What is “The measure of faith”?
Scripture reference; For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. Romans 12: 3 NASB.
We will discover in the word of God that there are two kinds of believing (Faith) mentioned in scripture. People today believe in many things mostly because of the senses, seeing hearing, reading and we all have heard that familiar phrase “Seeing is believing”, which is true. We believe that the sun will rise every day as it has done all our lives, many believe in the Theory of Evolution based upon fossils (Why they believe this is incredible because if it were a fact there would be far more transient changes found from one creature to another which are not found in the fossil records, in fact they have found a fish seen in fossils they date thousands of years ago alive today. Also, they believe that the origin of creation began with the hydrogen atom which they believe appeared “Out of nothing”) Wow, that’s strong faith but not in God!
True saving faith only comes from God as a grant by him choosing from eternity to show favor to those he has elected to be his own. Those who found favor with God were of his “Godly” line and were always his by his foreknowledge and choice, these all from Adam and Eve were given to Jesus as he himself said; “Thine they were (Always) and you have given them to me”.
We know by God’s word that man on their own *cannot come to God, only the elect are given the saving faith that believes without seeing!
The following scriptures will shed more light on this subject.
Faith can grow. Nor do we boast and claim credit for the work someone else has done. Instead, we hope that your faith will grow so that the boundaries of our work among you will be extended. 2-Corinthians 10: 15 NLT.
Not all men have faith. And that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith. 2-Thessalonians 3: 2 NASB.
Jesus did not have faith in the wicked. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, John 2: 24 NASB. Note: Jesus only sought after his people, those lost elect given to him by the Father, this is why he rejected these people in this scripture, and he knew they were not his own but the dead non-elect.
The seeing is believing crowd. So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.” John 4: 48 NASB. Here is a clear picture of belief (Faith) that is not the saving kind but human belief by seeing and without that, they won’t believe. Only God given faith can please him because he himself gives it, so that the true believer can believe the unseen. Only that kind of faith pleases God and only his people have it!
*THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; Romans 3: 11 NASB.
I wish to appeal to those who have a fear of God, his word says that that is the beginning of wisdom and it may be his doing, Jesus promised that those who seek will find him and he will never cast out those who come to him. All who call on the name of the Lord Jesus will be saved!
I hope I have clarified this subject as I believe many do not understand the two differences involved with faith (Belief) the true and the false.
Author Ken
Feb. 2014