Have you ever thought that you needed to believe better in order to get something from God? Many believers (including myself in earlier years) have this idea that before we can receive from God we must believe perfectly – even though this idea is not what the Bible teaches.
For a long time now, the enemy has used this artificial faith/belief barrier to keep people from receiving all of what Jesus Christ has paid for us to have. So today we will be exposing this deceitful lie of the enemy in the light of God’s grace, so that you can see there is nothing standing between you and God today, not even your own faith.
There are a few verses in scripture that have been used to promote this idea of perfect faith and belief as a requirement (and we should also remember that faith and belief are closely related, but distinct). We will be looking at each of them in context to see what the scripture is actually saying. So let’s get started; the first is in Hebrews 11:6:
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
Hebrews 11 is commonly dubbed as the “Hall of Faith”, it lists the great exploits of those who have believed God throughout the ages. Yet the important point to note here is that nowhere is it ever mentioned that we must have perfect faith… simply faith, which even the least of us have a measure of.
Notice in-particular how in verses 8 through 11 of this same chapter that Abraham, Isaac and Sarah are mentioned; and clearly they received great miracles from God in faith, but if we remember their accounts from the Old Testament, we see that all three of these people had lapses in their belief at one point or another. Abraham and Isaac both doubted that God would protect them when they lied about their wives in fear. Sarah and Abraham both laughed at the promise of God that she would conceive a son. Not exactly perfect belief.
There is another great thing that we can learn from this chapter of Hebrews 11 though. That although these people did not have perfect belief, notice how when the Spirit lists their accomplishments in this chapter, their faults are not recorded, only their success. My friends, this is the way that God sees us as well. For those of us who believe in what Christ Jesus has done for us, God is no longer recording our faults, and that includes our lapses in faith.
Let’s take a look at another verse in Mark 9:17-24:
“And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought to you my son, which has a dumb spirit;
And wherever he takes him, he tears him: and he foams, and gnashes with his teeth, and pines away: and I spoke to your disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
He answers him, and said, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him to me.
And they brought him to him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came to him? And he said, Of a child.
And often it has cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if you can do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.
Jesus said to him, If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes.
And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help you my unbelief.”
Now stop right here. All things are possible to him that believes… but who in this account is the believing one? It’s not the boy because he is demon possessed. It’s not the disciples because they could not cast the demon out. It’s not the father of the boy because he just said “help my unbelief”, and he even said “…if you can…”.
However none of these things seemed to matter to Jesus. The only requirement on our part is to come to Jesus openly and honestly. Hold nothing back and keep no part to yourself, and He will receive you. I have talked with quite a number of people who do not come to God openly or honestly, they hold part of their lives back for themselves and God is not welcome in these particular areas — they do this by trying to handle some things themselves, and by trusting in their own efforts and strengths; and that is actually a form of dishonesty; because honestly we have no ability to perform, or accomplish anything of ourselves… it all comes from Jesus!
My friends, God does not require perfection – but He does require one-hundred-percent with no holding back. This man came to Jesus honestly and openly, and Jesus did not reject Him. This same Jesus is waiting for you today. Please do not feel as though you are too dirty for Him. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you must become perfect before approaching Jesus. If that were the case, no-one would ever be able to come to Jesus.
The truth is that Jesus came for the dirty, He came for the oppressed, He came for the brokenhearted and He came for the captives.
Now Matthew has an account of the same incident in the scriptures, but with some other details recorded for us after the deliverance took place. Let’s read Matthew 17:19-21:
“Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
And Jesus said to them, Because of your unbelief: for truly I say to you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you.
However, this kind goes not out but by prayer and fasting.”
Now this scripture is very commonly used to make people believe that they don’t have enough faith. However if we examine this scripture closely we can plainly see that Jesus is clearly stating that even the smallest measure of faith is sufficient to move mountains. So what is the real issue here? The Greek word for “unbelief” in verse 20 actually means faithlessness, as in a complete lack of faith. Something completely voided the faith of the disciples to the point where they did not even have the small amount which Jesus was talking about. It would benefit us to find out what this thing is.
Mark 9:14 has the answer:
“And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them.”
To understand this, the scribes here refers to the teachers of the law, the ones who promote the doctrine of salvation and righteousness through self-effort. The ones who puff themselves up, and the ones who Jesus said were clean on the outside but inside filled with death. The ones who were all talk with no substance, who believe that they can earn their own way apart from Jesus.
When the disciples allowed the deadly words of the scribes and law teachers into their lives and allowed their ideas to filter inside of their heart and minds, then their faith was made void. Can I prove this from scripture? Yes. Let’s examine Romans 4:13-14:
“For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:”
My friends, God is not joking when He calls the Law the Ministry of Death (2nd Corinthians 3:7). I have personally experienced the death that condemnation brings. And by trying to keep the law by our own effort and earn what God has freely given through Jesus, we do nothing but bring destruction upon ourselves. The Law was born from the selfishness and pride of man, as man boasted in his own ability to keep it. Selfishness and pride have no place in the lives of believers because God is our source and our strength, the Leader and Shepherd of our lives, and it is His fruit which enables us to live right.
Now let me be perfectly clear – and please hear me – I am one-hundred-percent vehemently against all forms of sin. It destroys lives, and crushes souls and spirits. God is also against sin, He does not change. God wants to free you from your bondage. But please understand and learn this: the way out is not through the law, not through your own efforts, but through coming to Jesus completely openly and honestly. The Word of God cuts at first, but where it cuts it restores stronger. Come to Jesus and let Him free you. You don’t need to believe or understand perfectly. The blind man in John 9 did not even know who Jesus was or whether Jesus was a sinner or not, but he came to Jesus openly and honestly, and received his salvation and healing. That’s all that is required of us.
Come to Jesus.