Wow! Two posts, two days in a row! This topic has been on my mind for some time now but I didn't have time to really sit down and do a study on it before I blogged about it. Gonna try now to plunge into it.
In Luke 17:5 the disciples ask the Lord to increase their faith. I don't know why when I read that I wanted to understand the request better. I have always said that the simplest definition of faith is TRUST. But, really that isn't the case. ---at least not in the New Testament. Did you know the word faith is only found twice in the Old Testament?! I was very surprised to find that out! In the OT it does mean trusting or trustworthiness. It is used in Deut. 32:20 and Hab. 2:4. However, in the NT it means belief, or moral conviction of a religious belief, or assurance of truth.
This definition gives a better understanding of Romans 10:17 which tells us that Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Belief comes by hearing the word of God...not trust. Now, I suppose if you want to get knit picky and say that once you believe then you have trust...well OK but faith in the NT doesn't have the meaning of trust.
So, back to the statement of the disciples request. They wanted Jesus to increase their belief. Belief in what, you may ask? I say, in Him, in what He was saying and what He was doing and what He was telling them to do. In that passage, Jesus goes on to tell them that if they have faith like a grain of mustard seed (which is a whole other lesson I won't go into now cuz I think it is often mis-taught and is not the jest of the passage anyways), but he does tell them that if they do their regular duty (what is expected and commanded of them) then they still haven't done all they should. In other words, we are to go above and beyond the call of duty. When our belief has increased within us, we will do more than the bare minimum.
So, the Bible doesn't clearly state HOW our faith (belief) is increased but I have a theory. I believe that our faith is increase through experience. As we see God work in our lives, and see answered prayer and see how He provides, then we believe in Him and His Word more and more with each experience. Each experience allows us to be more willing to turn palms up and give our lives over to God and not try to hold on or control the things that are not ours to control anyway.
I don't know if any of this post made sense to anyone but it sure helps me to understand things better. I love when the Bible is opened up to me better than it was before. God gives us an enlightened understanding as we grow and mature in our walk with Him.
1 comment:
For years I heard preacjers say "the word believe means to trust or rely upon". I thought that seemed righr till I noticed one day that same word "believe" that is used regarding savation is the same word used in reference to the devils that tremble. That definition is generally uzed by those who deny that repentance is a part of salvation.
I know that had nothing to do with your post. Just wanted to throw that in.
I had to look at the passage a couple of times but I think you got it right.
Bob
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