Faith is proof of what we believe. God requires us to believe the pure word of the Bible. Faith is; knowing that our belief will, or has, happened.

Heb 11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith is quite often likened to a mustard seed.

Mat 17:19  Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, Why could we not cast it out?

Mat 17:20  So Jesus said to them, Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.

Notice lack of faith is associated with lack of belief. It is a requirement of God that we believe Him, there is no faith without belief.

Luk 17:6  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.

If we just take those two verses then it is quite obvious that no one has any faith whatsoever, have you ever seen anyone move a mountain? Some more about faith is learned from the following verse.

Luk 17:5  And the apostles said to the Lord, Increase our faith.

Why did the apostles want their faith increased if they could have moved mountains? They had faith but wanted it increased. This shows that they did not have enough faith.

Notice that faith is likened to a mustard seed, which starts extremely small and grows extremely large.

Mat 13:31  Another parable He put forth to them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field,

Mat 13:32  which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.

It is obvious that people do not have enough faith to move mountains. We need to have our faith increased by God. By associating our faith to a mustard seed it is extremely plain that if we have a minute amount of faith we will eventually have great faith as we grow in grace and knowledge. Our faith is dependent on believing the Bible.

Some characteristics associated with little faith are as follows:

BEING AFRAID.

The fearful will not be in God s Kingdom Rev. 21 v 8.

Mat 8:26  But He said to them, Why are you fearful, O you of little faith? Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

DOUBT.

Mat 14:31  And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt?

LACK OF UNDERSTANDING.

Mat 16:8  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?

Mat 16:9  Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?

Faith can be increased.

Luk 17:5  And the apostles said to the Lord, Increase our faith.

The just shall live by faith.

Rom 1:17  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.

Faith comes from hearing the word of God.

Rom 10:17  So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Faith cannot be feigned.

1Ti 1:5  Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith,

We must not waver in our faith.

Jas 1:6  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.

Faith without works is dead.

Jas 2:18  But someone will say, You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

Jas 2:26  For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Our faith will be tested.

1Pe 1:7  that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,

1Pe 1:8  whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,

Look at the account of Thomas and how he had to see to believe.

Joh 20:24  Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.

Joh 20:25  The other disciples therefore said to him, We have seen the Lord. So he said to them, Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.

Then after 8 days Jesus came amongst them again notice what He said about those who have not seen Him.

Joh 20:27  Then He said to Thomas, Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.

Joh 20:28  And Thomas answered and said to Him, My Lord and my God!

Joh 20:29  Jesus said to him, Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

The culmination of our faith is eternal life.

1Pe 1:9  receiving the end of your faith; the salvation of your souls.

We cannot please God without faith.

Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

COMMENT

It is extremely obvious that faith the size of a mustard seed cannot move mountains, as we have to grow in faith. Rather, faith starts out small and then grows, just as a mustard seed does. We have the promise from God that our faith will grow if we keep all of God s requirements as mentioned above, also faith is one of the fruits of the Spirit, and as we grow in the Spirit so our faith will grow. Be assured that our faith will be tested which is far more precious than riches, so that it will be found at the return of Christ.