Where Is Your Faith?

The text

Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth. But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm. And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.

Luke 8:22–25 KJV

At a glance

Summary of the sermon

Christ's question to the disciples in the storm — not 'have you faith?' but 'where is your faith?' — points to a distinction the sermon turns on: receiving the gift of faith at conversion is not the same as knowing how to exercise it in the life that follows. The disciples believed in Him, and yet with Him in the boat they were sure they would perish.

Lloyd-Jones first addresses the storm itself. Scripture everywhere assumes that trials will come and that the Lord may even seem asleep and unconcerned. This is not divine indifference; it is the ordinary testing ground of faith, and any view of the Christian life which expects no more trouble after conversion is a dangerous delusion. He then defines faith positively: it is not a feeling, and it is not a thermostat that switches itself on automatically when the temperature drops. It is something a Christian does.

Faith is applied in three moves: refuse to panic — that is, refuse to let the situation dictate your state; remind yourself of what you know to be true about God and about Christ; and then bring that truth deliberately to bear on the particular crisis, holding on whatever appearances say. The cure is not the removal of storms but the exercise of faith in the middle of them — and even a small, frightened faith that cries out to Christ is received, gently rebuked, and answered.

Key points

• Receiving the gift of faith and learning to exercise it are different things.
• Storms are permitted by God and are no proof of His unconcern.
• Faith is neither a feeling nor an automatic mechanism; it must be put to work.
• Applying faith: refuse to panic, recall what you know of Christ, apply it, hold on.
• Even weak faith has value because it drives us to the Saviour.

Illustrations the preacher uses

• The thermostat that is wrongly supposed to picture how faith works.
• The many storms and trials recorded of the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11.
• The disciples' complaint that the sleeping Master did not care whether they perished.

Related Scripture

• Hebrews 11
• 1 Peter 1:6–7
• James 1:2–4
• John 16:33
• Acts 14:22
• Romans 8:38–39
• Philippians 1:29

For reflection and discussion

1. What is the difference, in a real crisis, between having faith and applying it?
2. Why might God permit storms in a believer's life rather than removing them all?
3. How does the disciples' weak but real faith — crying out to Jesus — encourage you?