Faith and Believe in the Gospels

  

The Kingdom Principle of Faith - Faith and Believe in the Gospels

A couple of weeks ago our pastor preached on Mark 7:24-20 (Matthew 15:21-28), where we read about a Canaanite woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit. Jesus said to her, O woman, great is thy faith. This reminded me of a Bible study I did several years ago on The Kingdom Principle of Faith. His message stirred me up in a couple of ways, one of them was I wanted to present this teaching again, for as we shall see, faith is an important value for life in the kingdom. Here is what I plan to cover: Faith in the Gospels; What is faith? How do you get faith? Little faith; Great faith; Three degrees or levels of faith; and Doubt.

I begin with a journey through the gospels, taking note of what the Lord Jesus said about faith. But first, How frequently does faith and believe occur in the gospels? (I’m using the KJV)

Matthew Faith 12x / Believe 11x
Mark Faith 5x / Believe 16x
Luke Faith 12x / Believe 11x
John Faith 0x / Believe 111x

A few observations:
• faith and believe are both English translations of the same Greek word family
• many of the occurrences in Mark and Luke are the same account as Matthew
• John uses believe more than the other three combined, but most of these refer to believing in Christ for salvation, and while this is obviously important, kingdom living is more than being saved

Now, let’s begin! I know that what follows is just one verse after another, but I encourage you to read through them slowly and deliberately, noticing the role of faith in kingdom living. Dare I say, the power of faith? In saying it that way, let me hasten to add, there is no power in faith itself. The power is in Christ; but He clearly, definitely, repeatedly says that faith is the switch that releases His power in our lives and circumstances!

Matthew
8:13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

9:2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. 
[The man was also healed!]

9:22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.

9:28 And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. 29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.

13:58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

15:28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

21:21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

21:22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

Mark
1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. [How essential is faith in the kingdom? The preaching of the kingdom begins with faith!]

5:36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe. 
[His daughter was raised from death!]

6:6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief.

9:23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

10:52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.

11:23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Luke

7:9 When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
[The centurion's servant was healed!]  

18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?


This is amazing!! Did you see what I see?

· as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee

· according to your faith be it unto you.

· thy faith hath made thee whole

· If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

· Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

· And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

· All things are possible to him that believeth

· And he marvelled because of their unbelief

I want to be clear, this is not a matter of faith in faith, no, this is faith in Jesus Christ. We’re not talking the power of positive thinking, either. No, this is the power of the risen Lord Jesus Christ, available to us and released to, in, and through us as we believe Him.

These are some pretty big promises - you like my theological language here? How about: amazing! remarkable! wonderful!

Now the question is, What is faith?

Be not afraid, only believe