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The Qualifications for Faith

Admin
July 14, 2024

"giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light" 

 - Colossians 1:12 

 

Jesus’s commendation of the faith of the Syrophoenician woman in Matthew 15:21-28 makes for an interesting study. In her case, she made her problem, her demon-possessed daughter, Jesus’ problem, and she cried after him persistently, refusing to be deterred at first by His non-response and then by the reservations of Jesus’ disciples (verses 21-23). Despite Jesus categorizing her as an unworthy beneficiary of His ministry (verses 24, 26), she pressed in nonetheless (verses 25, 27), finally receiving an answer to her petition (verse 28). 


What was it about this woman that made her an unworthy beneficiary of Jesus’ ministry? First, she was not a Jew. The NKJV Bible describes her in verse 22 as being from Canaan. Mark’s account in Mark 7:24-29 puts her origin as being from Greece. Jesus underscores this when He answered in verse 24 “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”. Next, Jesus referred to her as a dog in verse 26 “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs”. 


Dogs are symbolic animals in the Bible. In Proverbs 26:11, the Bible compares fools repeating their foolishness to dogs returning to their vomit. In the ESV translation of Deuteronomy 23:18, the fee of a prostitute and the wages of a dog are the same, an abomination to God. Dogs are also wicked according to Psalm 22:16. By calling this woman a dog, Jesus was saying she was unworthy because she was foolish, immoral, wicked and unsaved. Yet with all these qualifications, she demonstrated faith! 


We have better qualifications. First, we are saved! According to 2nd Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new”. If we are in Christ, then we are spiritual Jews, direct recipients of God’s promises according to Galatians 3:29 “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise”. Finally, we have the righteousness of God in us through Christ according to 2nd Corinthians 5:21 “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him”. 


If this woman, whom Jesus called a dog, yet was able to pull off such faith that Jesus would later commend, how much more we, who are saved, who live in the dispensation of the Holy Spirit, have Him as our Helper and have been qualified by God Himself to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints (Colossians 1:12)? With these qualifications, we should be moving mountains with our faith! 

 

Song of Worship  

I'm a new creation 

I'm a brand new man 

Old things are passed away 

I am born again 

More than a conqueror 

That's who I am 

I'm a new creation 

I'm a brand new man 

Prayer -  Dear Lord, thank You for my salvation, for making me an heir of Your promises and for Your righteousness that resides in me. May then spawn my faith in You in Jesus’ name. Amen. 
 

Bible in 1 year: Psalms 10-12

 

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