Faith and Mustard Seeds

[ice--eyes]

Maybe this isn't the right place for this topic...

Anyway, I started talking about faith with some people and one of my friends believes that you either have faith or you don't. I personally believe that you have to grow in faith. Before you become a Christian, you have just enough faith to believe in God, afterwards your faith grows. And if you either have faith or you don't, why would God Himself measure faith in a mustard seed?

What do you think... got any verses to support it?

[Mikeyjay]

Maybe this isn't the right place for this topic...

Anyway, I started talking about faith with some people and one of my friends believes that you either have faith or you don't. I personally believe that you have to grow in faith. Before you become a Christian, you have just enough faith to believe in God, afterwards your faith grows. And if you either have faith or you don't, why would God Himself measure faith in a mustard seed?

What do you think... got any verses to support it?

this is true...as we believe we do grow in faith !!!

[Ovedya]

On the one hand faith is measured out to each believer for their respective function in the Body of Christ, for its growth (Rom. 12:3; Eph. 4:7; 16). On the other hand, each believer grows in the faith by the supply of Christ (2 Cor. 10:15; Eph. 2:21; Col. 2:19; 1 Cor. 3:6).

Ultimately the believers' individual growth is a matter of the Body's growth as a whole. I think that some, perhaps even many, believers are mainly concerned with their own growth without seeing that their personal growth in the faith is unto the Body of Christ. In other words, God's ministry in the church is the growth of the Body corporately. Each member in the Body functions according to the supply of Christ to build up the church, so that she can be presented to her Bridegroom, Christ, on the day of His return.

So in answer to your question, yes, the believers definately grown in faith. Because faith is not just a substance. it is not just the element by which the believers grow, faith is also a Person. It is the eternal life of the Triune God flowing from the throne of grace, by the Spirit, into the believers for their growth in life.

[ice--eyes]

On the one hand faith is measured out to each believer for their respective function in the Body of Christ, for its growth (Rom. 12:3; Eph. 4:7; 16). On the other hand, each believer grows in the faith by the supply of Christ (2 Cor. 10:15; Eph. 2:21; Col. 2:19; 1 Cor. 3:6).

Ultimately the believers' individual growth is a matter of the Body's growth as a whole. I think that some, perhaps even many, believers are mainly concerned with their own growth without seeing that their personal growth in the faith is unto the Body of Christ. In other words, God's ministry in the church is the growth of the Body corporately. Each member in the Body functions according to the supply of Christ to build up the church, so that she can be presented to her Bridegroom, Christ, on the day of His return.

So in answer to your question, yes, the believers definately grown in faith. Because faith is not just a substance. it is not just the element by which the believers grow, faith is also a Person. It is the eternal life of the Triune God flowing from the throne of grace, by the Spirit, into the believers for their growth in life.

that's a good point, i never thought of it that way!

[Dad Ernie]

Anyway, I started talking about faith with some people and one of my friends believes that you either have faith or you don't. I personally believe that you have to grow in faith. Before you become a Christian, you have just enough faith to believe in God, afterwards your faith grows. And if you either have faith or you don't, why would God Himself measure faith in a mustard seed?

What do you think... got any verses to support it?

Greetings 'ice-eyes',

Ok, here is the Bible definition for faith:

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

Notice that it does not just apply to Christians or those who believe in God. Everyone has at least a "measure" of faith:

Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Faith, simply put is "trust". A baby trusts its mommy to feed and take care of it. As an adult, we put our faith in many things, such as: the alarm clock to get us up on the morning; that our stove will work when we prepare breakfast; that our car will get us to work, and on and on. To operate in this world we must trust, to a certain degree, a whole lot of things. But what we find in the scriptures there is a reason even greater behind these things that we "trust", and that is God. All the things of this world will fail you at one point or another. The electricity will go off in the middle of the night making you late for work; it may remain off and your stove doesn't work; and your car's heater blanket didn't work and your engine won't turn over when you try to start it.

