INCREASED FAITH THE STRENGTH OF PEACE PRINCIPLES – Charles Spurgeon
INCREASED FAITH THE STRENGTH OF PEACE PRINCIPLES
“The apostles said to the Lord, increase our faith.” Luke 17:5. THE sermon of last Sabbath morning,[in which I earnestly endeavored to teach the doctrine of overcoming evil with good, and the frank and full forgiveness of all injuries for Christ’s sake, has raised much discussion. I know that it startled a great many of you, and that you have a great many questions among yourselves as to whether such precepts are practicable by ordinary Christians. At that I am not at all surprised, because when our Lord preached the same doctrine, His disciples were so astonished that the apostles exclaimed in surprise, “Lord, increase our faith.” It is most important in this case to see the connection of the text, or you will fail to see its drift and bearings. It was not for the sake of working miracles that the apostles sought increased faith; it was not in order to bear their present or future trials, and neither was it to enable them to receive some mysterious article of the faith. Their prayer referred to a common everyday duty enjoined by the gospel—the forgiving those who do us wrong—for the previous verses are to this effect, “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother trespasses against you, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. And if he trespasses against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turns again to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.” And it was upon hearing this that the apostles cried, “Increase our faith.” If you have been surprised, dear friends, at the high standard of Christian duty which my Lord has laid down for you, I only trust your surprise may drive you to the same resort as it did those first servants of the Lord, and compel you to appeal for help to Him who issued the command! Will He not help us in walking in His ways? When we feel that His commandments are exceedingly broad, to whom should we appeal for aid but to Him who is our leader in all holy conversion and godliness? He will not set you the task and refuse you His assistance in performing it! Observe that these apostles did not, because of their having sinned against this precept in former times, conclude that they had no faith. They did not conclude because the precept was so much above them that therefore they were unbelievers. Despair is no help to Christian duty! To doubt our discipleship will not help us to obey our Lord; if any of you have cut yourselves off from the household of faith because you fall short of the noblest forms of Christian love, I entreat you to begin again, and instead of doubting the existence of your faith ask to have it increased. There is a fountain opened for your past uncleanness—and sanctifying power for your future lives; apply to Jesus at once for the double deliverance, and doubt not that He will deal graciously with you. Neither did the disciples reject the precept as utterly impossible, nor excuse themselves from it on the ground that in their peculiar circumstances it must be modified. They did not complain that it was too much to expect of human nature, nor did they regard the command as only fit for dwellers in Utopia. No, they respected the precept which surprised them, and admired the virtue which astonished them. As loyal followers of the Lord Jesus, they felt bound to follow where He led the way, for they believed that He was too wise to issue an impossible command, too good to teach an impracticable code of morals, and too honest to set up a standard to which no mortal could in any measure, attain. They looked on His command and they felt such confidence in Him that instead of drawing back they resolved that it should be obeyed at all costs. Their resolve was to do His bidding, but feeling that they could not achieve it in their own strength they began to pray, and their prayer was for faith. They felt that only faith could work such a wonder of patient love; it was far out of the ordinary line of action—flesh and blood could not accomplish it, mere resolve would not achieve it—faith must do it and even faith itself would need strengthening or it would fail in the attempt. They felt also that the kind of faith which could forgive to 2 2 70 times seven must be supernatural, and not such as they could grow in their own breasts without divine assistance, and therefore they said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” They needed such faith as He could give in order that they might perform such duties as He enjoined. Beloved, imitate the example of these apostles! Whenever you feel that you have something to do that is beyond you, stop a moment and breathe a prayer for more strength. If ever the leap is too wide, draw back, take a breath, ask for strength, and then, in the name of Him that will surely bear you over it, take your leap and succeed! He has not brought you into a condition in which you shall feel your infirmities so abjectly as to lie down and die, but He does intend you to feel your weakness so much that you may importunately pray for His aid, and then in the strength which you have gained by prayer may attain to heights of virtue which otherwise had been far above and out of your sight. We are all the more likely to rise to holiness when we have seen our own incapacity for it.
