Okay. Now let's get to this subject called great faith. Only two people in bible are mentioned, that I could find, that were titled as having great faith. The first is the Roman centurion and the second was the Canaanite woman. Let’s look first at the Roman centurion.
Matthew 8:5-13.
5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, 6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. 7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
Right there we see what the will of God is concerning healing.
8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
Speak the word only. Don’t sit and beg God. Speak it, declare it, receive it, believe it.
9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 10 When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 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.
Did the centurion declare Jesus as his savior? Did he perform all kinds of acts of idol worship? Did he repent of all of his sins? No. He actually said he was not worthy, but then said just speak the word. People think the centurion had great faith because he understood authority. He was a man under authority and had authority. That’s what we’ve all been taught, but what about the other person. The Canaanite woman.
Matthew 15:21-28.
21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. 23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. 24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. 27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.
What was she saying here in verse 27? She was saying "I know this is for your children, but they aren't eating very well."
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.
So here’s the second person that is indicated to have great faith. She was not a soldier. She was a homemaker. She didn’t have great authority like the soldier. So what did the two have in common? Both were Gentiles. As such they knew nothing about Jewish law and therefore were not under the law of Moses. As a result, they did not disqualify themselves. They were not under condemnation since condemnation comes from the law. So they had no hindrance in receiving from God and therefore could have great faith, because the law is not of faith.
Gal 3:12 “The law is not the same thing as life formed by faith. In fact, you are warned against this when God says, “The one who observes My laws will live by them. I am trying to tell you that”
YOU ARE WARNED!!! Do you see that. God is adamant that you DO NOT try to observe His laws. You put yourself in bondage. It is the attempt at following of the law that causes you to fall from grace. It’s not sin that causes that.
Galatians 5:4. Here it is in the New American Standard. “You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.”
I love how it reads in “The Voice” version. “You, and anyone else who seeks to be on the right side of God through the law, have effectively been cut off from the Anointed, circumcised from grace, and cast off from the favor of God.
You see. It’s your attempt to keep the law, live by the law, perform up to the standards of the law that will severe you from His great grace.
Romans 4:14 “If this inheritance is available only to those who keep the law, then faith is a useless commodity and the promise is canceled.”
Whoa. Your continual insistence that you must perform, must keep the law, must live up to a set of rules and standards, absolutely nullifies or makes on non-affect the promise of God.
When will people get rid of this mistaken notion that Christianity is about ethics. Trying desperately to live up to some set of standards. You will hear me saying this repeatedly. We are not changed by the promises we make to God. We are changed by the promises He has made to us. What’s the message? You can’t give people the law and expect them to have faith. The law will disqualify anyone from receiving from God.
The secret to having great faith is receiving his great grace which qualifies you to step into all that He has for you.
Okay, so in this teaching I’ve prepared the food of the Word, I’ve set it before you, I’ve even “spoon fed” it to you, now all that’s left is for you to chew on it and receive it. It couldn’t be any clearer. God does not bless us based on our love and performance for Him, but based on his love and promises for us.
Grace and Peace.
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