A Soldiers Faith

A Soldiers Faith

“When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help.  
“Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.” 
Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.” 
The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.  
For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 
When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.  
I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  
But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 
Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that very hour.” 
                                                                       Matthew 8:5-13.
Here we have the faith of the Centurion. He truly believed that Jesus could heal his servant. When Jesus offers to go and heal him the man with true faith and humility says,
“Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.  
For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
Jesus noting the greatness of the man's faith. Then going on to say that many will come expecting to sit at His table in heaven only to be cast out.
Most commentators agree he is referring to Jews who think that just because they are born Jews they will automatically get to heaven.
The same could be said for some who believe they are Christians today, simply because they grew up in a Christian family.
My sister-in-law once said to me “Mom has enough faith for us all to get to heaven.”
This is not so. The rules for getting into heaven changed. One must have faith in God. The writer of Hebrews noting,
“By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. 
By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.  
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. 
By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. 
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.  
By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.  
For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God”
                       Hebrews 11:4-10
Today we are called to believe in Jesus Christ. Paul’s words to his jailor being just as relevant today as they were back them.
“They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Acts 16:31.
Think about it.