Unbelief holds us back, not lack of faith
If you ask most people, they’ll tell you that faith and belief are the same thing. I used to think so myself. And that leads to all sorts of confusion.
The trouble is they are interrelated, which makes them very close in meaning. So close, in fact, that many modern Bible translations don’t always differentiate clearly between the two. And that leads to even more confusion.
When we equate faith and belief it can make Jesus seem a little contradictory. For example here is how the New Living Translation presents Matthew 17:20.
“You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” — Matthew 17:20 (NLT)
Reading that, it seems like Jesus is telling his disciples that their problem is they don’t have enough faith. I mean what else can “you don’t have enough faith” mean, right?
But then he goes on to explain that by saying that we barely need any faith at all to see great miracles happen. Huh?
That doesn’t make sense. Why would he acknowledge that they had any faith at all if his lesson from that “teachable moment” was that they only needed a tiny amount of faith?
How much “small as a mustard seed” faith is enough? Presented that way it makes it seem like we need some standard to measure microscopic faith in amounts even smaller than a mustard seed.
Don’t know about you, but I can’t make any sense of that.
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Now let’s look at how the New King James Version translates that same verse.
So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a 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 (NKJV)
Here that same passage is a whole lot less contradictory. Jesus is telling his disciples that they have a belief problem which can be countered with faith, even in small amounts.
Now that’s something we can work with. All we have to do is figure out what belief and faith really are and then we can apply that lesson to our lives.
What Is Belief?
To explain the difference, let’s start with belief. What does it mean?
You can go to a dictionary to look up belief if you like. Here’s a good working definition:
Belief – An opinion or judgement in which a person is fully persuaded.
So our beliefs are things that we are thoroughly convinced of. Usually (but not always) they are ideas, concepts that we gather through acquiring information and experience. Because of that, our beliefs can change over time as we gain more knowledge and experience more things throughout our lives.
How Is Faith Different?
Again, you can go to a dictionary and look up the meaning of faith.
To me, this is an easier way to understand it.
Faith = ( Belief + Action + Confidence )
Faith includes our beliefs, but it is bigger than that. Faith requires action. If it doesn’t move us to do something or say something – actually take some kind of action – it’s not really faith at all. James said it this way.
So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. — James 2:17
Until we take action our “faith” is just a bunch of words. James says that unless faith produces action is in fact dead, or not faith at all.
As a side note, some people get confused and turned around on this point and try to do good things to generate faith. However James didn’t say the good things we do produce faith. He said our faith, if it is real and alive, will naturally move us to do good things.
But I digress.
The last part of that whole faith equation is confidence.
Confidence – Trust that is based on knowledge or past experience
Basically confidence is a measure of how firmly we hold to a particular belief.
Putting It All Together
So now you can see how belief and faith are interrelated. The difference between the two is subtle. But understanding it makes things that Jesus said like in Matthew 17:20 above make a whole lot more sense.
When we believe the truth with enough confidence to take action we exercise faith. And it doesn’t take much of that faith to see huge things happen, even miraculous things.
And you can see where unbelief, that is believing things that aren’t true – believing lies – completely clogs up the working of our faith. Unbelief prevents us from ever seeing the miraculous in our lives.
Too often we spend time and energy trying to increase our faith when Jesus said that’s not really our problem. We pray and plead with God, begging him to give us more faith.
Building Your Faith Is Simpler than You Think
But our problem is really with unbelief, not a lack of faith.
The good news is that we can change our unbelief into belief. It’s really a fairly simple, straight forward process. We just need to become more fully persuaded of the truth instead of the misconceptions and lies that we are currently holding on to.
The more we expose our minds to the truth, the more we become persuaded and convinced of that truth.
And the best way to expose our minds to the truth is to study the Bible. The more time we spend exploring the truth of the Bible, the more our minds become convinced of that truth.
The more firmly convinced of the truth we become, the more confident we’ll grow.
Then it won’t be long before we find ourselves doing things differently, acting in more faith.
Do you want more faith? Then invest more time reading, studying, and thinking about the Bible. You’ll find your faith will just grow as a result because you will change your beliefs.
That’s pretty simple, don’t you think?
Matthew 17:20 in the NKJV actually disproves your point. We may find nuance in the English words “faith” and “belief”, but the Greek root for both in this verse is “pistis.”
Heya Gregory!
I’m not sure how it follows that two words must mean exactly the same thing just because they have the same root? Strong’s defines those two words differently.
Granted some translators do see them as meaning the same thing. That’s exactly how we end up with something like the NLT rendering of the verse in a way that doesn’t make sense. So obviously there’s room for disagreement on the issue.
Language can be a funny thing. We have many words in English that can mean to very different things depending on context. For example:
So while it is even possible for the same word to have different meanings, in the case of Matthew 17:20 we’re talking about two different words which happen to have the same root.
