The Main Idea
How does God grow our faith? Most of us live with some level of faith, whether it’s trusting traffic lights or boarding an airplane. But spiritual faith, especially faith that endures in difficult seasons, doesn’t happen automatically. Scripture reveals that faith is not a fixed trait; it grows, matures, and deepens based on how we respond to what we’ve heard and seen of God.
Scriptures
Jesus told His disciples, *“You of little faith”…*not no faith… just small. (Matthew 8:26)
To a persistent outsider, He said: “Great is your faith!” (Matthew 15:28)
Paul says some believers are “weak in faith,” but still in the family. (Romans 14:1)
In Thessalonians, he celebrates a church whose faith is growing (2 Thessalonians 1:3)
And in Luke, the disciples literally beg: “Lord, increase our faith.” (Luke 17:5)
Romans 12:3
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.
Luke 7: 1-10
When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. 2 There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” 6 So Jesus went with them.
He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” 10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.
Luke 7: 36-50
Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman
36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,[c] and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Questions for Discussion
- What’s something small you put your faith in every day? (Like trusting your car will start, or that your coffee machine will work.)
- When have you struggled to trust God—even when you believed in Him? What did that experience teach you about faith?
- Read Luke 7:1–10 and Luke 7:36–50. What differences do you see between the faith of Simon the Pharisee and the sinful woman?
- What do you think Jesus meant when He said, “Your faith has saved you”? How can we demonstrate that kind of trust in our daily lives?
- What is something you may need to “pour out” or surrender at Jesus’ feet in order to grow in faith?
Faith isn’t about having all the answers, it’s about trusting the One who does. This week, reflect on what you’re doing with the measure of faith God has already given you. What would it look like to act on that faith, not just feel it?