Those who at the first blush were somewhat staggered by the high and glorious precepts of Christian forgiveness, of non-resistance, and of returning good for evil, are none the less likely to become good practitioners of this holy art, but all the more so if their astonishment drives them to pray, “Lord, increase our faith.” Let us then, this morning, in that connection, consider the prayer of the text; let us, secondly, see how it bears upon the duty of forgiveness, how the increase of faith can help us to forgive; and then, thirdly let us note how our Lord Jesus answered this prayer. O divine Spirit, lead us into these truths of God while we meditate together, and afterwards help us to show in our lives the mind of Christ. I. First, LET US CONSIDER THE PRAYER ITSELF. It may help us to see its meaning if we consider for a moment where the apostles learned to pray like this. Who suggested to them to say, “Lord, increase our faith”? Now, faith is the act of man—truly, it is the gift of God, but it is as surely the act of man. God does not believe for us, the Holy Spirit does not believe in our place—the man himself believes. This would be clear enough to the apostles, but they might not so readily learn that Jesus had power to give and to increase faith. It is assuredly most proper to ask the Lord to increase our faith, but it was not very early in their Christian career that the apostles did so pray; in fact, it is a very singular fact that I think this is almost the only instance in which, as an apostolic company, they asked any spiritual thing of the Master! They did say, “Lord, teach us how to pray,” but I am afraid they meant to learn a form of prayer rather than to be filled with the spirit of prayer. As to spiritual blessings, our Lord might well say to them, “To this point you have asked nothing in My name.” But they were at last so overwhelmed with a consciousness of their own weakness when they perceived the exceeding breadth and height of the law of Christian forgiveness, that they felt assured that there must be strength laid up for them somewhere or other! And where could it be but in their Lord? And so they prayed to the Lord, “increase our faith.” It is not the only time in which a sense of their personal emptiness has convinced men of the divine fullness, and driven them to it. I think it was Jesus who had taught them to pray so. They must have caught the idea from that which is recorded in the 11th of Mark, at the 22nd verse, where you have much the same passage as the one before us, though expressed in different words. “Jesus answering said unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, that whoever shall say unto this mountain, Be you removed, and be you cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he said shall come to pass, he shall have whatever he said. Therefore I say unto you, What things you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them. And when you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.” Note that our Lord according to Mark commenced this exhortation concerning forgiveness by saying, “Have faith in God”; then showed the power of faith in working wonders, and especially in obtaining answers to prayer, and last of all commanded forgiveness of trespasses. Was not that sentence “Have faith in God” the mother of their prayer “Increase our faith”? Jesus had said “Have faith,” and now when they fully understand what it is that He teaches, they take the words out of His mouth, and they say to their Lord, “Add to our faith. We trust we have some of that precious grace, but add to it yet more and more, we beseech You.” Our Master in His teaching was continually connecting the forgiveness of others with the exercise of faith. In the passage just referred to, and in that which surrounds my text, you have our Lord 3 3 referring to the faith which moves mountains, or plucks up sycamore trees by the roots—and coupling with it the forgiving of offenses. Surely this may have led them so to pray. Our Lord had also suggested this prayer for faith from the fact that as He had taught them that there must be faith in prayer, so He had also insisted upon it that prayer must always be connected with a forgiving spirit; in fact, in the model prayer, according to which we are always to shape our petitions, He has taught us to say, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,” or, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us.” He has allowed us, as it were, to cut out for ourselves the measure of pardon that we wish to receive—and the measure is to be precisely that which we are prepared to give to others! God will pardon us in proportion as we are prepared to pardon. If you have a trespass which you cannot pardon, God also has an unpardonable sin written in His book against you: I mean unpardonable as long as you are unforgiving. If you will only pardon slowly, and