Will He really find Faith on the Earth?

Jesus was with His disciples and He spoke a parable to them, telling them that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. At the end of this parable Jesus said to them:

"Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth" (Luke 18:8, NKJV)?

It is true that a believer needs faith when he prays, but Jesus was not talking about faith in praying only; He was talking about faith in general and that all believers need faith to live by.

The Importance of Faith

The importance of faith cannot be over emphasized because you can find it in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. The need of faith and the lack of faith are all over the entire Bible:

The Lord said to Habakkuk, "Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith" (Hab. 2:4, emphasis added).

Paul said, "For it is the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'The just shall live by faith'" (Rom. 1:17, emphasis added).

The writer of Hebrews said, "Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back My soul has no pleasure him" (Heb. 10:38, emphasis added).

The Bible mentioned 3 times - "The just shall live by faith". That also means, anyone who does not live by faith is not justified, not saved and not a believer. Therefore, in relation to the life lived before God, faith is not something that is optional, but something that is obligatory. It is not a matter of personal preference; it is a definite priority. Faith, in its primary sense, is the underlying principle which governs all Christian living - from start to finish. We live by faith, or we do not live at all!

The writer of Hebrews also said, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Heb. 11:6, emphasis added).

You have faith means you believe in God; without faith means you do not believe in God and thus it is impossible for you to please God.

Israel's relationship with God

The Old Testament Scripture has much to say about the relationship of the children of Israel with God - Some have faith (they believe, trust and obey) and some failed to have faith:

"Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, and they believed" (Exodus 4:29, 30, NIV, emphasis added).

The psalmist said, "Then they (Israel) believed his promises and sang his praise" (Ps. 106:12, NIV, emphasis added).

Moses said, "In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go" (Deu. 1:32, 33, NIV, emphasis added).

Moses said, "And when the Lord sent you out from Kadesh Barnea, he said, 'Go up and take possession of the land I have given you.' But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. You did not trust him or obey him. You have been rebellious against the Lord ever since I have known you" (Deu. 9:23, 24, NIV, emphasis added).

The psalmist said, "When the Lord heard them, he was very angry; his fire broke out against Jacob, and his wrath rose against Israel, for they did not believe in God or trust in his delieverance" (Ps. 78:21, 22, NIV, emphasis added).

Benefit of having faith in God

Jehosaphat said, "Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper" (2 Chron. 20:20, NKJV, emphasis added).

If Israel would have faith in the Lord and His prophets their faith would be established. And they would prosper (victorious).

The attitude and faith of His people toward Jesus

Isaiah painted a prophetic picture of the coming of the Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. The picture is one of rejection because His people would not have the faith to believe.

"Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed" (Isaiah 51:1)?

For this reason Jesus predicted when He returns He will not really find faith in His people (Jews and the Church) on earth!

A measure of faith

Paul said, "For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith" (Rom. 12:3, emphasis added).

Paul said to Timothy, "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses" (1 Tim. 6:12, emphasis added).

When God calls a believer to accomplish a task He gives a measure of faith for him to accomplish this particular task for Him. This measure of faith is a gift of God and the believer should receive it in the spirit of humility. Like Timothy, we will face opposition as we fulfill our calling, and we need to "fight of the good fight of faith" and hold on the our faith in order to "lay hold on eternal life". The word "fight", in in Greek, is the same word "strive" used by our Lord in Luke 13:4.

Jesus does not want our faith to fail


Jesus predicted that Peter would deny Him and He said to Peter: "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; ..." (Luke 22:31, 32, emphasis added).

Notice that Jesus did not pray that Peter would not deny Him, but He prayed that Peter would hold on to his faith. Peter did deny the Lord 3 times and he did hold on to his faith.

What preciely is faith?

In my opinion, the subject of faith tends to cause more confusion and misunderstanding than any other subject in the Bible. I think it might be helpful if, before arriving at a definition of what faith is, we first condider what it is now. In this way we might be better able to understand the definition when we come to it.

