The Bible is clear that faith is measured in terms of both quantity and quality.

Before going into detail about what the Bible says about measuring faith, it is important to clarify just what faith is. Hebrews 11:1 says it best: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” We understand this to mean that faith is an action which treats things that have not yet happened, and things which are not empirically evident, as truth. There is no practical distinction between the object of faith and reality to the believer. Faith is the ability to believe in deed.

The Bible tells us that proper faith is very powerful. Having the right kind of faith allows amazing miracles to become possible. Healings of otherwise incurable illnesses are possible (Mark 5:34). Moving mountains is possible (Matthew 17:20). Causing trees to wither (Matthew 21:19-21) or become uprooted and move is possible (Luke 17:6). Each of these actions and events of similar miraculous stature are possible, but always subject and pursuant to God’s Will, when the right kind of faith works within the life of a Christian.

The first way that faith is measured is in terms of quality. When we talk about the quality of faith, we refer to the type of faith, and how well that faith is able to work for its intended purpose. A person may have faith in ungodly, selfish or misapplied things or people, such as riches, pride, power, or violent man. However, this is not the kind of faith that God looks for. In fact, it is disloyal to God to have faith in anything that is not of God. Jesus Christ tells us in Luke 16:13: “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” A Christian must first determine if his or her faith is the correct type to ensure that it is Godly faith if it is to be the kind that is pleasing to God (Hebrews 11:1). Faith in Godly things is different from faith in “magic tricks.” Jesus refused to perform any miracles which, by themselves, were not ungodly, but which would have placed His action in a wrong light. For instance, He refused to command stones to become bread when He was hungry, as He would otherwise have given in to Satan’s temptations.

There are different kinds of Godly faith as well. The first kind of Godly faith is faith in God and Jesus Christ. This quality of this kind of faith is characterized by the belief that it is possible to receive salvation and the gift of eternal life through the sacrifice of God the Father’s only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. In our free booklet, “Paul’s Letter to the Galatians – How to Understand It,” we write about this in detail:

“It is of course true that we must have faith in Christ—including in His name, identity, role and function, His message, and His sacrifice (Acts 3:16; 20:21; 24:24; John 3:14–15; 5:24; 11:24; 12:46). Before we receive the Holy Spirit, which God gives us only after repentance, belief, proper adult baptism (Acts 2:38) and the laying on of hands through God’s true ministers (Hebrews 6:2; Acts 8:14–20)—our faith IN Christ is the ONLY kind of faith we can have.

“But even this is not a ‘dead’ faith, but a ‘living’ faith—it is that kind of faith that manifests itself through works of OBEDIENCE (James 2:14, 17, 22, 26; Romans 1:5; 16:26; Acts 6:7). John 3:36 reads, correctly translated: ‘He who believes IN the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not OBEY the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him’ (compare Revised Standard Version). In fact, without living, obedient faith in God the Father and Jesus Christ, we cannot even receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:32).”

It is also important to note that true faith in God and Jesus Christ requires that a Christian is called by God first. It is only then that one may begin to be receptive to understanding God’s way of life and truth. In John 6:44-47 we read the words of Jesus Christ: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes [in Me] has everlasting life.”

Jesus Christ taught very clearly that being called by God is necessary before it is possible to truly learn from God. Additionally, it requires faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to make it possible to obtain salvation. But this kind of faith is a gift from God. We cannot just decide to have this kind of faith—it must be given to us by God as a free gift. As we explain in our free booklet, “Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians,” when discussing Ephesians 2:8–10:

“Paul states in verse 8, in the Authorized Version, that ‘it is the gift of God.’ First, this refers to ‘faith’… our belief in Christ is a gift of God (Philippians 1:29). Nobody can come to Christ unless the Father draws Him (John 6:44, 65). In fact, even repentance is a gift from God (Romans 2:4), and so is our ability to understand spiritual things (1 Corinthians 2:9–12). God must reveal Himself and His knowledge to us (Matthew 11:25, 27; 16:17).”

Yet, the faith in God and Jesus Christ by a Christian who is called by God is only the beginning of Godly faith. In order to actually obtain the gift of eternal life, another type of faith is required. This is the faith of Jesus Christ living and working within us.