after a stingy fashion, you shall not for many days enjoy the freeness and the bounty of the unlimited mercy of God! So you see as our Lord had connected success in prayer both with forgiveness and faith, he had suggested the increase of the one with the view of accomplishing the other. No man can pray successfully while he is in an unforgiving frame of mind, but a believing man always prays successfully, therefore a believing man is ready to forgive. As faith increases we become more able to overlook the provocations we endure. I think that the apostles had also learned this prayer, not only from the Master, but from one who was very much inferior to themselves, but who nevertheless had outrun them in the knowledge of the struggles of the heart—I mean the father who had a lunatic child. That was a wonderful prayer of his, when Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes.” The poor man cried out, “Lord, I believe, help You my unbelief.” This was a deeply experimental prayer. It showed how familiar he was to the workings of his own soul. He detected unbelief in his own heart and yet he saw faith there too; whereas a great many Christians, if they discern some unbelief in their hearts, straightway imagine that there cannot be any faith, And if they possess a degree of faith, they fancy that there cannot be any unbelief surviving—whereas the two powers are in one man at the same time, and contend within his soul. The apostles appear to me to have learned a noble lesson from that tried father, and now they put his prayer into their own language, and use it on their own account. They do as good as confess their lingering unbelief, and yet they acknowledge that they do believe while they pray, “Lord, increase our faith”; so that with the teaching of Jesus, and with the example of that poor struggling soul, they had been taught to pray as they should. It is a grand thing when every day we learn to pray better, and both from the Master’s lips and from the experience of all, His servants are being taught what to pray for as we ought. By the use of such means the Spirit helps our infirmity, and teaches us how to prevail with God. Now let us come a little closer to the prayer itself, and notice what it confesses. It confesses that they had faith, for they say, “Lord, increase our faith.” He who asks for faith must have some faith, or he would not ask at all; indeed, it is with faith that we ask for faith. He who pleads, “Add to my faith,” acknowledges that he has some already, to which more is to be added. So that these apostles, notwithstanding that they were staggered by the duty before them, believed that Christ could help them through it, and also believed that He could at once give them the necessary faith. When you ask for any blessing, always do so in such a way as to acknowledge what you have already received. Do not despise the little faith you have, even though you feel bound to plead for more. They also confessed that while they had faith they had not enough of it. My brethren, must we not all make the same confession? You believe in Jesus Christ to the salvation of your soul, but, brethren, do you believe to the comfort of your heart? You have faith enough to bear the ordinary trials of life, but, dear brethren, have you enough for the superior contests to which you have lately been called? If you have not, then here is the prayer for you, “Lord, increase my faith.” Certain it is that no one among us has too much faith, or even enough should unusual storms arise. We have no faith to spare. God grants it to us always according to our day, and He gives more grace and faith when He sends more trials. Often, when our faith is sorely tried, we are compelled to feel as mere babes in faith’s school, and need indeed to pray daily, “Lord, increase our faith.” 4 4 But then by their prayer the apostles confessed that they could not increase their own faith. Faith is not a weed to grow upon every dunghill, without care or culture; it is a plant of heavenly growth, and requires divine watching and watering. He who is the author of faith and the finisher of it, is the only one who can increase it. As no man ever obtains his first faith apart from the Spirit of God, so no man ever gets more faith except through the working of that same divine power! The Spirit which rests upon Jesus must anoint us also, or the measure of faith will not be enlarged. Breathe then the prayer to God, my brethren, “Increase my faith”; this will be a far wiser course than to resolve in your own strength, “I will believe more,” for, perhaps, in rebuke of your pride you will fall into a decaying state, and even believe less. After having made so vainglorious a resolution, you may fall into grievous despondency; do not therefore say, “I will accumulate more faith,” but pray, “Lord, I believe, help You my unbelief.” Herein is your wisdom! The prayer also