All believers recognize the importance of faith. Faith is critical to our relationship with the Lord. The Bible says it’s impossible to please God without faith (Heb. 11:6) and that all things are possible to those who believe (Mark 9:23).
So, the question isn’t “Do we need faith?” The question is “Do we have faith—and is it enough?”
The answer is that you have the same quality and quantity of faith that Jesus had. It’s not your faith in Him, but His faith at work in you. It came as part of your salvation. Most Christians don’t embrace this truth, and they’re constantly trying to increase their faith. Jesus’ disciples thought this same way. When they asked the Lord to increase their faith, Jesus answered them with a parable.
"And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you." —Luke 17:6
This is a remarkable statement. Jesus is saying that faith is so powerful that even a tiny amount, like a grain of mustard seed, is enough to pluck up a tree and cast it into the sea. The disciples didn’t need more faith; they just needed to use what they had. They just live by faith (Gal. 3:11). They don’t vacation there.
We are born again by the faith of Jesus, not just by faith in Jesus. Before salvation, we were so destitute that we couldn’t even believe the good news of what Jesus did for us without God giving us His faith. Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.”
It’s true that salvation is a gift of God. We couldn’t save ourselves. But it’s also true that the faith it takes to receive salvation is a gift from God. Think about it. Human faith is based on our five senses—what we see, taste, hear, smell, and feel.
Some say it takes faith to fly in a plane or even sit in a chair. But these are examples of human faith, which everyone has. The airline industry is carefully regulated and bears severe penalties if they don’t follow safety protocols, so you have sensible reasons to trust a commercial flight. And before you sit in a chair, you look to see if it’s solid. If a four-legged chair was leaning against a wall with only three legs, you wouldn’t sit in it. That’s sight-based faith.
When it comes to salvation, you’re believing in things that can’t be seen or felt. You’re believing in a God you’ve never seen to forgive your intangible sins. You can’t do that with just human faith.
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
—Romans 10:17
You can’t become born again without the Lord imparting faith to you through His Word. He had to impart a supernatural faith to us so we could believe in things we can’t see.
At the moment of salvation, every Christian is given the measure of faith, not a measure of faith. That’s significant. There aren’t different measures of faith. We’re all given the same measure.
If I was serving soup in a cafeteria line and only had one measure, such as a ladle, then everyone would receive the same measure of soup. But if I used a ladle for some, and a tablespoon for others, and then a teaspoon for someone else, everyone would get different amounts. That’s the concept that many Christians have.
They think the Lord gave a different amount of faith to each believer. They think that they just don’t have as much faith as others—as if God accidently spilled some of their portion when He was dispensing their measure of faith.
Well, that is not what Romans 12:3 says. I’m aware that some modern versions of Romans 12:3 say “a measure” instead of “the measure,” but that’s not correct. We can verify this through other scriptures.
"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." —Galatians 2:16
Did you notice that this verse speaks twice about being justified by the faith of Jesus, not just faith in Jesus? Then Paul says it again:
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." —Galatians 2:20
Paul was living by the faith of Jesus. So how much faith did he have? He had the same amount of faith Jesus had! And since every believer has received the measure of faith (Rom. 12:3), we too have the same faith Paul had. It’s the faith of Jesus.
Knowing that God gives everyone the same measure of faith at salvation is absolutely critical, but I’ve only scratched the surface of this subject.
I encourage you to learn more about the spiritual laws of faith and how to activate them in your life. I go more in depth on this in my new teaching, The Faith of God, available as a CD or DVD series. I believe it will help you understand the magnitude of what a tiny amount of faith can accomplish.
To order, fill out and return the enclosed form, visit awmi.net/faith to purchase, or call our Helpline at 719-635-1111. Don’t spend another day thinking you’ve been shortchanged on faith!
