TWO KINDS OF FAITH
Some of the most profound and inspiring words ever spoken by the Master on the subject of faith are found in Mark’s gospel, chapter eleven, from the twenty-second into the twenty-fourth verse:
“And Jesus answering saith unto them (His disciples) HAVE FAITH IN GOD. 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. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”
Jesus instructs in verse 22, “Have faith in God.” When you read that verse, using a good marginal reference Bible, you’ll see that what Jesus actually said was, “Have the faith of God.” In other words, “Have the God-kind of faith.” So, there’s the God-kind of faith!
The other type is the human-kind of faith. The human-kind of faith is based on knowledge or information obtained from the senses, that is, sensory perception. It is sense-knowledge faith, thus, it is really not faith in the actual sense, since faith is the evidence of things not seen or perceived with the senses (Hebrews 11:1).
We can find in the Bible someone who operated this kind of faith. His name was Thomas, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. This is the reason human or sense-knowledge faith is sometimes referred to as the ‘Thomas-kind of faith.’
Therefore, in the general sense, there are two kinds of faith: the God-kind of faith and the human- or Thomas-kind of faith.
THE ‘GOD-KIND OF FAITH’ VERSUS THE ‘THOMAS-KIND’ OF FAITH
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN” (Hebrews 11:1).
In the light of this scriptural definition of faith, the Thomas-kind of faith is actually not faith. This is because it believes, and calls real only the things that the physical senses can perceive. It only calls real, things that can be seen, felt or touched physically. It’s the kind of faith that says, “Except I see with my eyes, I’ll not believe!” This kind of faith does not produce any result; it gives you nothing. Moreover, operating in it cannot give you any blessing.
When Thomas was told by the other disciples that the Master was alive and they had seen Him (this was after His crucifixion), he blurted, “Except I see the nail prints in his hands and put my fingers in those nail holes, and see the wound in his side where that Roman soldier thrust a spear through, I will not believe!”
A few days after he made this statement, the disciples were gathered together in a room with the doors shut, and suddenly Jesus appeared to them again. This time Thomas was present at the meeting. Jesus turned to Thomas and said to him,
“…reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: BLESSED ARE THEY THAT HAVE NOT SEEN, AND YET HAVE BELIEVED” (John 20:26-29).
Jesus knew Thomas’ remark, although He wasn’t physically present when he made his comment. However, when He appeared the second time to His disciples, He came specifically for Thomas.
The Bible says, “And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). In other words, “I’ve seen you, so now I believe!” But Jesus wasn’t moved by his word; He wasn’t impressed with Thomas’ faith. He said, “Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:29).
The next time you hear someone say, “I must see first, before I believe,” that person is operating the Thomas-Kind of faith. According to the words of Jesus, he or she is not blessed. The one who’s blessed is the one who believes before seeing.
The Thomas-kind of faith gives you nothing; it doesn’t work! It doesn’t produce any spiritual results. Does this apply to you? Are you one of those who say things like, “How can I say I’m rich when there’s no money in my pocket and bank account?” Or “How can I say I’m healed when I can still feel pain in my body?” Don’t ask such silly questions. Have you forgotten the Bible says “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN?”
The evidence you need to prove that you’re healthy and prosperous is God’s Word. The Bible says,
“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich (2 Corinthians 8:9).
And in 1 Peter 2:24, it says,
“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: BY WHOSE STRIPES YE WERE HEALED.”
These are evidences from God’s Word that guarantee your health and financial prosperity. If you’re waiting to have your pocket and bank account filled with a lot of money before you declare you’re rich, then it means you don’t believe God’s Word. You have the Thomas-kind of faith.
Have you ever heard someone say, “Unless I see a miracle, I will not believe?” Even after seeing a miracle, such folks will still demand proofs and verifications to believe such miracles are of God. I would to God such folks would realize their ignorance and come to know that miracles are not subject to scientific or empirical proofs. The unfortunate thing about this group of people is they claim to be smarter than everybody else.
Just like Thomas, when they hear a testimony about someone who was healed of a terminal disease, for example, they’ll say, “You think I’m a fool? Unless I see a proof from the doctors, confirming this person no longer suffers from that sickness, I will not believe.” They’ll tell you, “I’m a realist; I only believe what I see, feel or touch.” What a shame!
Don’t believe what you see, believe what God says! That’s faith, and that’s the faith that works! Somebody said, “I work with facts and figures.” Don’t work with facts and figures; walk by faith, based on God’s Word.
Many folks today are having problems in their faith walk because they operate the Thomas-kind of faith which in scriptural sense is not faith at all. When Jesus rebuked Thomas in John 20:27, He said to him “…be NOT FAITHLESS, but believing…” which means Thomas was actually faithless! He exhibited no faith at all – he had zero-faith. Don’t be that way!
One time, Jesus rebuked His disciples and asked them, “…Why are you so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?” (Mark 4:40). He chided them for their lack of faith! So there’s zero faith, and that’s the Thomas or sense-knowledge kind of faith.
However, Jesus counsels us to have the God-kind of faith. That’s the faith that works and produces result. That’s the kind of faith we’re expected to operate as believers. That’s the faith that’s already been given to every Christian by God.
Romans 12:3 lets us know we have this faith already:
“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.”
You have the God-kind of faith in you. You’re required to put it to work. Use it. The more you put it to work, the stronger it becomes. You don’t have to pray to have the God-kind of faith; if you’re born again you already have the God-kind of faith.
LITTLE FAITH ΑND GREAT FAITH (...To be continued....)
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