FAITH! FAITH IS OUR COMMITMENT TO GOD, AS HEBREWS 11:1 SAYS THAT “FAITH SHOWS THE REALITY OF WHAT WE HOPE FOR; IT IS THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS WE CANNOT SEE.” FAITH IS ONE OF THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF PLEASING GOD AS HEBREWS 11:6, SAYS THAT “IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE GOD WITHOUT FAITH.”
WE MUST LIVE IN COMPLETE TRUST, BELIEF, AND RELIANCE ON GOD. WE MUST LIVE IN FULL ACCEPTANCE OF GOD’S PROMISES AND LIVE OBEDIENTLY TO HIS WORD. WE LIVE IN SOLID BELIEF ON THE SACRIFICE OF JESUS CHRIST FOR OUR SALVATION.
FAITH OPENS AND DEVELOPS OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. EPHESIANS 3:12, “BECAUSE OF CHRIST AND OUR FAITH IN HIM, WE CAN NOW COME BOLDLY AND CONFIDENTLY INTO GOD’S PRESENCE.” FAITH HELPS US TO EXPERIENCE GOD’S LOVING CARE AND GUIDANCE AS WE TRUST AND FOLLOW GOD. WE CANNOT LIVE APART FROM FAITH!
FAITH IS WHAT GOT US THROUGH YESTERDAY. FAITH SUSTAINS US TODAY. FAITH ASSURES US OF THE HOPE OF TOMORROW. FAITH HELPS US REST IN THE TRUTH OF THINGS INVISIBLE, SPIRITUAL, AND IN ALL OF THE HEAVENLY REALITIES AND FUTURE HOPES THAT ARE NOT YET TANGIBLE. LAST, BUT NOT LEAST, FAITH IS OUR VICTORY IN THIS JOURNEY AMONGST A FALLEN WORLD! 1 JOHN 5:4, “…EVERY CHILD OF GOD IS ABLE TO DEFEAT THE WORLD. AND WE WIN THE VICTORY OVER THE WORLD BY MEANS OF OUR FAITH.”
FAITH WAS THE MAIN SPIRITUAL INGREDIENT TO CHANGING THE LIFE OF ONE SAMARITAN LEPER. JESUS MAKES A PROFOUND AND UNIQUE STATEMENT IN VERSE 19, “RISE AND GO; YOUR FAITH HAS MADE YOU WELL.” HOWEVER, THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME.
JESUS PRONOUNCED THE SAME WORDS IN MARK 5:34 AFTER BEING TOUCHED BY THE WOMAN WHO HAD SUFFERED FOR 12 YEARS WITH A BLOOD DISORDER. WE SEE IN MATTHEW 15:28, THE WOMAN IN CANAAN WHOES DAUGHTER WAS HEALED OF DEMON POSSESSION AND MARK 10:46-52 WHERE JESUS HEALED BLIND BARTIMAEUS.
ALL OF THESE PEOPLE HEARD NEARLY THE SAME REASSURING WORDS FROM JESUS: “GREAT IS YOUR FAITH…YOUR FAITH HAS HEALED YOU,” AND…“YOUR FAITH HAS MADE YOU WELL.” IMMEDIATELY, THEY WERE BLESSED WITH RECEIVING WHOLENESS AND RESTORATION.
JUST THESE ACCOUNTS OF HEALING, ALONE, CAN REMIND US OF SUCH PROMISES IN PSALM 103:2-3, “PRAISE THE LORD… [THE LORD] FORGIVES ALL YOUR SINS AND HEALS ALL YOUR DISEASES….” HEALING IS NOT JUST FOR OUR BODIES, BUT FOR OUR SOULS!
WE START TO SEE THE BIGGER PICTURE IN LUKE 5:17-39 WHEN THE FRIENDS OF A PARALYZED MAN TEAR THROUGH THE TILE ROOF OF A HOME WHERE JESUS WAS SPEAKING.
THEY LOWERED THE MAN DOWN ON HIS MAT AND RIGHT IN FRONT OF JESUS. VERSE 20, “SEEING THEIR FAITH, JESUS SAID TO THE MAN, ‘YOUNG MAN, YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN.’” THE MAN SPRUNG TO HIS FEET, HEALED, RESTORED, AND HE WENT HOME PRAISING GOD.
THESE HEALING OCCURANCES WITH JESUS SHOWS US “THE WHOLENESS OF FAITH.” WHETHER IT IS A HEALTH ISSUE, DEMON POSSESSION, OUTCAST FROM SOCIETY, OR SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS, JESUS WANTS TO MAKE US WHOLE IN SPIRIT, THROUGH SALVATION, IF WE WILL COMMIT TO PUTTING OUR TRUST AND CONFIDENCE IN JESUS.
