In the context of Luke 17:1-19, we considered a balanced view of faith.

• Faith as believing–intellect–knowledge
• Faith as trusting–emotions/heart–experience
• Faith as doing–will/behavior–action

(A wholistic view of salvation could follow the same pattern.)

Is faith a quantity or a quality?

What do the disciples mean when they ask for an increase in faith (cf. v. 5)?

Could faith be defined as “the status (level) of our relationship with Jesus”?

In what sense is faith a choice we make?

Faith is not a quantity but a quality.  God will use any sincere faith in himself to accomplish his purposes in our lives.  Faith is resting on the absolute conviction that Jesus is adequate, or, as Hannah Whitall Smith says it, “God is enough.”

This passage suggests several characteristics that need to be demonstrated by disciples:

• Obedience
• Thankfulness (gratitude)
• Watchfulness
• Forgiving
• Worshiping and glorifying

For thought: If “prevenient grace” is a valuable Wesleyan concept, can “prevenient faith” be one as well?    (prevenient = “comes before”)

TLT