Matthew 13:3-8 "And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;  And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But others fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold."

Luke 17:6 "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."

Matthew 17:19-20 "Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: [literal Greek = 'little faith'] 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."

     Many claim to have faith in God, but few have the type of faith Jesus referred to in His discourses. "What is faith, and how does the average Christian gain this valuable tool?" Do we just one day wake up with the faith Jesus talked about, or is mustard seed faith only gained through progressive Sanctification as the believer grows through study of God's Word?

     One type of faith is "religious affirmation", allegiance to a certain denomination. This means to be a Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, or Catholic, as in "I am of the Catholic Faith". The different denominations are all characterized by slightly different doctrinal views on what the Bible teaches, but it must be remembered that allegiance to a Faith does "not save the soul". You can be a practicing Church member, faithfully attending the assembly of your choice, and "still be lost."

The faith that saves is the faith that trusts in Jesus Christ as Saviour.

John 14: 6-12 "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father."

     The faith that saves is one part negative and one part positive. The negative aspect of faith is "repentance". Godly repentance requires turning "away" from your former lifestyle and belief system and turning "toward" another object or way of life.

     The positive aspect of faith is "believing" in Jesus Christ for your salvation, the only true Way to Heaven. Believing, we turn toward Christ and accept what He did for us on the Cross. We accept Him to be our only Saviour. Any faith that falls short of repentance and believing is false, a pseudo-faith that will not save. You cannot turn away from the world and to the Church in whatever form you accept it. You cannot stay in the world, following it's precepts, and have a shallow belief in Christ's atonement.

     Saving faith is not the end of the road for the believer, though. Once we enter a Kingdom relationship with Christ we enter a sphere of "personal growth", directed by the Holy Spirit of God. Each believer is a "work in progress", being built up by God Himself so that we might serve Him.

Ephesians 2:8-10 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

     Since the Bible teaches "we are his workmanship" many Christians feel that to gain the faith Jesus advertised we only need to sit still and wait for this faith to rain down on us. Yet, contrary to the popular songs of Christianity, you will see few instances in Scripture where sitting still accomplishes anything but "giving you a sore rump." There are several pertinent things we can note when looking at Mustard Seed Faith:

1. Christ never actually "rebuked" His disciples for their lack of faith. He realized the fallibility and finity of the human condition, and realized that He had not yet sent the Holy Spirit to indwell His believers. Jesus always spoke to His disciples about Mustard Seed Faith "theoretically", by saying "IF you had this faith". The disciples had very little operational faith prior to Pentecost.

   Matthew 26:56 "But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled."

        When Jesus was surrounded in the Garden of Gethsemane His disciples, showing the fruit of faithlessness, "forsook him, and fled". Had they had just a grain of that Mustard Seed Faith they would have remained at His side, knowing that God would protect them within His Plan.

   Matthew 26:70-74 "But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew."

        Peter evidenced his faithlessness in the most hideous way, plainly denying Christ while cursing and blaspheming God. Peter had not yet gained that Mustard Seed Faith, he was still weak in the flesh. After the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus many Christians believe that Thomas alone remained faithless and weak, that Peter had grown stronger in the faith. Yet this is not so, as the following text reveals:

   John 21:15-17 "So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest (agape) thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love (phileos) thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest (agape) thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love (phileos) thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest (phileos) thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest (phileos) thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love (phileos) thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep."

        There are four words used for "love" in the Greek text, two of which were employed in this text. AGAPE is the highest form of Love, God's Love, the Love that seeks to do the highest good for it's object, the love that is willing to die for the other!

        Jesus asked Peter twice if he AGAPE, or could show this greatest form of love, to Him. Each time Peter honestly answered that he was only capable of showing PHILEOS, the lower form of friendship love.

        You see, Peter's faith had yet to grow for he had yet to receive the Holy Spirit of God. Finally Jesus asked if Peter could at least affirm to a PHILEOS type of love for the Messiah, and Peter agreed. He was capable of the lower form of love, but not God's form of love. Not yet, at least. Peter, at this point, was incapable of AGAPE.

        AGAPE is founded in duty, not in emotion. It's exercise requires a high degree of faith. Jesus was asking Peter if he would be willing to risk all, life, torture, his family and friends, in order to proclaim the Gospel of the Messiah. Peter returned by saying he only had the power to PHILEOS Christ, to be His friend. This type of love is easy to break, easy to give.

        PHILEOS is emotion based and, sadly, the form of love usually found in our Churches today. It is easy to say with sickly sweetness "I LOVE you!!!", but hard to exercise AGAPE.

        The Pastor under AGAPE preaches the Word of God boldly, even if it hurts the feelings of those in the congregation, for it is to their good to grow in knowledge of the pure Word. The Pastor under PHILEOS tempers the Word of God with "feel good" sermons so as to not hurt the flock. This latter form of love has nearly ruined our Churches, ruined the Sheep. Have we grown to the point where we do not know what AGAPE is?

   God help our Churches to
   come out from under the Peter syndrome.

2. Through Christ's discourses on Mustard Seed Faith we know that the faith which will "move mountains" must be a "pure faith". Mustard Seed faith cannot be instilled in man by man. When we try to build our own faith we always have the seed of doubt, which renders that faith ineffective. Mustard Seed Faith is not instilled in man "by man", but is instilled in us "by God as we study His Word".

3. Mustard Seed Faith is not a faith that is suddenly acquired, dropped on the believer in just a moment by God. Jesus called the faith that can move mountains Mustard "Seed" Faith. Seeds are small things that grow into something larger if planted by a wise Farmer.

        When we accept Jesus Christ as Saviour the Holy Spirit indwells us so as to help us to grow into mature believers. The act of growth in the believer's life is called "Progressive Sanctification". We do not start out with a mountain moving faith, but grow as we pursue the Word of God and as the Spirit waters.

   2 Timothy 2:15 "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

        We as believers must be willing to study God's Word while under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Too many believers come into the fold then, out of ignorance of it's importance, neglect the Word of God for experientiality, for Church activity, for fellowship. These things are not necessarily bad in their place, but we must study the Word to grow in faith. If we are willing ground, and take the nourishment of the Word while following the watering of the Spirit, we "will grow" into mountain moving Christians. But God's progressive work in us must "first" take place before we will have this faith.

     If you are but a child in the faith, do not condemn yourself for your weakness. Today, this very moment, pick up the Word of God and, calling on the name of the Lord, begin to read and study it's precious precepts. Apply these precepts to your life. Avoid the scarring extremes of the world, and turn to His Word. Then, and only then, will you be able to one day say unto that mountain, "Depart", and it will go away.

     Believers everywhere must stop the fads, stop the silliness, and get back into the Word. Your very spiritual welfare depends on it. God Bless you all!

     If you have not already done so, trust Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. For more information on Salvation, Click Here to view "How can I get to Heaven?"

     Please feel free to e-mail any questions, comments, and any difficulties you may have experienced on our website!

Go to Part 3 of 3
"Blaspheme of the Spirit " - Click Here!

     If you have not already done so, please consider trusting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. For more information on Salvation Click Here to view "How can I get to Heaven?"

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Last modified: Thursday, December 26, 2002