confesses that the Lord Jesus can increase faith. Dear brethren, the Lord Jesus Christ can increase your faith by the use of common means, through His Spirit. He is able to make all grace abound towards you. Not by any magical mode, nor by miracle, but even by such things as you have, the Lord can make Little-Faith grow into Greatheart, and turn Feeble-Mind into Valiant-for-Truth. He has the key of faith, and can open more of its chambers, and fill them with His treasures. He can reveal truths of God to you which shall cause you to believe more fully, or the truth of God already revealed He can set in clearer light, and apply more powerfully to your heart, and so can add to your faith. Do not believe, brethren, that you are condemned to lead an unbelieving life. No such necessity exists. Let no one among you sit down and say, “I have a withered arm of faith, and cannot stretch it out,” or “I have a weak eye, and shall never be able to see afar off.” No, the name of our God is Jehovah Rophi, and He can heal us of all these ills! God can make you strong, brethren. Present again and again the prayer “Lord increase our faith,” with the full conviction that He can do so to any extent, and that He can lift even the most drooping soul among us into the full assurance of faith! May the Lord at this very hour work in you a childlike confidence in His love and faithfulness, and may you never be the victim of mistrust again! I want you to observe who prayed this prayer. It is not often that the evangelists speak of “the apostles,” separately, as asking anything. You will perceive in the first verse that our Lord spoke to the disciples. “Then said He to the disciples,” but the persons who sought increased faith were the apostles. “The church did not think themselves infallible? Fancy the successor of Peter saying, “Lord, increase our faith!” Surely, “His Holiness” needs no increase of faith! He who boasts that he is infallible cannot be unbelieving! Ah, brethren, the apostles knew nothing of such silly and wicked pretensions; none of them ever in their lives pretended to be the “Head of the Church” or “Vicar of Christ”; but they were ready to cry to their Master for increase of faith just as soon as the rest of the disciples, yes, sooner too, because they were the first to feel their need. They were the choice of the Lord’s flock, and therefore they were the first to see and to confess their own failures. No man so soon knows and so much deplores his need of faith as the man who has most of it. It was not the little ones in the church who said, “Increase our faith”—they might well say it; but it was the masters in Israel who had been best instructed by Christ, who had seen His miracles and preached His word; these were the very ones who cried to their Lord, “Increase our faith.” The nearer you live to God, and the more full your soul is of faith, the less inclined will you be to be self-satisfied; and the more earnestly will you desire that your faith should be increased. It is somewhat remarkable that the whole of the apostles thus prayed. They were unanimous in this prayer, though it did not often happen that they were so in anything else. There were divisions among them, and strifes as to who among them should be the greatest; but this time they were all one in the petition to the Lord. A petition which commended itself to the entire college of the apostles is one which surely all of us may put up to our great Lord in the presence of that supreme duty, of which we heard last Sunday morning. In order that we may not resist evil, but overcome evil with good, be pleased, O Lord, to increase our faith. While I am still explaining the prayer, let us notice once again why they asked for faith. They said unto the Lord, “Increase our faith.” Might they not more fitly have said, “Lord, increase our meekness, 5 5 Lord, increase our Christian love”? No, but they went to the bottom of the thing, they looked to the mainspring of all Christian graces—they asked for faith. Sometimes, brethren, we are led to see that if a duty is to be performed at all it cannot be done in the strength of nature. Now the grace which deals with the supernatural is faith, therefore we say, “Lord, increase our faith, for since this is a supernatural virtue which You do ask of us, be pleased to give us the faculty which deals with supernatural power that we may be enabled to achieve this high and difficult duty.” I know some of you think that faith was given to men of old, that they might work miracles, and you have admired the faith of Samson when he slew the Philistines with the jawbone of an ass, the faith which “quenched the violence of fire,” the faith which “stopped the mouths of lions,” and so on. Yes, but faith is meant for other matters besides miracles.
INCREASED FAITH: THE STRENGTH OF PEACE PRINCIPLES
“The apostles said to the Lord, increase our faith.” Luke 17:5.
