Faith comes by Hearing
“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ..” (Romans 10:17 ESV)
Sometimes this verse is misquoted as, “Faith comes from the word of God/Christ.” However, that is not what it says. It says, “…faith comes from hearing.”
At first glance this may not seem like an important distinction. After all, if faith comes from hearing and hearing comes through the word of God, then faith comes from the word of God, right? This is a jump we should not make. What we need to understand is that to many people, the word of God, the Bible, is at best an historical document and nothing more. They read it. They find knowledge. But they do not hear God speaking to them through it. Consider the following verses:
“And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them.” (Deuteronomy 5:1 ESV)
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”
(Deuteronomy 6:4 ESV)“…and shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them, for the LORD your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’ (Deuteronomy 20:3-4 ESV).
Jesus answered, “The most important [commandment] is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ (Mark 12:29-30 ESV)
The first or most important commandment is, “Hear, O Israel”. Hear what? Matters of the Spirit. That which is on God’s heart to share with you. Pay spiritual attention. From the following text we see that it is possible to read the Word of God and yet not “hear.”
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.“
(Matthew 11:15; 13:9, 13:43, Mark 4:9, 4:23, 7:16 ESV)“This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “‘You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” (Matthew 13:13-14 ESV)
Why do they not hear? Because they hear the scripture spoken, or read the Bible (Torah at that time), but they DO NOT HEAR the Spirit of God.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29, 3:6, 13, 22 ESV)
God has something to say…..to you!
“Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.” (Isaiah 55:3 ESV)
“I will destine you to the sword, and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter, because, when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not listen, but you did what was evil in my eyes and chose what I did not delight in.” (Isaiah 65:12 ESV)
“And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.” (Isaiah 30:21 ESV)
The night before His crucifixion, Jesus told His disciples:
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (John 14:26 ESV)
He will teach you.
Who?
The Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Grace.
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,” (Titus 2:11-12 ESV)
Faith comes by hearing.
Hearing what?
Wrong question:
Hearing whom?
The Holy Spirit of God Almighty, Creator of the Universe.
God wants to talk to…..me?
“For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” But you were unwilling, and you said, “No! We will flee upon horses”…” (Isaiah 30:15-16a ESV)
“Sorry Lord…too busy…got to run…maybe I’ll have time for you tomorrow.”
“Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him”. (Isaiah 30:18 ESV)
“And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.” (Isaiah 30:21 ESV)
Yes, He wants to talk with you.
He longs to spend time with you.
He patiently waits to be gracious unto you.
Make time to sit at the Master’s feet and listen to Him. He has so much He wants to share with you.
Faith comes by hearing.
When you hear the Spirit of God speak to your spirit, faith will be born in your heart.
Faith comes by hearing.
Hearing comes by the Word of God.
Jesus said,
“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. ” (John 6:63 ESV)
It is the Holy Spirit that makes the words of God alive. Truly, God’s Word is spirit and it is life.
Now comes the time for practical application.
You have homework.
Read the Gospel of John five times in a row.
Take a week or a month, but read the Gospel of John five times in a row.
Have a highlighter and a pen and some paper.
Each time you sit down to read, be by yourself or at least someplace quiet.
Before you start, ask God to teach you by His Holy Spirit. Ask in Jesus name. By doing this, you are inviting the Spirit of Truth to guide you into all truth (John 16:13, 23-24) and you are acknowledging His presence and your willingness to learn (Proverbs 3:5-6).
If you have not read it for a long time or perhaps have never read it, you may find it nothing more than an interesting account of the life of Jesus the first time through. That is not unusual.
Read it again.
By the third or fourth time through the book you will start to notice passages jumping out at you that you never much noticed the first few times through. Highlight them. Write them down to think about and meditate on later.
You are starting to hear the Spirit of God teach you spiritual truth and you are beginning to “hear”.
When the Lord blesses you with a passage, thank Him. He is sitting right next to you (spiritually speaking). He has been waiting a long time to show you these things.
As you end each time of reading, thank God for His Word and what He has shown you.
He has so much more to share with you.
After you finish reading John five times, read Matthew, Mark and Luke.
“For the word of God is living and active…”
(Hebrews 4:12a ESV)
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