This is an example of how we could misinterpret the scriptures by our lack of understanding and applying the wrong the interpretation as a teaching from the Lord. Joseph Prince took two verses from Luke 17:5-6 and interpret it as the Lord telling us that we should use the little faith in us to start commanding our issues and problems to go away by uttering the command in the Lord's Name. Joseph claimed that this is the Lord's answer to His disciples on how their faith can be increased. But is that what the Lord is saying in these two verses?
We need to first ask the question of why did the disciples ask for their faith to be increased. What was the situation that has occurred which prompted the disciples to ask the Lord to increase their faith? And since there is no other contextual information given in these two verses, we have to assume that the preceding verses form the context in which these two verses are to be interpreted.
If we look at the preceding verses in Luke 17, we find the Lord sternly warning the disciples that none of them should cause another disciple to sin and they were to watch over their fellow disciples in preventing them from sinning further if they were doing so. More than that, the Lord also commanded the disciples to forgive any disciple who sinned against them each time he or she repented. At no time, were the disciples allowed to withhold forgiveness from another brother when he repented of his sin and sought for forgiveness. The disciples were commanded to forgive regardless of how many times they were sinned against by the same brother.
Now this was a very difficult thing to do in the ancient times as it is now. Imagine ourselves being wronged and cheated by a sister or a brother in Christ not just once, but many times, repeatedly over and over again. Each time, he or she would genuinely repent and ask for our forgiveness. Will it be easy for us to follow the Lord's command to forgive in such situation when we have been repeatedly wronged by our fellow believer? What if this involve serious repercussions such as financial lost, physical harm or worse still, the cost of one's life? Will we be able to forgive such a person?
It takes a lot of faith and love to follow the Lord in such situations, to overcome the grief of losing something or someone whom you care and love dearly because of the sin, and to assuage the anger to exert punishment and take matters into your own hands. It takes an even greater faith to forgive the repenting brother or sister who wronged you, and to see to his or her restoration away from the sin he or she had committed. This is not an easy task. This needs great faith and love.
Now, is this the context, when the disciples suddenly realized that they were unable to follow the Lord's command to avoid sinning against one another, to watch over one another to prevent themselves from sinning, and to forgive and restore the repenting disciple, who had wronged them not just once, but repeatedly over and over again? Is this the context, where realizing they could not have faith to follow such a command from the Lord, the disciples decided to ask Jesus for more faith in order to obey His command?
What was the Lord's answer to the disciples? The issue was not about increasing their faith. The issue was about whether they have faith in the first place. If the disciples had just the tinniest of faith like a mustard seed, the 'mulberry tree' of not being able to forgive a brother who repeatedly sinned against them could be removed.
It is not about uttering or commanding the situation to go away. It is not about spiritual warfare and commanding demons to go away. It is not about commanding blessings to fall on us. It is about having the faith to act upon what God has commanded us to do and do it. Just the smallest action of faith like a mustard seed can snowball into the removal of the mulberry tree that obstruct us from obeying the Lord's command to avoid sin, keep others from sinning and forgive and restore those who repent of their sins.
This, I believe, is a more accurate interpretation of what the Lord was trying to teach His disciples 2000 years ago and more importantly, what the Holy Spirit is teaching us right now, warning us to avoid sin or causing others to sin, and commanding us to forgive those who sinned against us because if we don't, God will also not forgive us. Amen.
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