Introduction: The Need for Increased Faith
The sermon of last Sabbath morning, in which I earnestly endeavored to teach the doctrine of overcoming evil with good, and the frank and full forgiveness of all injuries for Christ’s sake, has raised much discussion. I know that it startled many of you, and that you have many questions among yourselves as to whether such precepts are practicable by ordinary Christians. I am not at all surprised by this, because when our Lord preached the same doctrine, His disciples were so astonished that the apostles exclaimed in surprise, “Lord, increase our faith.”
It is crucial to understand the connection of the text, or you will fail to grasp its drift and significance. The apostles were not asking for increased faith for the sake of working miracles; they were not asking for it to bear their present or future trials, nor were they seeking some mysterious article of the faith. Their prayer was about a common, everyday duty enjoined by the gospel—the forgiveness of those who wrong us. The verses preceding this passage speak to this effect: “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother trespasses against you, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. And if he trespasses against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turns again to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.” Upon hearing this, the apostles cried, “Increase our faith.”
The Importance of Faith in Christian Duty
If you have been surprised, dear friends, at the high standard of Christian duty which my Lord has laid down for you, I trust your surprise may drive you to the same resort as it did those first servants of the Lord, compelling you to appeal for help to Him who issued the command! Will He not help us walk in His ways? When we feel that His commandments are exceedingly broad, to whom should we appeal for aid but to Him who is our leader in all holy conversion and godliness? He will not set you a task and then refuse you the help needed to perform it!
Notice that these apostles did not, because of their past failures to follow this precept, conclude that they had no faith. They did not decide that, because the precept was so much higher than their own capabilities, they were unbelievers. Despair is no help to Christian duty! To doubt our discipleship will not help us to obey our Lord. If any of you have cut yourselves off from the household of faith because you fall short of the noblest forms of Christian love, I entreat you to begin again. Instead of doubting the existence of your faith, ask to have it increased. There is a fountain opened for your past uncleanness—and sanctifying power for your future lives; apply to Jesus at once for the double deliverance, and doubt not that He will deal graciously with you.
Neither did the disciples reject the precept as utterly impossible, nor excuse themselves from it on the grounds of their peculiar circumstances. They did not complain that it was too much to expect of human nature, nor did they regard the command as only fit for an idealized utopia. No, they respected the precept which surprised them and admired the virtue which astonished them. As loyal followers of the Lord Jesus, they felt bound to follow where He led. They believed that He was too wise to issue an impossible command, too good to teach an impractical code of morals, and too honest to set up a standard to which no mortal could attain. They looked at His command and felt such confidence in Him that instead of drawing back, they resolved it should be obeyed at all costs. But they recognized that they could not achieve it in their own strength, so they prayed—and their prayer was for faith. They realized that only faith could enable them to fulfill this wondrous command, and that even faith itself needed strengthening or it would fail in the attempt.
The Role of Faith in Forgiveness
Imitate the example of these apostles! Whenever you feel that you have something to do that is beyond your strength, stop for a moment and breathe a prayer for more strength. If ever the leap seems too wide, draw back, take a breath, ask for strength, and then, in the name of Him who will surely bear you over it, take your leap and succeed! He has not brought you to a condition in which you shall feel your infirmities so abjectly that you will lie down and die; but He does intend for you to feel your weakness so much that you may importunately pray for His aid. Then, in the strength gained through prayer, you will reach heights of virtue that would otherwise have been far beyond you. We are more likely to rise to holiness when we have seen our own incapacity for it.
Those who were at first staggered by the high and glorious precepts of Christian forgiveness, non-resistance, and returning good for evil, are more likely to become good practitioners of this holy art if their astonishment drives them to pray, “Lord, increase our faith.” Let us then, this morning, consider the prayer of the text.
