I would like to start with what Paul tells us in these verses:
Romans 14:1-2 "Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. 2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs."
Disputation is the act of disputing: reasoning or argumentation in opposition to something in a verbal contest with respect to the truth of some fact, opinion, proposition or argument. There are born again brothers and sisters out there who are “weak in the faith,” who cannot reason or argue using scriptures as skillfully as some other believers. Paul compares brothers and sisters weak in the faith to someone who is weak and eateth herbs. Compare them to someone who is “strong in faith,” like Abraham:
Romans 4:19-21 "And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: 20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform."
When a brother or sister is strong in faith, he or she is fully persuaded that what God had promised, he is able also to perform. This is just like Abraham who staggered not at God’s promise through unbelief, not considering his own physical limitations, but was strong in faith trusting in the promise of God that what he said, he was also able to perform.
Matthew 14:31 "And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?"
Jesus tells us in this verse “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” The reason why some brothers and sisters doubt is because of their little faith, or what Paul calls “weak in the faith” in Romans 14:1. Little faith does not mean no faith. It only means that they don’t have enough faith to be fully persuaded that what God had promised, he is able also to perform. No faith is like what Moses tells us in this verse:
Deuteronomy 32:20 "And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith."
No faith means a complete absence of faith. There are people out there, even Christians, who detest the 66 books of the Holy Bible and have no regard for the word of God. Moses refers to such people as “children in whom is no faith” and he calls them a very froward generation. The term “froward” is mentioned several times in the 1611 King James Bible. The psalmist tells us:
Psalms 101:4 "A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person."
A froward heart belongs to a wicked person whose heart departs from God. He is one who detest “the way, the truth and the life.” (John 14:6) He is one who hates Jesus because Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. This is also the Spirit of God making a reference to the scribes and the Pharisees:
Matthew 15:7-9 "Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, 8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
Jesus calls the scribes and the Pharisees “hypocrites” whose heart was far from God. This is the kind of heart which Psalms 101:4 refers to as the “froward heart” of a wicked person, as opposed to an “honest and good heart” (Luke 8:15) of a born again believer. Every born again believer, even brothers and sisters who are weak in the faith, will have an honest and good heart.
Luke 8:15 "But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience."
This is the type of heart, a “good ground” heart, which having heard the word, will keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. With patience means it will take time. There are also different degrees of harvest that the word of God will reap from the good ground of an honest and good heart:
Matthew 13:8 "But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold."
Mark 4:8 "And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred."
Jesus tells us in these two verses that some hearts will reap a thirtyfold harvest, some sixtyfold, and some an hundredfold. These are the fruit that has come from the original seed of the word of God sown in the hearts of every born again believer. There are believers who will produce more fruit, and there are also those who will produce less. The difference between these believers is in the amount of faith present in them to do the will of God. What is faith?
Faith is like how Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego who resisted king Nebuchadnezzar’s order to fall down and worship the golden image which he had made, standing on God’s Ten Commandments:
Exodus 20:3 "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."
Faith is the reason why Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego stood when everyone else fell to the ground. Paul said this in 2 Corinthians 1:24 “… for by faith ye stand.” This is the same “faith” which Paul said in another scripture:
Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:"
Without faith in the word of God, it is impossible to stand, and apart from faith in the word of God, one cannot be saved. Faith was the difference that set apart these three Hebrew young men from the rest of the Jews who were carried into Babylon together with them. We also have another example in Joshua and Caleb who had “another spirit” according to this verse:
Numbers 14:24 "But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it."
The presence of faith in a born again believer will always be accompanied by the Spirit of God which worketh in him. It was precisely because Joshua and Caleb had “another spirit” that they stood out from the ten other spies who said they can’t go in and possess the land which God said he would give to the children of Israel. Joshua and Caleb was fully persuaded what God had promised, he was able also to perform, and God set them apart from the rest of the children of Israel who believed not. It is faith in the words of the Lord that makes a difference between people and people in the eyes of the Lord.
