured them. With faith – with more faith, that is – the disciples hoped they might be able to fulfill the commandment of the Lord.

When it comes to obeying Jesus, which is the duty of every disciple, faith – full faith – is the necessary thing. We will not obey Jesus without it, and so we will not be able to follow Him into a richer and fuller experience of eternal life, unless our faith is equal to every daily challenge and opportunity which presents itself before us.

We do well, therefore, to make the disciples’ plea our own, and to seek the Lord daily for the increase of faith, that we might obey Him fully at all times.

But two things are necessary if we are to increase faith. First, we must make sure we understand what faith is, and then, second, we must be rightly motivated in wanting to see our faith increased.

The essence of faith
What is faith? We recall that the writer of Hebrews says that faith “is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (11.1, my translation). Full faith thus consists of three facets.

First, in order to have full faith we must nurture increasing familiarity with, and a proper disposition toward, unseen verities. Ours is a heavenly calling, as we have seen. The visible cosmos exists within a framework of vast, unseen realities. Central to these are God the Father, Son, and Spirit, as well as the angels, departed saints, and spiritual forces of wickedness in high places. Faith hopes in these holy, unseen verities – longs to participate in them, understanding that only through constant exertion in a great spiritual warfare can we make progress in this blessed hope (Eph. 6.10-20).

Second, faith is being assured of these heavenly realities – an inward experience of wellbeing in relation to these unseen things – the sense that we are properly disposed toward Christ and His Kingdom, and armed to resist those unseen powers of wickedness that would frustrate and defeat us. This assurance that we are on the Lord’s side is a necessary component of full faith, and every believer should seek to increase in it.

Finally, full faith consists of outward evidence, the fruit of a life devoted to honoring God and furthering His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus said that He has called us to follow Him so that we might bear much fruit increasingly throughout our lives (Jn. 15.16). To increase in fruitfulness, we must increase in faith.

This is full and saving faith, and we must, like the disciples, seek the Lord’s help to increase it consistently.

Motives for increasing faith
But why? Why can’t we have just enough faith to be sure that we’re going to heaven when we die? Why is it essential that we seek to increase faith and the assurance and fruitfulness that go with it? What should motivate us in this quest for increasing faith? Four reasons come to mind.

First, faith pleases God (Heb. 11.6). Thus increased faith should enable us to please Him more, and thus to know more of His pleasure.

Second, full faith leads to good works of love, and love is the defining mark of a true Christian (cf. Jms. 2.26; Jn. 13.35). The more we are able to increase faith, the more works of love for God and our neighbors should be evident in our lives.

Third, Jesus taught that faith is the key to an effective prayer life (Matt. 21.20-22). Since prayer is the distinguishing discipline of the Christian life, increased faith should result in increased prayer, and more effective, enjoyable, and frequent and fruitful prayer.

Finally, everyone lives by faith. Even the most outspoken unbeliever believes in something, though he believes wrongly. Full faith, focused on unseen things, fervent in prayer, fruitful in good works, and therefore favorable in the eyes of God, will make our lives fuller and richer and more meaningful in every way.

Thus there are good reasons for us to join the disciples in praying, “Lord, increase our faith!” How we can actually increase faith is the subject of our study in this series.

For reflection
1.  What is your present approach to increasing in faith?

2.  In what areas have you seen growth in faith in your life over the past few months?

3.  Where do you see a need for increasing faith in your walk with and work for the Lord?

Next steps – Demonstration: What is faith? That is, how does your Christian faith operate in your life? Where do you find faith working in or for you? Are there any areas of your life where faith seems to be weak or absent? Discuss these questions with some Christian friends.

T. M. Moore

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This week’s ReVision study is Part 10 of a 10-part series, “Full Faith.” You can download “Increasing Faith” as a free PDF, prepared for personal or group study. Simply click here.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.