Once a called person has been properly baptized, he or she literally receives the faith of Christ working within his or her life. The object of the faith of Christ working within us is unique. It is the actual faith of Jesus Christ Himself that allows us to become righteous. Again quoting from our booklet “Paul’s Letter to the Galatians – How to Understand it,” we describe how the faith of Jesus Christ works within the life of a Christian:

“The Bible teaches that the faith of Christ—Christ’s faith in us—makes us righteous. Those who believe in Christ must have the faith OF Christ living IN them. Philippians 3:9 says: ‘… and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith OF Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.’”

The type of faith that we have is a qualitative way of measuring faith. Godly faith is required to please God, and that involves having both faith in God and Jesus Christ, as well as having the faith of Jesus Christ working in us to obtain righteousness.

The quality of faith is also measured by how pure and complete it is. Faith that is mingled with doubt is marred and becomes less effective or ineffective completely. Writing in the context of asking God for wisdom and understanding, James states the following in James 1:6-7: “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” This description of how doubt affects faith is enlightening. When doubt gets in the way of the belief of a Christian, the effect is instability, and may even make the object of faith fruitless. The quality of faith is measured by the degree to which doubt contradicts and interferes with its efficacy.

Faith is also measured by quantity. The amount of faith each individual has varies, and may grow or shrink, depending on his or her conduct. In Romans 12:3 we can see that Godly faith—“quality” faith– is clearly quantitatively measured when Paul writes the following: “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is 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.” The amount or measure of faith each Christian receives from God varies according to His Will, as He looks at our heart and to what extent we obediently act upon the faith that we have already received. It is also important to note that the faith that Paul mentions—both the faith in God and Christ and the faith of Christ in us–is a gift from God, and not something that originates in the individual Christian pursuant to his or her own will. Fortunately, faith is quite potent, and only a small amount may be required at first in order to do amazing things. But as the proverbial mustard seed is very small, but grows into a big tree  (Luke 13:19), so our faith in God and Christ must grow and increase, and we must allow Christ’s faith in us to work more and more mightily and powerfully in our lives. The apostles asked Christ to increase their faith (Luke 17:5).

At the same time, we are told that Abraham did not become weak in faith, but that his faith grew. Romans 4:19-21 reads, in the Revised Standard Version:

“He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead, because he was about a hundred years old, or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. “

The amount of faith of a Christian may also decrease. We read the following in 2 Thessalonians 1:3 when Paul writes his greetings to the early Church: “We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other…” Even though the members of the Church in Thessalonica may have initially received a small measure of faith, Paul acknowledges that their “quality” faith has grown in quantity. At the same time, Christ chided His apostles for their little faith, as He had been expecting a larger amount of faith in them (Mark 4:40). He even said that He had asked for Peter that his faith would not fail (Luke 22:32).

Jesus Christ Himself acknowledges the amount of faith a believer has when evaluating the faith of His followers. In Matthew 8:10, Jesus encounters a faithful centurion who believes that Jesus has the ability to heal his servant. “When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!’”

The Greek word for the word “great” is “tosoutos” which means “of great quantity or amount.” Understanding this, we can plainly see that faith varies in amount, and in this case the centurion demonstrates that he has it in large amounts relative to others in Israel.

Faith is a critical element involved in being a Christian and obtaining the gift of eternal life provided by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. By growing in the amount of faith one has and by allowing Christ’s faith to work mightily in him or her, the ability for a Christian to obtain the object of faith, whether it is healing, understanding, or righteousness, becomes even more sure.

Lead Writers: Eric Rank and Norbert Link

It was Satan’s goal from the outset to try to kill Christ physically and spiritually. Satan attempted to have Christ killed as a Child, including through Herod’s mass murder of young boys from two years old and under. If he had succeeded, this would have altered or even defeated God’s plan for a Saviour, but Satan’s attempt was thwarted by God, and Christ was protected as a Child in Egypt. We might even recall that Satan tried to wipe out all the Jews to prevent Christ from being born as a Jew from the tribe of Judah, but through Esther’s and Mordecai’s brave conduct, that plan was thwarted as well.

Later, Satan tried to defeat Christ spiritually, by tempting Him to sin. He knew that just one sin would have disqualified Christ from being our Saviour. After His baptism, Christ fasted for forty days and forty nights in the wilderness. Satan thought that that was the moment to strike, and that he had the upper hand. He did not realize that God allowed Satan to tempt Christ for the purpose of defeating Satan. After all, it was God the Father’s Spirit which led Christ into the wilderness to be tempted there by Satan.

We read in Matthew 4:1-2: “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.”

