Romans 14:1 (ESV)

(Do Not Pass Judgment on One Another)

As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.

Matthew 17:20 (ESV) He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

I have been tasked to understand the difference between weak faith and little faith. The issue of weak faith is spoken of only twice in Romans and little faith is spoken of more often. If frequency of use is any indication of importance then weak faith may be considered to be a small problem compared with little faith. Both should be understood appropriately.

In Romans 14 the context of weak faith is directed at how we use faith. It begins with verse one in assigning differences of opinions as a topic. The second verse is directed at the digestive process in how some who have moved on from the milk of the word to digest vegetables do not consider themselves able to digest meat. There is a hindrance in grow due to attitude.

Matthew 8:26 (ESV) And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

Matthew 14:31 (ESV) Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Little faith appears to address fear and doubt which in turn hinders performance. Only God performs miracles. Fear and doubt are in opposition to faith. If you do not believe that God will use you, then you will not try to use faith appropriately.

Weak faith hinders growth, little faith hinders performance.

Titus 2:9-10 (ESV) Bondservantsare to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

Titus 2:10 (KJV) Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.

The word fidelity appears only once in the KJV and not at all in the ESV. In our minds, are good faith and fidelity the same thing? While the KJV is an archaic language it carries a heavy burden of intention which might escape some of us reading other versions. Infidelity is such a heavy word with serious relational undertones not shared by simply saying good faith.

Secular wisdom, common among many of us, defines infidelity as the action or state of being unfaithful to a spouse. It is cheating in a broader sense when the context is being a servant. Do we see this in respect to Jesus Christ being our Lord as our betrothed? Do we see our unfaithfulness in small things as cheating on our Lord? I doubt it seriously.

Galatians 4:18 (ESV) It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you,

Galatians 4:18 (KJV) But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you.

Here again the KJV uses harsher language and in this I admit I see the need within myself to hear a sharper tongue which reminds me of my commitment to my Lord. Not all enjoy harsh reminders and yet some do. Do we need strong reminders? Are we being faithful to our Lord in small matters? Do we not look to see if those small matters mean anything to us?

Is our faith weak or little?