But what God promises will never fail, because His Word never returns to Him void, that is, without doing what He sent it out to do.

So, it is not really how GREAT your faith is, but what little faith you have in the ONE who is perfectly "trustworthy" and will never fail you.

It is true that your faith can grow in God, but our faith, at least my faith, never grows in the things of this world. Can I trust one electrical company over another? Can I trust one car over another? At some point these things will fail, but we have ONLY ONE GOD, in whom, if we put ALL our faith, (no matter how great or small) can be assured of the Hebrew verse above, and that we have a real living faith that will never fail us.

Blessings,

Dad Ernie

[yomotalking]

Then if we ought to have faith like a tiny mustard seed to move MOUNTAINS, then those who don't , they don't have any faith at all?

And are they REAL mountains?

[ice--eyes]

Anyway, I started talking about faith with some people and one of my friends believes that you either have faith or you don't. I personally believe that you have to grow in faith. Before you become a Christian, you have just enough faith to believe in God, afterwards your faith grows. And if you either have faith or you don't, why would God Himself measure faith in a mustard seed?

What do you think... got any verses to support it?

Greetings 'ice-eyes',

Ok, here is the Bible definition for faith:

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

Notice that it does not just apply to Christians or those who believe in God. Everyone has at least a "measure" of faith:

Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Faith, simply put is "trust". A baby trusts its mommy to feed and take care of it. As an adult, we put our faith in many things, such as: the alarm clock to get us up on the morning; that our stove will work when we prepare breakfast; that our car will get us to work, and on and on. To operate in this world we must trust, to a certain degree, a whole lot of things. But what we find in the scriptures there is a reason even greater behind these things that we "trust", and that is God. All the things of this world will fail you at one point or another. The electricity will go off in the middle of the night making you late for work; it may remain off and your stove doesn't work; and your car's heater blanket didn't work and your engine won't turn over when you try to start it.

But what God promises will never fail, because His Word never returns to Him void, that is, without doing what He sent it out to do.

So, it is not really how GREAT your faith is, but what little faith you have in the ONE who is perfectly "trustworthy" and will never fail you.

It is true that your faith can grow in God, but our faith, at least my faith, never grows in the things of this world. Can I trust one electrical company over another? Can I trust one car over another? At some point these things will fail, but we have ONLY ONE GOD, in whom, if we put ALL our faith, (no matter how great or small) can be assured of the Hebrew verse above, and that we have a real living faith that will never fail us.

Blessings,

Dad Ernie

I want to thank you, because you have blessed me... I'm struggling with some things right now... and must have forgotten that there IS someone who will never leave me... and that's God... and you reminded me of that... so thank you very much!!!

[ice--eyes]

oops

Edited November 7, 2005 by ice--eyes

[Marnie]

I agree with you..."saving faith" comes first, then your faith grows the longer you serve Him. It has to do with trusting in Him and His Will. I think the more you read the Word, the more you get to know Him, the more you will trust Him.

[Dad Ernie]

Then if we ought to have faith like a tiny mustard seed to move MOUNTAINS, then those who don't , they don't have any faith at all?

And are they REAL mountains?

Greetings Yomo,

As I have pointed out, all men have been given a "measure of faith" (barring some mental abberation, I suppose), and it is not so much that your faith "grows", but that it becomes "stronger". When you acquire a friend, and that friend has kept with you through thick and thin, your ups and downs, your ins and outs, and that friend is still there loving you and helping you back on your feet when you have failed them so many times, THEN you begin to realize that this is a TRUE friend, one that you can rely on no matter what. Well, your faith in that friend went from a mustard seed to a mighty tree, as you grew to trust them. So is that faith in God. The more you see that He will never leave you nor forsake you and that He is always there for you in good times and bad, then your faith becomes strong, trusting more and more in HIM.

Well, I haven't heard of any REAL mountains being moved yet, but there have been some very large spiritual mountains that I have seen removed. Someday though, we actually might see some physical mountains come down.

Blessings,

Dad Ernie