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How Powerful Is Faith?

Luke 17:5–6 (ESV) – “The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ And the Lord said, ‘If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you.’”

In this Scripture, we will explore three truths about the power of faith:

1. Faith can produce even miracles.

2. Faith can make even human commands authoritative over the natural realm.

3. Faith is effective even in tiny amounts.

1. Faith can produce even miracles

Uprooting a mulberry tree is difficult. AI says: “Mulberry tree roots are known for being extensive and robust, potentially impacting nearby structures. They are characterized by a deep taproot system and wide-spreading lateral roots. While not always deeply rooted, they can extend 2-3 times the width of the canopy, and even further in some cases. This extensive reach allows them to access water and nutrients but can also lead to issues with foundations, sidewalks, and other structures if not carefully managed.”

Is it reasonable to believe that the being who created all things from nothing—that is, God—can do miracles, or what we regard as a miracle?

Of course God can do miracles. Everything that exists is the miracle that God has already done. Was it a miracle to create earth out of nothing? Of course it took supernatural power. Was it a miracle to create the universe from nothing, literally nothing? Of course it was a miracle only God could do.

And God has the same power now to create from what does not exist now, or to change anything from its current state of existence. So for example, God can change a human body that is sick to instantly become a human body that is not sick. God can create from nothing; he can change something from what it is now; he can cause things to live or to die or to move in any way he desires.

So, for example Jesus can walk on water. Jesus can cause withered, emaciated limbs to grow out and become normal. Jesus can command leprosy to leave a human body, and it will instantly disappear. Jesus can command blind eyes to see, and they will open and see. It’s a small thing for God. It is only difficult for our human minds to conceive of.

Your reaction to this article will largely be determined by how much your belief system and worldview are controlled by naturalism, which is the dominant worldview of many people in the West. It is not the worldview of the Bible, and it often takes time for true believers to leave it behind and truly live with a worldview that is biblical and supernatural.

I believe the Bible is God’s Word. It is without error, that is, inerrant. It is not the reflection of superstitious, ignorant, uneducated people. It is rather the inspired Word of God telling us about reality as God has made it to be.

Luke 17:5–6 is a teaching that those who follow the worldview of naturalism would regard as utter superstition. Even some who do believe in God and the possibility of miracles might regard those who believe this verse as unhinged or extreme.

I believe this because Jesus taught it.

Naturalism defined

I asked Google for an AI definition of naturalism in philosophy and received this answer:

“In philosophy, naturalism is the viewpoint that everything in existence is part of the natural world and can be explained by natural causes and laws, rejecting supernatural or transcendental explanations. It emphasizes the methods and findings of science as the primary way to understand reality and human experience.

“Here’s a more detailed breakdown:

“Core Principles:

  • “Rejection of the Supernatural: Naturalism denies the existence or influence of supernatural beings, forces, or realms.
  • “Emphasis on Natural Laws: It posits that the universe operates according to natural laws discoverable through scientific inquiry.
  • “Scientific Method as Primary Tool: Naturalism prioritizes the scientific method – observation, experimentation, and testing – as the best approach to understanding the world.
  • “Materialism (in some forms): Some forms of naturalism, particularly metaphysical naturalism, assert that everything is ultimately material or physical in nature.
  • “Continuity with Science: Naturalism seeks to integrate philosophy with the findings and methods of science, rather than treating them as separate domains.”

<< End of AI-generated definition of naturalism. >>

Naturalism believes that the only thing that exists is matter. Nothing supernatural exists. So, that would exclude believing in God, angels, demons, heaven, hell, and miracles that can occur outside of the natural laws, so to speak, of physics. Obviously that worldview does not agree with the Bible.

When you have been raised all your life with a worldview of naturalism, even if you do believe in God and in the Bible, you may have a hybrid worldview, in which you believe in a spiritual reality but also expect the created world to work as naturalism expects. In this view, God created everything as well as the laws of physics, and he has withdrawn himself from the world and does not intervene in it. That is deism.

