Thinking Out Loud with Alan Shlemon - Will Faith as Small as a Mustard Seed Save You?

Episode Date: January 12, 2021

Does God require a certain amount of faith before he accepts it? Alan addresses this question by clarifying the nature of faith.

Will faith as small as a mustard seed save you? Is there a minimal amount of faith that's needed before it's accepted by God? Well, that's what I want to explore on this January 2021 episode of my podcast, Thinking Out Loud with Alan Schlieman. Okay, well, I don't like the word faith. It's not the biblical idea that's the problem, of course. It's how faith is often understood in our culture. And I think what's going on is that too many people believe that faith is blind, wishful thinking.

Now, Scripture defines faith rather differently. In fact, I would recommend reading chapter 11 of Hebrews, where you just see not only a definition of faith, but many good examples of faith. And I would summarize that chapter and the biblical concept of faith by characterizing it as trust. In other words, biblical faith is best characterized as trust. And so we don't put our trust in something for no reason, right? We don't blindly believe anyone. Rather, we put our trust in what or whom we have good reason to believe is trustworthy.

And non-Christians aren't the only ones who are guilty of a misunderstanding of faith. I believe even Christians can mistake the meaning of faith in a different way. And for example, if a Christian doubts his faith, is he still saved? Is there a certain amount of faith that is necessary to be honored by God? How much faith do you need to be saved? And this is one of the questions that I think oftentimes Christians ask. The problem with this question is that it presumes a mistaken notion of faith. See, the efficacy of faith is dependent not on the subject who expresses faith, of faith is dependent not on the subject who expresses faith, but on the object of faith. In other words, it doesn't matter how much or how little faith you have. It only matters in whom you place your faith. And so this kind of reminds me of something that I notice when I fly.

All right, there's two kinds of people that stand out to me when I'm on a plane. There's the frequent flyer and there's the first timer. Now, both often will have their eyes closed during taxi and takeoff, but for very different reasons. The former finds flying so mundane, he's basically sleeping, but the latter is so scared, he's basically saying his final prayer. And so one has total confidence while the other

has total trepidation. And so here's the key question. If both travelers are on the same plane, which one is more likely to arrive safely at their destination? The answer is obvious. Both, right? Whether the plane crashes or safely carries all the passengers has nothing to do with any occupant's emotions or confidence in flying. Rather, it has everything to do with the plane itself, like the pilots or the aircraft or the plane's design or its mechanics. And so though one passenger might have very little trust in the plane, it will not affect his outcome. What matters is what he's put his small amount of trust in. And as long as his trust causes him to step onto the plane, it's the plane that carries him securely, not his level of confidence in it. And so it doesn't matter at all whether he

doubts or has full confidence in the plane. All that matters is whether the plane can do what it's supposed to do. And so I think the same thing is happening when it comes to our faith in Christ. It doesn't matter how much or how little faith you have. What matters is who you put your faith in. And so you could struggle with doubt while another believer is completely confident in their faith, right? And neither one of them is more saved than the other, if you will, okay? So long as you both put your faith in Jesus, you will be saved.

That's how it works. And so this is why it's no wonder that Jesus tells his disciples that if they have faith the size of a mustard seed, which, by the way, of course, is a very small seed, they can speak to a mountain and it'll move. This is Jesus talking in Matthew 17. Notice that the size or amount of their faith is irrelevant. What matters is that they have faith and in whom that faith is placed. By the way, it's also interesting to note that the only two people that Jesus commends in the gospels for having quote unquote great faith are not the people that are Jesus's followers that you'd expect to be

identified as having great faith, like Peter, James, and John, right? In fact, the people that Jesus says have great faith aren't even likely observant of the Mosaic law, right? In one case, this is Matthew 8, you have a Roman centurion who asked Jesus to heal his paralyzed servant. have a Roman centurion who asked Jesus to heal his paralyzed servant. And this guy is rewarded for his trust that Jesus has the authority to simply say a word and heal a servant. Now, in the other instance, it's Matthew, in Matthew 15, you have a Canaanite woman who basically begs Jesus to heal her demon-possessed daughter. And her request is also granted by Jesus after she provides a very clever response to Jesus's apparent reluctance to heal.

Now, in both cases, it wasn't about how much or how little faith they had, but in whom they placed their faith. They're placing it in Jesus, right? Jesus was the object placed their faith. They're placing it in Jesus, right? Jesus was the object of their faith. And since he was a trustworthy and capable person to carry out the request, their loved ones, of course, were healed. So again, faith or the effectiveness of faith is not commensurate

with how much confidence we can muster. It's not dependent upon us. Our faith can therefore wax and wane throughout our life, but whether our faith can save us is dependent on who we put our faith in. And thankfully, the one whom our faith is in is trustworthy and is capable. Well, that's all I have for you today. If you enjoy my thoughts on these topics of apologetics and theology, be sure to rate or review my podcast on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts on. And thanks for listening. I will see you next time.