Luke 17:5-6 “What Is Faith?”

Open your Bibles please to Luke 17. We are going to be looking at two verses today. As with last week, they are short, but packed with theological depth. 

Now, if you remember last week, we looked at Jesus teaching on forgiveness and repentance. He ended that with three very hard commands. When we are sinned against, we are to Rebuke, forgive when they repent, and keep on forgiving. Now, it only stands to reason that following that teaching, the disciples would recognize that they will need faith to do that, and lots of it. 

Lets read the text and look at Faith.

You know very often when we talk about words that get overused and therefore lose the weight of what they mean, we usually talk about “love”. When you can love your wife, and also love a cheeseburger, or a TV show, you know that doesn’t mean the same thing. I would also say that the word “faith” has also been overused and lost some of its intended meaning over the years. Now, i usually do this before I read the text, but now that we have let me ask you to do something. If you have a pen and paper, take a moment and write down either your definition of Faith, or some words and phrases about faith. 

1. Faith is a Gift from God: The disciples rightly understood this because they asked for Jesus to give them more faith. Ephesians 2:8 Hebrews 12:2.
   “If we believe that we are capable of working up faith in our souls, we cannot boast in Christ alone. But if we understand that we have faith only because of the work of the Holy Spirit, then we can truly give God all the glory for our salvation. We are not to look at ourselves as better than others because we believe the gospel; rather, we are to be profoundly grateful that God has chosen to grant us faith even though we are undeserving sinners.” Gospel Coalition article.
2. It comes through hearing the word: Romans 10:17 Our faith is sparked and grown by the word of God. It is not mustered up, it is imparted through hearing the word of God. 
3. Faith is displayed in actions: Hebrews 11:1, James 2:14, Faith is evidence
4. Faith in in accordance to God’s will. 1 John 5:13-15

“A settled trust and confidence in God based on His character and promises as revealed in scripture.”