Satan felt confident that in Christ’s physically weakened state, he could get Him to sin and thus disqualify Him as Saviour of mankind. After Christ had fasted for such an unusually long period of time (the Bible only records that Elijah and Moses fasted that long—Moses even twice), He was very weak physically. But what Satan did not realize was that Christ was now very strong spiritually and extremely close to God. Christ had prepared Himself for Satan’s temptation through fasting, prayer and meditating on God’s Word.

However, Satan thought Christ’s weakened physical state and His hunger were His vulnerable points, and so the devil’s first temptation was to ask Christ to turn stones into bread. Satan reasoned that playing on physical needs and desires would be the best attack against a person who was almost dying of hunger because of such prolonged fasting.

Matthew 4:3-4 continues:  “Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’ But He answered and said, ‘It is written, “MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, BUT BY EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD.”’”

First, Satan tried to appeal to vanity and selfishness, by questioning Christ’s status and position, saying, “IF you are the Son  of God.” He was hoping that Christ would respond by exclaiming, “What do you mean, ‘IF’? I’ll show you who I am,” and that He would then prove the point by turning the stones into bread.

This demonstrates Satan’s tactics. He first questioned the truth and appealed to human nature. He did so in the Garden of Eden, tempting Eve to question whether she should really obey God and refrain from eating the forbidden fruit. But where Eve failed, Christ succeeded. There was no vanity or the lust for selfish glory in Christ. How did Christ deflect Satan’s attack?  He used the Word of God by quoting Scripture.

Having been defeated with his first blow, Satan moved on to the next temptation.

Matthew 4:5-7 reports:  “Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: “HE SHALL GIVE HIS ANGELS CHARGE OVER YOU,” and, ‘IN THEIR HANDS THEY SHALL BEAR YOU UP, LEST YOU DASH YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.”’ Jesus said to him, ‘It is written again, “YOU SHALL NOT TEMPT THE LORD YOUR GOD.”’”

Notice Satan’s same tactic with the tempting question, “IF you are the Son of God…”, hoping for a better response than the first time. But now Satan added another element: He also quoted Scripture. However, he quoted the Word of God out of context, and he twisted the meaning. He is still doing the same today for gullible and ignorant people, and he is using his ministers to deceive those who do not understand the truth (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). They will quote Scripture too, but they will twist it and cite it out of context, to mislead people to think that they can continue to sin and disobey God and still inherit eternal life.

But in quoting the Word of God correctly and with the intended meaning, Christ responded to and deflected Satan’s second attack—as we must do today, when confronted by Satan’s ministers, who might be deceived themselves and who are deceiving others (2 Timothy 3:13).

Satan does not give up easily. He is not one to quickly throw in the towel, and so he put it all on the line with his next temptation.

Matthew 4:8-10 tells us:  “Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! For it is written, “YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND HIM ONLY YOU SHALL SERVE.”’”

Here is Satan’s real agenda revealed. He wanted Christ to worship him. It is important to understand Satan’s agenda of wanting to be worshipped as God. We read that before the creation of man, Satan attempted to depose and displace God and become (like) the Most High (Isaiah 14:14). He has deceived the whole world (Revelation 12:9) which, unknowingly, worships Satan as the “god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4; compare Revelation 13:4).

He wanted to be worshipped by Christ, and so he offered Him all the kingdoms of this world and all their glory for the prize of being worshipped. Christ did not dispute Satan’s claim that he and the demons under his command were the rulers of this world (compare Luke 4:6; John 14:30; Ephesians 6:12); He knew that this was so and that this was and is NOT (yet) God’s world—but it will be when God sets up His Kingdom here on earth at the time of Christ’s SECOND coming in power and great glory.

Satan tempted Christ by offering Him there and then all the glory of this world’s kingdoms. In other words, he was telling Christ, you don’t have to go through all that suffering by being rejected, betrayed and beaten, and you don’t have to die by crucifixion, and then have to wait some two thousand years to become the ruler over this world. He told Him: You can have it all now—without pain and suffering. And reading between the lines, he also told Christ in effect: You can change the world now by making this a better place and by converting the minds of people and by bringing peace, happiness and health, destroying all of man’s pain and suffering.

From a human perspective, this would sound appealing for the average person—and even for well-meaning individuals who do want to eradicate the miseries on this planet—but Christ, out of love for God and His Master Plan, turned down Satan’s offer by quoting Scripture once again.

