Sometimes the most difficult part of evangelizing is telling someone that God doesn’t need them to do anything to be saved other than accept by faith the salvation He has offered us. The Bible makes it clear that what saves everyone, Abraham, the disciples, and you, is faith in Christ Jesus.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
When you tell a nonbeliever this, or perhaps a Muslim who lives under a works-based religion, they might shake their head. For them, faith is performing the list of practices and hoping this would be enough. But faith according to the Bible isn’t a list we can check off. It is also not a “believe enough” strife that would hopefully save us. Salvation through faith is entirely reliant on God’s grace and the redeeming work of Christ.
God asks us to have faith, but not an impossible amount. Jesus tells His followers;
“For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.’” Matthew 17:20
What does “faith like a mustard seed” mean?
Many of Jesus’ parables and stories in the Bible use agricultural examples because they were familiar to everyone in Israel at that time. Now when we hear the word mustard, we might think of a yellow plastic bottle. But mustard seeds are actually known for being incredibly small.
So why was Jesus talking about a mustard seed with His disciples?
In Matthew 17, we see that Jesus’ disciples tried to cast out a demon from a young boy, and failed. The crowd came to Jesus and asked why His disciples couldn’t do it, so Jesus called them a “faithless and twisted generation” and rebuked the demon himself.
“Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.’” Matthew 17: 19-20
So in fact, Jesus says a miniscule amount of faith can rebuke a demon and even move a mountain.
Why should you tell nonbelievers about “faith the size of a mustard seed”?
Like we pointed out earlier, many people, especially Muslims, believe they must earn their standing with God. When we are sharing the grace and freedom God has given us, we believe it is imperative to make sure people understand this is not a test they must pass to get into heaven.
On the contrary, God waits for us to come to Him with our mustard seed faith and He will increase our faith. Through His Holy Spirit, He explains redemption, grace, salvation, and how to put our trust in Christ as Lord and Savior.“And Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” Mark 9:23-24
When you’re sharing the gospel with a Muslim, you can share this verse as an example of God’s love for them. God knows we cannot save ourselves, so He sent Christ in the flesh. He knows humans struggle with faith, so He doesn’t require a lot. Simply believe, and by God’s grace, you will be saved.
Prayer for faith the size of a mustard seed
Dear Lord, thank you for the free gift of grace you have given me. When I struggle in my unbelief, please help me to remain faithful. Thank you for being a gracious and loving King. Amen.