I. The Prayer for Increased Faith
Let us consider first the prayer itself. It may help us to see its meaning if we reflect for a moment on where the apostles learned to pray in this way. Who suggested to them to say, “Lord, increase our faith”? Now, faith is the act of man. Truly, it is the gift of God, but it is also the act of man. God does not believe for us, the Holy Spirit does not believe in our place—the man himself believes. This would have been clear enough to the apostles, but they may not have so readily learned that Jesus had the power to give and increase faith.
It is certainly appropriate to ask the Lord to increase our faith. However, it was not early in their Christian journey that the apostles asked for this. In fact, this is almost the only instance in which they, as a group, asked anything spiritual of the Master. They did ask, “Lord, teach us how to pray,” but that was more about learning the form of prayer rather than the spirit of prayer. As to spiritual blessings, our Lord might have well said to them, “To this point you have asked nothing in My name.”
But they were at last so overwhelmed with a consciousness of their own weakness, especially after perceiving the wide breadth of the law of Christian forgiveness, that they felt certain there must be strength somewhere to help them. And where could it be but in their Lord? Thus, they prayed, “Increase our faith.”
The Lesson of Faith
It is not the only time when a sense of personal emptiness has driven men to the divine fullness. It was Jesus who had taught them to pray like this. “Have faith in God,” He said, and they now saw the necessity of asking for more faith in order to accomplish what He required. Our Lord was continually connecting the forgiveness of others with the exercise of faith. In passages surrounding this text, He referred to faith that moves mountains, or plucks up sycamore trees by the roots—and coupled it with the forgiveness of offenses.
Our Lord had also suggested this prayer for faith from the fact that as He taught them that prayer must always be connected with a forgiving spirit, He also taught that the two—faith and forgiveness—were inseparable. In the model prayer, we are taught to say, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” This connection naturally leads us to pray, “Increase our faith,” so that we may fulfill this high calling.
II. How Increased Faith Helps Us Forgive Others
Now, let us consider how the increase of faith bears upon our power to forgive others. First, you might already sense that it does, even if you cannot explain the mode of its operation. If I were to speak of a person who is strong in faith, you would certainly expect them to be quick to forgive the injuries of others. Though you may not see the connection immediately, you know there must be one.
Consider Abraham: when his herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen quarreled, Abraham did not engage in the quarrel but instead graciously gave Lot the choice of direction for their separation. Such calm and gentle action came naturally to Abraham, a man of faith. Joseph, too, after his brothers wronged him, forgave them. Moses, David, and many other men of faith acted similarly, showing gentleness, forgiveness, and humility. You know that a man of true faith will forgive. There is an actual connection between faith and forgiveness.
When the apostles said, “Lord, increase our faith,” they were praying to be able to forgive just as Jesus taught. Faith in God’s ability to enable us to forgive is essential to fulfilling the duty He sets before us.
III. The Answer of Christ to the Prayer
Finally, how did Christ answer the apostles’ prayer for increased faith? First, He assured them that faith can do anything. He said, “If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you might say unto this sycamore tree, be you plucked up by the root and be you planted in the sea, and it should obey you.” This was meant to show that faith can accomplish anything.
If you feel that your bad temper is deeply rooted in you, like a sycamore tree, and you struggle to forgive, Jesus assures you that by faith, you can say, “Be you plucked up by the roots,” and it will be done. Even the deepest and most entrenched weaknesses can be uprooted by faith. If you believe, you will see that it is possible to overcome your difficulties and live in a way that pleases God.
Jesus also answered the prayer by teaching humility. He reminded the apostles that even when they did something extraordinary, they should not be filled with pride. He said, “When you shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.” This is a strengthening of our faith because it reminds us that our service is not about earning praise but about fulfilling our duty in humble obedience.
Conclusion: The Power of Faith in Our Lives
Faith enables us to perform what would otherwise be impossible. Through it, we are empowered to forgive as we have been forgiven, and we are called to pray for an increase of faith whenever we are faced with difficulties. May we, like the apostles, come to Christ and ask for more faith, knowing that He is the only one who can grant it. Let us be ever humble in our service and trust that the Lord will help us fulfill His commands.