If the point of words is to communicate ideas clearly, then using “unbelief” and “faith” for those two words is a more effective translation than “lack of faith” and “faith” is in that verse.
I had the good fortune to live in the basement of a hose owned by a loving Jewish couple and witnessed their way of learning about the finer points of the discussion of the real meaning of a passed, say “The Kingdom of God is within your!: of another translation that would be “The Kingdom of God is among you!” They would set up two champions and each would argue their version, usually with much gusto and great laughs from the onlookers (there always were onlookers). In this case, another champion jumped in and started to ague the position that what was meant was both. At the end, all voted and this latter position won unanimously. The different interpretations exist in both the Greek and Aramaic for that verse. Jesus knew that and would likely have used such a word on purpose. He was a stunning debater and His audience would have learned a lot from Him.
As an 8 year old I read the scriptures and not understanding, said I don’t like you and I don’t trust you. This was in my heart quietly. Now at 82 with much prayer and daily reading, there is still much of the same feeling when it comes to me even if I have had miracles happen. I can’t seem to change or heal this on my own and it greatly hinders even my desire to pray or intercede for others, and there is some fear and anger involved feeling I could never measure up to what he asked, which led to a feeling of rejection. It’s all very distressing.
Patty I encourage you to not be distressed by what you are feeling. Throughout the Bible there are examples of many people who have experienced and even saw miracles, but did not believe. But, blessed are those who believe and have faith in Him even without seeing. We serve a merciful God who showers us with grace that abounds any law. I think it’s time you start putting this mustard seed faith into practice! You already believe in Him now let a little faith go along way!! He loves you! Cast all your cares on Him.
I like the definition that says faith (in God) are the actions that spring out of belief (in God).
If you agree with this definition then your point that actions dont generate faith may be wrong. If you try (albeit with some trepidation) to act in accordance with God’s words – is this faith? For example – lets say that you help someone financially in need because Jesus said to help others, but at the same time you are worried about how you’ll pay your rent – is this faith? i.e. I am not fully persuaded and do not believe God’s words fully – yet I have acted.
I think this is faith. Jumping into the unknown (in a state of some disbelief) is an act of faith in God. Perhaps a mighty act of faith. Mark 9:24: I believe – help my unbelief. Further, I think the reward God may be referring to (Heb 11:6) is an uplift in our faith in Him.
Maybe this is why genuine faith in God is so rarely seen. It requires us to act on our beliefs – no matter how shaky these beliefs may be. We want to step out on a secure bridge – not a rickety bamboo joke. So many dont step out. They want the certainty first.
[Incidentally, maybe this is why people at absolute breaking point may find God – more often than those comfortable in their life. They have nothing to lose. They are happy to walk over the rickety bamboo structure – because that’s all thats left…]
Also – I have often wondered whether satan’s great aim is simply to stop christians acting on God’s word i.e. having faith in God. He has deceived us into thinking that mental belief and faith are the same thing. This is wrong. Faith in God without action is not dead at all. It is simply not faith. Think of the hundreds of years of twisted argument about the distinction between faith and works.
Finally, we are asked to walk by faith. Faith is a way of walking. It is taking an obedient step knowing full well that this step carries potential risk. A knee-trembling step in faith is a quantum more faith than someone who feels enlightened yet takes no step. The rewards of small faith are great – we are infused with God’s power in ever increasing amounts.
Sorry…one other thing….I wonder if faith pleases God because it requires a definite, conscious demonstration of our trust in Him. It is not “lip service”. It is not risk free. It requires an act of will on our part – so it can be said that He never, ever took away the free will he gave us. Rather, we freely, consciously give it back to Him – and dont do so in any other way….
Thanks for your article by the way…it is very good.
Heya Steve!
I think we’re mostly saying the same thing. However, unbelief is not the opposite of faith, fear is. (I explain more about that in the article Why is Faith a Good Thing?)
Taking action in spite of shaky belief is still faith. The action is the proof.
We naturally tend to think that the size of our faith is what makes things happen. But remember, Jesus said that even if we had the tiniest amount of faith we can do miraculous things. (Matt 17:20, Luke 17:6). So I would say that when someone takes action as in your example then that is indeed evidence of their faith.
Thanks Chris!
Matt 17:20 is uplifting. But I dont think it is the end game.
It is interesting to note that Jesus chose a mustard seed to show how little faith a person needs. He didnt choose (say) a grain of sand – which is even smaller. A mustard seed grows and grows – and this is how I think about faith.
I dont think Jesus wants a stagnant, fixed faith. Faith connotes action. I think it is up to us to keep stepping out in faith – and grow that seed of faith in God. In fact – I think this is probably the goal of christianity – since faith leads to an ever increasing relationship with God.
[But I might be entirely wrong!]