Satan, having used the biggest guns as it were to try to get Christ to fall short of the mark and sin, withdrew from Him for a season or until “an opportune time” (Luke 4:13).

Matthew 4:11 concludes: “Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.”

As Jesus was near death because of hunger, the angels undoubtedly brought him food and drink. They also encouraged and congratulated Him for passing this test and defeating Satan’s temptations, as an angel of God would later encourage and strengthen Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, shortly before His arrest (Luke 22:41-44).

Through fasting and prayer and knowing and being able to quote God’s Word correctly in times of need, Christ was well armed to take on Satan. He had been clothed with the complete armor of God. Satan wants to destroy God’s people today, as He tried to destroy Christ. He is going around as a roaring lion, seeking whom he can devour—physically and spiritually (1 Peter 5:8). We must resist him, as Christ did (verse 9). Christ was protected by God’s armor, and so we need to be as well. This armor is described in this way in Ephesians 6:13-18:

“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all fervent prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication…”

Christ utilized the sword of the Word of God to deflect the temptations of Satan. This is a good lesson for us: The more we know our Bibles, the more we are in a position to defeat Satan’s attacks and evil devices.

Satan choose the time, just prior to Christ’s three-and-a-half years of public ministry, because he thought that because of His fasting, Christ was very vulnerable. He miscalculated His odds and while strictly focusing on His physical weakness, he underestimated Christ’s spiritual strength. Christ overcame Satan by using the sword of God’s Word and the power of God’s Spirit in Him. The encouraging truth is that we can use the same sword and the same Spirit of God to overcome Satan’s temptations, following Christ’s perfect example.

Lead Writers: Rene Messier and Norbert Link

In the previous three installments, we discussed the biblical regulations of the Land Sabbath (Exodus 23:10-11; Leviticus 25:1-7, 18-22) and rejected extreme viewpoints which hold that either these regulations must be enforced today, literally and in their entirety, by the Church of God and its members, while others hold that they are no longer applicable today, not even in principle.

We concluded the last installment by pointing out that the correct view has been taught for many years by the Worldwide Church of God, under Herbert W. Armstrong, and is being adhered to today by the Church of the Eternal God in the USA, the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship in Canada, and the Global Church of God in the UK.  We will now explain what this correct view is, and how it relates to us today.

In a letter by the Personal Correspondence Department of the Worldwide Church of God, the following was stated:

“The question naturally arises, then, how can a Christian apply these laws of God now? Obviously, an individual cannot observe all the details of these laws, since they would require national legislation. An individual cannot release his own debts, and there is no divinely appointed inheritance for each family today. But these laws are all for man’s good, so we ought to observe them to the extent that this can be done in the present system. Even where a law cannot be practiced in the letter, it should be kept in the spirit…

“A farmer who owes money to banks probably cannot let all his land rest every seven years, since he owes mortgage and other loan payments that must be made each year. In such a case, it is suggested that the land be rested in rotation so that each field receives its rest sometime during a seven-year period. If one is able to rest the whole farm at once, so much the better. He can reckon his seventh year from the time of baptism or from the time that the knowledge comes to him regarding the land rest…

“Virtually all agricultural colleges know the benefits of crop rotations and of ‘resting’ land by putting it in pasture or cover crops periodically. Good soil conservation measures should also be practiced.”

In a letter by the Global Church of God to a reader in the UK, dated September 10, 1996, the following was stated:

“Since God’s laws are not being observed nationally, there is no set year in which the land Sabbath is observed today. Can anyone today prove conclusively that he knows the original cycle which began the 7th year after Israel entered the land in about 1400 B.C.? But an individual can obey the biblical directive by resting his land one year out of every seven. The land sabbath is a wonderful law which teaches stewardship, ecological principles, economics and social responsibility, as well as lessons in living by faith (by trusting God to perform a miracle in the sixth year so that there would be sufficient bounty to carry over the rest year, and on until the new crop comes in after that).

