Archibald Hall
Since there are various degrees of faith, it must be false and dangerous reasoning for people to conclude that they are not believers, because they
2The reference is to the fellowship meetings often held on the Friday of a communion season, and sometimes in the past at other times.
1Hall (1736-78) belonged to one of the Scottish Secession Churches and, for the last 13 years of his life he ministered to their congregation in Wall Street, London. This is an edited extract from Hall’s Treatise on the Faith and Influence of the Gospel.
are not strong in faith. But “if the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?” If a child should say, Because I have not the strength or stature of a grown person, I am not of the human race; is it therefore not of the human race? Similarly, if a weak believer should say, Because I am not strong in faith, I have no part in Christ; is he therefore without any part in Christ?
This sort of reasoning is false, because there are many members of the body and yet but one body. There are different degrees of strength and stature in different stages of human life, and there are both strong and weak believers in the body of Christ. It is true that the foot is not the hand, the ear is not the eye, a child has neither the stature nor strength of a grown person, and a Christian of little faith is not strong in faith. But as the foot and the hand, the ear and the eye, belong to one body, as childhood and manhood are different stages of the same life and nature of man, so the strength and weakness of faith are characteristics of the same faith of the operation of God. Therefore it must be unreasonable to allow that there are different degrees in the faith of believers, and yet to suppose that there is no real faith unless it is great. Our Lord speaks of having faith as a grain of mustard seed, which implies that it may be little where it is real and sincere.