However, biblical belief says all matter is created and upheld by God continuously. And that what we call the laws of science or the laws of physics are simply God’s normal way of running the universe.

But these laws can be controverted at any time God wants. For example, when Joshua commanded the sun to stand still. Or when Elisha the prophet made an axe head float. Or when the pagan general Naaman dipped himself seven times in the Jordan river and was healed. Or when Jesus did miracles such as walking on water, raising the dead, feeding 5,000 with a few loaves of bread, and opening blind eyes.

2. Faith can make even human commands authoritative over the natural realm

Luke 17:6 – “The Lord said, ‘If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you.’”

Certainly naturalism regards this teaching as superstition, but these words of Jesus strain the worldview of even the majority of Christians in America.

Webster’s dictionary defines superstition as “a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation.”

What naturalism would see as ignorance about the laws of physics, or practicing magic, or having a false conception of causation, Jesus teaches as spiritual, super-natural reality.

If we believe God can do miracles, then it is not a long leap to realize that God can choose to answer any prayer we pray or any command we give to nature. God can choose to back up our words anytime he wants and by his mighty power perform the miracles we have asked or the commands we have spoken to the natural world.

Suppose we go into the parking lot and stand beside my car. I get in the car and put the keys in the ignition and hold on to the keys. But suppose I have chosen not to turn those keys until you give a command for the car to start. You stand outside and speak this command: “I command the engine in Brian Larson’s car to start.” I then turn the keys in the ignition and the car starts. That’s a picture of what happens when we give a command to the natural world, which is fulfilled. We give the command, and God makes it happen. You and I partnered to start the car, and likewise you and God partner to act on the natural world if you give a command that is in agreement with his will.

So it is biblical to command healing specifically (for biblical examples, see Acts 3:1–10 and Acts 9:39-41). If someone has a tumor, it is perfectly biblical for me to speak to that tumor and command it to be gone. “Tumor, dry up and disintegrate.” If someone has the flu, we can say, “Flu, be gone. Be healed.”

3. Faith is effective even in tiny amounts

Luke 17:5–6 (ESV) “The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ And the Lord said, ‘If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you.’”

Jesus seems to be saying, use the faith that you have. Most people do not have even mustard-seed-size faith, but that is not true of most Christians. Most Christians have faith as big as a mustard seed.

So, refuse to doubt. Keep praying and asking God to do what you desire. Persevere in faith. Keep meditating on and quoting God’s promises. Declare God’s promises aloud. Never give up. Command in the name of Jesus the natural world to align itself with what you desire. Pray more. Command more. Keep believing as best you can. Believe that God has already decreed it, that it is already God’s will and already been decreed for you by God, and now it is just a matter of time for it to manifest.

Even a tiny amount of faith can do wonders! We do not need great faith to see amazing things happen. Faith that can move mulberry trees is within reach of everyone. We need to use the faith we have, reject doubt, and persevere.

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How to Get Answers to Your Questions about the Bible

To understand the Bible, we need God’s wisdom

In October of 2023 I began preaching a series of sermons and writing in this blog on the marks of a true disciple of Jesus. The series resulted from my devotional reading of the four Gospels, in particular the Gospel of Luke. I was struck by how many times Jesus says certain qualities must be found in those who want to be saved by him and how high he raised the bar. Eventually, compelled by what I felt Jesus required, I developed a list of 15 marks of a true disciple of Jesus.

Around this time I also read two books that refined my theology and deepened my confidence in my understanding of the nature of faith and works: What Is Saving Faith? Reflections on Receiving Christ as a Treasure, by John Piper, and Free Grace Theology: 5 Ways It Diminishes the Gospel, by Wayne Grudem. Both authors taught that true faith in Christ necessarily results in a changed heart and life. These changes do not save us; only the righteousness of Christ received as a gift of God’s grace through faith in Christ can do that. But true faith always results in the necessary works Jesus requires of us. As Martin Luther famously said, “We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone.”

