Remember, as I mentioned, when we talk generically about faith, we can say there are two kinds of faith: God’s faith and human or Thomas-like faith, which, in the light of Scripture, is not really faith. However, regarding the God kind of faith, there are actually four different categories recognized in the Bible. These four types (or classifications) of faith are: small faith, weak faith, great faith, and strong faith.

The Lord Jesus spoke of both great faith and small faith. Once, He said to His disciples: “O you of little faith” (Matthew 8:26). On another occasion, He praised the Roman centurion, whose servant was sick, for demonstrating great faith. He said to him, “…I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel” (Luke 7:9).

The Apostle Paul spoke of the other two: weak faith and strong faith. In Romans 4:19, speaking about Abraham, he said: “And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead…” Another version states, “He did not have weak faith.” Then, in verse 20, Paul says Abraham “...was strong in faith, giving glory to God.”

This chapter focuses on small faith and weak faith. I will show you the causes, characteristics, and remedies for these two types of faith.

SMALL FAITH

Remember that if you are born again, you already have faith—the God kind of faith. In Romans 12:3, Paul states:

“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone 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.”

Note that in this Scripture, the Apostle Paul is not writing to sinners or the world but to Christians. He says: “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone among you...” He is not speaking to everyone but to those among you. Who are these people? The saints! God has given every born-again believer the measure of faith.

Also notice, he does not say “a measure of faith” but “the measure of faith.” This is significant, indicating it is the same measure (size or amount) of faith that every believer receives from God at salvation. Now, this deposit of faith is given to you small, but God expects you to grow it.

It is your responsibility to grow the measure of faith that God has given you, and the way to do this is by learning more of God’s Word. Your faith will increase as you hear God’s Word, for “...faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17).

The more you hear the Word of God, the more faith you will have. The less Word you receive in your spirit, the less you will be able to express your faith when faced with life’s challenges. The reason you need to grow your faith is that SMALL FAITH WILL NOT GET THE JOB DONE!

The reason fear grips people in the face of adversity is that their faith is weak. The Bible says:

“If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small” (Proverbs 24:10).

Here, the Bible is not referring to physical strength or muscles; it is referring to your faith! When your faith is small, you will faint—you will give up in the day of trouble.

One day, Jesus was in a boat with His disciples when a violent storm arose. The Bible tells us He was asleep while His disciples struggled against the waves that flooded and threatened to sink the boat. After they had done all they could, and the storm seemed to worsen, they rushed to Him and woke Him, shouting: “Lord, save us! We are perishing” (Matthew 8:25). Mark’s account tells us they said, “Teacher, do You not care that we are about to drown?” (Mark 4:38, CEV).

When Jesus awoke, He was unshaken. He did not jump up in fear. He rose, rebuked the winds and the sea, and said, “Peace, be still!” and there was a great calm. Then He turned to His disciples and said, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 8:26).

When your faith is small, you will be oppressed and tormented by the fear of circumstances, and your faith will not work. Faith and fear do not go together.

Fear hinders faith, but faith destroys fear. The reason some Christians doubt God’s Word is that their faith is small.
Remember, small faith is not enough to get the job done. It might get it started, but it won’t sustain it! What do I mean?

Let me illustrate with this example. Jesus had just finished preaching in the wilderness and performing the miracle of feeding five thousand men (not counting women and children) with five loaves and two fish. Then, He instructed His disciples to go ahead of Him by boat to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.

Shortly after they departed, their boat encountered contrary winds and was battered by the waves. To make matters worse, during the fourth watch (between 3 and 6 AM), they saw a figure approaching them on the water. The Bible says that when Peter and the other disciples saw this, they cried out in fear, thinking they had seen a ghost:

“And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.’ PETER ANSWERED HIM AND SAID, ‘LORD, IF IT IS YOU, COMMAND ME TO COME TO YOU ON THE WATER.’ So He said, ‘Come.’ And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!’” (Matthew 14:26-30).

Notice Peter’s statement to Jesus: “If it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” Jesus called him and said, “Come!” Peter stepped out of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. He didn’t swim to Jesus—he walked on the water! As a fisherman, he knew how to swim, but this time, he did something supernatural: he walked on water. He stepped out of the boat, directly onto the water, and took steps toward the Master because the Master said, “Come!” That’s faith!

I want to draw your attention to verse 30, which states:

“…But when he (Peter) saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!’”

Peter saw the contrary wind and became afraid…

This excerpt is from the book “HOW TO MAKE YOUR FAITH WORK” written by Chris OYAKHILOME.

We invite you to read the next article, “HEALING WEAK FAITH.”