Three types of faith

Three types of faith – A sermon on Luke 7:1-10 by Rev. Colin Pretorius.

So often, when sermons are preached on the healing miracles of Jesus, His healing of the centurion’s slave is used as an example of how Jesus could heal at a distance. He doesn’t have to see you or touch you, and you don’t have to touch the hem of His cloak, He just has to speak the word and healing will take place. And of course all of that is true – Jesus can just speak a word and healing will take place. But that is not the only thing that this passage is about.

And while it is true that this is the first occasion in the Gospels of Luke that Jesus heals a Gentile, that is also not just what this passage is about.

These first 10 verses of Luke 7 fall into three neat sections and each of these sections gives us an insight into different types of faith. Verses 1 to 5 tell us about a faith that is based on a sense of worthiness. The next verse and a half speak about a faith-based on knowing who we are. And the last 3 verses tell us about an amazing faith. And we’re going to look at our text today in those broad terms:

  • a faith based on what we do (v1-5)
  • a faith based on knowing who we are (v6-7a)
  • and a faith based on the authority of Jesus (v7b-10)

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