I concluded that unless these marks are present in the life of a believer, he or she is not a true Christian. In other words, if you are not a disciple of Jesus, you are not a Christian, no matter what you call yourself. Certainly no one is a perfect disciple, and every believer sins. We begin the Christian life as a babe in Christ, with many things to learn, many thoughts that need to be renewed, and many evil habits to outgrow. True Christians mature at different rates over the entire course of their lives. Some true Christians will stumble and fail in serious ways. Nevertheless to some degree these 15 marks of a true disciple, as taught by Jesus, will appear in the lives of those who have true, living faith in Jesus.

Second thoughts

I taught that series with conviction in our church for four months, and wrote on it in this blog over the same period. However, sometime after finishing that series I began to question myself. Many pastors and theologians would disagree with what I taught in that series. Was I raising the bar too high? In effect was I preaching a gospel of salvation by works?

The more I thought about it the more concerned I became. To preach salvation by works is to preach a false gospel and to become a false teacher. That is serious, deadly business, as the Book of Galatians makes clear. I presented my series to a respected pastor and asked him to read it and evaluate my theology. To my relief, he gave his stamp of approval.

Still, wanting further reassurance, I soon put the question on my list of prayer requests for wisdom, writing, “Does my teaching about the marks of a true disciple agree with the true gospel, or is it a false gospel? Is it a false gospel to say that a believer is not saved unless he is a true disciple?”

Questions answered

A few months later I received what I now regard as the definitive answer to my request for wisdom. On February 21st, 2025, I was fasting and praying in my office, and for some reason my eyes settled on a book that I have owned for at least 13 years but had only partially read: Magnifying God in Christ, a New Testament theology by Thomas R. Schreiner. Over the years my respect for Schreiner as a theologian has grown, and for some reason I pulled the book off the shelf. I opened to the table of contents and read. I saw that chapter 10 was titled Faith and Obedience, and it occurred to me this might say something pertaining to my burning question.

As I read, it felt as though the chapter was written directly to my question and that it affirmed my conclusions. Schreiner’s book felt like a God-send. (Caveat: I do not know if Schreiner, Piper, or Grudem would affirm my conclusions as I worded them, or my list of 15 marks, but I understand their writing to support what I wrote.)

Praying for wisdom about theological questions and biblical interpretation has become one of my most cherished categories for inquiring of God. I believe this was one more example of God’s answering my prayers for wisdom. When I pray for wisdom, God leads me to answers in providential ways, as he led Moses to the burning bush.

Learn to pray for wisdom in all things from my book, Know, available on Amazon.
praying for wisdom
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How to Feel Sure and Secure

The faithful ways of God are the sure ground of well-placed confidence and security.

faithful

Where is my next meal coming from? That is an important question on the mind of every human being. The question arises several times a day, every day. It is a question directly related to our relationship with God. Do we trust him?

Do we trust him enough to give us not only our next meal but the money we need to buy everything else we need. How secure we feel about food, money, and shelter says much about our faith and knowledge of God.

On a boat, with the boys, short on bread

For example, Jesus once took his 12 disciples on a boat ride, and they did not bring enough food. It did not take long for the hungry disciples to realize it and start talking. Hey guys, where’s our next meal coming from?

Jesus did not join in their anxiety. He knew his heavenly Father, and so he had zero doubt about their next meal. With that confidence he asked the disciples:

“‘Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?’ They said to him, ‘Twelve.’ ‘And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?’ And they said to him, ‘Seven.’ And he said to them, ‘Do you not yet understand?’” (Mark 8:17–21 ESV)

Jesus followed a simple line of reasoning. Guys, God was able to feed 5,000 people using only five loaves of bread, and there was lots left over. And he was able to feed 4,000 people using only seven loaves of bread, and there were baskets full left over. Do you think he is able to feed the 13 of us?

