For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith (Romans 12:3)
Throughout the epistles, there isn’t anywhere the Holy Spirit expressly instructs us to have faith. The reason is quite simple: God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. Thus, to the Christian, faith is the New Testament principle of life. Our very life is by faith. In other words, you already have faith.
“But didn’t Jesus charge some of those he ministered to in Bible days to have faith? you might ask. Well, you need to realize that the teachings of Jesus on faith in Matthew, Mark and Luke were for sense-knowledge men. They had not been born again. They were men and women of the Old Covenant. They lived under the law. The new man in Christ is born of the Word, with faith in His spirit.
In our opening verse, the Apostle Paul wasn’t writing to sinners or the world but to Christians. He said, “For I say through the grace given unto me to every man that is among you…” He was talking to the saints in Rome at the time and of course the rest of God’s people. God has dealt to every born-again believer the measure of faith.
Notice also that he didn’t say “a measure of faith,” but “the measure of faith.” This is quite significant for it means it’s the same measure (size or quantity) of faith every believer receives from God at salvation. Now, that deposit of faith is given to you as a seed, but God expects you to grow it. It’s your responsibility to increase the measure of faith God has given to you, and the way to do that is by learning more of God’s Word: “…faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).
The more of God’s Word you hear, the more faith you’ll have. The less of God’s Word you receive into your spirit, the less faith you’ll be able to express when you’re faced with the challenges of life. So every day, grow your faith by feeding voraciously on God’s Word.
