The Faith That Gets Heaven’s Attention

What is faith? What is the kind that gets Heaven’s attention? In Luke 7, Jesus was amazed by a Roman centurion’s faith—not a religious leader, but a soldier who understood authority and believed Jesus could heal his servant with just a word.

The Bible says Jesus marveled at this extraordinary faith.

A Biblical Definition of Faith

The Bible defines faith plainly in Hebrews 11:1: “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (NKJV).

Faith isn’t just believing something; it’s acting on what you believe in.

Faith Is Belief Plus Action

True faith goes beyond intellectual agreement; the Bible says the demons believe and tremble (James 2:19), but that doesn’t mean they follow Jesus. Faith is belief plus action.

Hebrews 11—the “Hall of Faith”—shows this clearly: Abel offered a sacrifice, Noah built an ark, Abraham obeyed God and later offered Isaac. Faith does things. It moves. It acts. And the more you use it, the stronger it gets—like a muscle.

The Roman Centurion’s Amazing Faith

In Luke 7, a Roman centurion—a Gentile soldier commanding 100 men—demonstrated extraordinary faith. His servant was sick and near death. Hearing about Jesus, he sent Jewish elders to ask for help.

As Jesus approached the house, the centurion sent friends with a humble message: “…Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it” (Luke 7:6–8 NKJV).

This is one of only two times Scripture records Jesus being amazed: “When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, ‘I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel’” (Luke 7:9 NKJV).

The centurion recognized the real deal when he saw it—he recognized Jesus’ authority over illness and His power—and he applied faith.

We Have Faith Every Day

We exercise faith every day.

When you order food in a restaurant, you trust the server and the cook. Or when you board an airplane, you put faith in the pilots and the laws of aerodynamics. And when you fill a prescription, you trust the pharmacist got it right.

The question isn’t whether you have faith, but where you’re placing it.

And  there’s no better place to put your faith than in God. That’s something the centurion understood.

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Learn more about Pastor Greg Laurie