We see why Jesus questioned the condition of their hearts, memory, and spiritual sight and hearing.

God is proud to be faithful

The Lord takes rightful pride in himself. One quality he is proud of and intent on proving to every person in heaven and earth is his faithfulness. Through the drama of mankind on earth, God is displaying he is perfectly faithful.

He is faithful to his words and promises. He is faithful to his own character and holiness. God is faithful to his people, to give his people their daily bread and other necessities. He is faithful to save, heal, and rescue. He is faithful to protect. The Lord is faithful to his covenants. He is faithful to lead, to comfort in times of sorrow and pain, to lead on the chosen path, to restore and establish, to bless in every imaginable way. All in his time and inscrutable ways.

Therefore he takes everyone who follows him through experiences meant to teach us not only in our head but in our heart that the Lord is faithful in all things. God took Jesus and the 12 disciples through these tests. He took the Israelites through such tests in the wilderness immediately after delivering them from Egypt. He took the apostle Paul through them.

The apostle Paul aimed to be faithful like God

Paul learned the lesson well. He once wrote the Christians in the church of Corinth, “As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No” (2 Corinthians 1:18). In other words, God does not flip flop, and neither do I. God is faithful to his words, and so am I. God does what he says he will do, and so do I.

“As surely as God is faithful”—nothing is more sure than that. God cannot contradict his character. He cannot lie. He cannot fail. The Lord is perfectly trustworthy.

Paul continues: “The Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him.” (2 Corinthians 1:19–20 ESV)

In other words, Jesus Christ did not flip flop either! He did not vacillate between Yes, No, Maybe, and back again to Yes. The words and actions of Jesus consistently affirmed the promises of God. Everything God promised, Jesus did. Every prophecy of the Old Testament, Jesus fulfilled. Jesus could read through every paragraph of the Old Testament and say over and over again: Yes! Amen! So be it! I will do it! As it is written, so I speak! Yes! Yes! And Yes!

Amen

Paul continued, “That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.” (2 Corinthians 1:20 ESV)

Amen means to express agreement.

So Paul was saying: The life of Jesus was a consistent yes and Amen to God, and likewise my life is a consistent Amen to God through my trust in Jesus Christ and his words. Everything about my life displays the faithfulness of God. I make my plans and decisions counting on his faithfulness. I build my priorities on his faithfulness.

All my hopes, peace, and security rests on the certain truth that God and his words are faithful.

Amen!

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Nine Key Things God Wants the Afflicted to Know

There is high purpose, great comfort, and strong hope that deliverance is coming for the afflicted.

Afflicted

“The pollution played havoc with my respiratory system,” said Mark. “It was as though I lived with a sinus infection for years.”

Mark was telling me his story yesterday over lunch at a suburban Chicago restaurant, and across the table from us sat another missionary who had served in the same Indonesian city for ten years. “The pollution was harsh,” she concurred.

You might wonder, why would anyone voluntarily stay for years in a place like that when as Americans they easily could live in relative comfort elsewhere? The answer, of course, is they did it for the Lord, his kingdom, and the lost. They had signed up to do the work of the Lord, and they knew that God’s work entails enduring afflictions and hardships.

Afflicted even in the comfortable West

Depending on where you live, these hardships can be extreme, as above, or more commonplace. For example, our church meets in a school in Chicago, and so we set up chairs, tables, and technology for Sunday meetings every week. That requires getting up earlier on Sunday morning and often enduring bad weather to get there. It is so much easier and pleasant to stay in bed and then linger over a hot cup of coffee.

Last week one of our committed setup workers called early on Sunday to say she was coming to set up, despite having been sick for several days and still feeling ill, despite the temperature outside being bitterly cold, and despite having to take her usual commute on trains and buses that usually took an hour or more. She would come, set up, and then immediately go back home to recover, she said apologetically. (We told her thank you for being willing to do that, but to stay home.)