“The Global Church of God believes, as did the Worldwide Church of God under Mr. Herbert Armstrong’s leadership, that a person should rest his land, whether he is a farmer with acreage or a backyard gardener. However, few of God’s people ‘work the land,’ as many more did just a few decades ago, and so, today, there is little discussion of such matters. Even without a national observance, the land Sabbaths can be observed on one’s own seven year cycle, just as brethren pay their third tithe on their own cycle (from the date of baptism or from the feast [of tabernacles] nearest to their baptism…

“Even though the land Sabbaths are important and should not be diminished by omission or neglect, they are not the primary focus of God’s Word…”

This is indeed correct. “For the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking [or physical matters related thereto], but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). For example, the laws pertaining to clean and unclean meat, as well as to the Land Sabbaths, are dealing first and foremost with physical matters. They are physical injunctions for our physical good and for our health. They DO become spiritual, however, when we refuse to obey those laws and principles, although we know better, because we don’t care for God’s Word, or because we want to live in defiance and rebellion against Almighty God.

In a subsequent letter, dated April 16, 1997, Evangelist Colin Adair wrote the following for the Global Church of God:

“It is simply not possible for the Church as a whole to impose the seventh year land Sabbath on its members. We are not living in a physical nation today as a Church. For instance, farmer members come into the Church at different times. If the Church imposed a particular year on everyone, then some farmers would be keeping a land Sabbath any time in a series of seven years.

“The Church is a spiritual body today, not a physical nation under a physical government. However…the Global Church does teach that farmers and gardeners should keep a land Sabbath because it is a physical law of God. Land does need rest… the general principle is that we obey the physical laws given to Israel as much as we can, living under our circumstances. But there are some laws God gave Israel which we cannot follow because they need a priesthood.”

In addition, ritual laws and certain national laws need not to be followed today. For more information and a thorough discussion, please read our free booklet, “And Lawlessness Will Abound…” 

Since it is our teaching and understanding that the principles of the Land Sabbath ought to be adhered to today, as much as possible, how are they to be applied in particular?

In the April 1969 edition of The Good News, the following was explained in an article, titled, “A Sabbath Rest for the Land!”:

“Many think the word ‘REST’ means let the soil lie IDLE! Some have even wondered if the farmer should sell his stock (if he has any), padlock the gates and either go for a long holiday, or get himself a job. This is a totally WRONG impression!!

“The seventh YEAR of rest is typified by the seventh DAY of rest, and you know that you are NOT commanded to observe the weekly Sabbath by climbing into bed and lying perfectly still for the 24 hours!… Likewise a YEAR of rest is the time when we physically recharge our soil and lay the foundation for success during the coming six years!…

“HARVESTING is the key to the Sabbatical Year! Crops are NOT to be planted for harvesting. Lev. 25:5 shows that the principle involved is not one of refraining from planting or growing. The growth of plants is actually encouraged during the Sabbatical Year!… the command is only against the harvesting of commercial crops. We are told that the poor can come and take whatever their immediate needs may be…

“Then what is the specific PHYSICAL purpose of the Sabbatical Year? It refers to the principle of building up large reserves or organic residues, both in and on the soil. The diligent farmer will take full advantage of his one-in-seven-year opportunity… if you’re just a home gardener, the principles outlined here are as applicable to you as to any farmer with a large field…

“The most efficient way to GIVE the maximum amount of dead plant matter to the soil is certainly not by refraining from planting crops during the seventh year. We should refrain from planting anything we INTEND TO HARVEST… harvesting of crops [is] the focal point behind the Sabbath Year…

“If this extra plant growth is not to get widely out of hand and produce a massive seeding of less desirable plants, it must be ‘topped’ regularly with some type of mower. THIS IS NOT HARVESTING! No, not even if you take some of it away to compost it – providing it is returned to that area. We left the ‘topped’ portions of our pastures to decompose right where they fell from the mower…”

The Bible also speaks of cattle or livestock and beasts in the land grazing the ground during the Land Sabbath (Leviticus 25:6-7). The ensuing manure contributes, of course, to soil fertility.

There may be many more questions arising as to the practical application of the Land Sabbath provisions, but we hope to have given you a general overview in this series of articles. The principle should be clear. Let the land “rest” (understood in the right way) the seventh year as best as you can, by refraining from harvesting commercial crops (recall for example that fruit trees are excluded, but vineyards and olive yards are included), while using the time to build up large reserves or organic residues.

As we have pointed out, in this day and age, the regulations of the Land Sabbath and the Jubilee Year can only be applied in principle by the Church and its members, as the Church has no legal authority and jurisdiction over many of these provisions. However, when Jesus Christ returns and RULES, the provisions of the Land Sabbath and the Jubilee Year will be restored and literally applied within the spirit of the Law. Man will be taught what is best for him and, in time and for the most part, he will accept God’s truth.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link