How Much Faith Do We Need?

 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” - Eph 2:8

How much faith do we need to be saved? As an old bible teacher once said, “If you can grip Christ ever so weakly, he will not let you perish.”

A little faith can save just as well as great faith. This is because we aren’t saved by faith, we’re saved by grace. Faith is simply the means by which grace enters our lives. As our text teaches we’re saved by grace through faith. Grace is undeserved favor. Faith is trusting in grace to save us.

Maybe an example will help illustrate this point. Let’s say you and I get on an airplane. You have great faith that the plane will bring us to our destination safely. But my faith is weak. I have just e nough to get on the plane. I’m scared and full of doubt the entire time.

We both arrive safely, because reaching our destination doesn’t depend on the amount of faith we have in the plane, it depends on the plane’s ability to fly. We only need enough faith to get on board. The plane does all the work.

In the same way, we aren’t saved by the amount of faith we have, we’re saved by Christ’s ability to save us. Hebrews 7:25 tells us “He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

Your faith may be weak. But as Charles Spurgeon once said, “A trembling hand can receive a golden gift.” You simply need enough faith to trust Him to save you. He does all the work.

Of course we don’t want to remain in a place where we have such little faith. In our example my ride was much harder than it needed to be because of my lack of faith. And the one whose faith in Christ is weak will needlessly doubt the work He does in their life. They’ll always be anxious for one thing or another.

That’s not the way Jesus wants us to live our lives. In Matthew 11:28 He invites us to come to Him to find rest for our souls. Be still and trust Him. Know that He is God.