Leaders are afflicted

Those who work with and for God learn especially well what is true for all believers. Although he could prevent it, God sometimes allows affliction and hardship into the lives of his people, and he does so for important, worthwhile reasons.

The apostle Paul writes at length about this in 2 Corinthians. In chapter 11 he gives a hair-raising summary of his afflictions. Compared to other false apostles, he had experienced “far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.” (2 Corinthians 11:23-27)

9 key principles for the afflicted

Compared to that list, getting up early to work at church on Sunday does not sound tough. That level of affliction is what Paul is talking about when he teaches an important lesson about God and his ways in the opening of his second letter to the Corinthians. But Paul applies these principles to all believers. He writes:

“[3] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, [4] who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. [5] For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.” (2 Corinthians 1:3–5 ESV)

I will highlight nine important principles in this passage.

1. The God who allows us to be afflicted is our Father (verse 3).

He is not a distant, aloof deity who does not care about us, but rather he is the one who loves us and gave us life.

2. When he allows us to be afflicted, he also brings mercy and comfort in “all” our afflictions (verse 4).

We can count on it; we should watch for it and receive it like a marathon runner doffing a sun cap with a broad rim as he runs under a blistering sun, meanwhile drinking every drop of a bottle of water. God will give that comfort “abundantly.” His comfort will be adequate to uphold us.

3. In some way, our hardships are ultimately the hardships of Jesus himself (verse 5).

We grow closer to him as we suffer for him.

Comfort for all

Paul continues:

“[6] If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. [7] Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.” (2 Corinthians 1:6–7 ESV)

4. One of God’s purposes in allowing affliction is it equips us to comfort others (verse 6).

It gives us sympathy and compassion.

5. These afflictions are not suffered just by apostles and Christian leaders, but by all Christians (verses 6–7).

Paul says of all the Christians in the Corinthian church that they “endure the same sufferings that we suffer.” Christians cannot avoid all hardship and pain by avoiding the work of the Lord.

Relying on God

Paul continues: “[8] For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. [9] Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.” (2 Corinthians 1:8–9 ESV)

6. Our affliction and hardship is sometimes extreme (verses 8–9).

We can feel “burdened beyond our strength.” We can feel as though death, real or figurative, is at our doorstep. We can be tempted to “despair.”

7. Another purpose for such affliction is “to make us rely not on ourselves but on God” (verse 9).

This is important to God. He wants every believer to rely on him for everything. If we learn this lesson and rely on him, then affliction has served a fundamental purpose.

How do we rely on him? By praying about all things. By believing that he will answer. By trusting his promises and waiting for their fulfillment. By following Scriptural wisdom and wise counsel from others.

The rescue of the afflicted

Finally, Paul writes: “[10] He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. [11] You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.” (2 Corinthians 1:10–11 ESV)

8. God delivers us from even hopeless situations (verse 10).

Paul had seen God deliver him in extraordinary ways before, and he believed God would do it again. We do not believe in a God who just lets us suffer. We believe in the God who raised Jesus from the dead, who saved Paul from the mouth of the lion and from thousands of men who wanted him dead. God delivers his people. God will deliver you as you trust in him and patiently persevere. These are God’s ways. He is a great deliverer.

9. God wants many people to thank him for his rescues (verse 11).

Thanksgiving is important to the Lord. One primary reason he works for our good is so we will say thank you. That may not seem important to us, but it is of ultimate importance to God.

One way he multiplies the thanksgiving that resounds to his great name is when we ask others to pray for our deliverance. “You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf.”

So as you endure afflictions, make sure to fulfill their purpose. “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV) And ask others to pray for you so that they too will give thanks when God answers. When your deliverance is complete, be sure to testify to others of what God has done. Giving glory to God is the ultimate completion of his purpose in our afflictions.