“And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”

While Jesus was on the mountain with John, James, and Peter for the Transfiguration, a man brought his son to Him. The son was desperately ill, and the father had heard of the healings that Jesus had performed. Jesus’ other disciples were unable to help. So, when Jesus came down from the mountain, the father brought his son to Him. He needed Jesus to intervene.

The man’s son was possessed by an evil spirit. “How long has this been the case with him?”, Jesus asked the father. He told Jesus that he had been that way since he was a child. He also told Him that the spirit often threw his son into the water or into the fire to destroy him. Upon seeing Jesus, the spirit convulsed the boy, and he lay on the ground wallowing and foaming. After explaining the situation, and perhaps out of increasing desperation, the father said, “If you thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us.”

In spite of the father’s desperate plea, and the suffering boy at His feet, Jesus seemed to be unhurried. He had a different focus. He spoke of the most important issue; “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” The boy’s father responded as recorded in the verse above. Then, Jesus commanded the evil spirit to leave the boy, and to never come back. As it left the boy, the spirit screamed and convulsed him again, after which the boy lay still. He was so still that those around said he had died. Then, Jesus took the boy by the hand, lifted him up, and presented him to his father whole.

Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. This is the quality for which God is looking in every person. Having faith, or believing, is not simply mental assent. It is a heart response to what God has said. It is trust in Him. It is taking action based on what He has said.

Faith has come to mean that which people believe. It may be doctrines of their church or things they have concluded for themselves. The variety of beliefs is wide including belief in multiple gods, or none at all. But, God is not as interested in what we believe as much as we want to think. What He wants is us to believe in what He says is true in His Word, the Bible. In that context, faith is trust in God. Jesus told His disciples in Luke 12:4, 5 “And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.” This is faith.

Faith is trust in Him. Is He God? Can He do mighty things? Did He create all things in heaven and on the earth? Does He hold together everything that we can see, as well as everything we cannot? Does He know everything? Is He everywhere present? Does He possess all power and might? Is Jesus Christ God? Are we sinners in need of God’s help to gain Heaven? Are our works inadequate to get us to Heaven? Must we rely only on Jesus for eternal life?

These questions are all addressed in God’s Word. According to the Bible, the answer to each of them is, Yes. Many verses can be found that teach these facts about God, Jesus, and our eternal destiny. Do we believe it? Do we believe God when He says these things are true? Are we willing to come only to Him for forgiveness through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, believing that we remain under God’s wrath if we don’t? Are we willing to set aside our own efforts to gain heaven and trust only in Jesus? Do we believe God’s Word? It tells us all of these things. That is faith that pleases God.

In the case above, the father believed that Jesus could heal his son. And, He knew that Jesus was God. But, the sad state of his son loomed large. He feared that some lack on his part could stand in the way of his son being healed. “Help thou my unbelief!” He walked away with his son healthy, and the assurance that these attacks would not come on him again.

Look how accommodating Jesus was to this man in his need! He raised the issue of belief, and then healed his son from his afflictions. There were no stern words. Only a gentle leading to a fuller understanding of faith. In this way, Jesus deals with all who trust in Him.

My faith has found a resting place,
Not in device or creed;
I trust the ever living One,
His wounds for me shall plead.

Refrain

I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.

Enough for me that Jesus saves,
This ends my fear and doubt;
A sinful soul I come to Him,
He’ll never cast me out.

Refrain

My heart is leaning on the Word,
The living Word of God,
Salvation by my Savior’s name,
Salvation through His blood.

Refrain

My great physician heals the sick,
The lost He came to save;
For me His precious blood He shed,
For me His life He gave.

Refrain (Eliza E. Hewitt)

“And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.”

In His reply to the rich young ruler, Jesus made a statement concerning God’s character. There is none good but Him. In the context of the story, Jesus was making the point that if the ruler called Him good, then he must also acknowledge His deity. Jesus’ command to sell all and give to the poor was an exercise of His deity, and the ruler’s reaction to it shows his heart toward God.

The concept that God is good is important. Since God is eternal, it must be that God has always been, currently is, and will ever be good. Everything He does is good. As recorded in Genesis 1, everything that He created was declared to be good, with the ending assessment that it was all very good. In Acts 14:17, Paul told the people in Lystra that God, “…left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” The blessings we receive, like rain and harvest, are evidences of God’s goodness.

But even Bible-believing Christians may balk when they put this concept along-side God’s judgments, recorded in the Old Testament. Many lives were taken, either through war or famine or pestilence. None of these things were outside of God’s control. And, God commanded Moses and Joshua to spare nobody, man, woman, or child, while taking the Promised Land. We fail to see how these things were good, as we think about it. But God is still good. Our estimate of what is good is faulty.

In human government, imperfect though it may be, judgment falls on those that have broken the law, and are found guilty. It is not good if someone is found guilty of a crime but goes unpunished. The punishment of crimes is good; it is a benefit to mankind. Any government that does not apply judgment is considered corrupt. Any judge that does not administer justice is despised.

So, God’s judgment was always good. He was never slack at administering justice. Many scriptures give God’s commandments. Disobedience to His commands brought and will bring judgment. As Deuteronomy 24:16 says, “…every man shall be put to death for his own sin.” Leviticus 18 provides a listing of the sins of which the nations in the Promised Land were guilty. In verse 24 the LORD says, “Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: and the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.” The nations were guilty before God, and He used the Israelites to execute His judgment. In this God was good.

But God did not act without warning or in haste. When God told Abraham that He was going to give the land to Israel, He said that the Israelites, “…in the fourth generation …shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.” (Genesis 15:16) There was timing to God’s promise. The coming of Israel into the land would be delayed until the Amorites were ready to be judged. That was about 470 years after God’s promise to Abraham. He was not in a hurry but was longsuffering. The sins listed in Leviticus 18 were why God judged them, and He used Israel to do it. This explains God’s command to judge the people in the land as He did. His law was broken by them, and He judged them. In this God was good.

God will again judge sin. Speaking of the whole human race, Romans 3:10-12 says, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” All of mankind is guilty before God. None of mankind is good. There will be a time when His judgment must fall again. And He will be good in doing so because justice must be served. He is good in everything.

This is hard truth. But it is hard because we don’t properly understand what is good. Jesus said that none is good but God. Believers must always hold that it is so, no matter how things may look. On the occasion of his loss, Job famously commented in Job 1:21, “And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” God’s comment concerning this in Job 1:22 is, “In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.” C.H. Spurgeon said, “God is too good to be unkind and He is too wise to be mistaken. And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.” God is good.

Good Thou art, and good Thou dost,
Thy mercies reach to all,
Chiefly those who on Thee trust,
And for Thy mercy call;
New they every morning are;
As fathers when their children cry,
Us Thou dost in pity spare,
And all our wants supply.

Mercy o’er Thy works presides;
Thy providence displayed
Still preserves, and still provides
For all Thy hands have made;
Keeps, with most distinguished care,
The man who on Thy love depends;
Watches every numbered hair,
And all his steps attends.

Who can sound the depths unknown
Of Thy redeeming grace?
Grace that gave Thine only Son
To save a ruined race!
Millions of transgressors poor
Thou hast for Jesus’ sake forgiven,
Made them of Thy favor sure,
And snatched from hell to Heaven.

Millions more Thou ready art
To save, and to forgive;
Every soul and every heart
Of man Thou wouldst receive:
Father, now accept of mine,
Which now, through Christ, I offer Thee;
Tell me now, in love divine,
That Thou hast pardoned me! (Charles Wesley)