The Faith Which Enables Christian Living
The faith that enables a Christian to live a holy life, especially the faith that empowers you to overcome evil with good and forgive your neighbor seventy times seven, is as great a faith as the faith that stopped the sun or divided the sea. It seems that some people today believe that faith is only meant to be used for raising money to support orphanages and colleges by obtaining answers to prayer. These are certainly noble deeds, and the faith that accomplishes them brings great glory to God. May God give success to His servants who are called to such work, for these works stand as a testimony to a skeptical world that God indeed hears prayer.
However, after all, the feats most of us will perform are neither miracles nor the maintenance of orphanages. Instead, they are deeds of love in everyday life. You do not need to stop the mouths of lions, but you do face the equally difficult task of controlling your own mouth when you are in an angry temper. You are not called to quench the violence of fire, except as it burns in your own wrath. You are not called to smite any Philistine but your own sins, nor to cast down walls but your own prejudices.
Christian woman, your faith must work its miracles in the drawing room, in the parlor, in the kitchen, and in the chamber. Man of business, your faith performs wonders on the exchange, in the shop, or in the commercial room. Working man, your faith is to achieve miracles at the forge, by the bench, in the field, or in the mill. Here is your sphere of service, and it is in these places that you need to lift to heaven the prayer of the apostles: “Lord, increase our faith,” so that you may live worthily, righteously, soberly, and as a Christian.
II. The Increase of Faith and Its Power to Forgive Others
Secondly, I want to show how the increase of faith bears upon our ability to forgive others. I believe that you already see the connection, even though you may not be able to explain it. If I were to present to you a person I would describe as “strong in faith,” you would naturally assume that such a person would also be quick to forgive the wrongs of others. Even if you don’t see the exact mechanism, you know there must be a connection.
Consider Abraham: when his herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen quarreled, Abraham did not quarrel with Lot. Instead, when they needed to separate, Abraham allowed Lot, his junior, to choose his direction. This seems natural given Abraham’s calm and gentle faith. That same quiet faith in God makes us expect Abraham to act with great gentleness and nobility.
Take Joseph, a man full of faith, who gave commandment concerning his bones. When his brothers came to him, and he revealed himself to them, he wept over them and forgave them. This conduct, which could have been expected from a man of faith, is what we observe. Though he had been badly treated by his brothers, Joseph’s deep belief in God led him to forgive.
Moses, too, is an example. His meekness was the result of his faith. When we see David standing over the sleeping Saul, and hear his companion suggest striking him down, David refused, leaving the matter in God’s hands. Again, we recognize the faith that makes David refuse revenge.
Though we cannot always trace the connection between faith and forgiveness, we instinctively know that those who profess to believe in Christ should be gentle and forgiving—and we are right to expect this! There is a real connection between the two.
The Confidence of Faith in Forgiveness
When the apostles said, “Lord, increase our faith,” they meant, “Increase our confidence in You,” and this is a critical help in performing the duty. First, God must help us believe in Jesus such that we do not suspect Him of giving us an impractical task. When the Lord says, “Overcome evil with good,” and “Forgive seventy times seven,” we may find ourselves thinking, “This is a hard saying; who can bear it?” We may feel that we will never get through the world with that gentle approach. It is unbelief that makes us believe we must sometimes react with violence or anger to be effective, or else we’ll be trampled underfoot.
We must ask for divine grace to believe that Christ’s way of forgiveness is, in fact, the best, the noblest, and the most truly satisfying way. Their prayer might be read as meaning, “Lord, help us believe that You can enable us to do this. We cannot by our own nature be always forgiving, lowly, gentle, and loving, but You have said, ‘Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls.’ Therefore, O Lord, give us more faith in You, that we may believe You can make us meek and lowly, even as You are.”