Faith is not mere intellectual acceptance

A person can have an intellectual belief in everything the Church and the Bible teach or affirm, and not having faith. People come to Church and sit in the Church pews, week after week, make a "confession of faith", sing some worship songs, listen to an "anointed" sermon, partake of the Holy Communion, fellowship with other Christians and still not haveing faith. Faith is not merely the acceptance of certain truths about God and the Bible; faith goes beyond those truths to touch God Himself and to be changed by Him. Faith comes when we hear God through His Word (Romans 10:17), whether in preaching or in studying the Scripture. Faith comes when we worship God, not merely because through raising our hands, speaking or singing in tougues, but when we worship God in the way we live and have our being.

Faith is not blind credulity

A healing evangelist came to a Local church and prayed for a shortsighted person. He was advised to get rid of his spectacles before he walked out, in a step of faith, to proclaim his healing. He nearly met an accident and someone had to drive him home.

Someone once said, God is able and willing to do the impossible, but He is not willing to do the unreasonable. Faith is a reasoning trust and not just trust. Why? Because faith rests on the character of God, and since God is reasonable, then faith must be reasonable also.


Faith is not naive optimism


The right type of optimism, of course, can be a very desirable quality. Valid hope, based on the character of God is an ingredient of faith (Hebrews 11:1). There is a teaching in some section of the Church says that it is the nature of faith to ignore reality and focus only on the finality. It sounds plausible, but not correct. Faith never ignores reality.


When we are faced with a real problem, we must not ignore it. We look at the problem, but we must not focus on it. We glance at it, but we gaze at God. True faith looks difficulties in the face, recognizes their presence, then rises up to surmount and overcome them. Anything less than this will let you down.


Faith is not positive thinking


Positive thinking does work and millions are practicing it and get "good" result. A positive thinker once said, "A man is what he thinks about all the day long." It is true that when we think positively, we tend to act positively because our thought processes are extremely powerful.


The question we need to ask is: Is our positive thinking in line with God's thinking? Our thoughts may be positive, but are they the thought on which God wants us to focus? It is possible to achieve great things through the power of positive thinking, but the tragedy is that we can think ourselves into situations where God may not wish us to go.


Faith is not presumption


A diabetic woman heard a sermon in her church concerning divine healing. Then she found a verse in her Bible one day: "I am the Lord who heals you" (Ex. 15:26, NIV). By "faith" she instantly claimed this promise and stopped her insulin injections. Within three days she had died. Sadly, she acted in presumption and not in faith.


The verse in Exodus is a general statement that shows God to be a healer of His people. You can find many other similar statements in the Scripture. As a general principle, it is perfectly true that God delights to heal, but in some specific instances He may have good reasons for withholding healing. Or, He may want a person to continue to follow medical treatment.


There are two different Greek words for "God's Word" - logos and rhema. Logos is the written in the Bible; rhema is a direct specific "spoken" Word from God - His special Word for a special situation. Faith comes as a result of a rhema from God. However the rhema will not go beyond the logos.


Biblical definition of Faith


The only definition of Faith is: "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1).


Faith begins with hope, which means, in this context, a confident expectation. Hope is an unshakable confidence that the promises of God will be realized. Faith begins, not with the hope of realizing our self-centered interests, but with the hightest interest of God - ultimate victory of good over evil. Faith has to be cultivated in the certain knowledge that God's long-range purpose is to right all wrongs and usher in His triumphant Kingdom. The more that hope prevails in our hearts, the more certain will be our hope in God's ability to meet our personal and individual needs.


The second part of Hebrews 11:1 describes where faith operates. it is easy to believe in things we can see, but not so easy to believe in the things we cannot see. Yet this exactly where faith operates. We do not need faith to operate in the realm of things we can see. Otherwise, it is sight and not faith. But the Scripture says, "We walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7, NKJV).


Exercising Faith


We are living in the end-time hour. Our security is shaken; the country we live in, is shaken in all areas imaginable - Politically, socially, and economically. Our freedom, both in action ad speech, will be restricted; our faith will be tested. Time has come for us to begin to exercise our faith.


The faith to be saved is a gift from God (Eph. 2:8) and keeping you save is His job (2 Cor. 1:21, 22). But you can exercise your faith to make it stronger by studying your Bible daily, wait upon Him daily and hear from Him daily (Romans 10:17). Speak (pray) to God and trust Him and He will show you the way you should go (Pro. 3:6). Faith only gets stronger when it is accompanied by action (James 2:17). And above all, pray about everything, in evergthing, in every situation and circumstance, be fearful of nothing, and give thanks for anything. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and minds in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:7).