Hebrews 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."
Without faith in the word of God, it is impossible to please God. Moreover, God is a rewarder of them that please him. That means that those who are strong in faith will be rewarded more than those who are weak in the faith. This is evident in the parable of the sower, where some will reap thirtyfold, some sixtyfold and some an hundredfold. The same word of God sown in the good ground hearts of different individuals will reap different amount of fruit at harvest time. Some grounds are more fertile than others.
Luke 8:11 "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God."
The word of God is the original seed sown in the good ground of an honest and good heart. A seed it is, it will take root and bear fruit. The writer of Hebrews defines faith as follows:
Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
Faith is the substance of things hoped for. It is something that was formed in the heart where the original word of God was sown, substantiating our belief for the future we hoped for. Faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ is the reason for our hope. Faith is also the evidence of things not seen. Not seen, because it is in the future to come, just like how the Old Testament saints who believed in the coming of Jesus Christ as the Son of man as prophesied. They had not seen the Word made flesh, yet they believed. Their faith was evidenced by what they believed. Likewise, for those who believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We believed God will raised us up at the last day. The Holy Bible says it. That’s why we can have hope. The word of God in our heart (faith) is the substance of things hoped for.
Galatians 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."
The fruit of the Spirit is faith according to these verses. That means faith came after the original seed of the word of God was sown in the good ground of an honest and good heart, which takes root and bear fruit. Think about faith as a replica of the word of God. The original seed is the word of God. Faith is the replica of the original seed faithfully duplicated from the tree of life formed in a born again believer, just like how an apple seed will produce an apple tree which in turn will produce more apples and more apple seeds. They are also the genetic material for more trees of life.
Luke 17:5 "And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith."
Notice in this verse that faith can be increased. We can ask God to increase our faith in the word of God, so that we will reap more fruits at harvest time. Those who are weak in the faith can ask God for more faith. It is legitimate. Understand that without faith, it is impossible to please God. If we want to please God, faith in the word of God it is.
Romans 10:17 "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. If you want your faith in the word of God to increase, the answer from the bible is faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Even those who are weak in faith will have the capability to understand the things of the Spirit of God, and count them not as foolishness, but receive them by faith. Moreover, Jesus compares faith to a mustard seed. It was not just the size that he was referring to, but faith also has the characteristics of a seed:
Matthew 17:20 "And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."
Matthew 13:31-32 "Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: 32 Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
Faith has the characteristics of a seed: it started off little, but it has the potential to grow into something great. Faith started off in the life of a believer as a “seed.” The seed of the word of God to a believer is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. The word of God sown in the good ground of an honest and good heart will, in the process of time, manifest itself as a good tree that will bring forth good fruit. An apple seed will produce an apple tree which in turn will produce more apples and more apple seeds. These are the same seeds that came from the original seed. Their genes were faithfully duplicated. It will never change, well, unless the seed has been genetically tampered with. That's why we find such evidences in modern bible versions which tamper with the word of God.
1 Corinthians 4:15 "For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel."
When Paul said “I have begotten you through the gospel,” he meant the gospel as received by him was faithfully duplicated in the hearers of the Word. In that sense, he has begotten other believers through the same gospel that he has received. The same seed of the word of God sown in believers will in turn beget more believers of the word, and so on and so forth. That is how the church multiply and grow, just like how trees multiply and grow through the process of sowing. Whether you are strong in faith or weak in the faith, you can share the gospel with others. You can be a living testimony of your Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:2 "I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able."
There are “milk doctrines” as well as “meat doctrines” in the Holy Bible. There are things in the bible that are easy to understand, and there are things in the bible that are hard to understand. No two believers will have the exact same degree of understanding of the word of God. However, we can all believe that the Holy Bible is the way, the truth, and the life. We can all believe that the Holy Bible is pure, inerrant and infallible, and with an honest and good heart, receive the 66 books of the Holy Bible as every word of God, the very words of life that God hath spoken and not reject or seek to reinterpret them.
Awesome post!