We must believe that Jesus can transform our lion-like tempers into lambs and our ravenous spirits into doves. If we don’t yet have enough faith for this, we must pray for it. Do you see that if we believe a duty is impossible, we won’t be able to fulfill it? But when we gain confidence that the command is possible and that God’s power can enable us to do it, we’ve already won half the battle. By believing in the possibility of a higher standard of holiness, we begin to walk toward that holiness.
Faith, Forgiveness, and the Mercy of God
Next, let us look at the foundation of faith and its connection to forgiveness. Faith believes that God, for Christ’s sake, forgives us—and how much? Seventy times seven? Beloved, God forgives us much more than that. Does the Lord forgive us seven times a day? If we sin seven times a day and repent, does He forgive? Yes, He does. We must firmly believe this, for as often as we transgress, God is more ready to forgive us than we are ready to offend, even though we are too quick to transgress.
Do you have right thoughts of God, dear hearer? If so, you know that He is a tender Father, willing to wipe away the tear of penitence, press His offending child to His bosom, and kiss them with His forgiving love. The mercy of God lies at the very foundation of our faith, and it helps us to forgive.
Do you not see that if God has forgiven us our great debt, we dare not take our brother by the throat for the small debt he owes us? We must forgive because God, for Christ’s sake, has forgiven us!
The joy of faith also helps forgiveness. Do you remember the first day you believed in Jesus Christ? Do you remember the joy of your conversion? You were so happy and joyful in the Lord that injuries seemed insignificant. If you became momentarily annoyed, you quickly returned to the peace of your salvation. You were too full of holy joy to engage in quarreling.
Dear brethren, you should always retain that love and joy. If you have lost them, the best thing you can do is to seek them again. Therefore, pray today, “Lord, increase my faith and restore to me the joy of Your salvation.” When you return from backsliding and rejoice fully in the Lord, you will find it much easier to forgive even your worst enemy.
Rest in Faith and Forgiveness
A spirit of rest created by faith helps the gentle spirit. The person who believes enters into rest, becoming calm and untroubled, and this keeps them from seeking petty revenge. They know that whatever happens, all is right with them forever. They know whom they have believed and walk with integrity of heart, and therefore are not easily irritated.
It is amazing how much one can endure when they are certain they are right! Let me share a story of Joseph Hughes of Battersea, one of the founders of the Bible Society. He was riding on a cold, bitter winter’s day when a man began to talk against Bible Societies, claiming they only benefited lazy secretaries. Mr. Hughes quietly replied, “What would you say if you were told that one of the secretaries never received a penny for their services, and instead rode on top of the coach in such cold weather to save the society money?” This story illustrates how faith in God can provide such calm strength that we are not easily disturbed.
III. Christ’s Answer to the Prayer for Increased Faith
Now, how did Christ answer the apostles’ prayer for increased faith? He did it in two ways. First, He assured them that faith can do anything. He said, “If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you might say to this sycamore tree, ‘Be plucked up by the root and planted in the sea,’ and it should obey you.” This was a proverbial expression to signify that faith can accomplish anything.
You might say, “My bad temper is deeply rooted, as a sycamore tree is rooted in the ground. How can I change this?” Jesus says, “You can by faith remove this temper.” It may seem impossible to plant a tree in the sea, but with faith, it is possible. Similarly, you can plant love and forgiveness in your heart if you have faith.
Christ also answered their prayer by teaching humility. He reminded them that even if they forgave seventy times seven, they should not expect praise or recognition. Just as a servant doesn’t expect praise for doing their duty, we should not think of our forgiveness as something extraordinary. It is our duty, and when we fulfill it, we should humbly say, “We are unprofitable servants; we have only done what was our duty to do.”
Conclusion
I encourage you, dear friends, to resolve, like the apostles, to increase your faith. We must not say, “This is beyond my reach,” but instead pray, “Lord, increase my faith.” May God’s Spirit help us all to live by this faith, for His glory and our sanctification. Amen.
Charles Spurgeon