ROMANS 10:9-10, “IF YOU OPENLY DECLARE THAT JESUS IS LORD AND BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART THAT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, YOU WILL BE SAVED. FOR IT IS BY BELIEVING IN YOUR HEART THAT YOU ARE MADE RIGHT WITH GOD, AND IT IS BY OPENLY DECLARING YOUR FAITH THAT YOU ARE SAVED.” WE ARE BEING TAUGHT THROUGH THE HEALING ACCOUNTS THAT SALVATION IS A GIFT OF GOD RECEIVED THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST AND CHRIST ALONE!
THE STORY OF THE “TEN LEPERS” PAINTS A PORTRAIT OF THE IMMENSE PASSION OF JESUS. THE SON OF GOD HAS NO BOUNDARIES AND MINISTERS TO ANYONE WHO REACHES OUT TO HIM.
NO ONE WILL EVER BE TURNED AWAY, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT IS A CRY FOR HIS MERCY, HE HEARS IT. ALL HE IS ASKING OF US IS THAT WE APPROACH HIM HUMBLY AND ON HIS TERMS, RECOGNIZING THAT HE IS READY TO HEAR US AND FULLY CAPABLE OF RESTORING US.
AGAIN, JESUS TOLD THEM “YOUR FAITH HAS MADE YOU WELL.” THE GREEK WORD LUKE USES HERE FOR “WELL” CAN BE TRANSLATED “SAVED” OR “MADE WHOLE.” JESUS SPEAKS OF RECEIVING SALVATION!
THE HEALED LEPER RETURNS TO JESUS RECOGNIE HIM AS LORD AND TO THANK HIM. THIS SHOWS A DEEPER LEVEL OF FAITH AND A GREATER LEVEL OF PERSONAL WHOLENESS. JESUS KNEW HIS HEART, INTENTIONS, AND NEED. THE LEPER WAS HEALED PHYSICALLY, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, HEALED SPIRITUALLY AND MADE WHOLE!
OUR LESSON TODAY MAKES IT VERY CLEAR THAT THE GOSPEL IS FOR ALL PEOPLE AND THAT NO ONE IS EXCLUDED, BUT ALL INCLUDED. SALVATION IS A GIFT TO ANYONE WHO WISHES TO RECEIVE IT BY PLACING THEIR TRUST AND FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST. EPHESIANS 2:8-9, “FOR IT IS BY GOD'S GRACE THAT YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED THROUGH FAITH. IT IS NOT THE RESULT OF YOUR OWN EFFORTS, BUT GOD'S GIFT, SO THAT NO ONE CAN BOAST ABOUT IT.”
IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT “TO UNDERSTAND THE ISOLATION THAT SIN PRODUCES IS TO UNDERSTAND THE FREEDOM THAT SALVATION BRINGS.” JESUS WILL ALWAYS SHOW COMPASSION AND RENDER MERCY IF AND WHEN WE CRY OUT TO HIM. ROMANS 10:13, “EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”
THE ENCOUNTER BETWEEN THE SAMARITAN LEPER AND JESUS SHOWS US, ONCE AGAIN, THAT NO ONE IS WRITTEN OFF AS HOPELESS OR TOO FAR GONE. JESUS PROVES THAT GOD THE FATHER IS ACTIVE AND CONTINUALLY WORKING TO OFFER EVERYONE, IN ANY GIVEN SITUATION, SALVATION THROUGH HIS SON JESUS CHRIST.
I LIKE WHAT THE FREE METHODIST CHURCH SAYS ABOUT THIS: “IN LOVE GOD HAS GRACIOUSLY PROVIDED FOR THE SALVATION OF ALL HUMANKIND. GOD IS LOVE. JESUS, THE ETERNAL SON OF GOD, WAS SENT BY THE FATHER AS AN EXPRESSION OF GOD’S LOVE FOR THE WORLD. THE CROSS SHOWS THE EXTENT OF JESUS’S LOVE FOR ALL. THE LOVE OF GOD IS FURTHER EXPRESSED TO THE WORLD THROUGH THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. ONLY THOSE WHO RESPOND IN REPENTANCE AND FAITH CAN EXPERIENCE HIS GRACE AS A REDEMPTIVE REALITY. THE CHRISTIAN LIFE CAN BE CONSCIOUSLY EXPERIENCED BECAUSE IT IS A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERSONS – THE PERSONAL GOD AND HUMANS MADE IN HIS LIKENESS. EVERY PERSON IS CONFRONTED BY THIS PERSONAL GOD, BUT THE OUTCOME OF THIS CONFRONTATION IS AFFECTED BY HOW EACH PERSON RESPONDS.”
HOW HAVE WE RESPONDED TO THE GIFT OF SALVATION FROM JESUS WHO OFFERS US WHOLENESS THROUGH FAITH? WILL WE, LIKE THE SAMARITAN LEPER, CRY OUT FOR MERCY AND, IN FAITH AND TRUST, SURRENDER COMPLETELY TO JESUS? LET US FIND WHOLENESS IN JESUS AND BECOME AWAKENED TO GOD IN ORDER TO LIVE IN THE JOY OF BEING HIS CHILDREN….NOW…AND IN ETERNITY!
