HOW FAITH COMES (1)

“So then FAITH COMES by HEARING, and HEARING by the WORD of GOD” – Romans 10:17

When we understand HOW FAITH COMES, acting on our faith and receiving from God becomes seamless: “So then FAITH COMES by HEARING, and HEARING by the WORD of GOD” (Rom.10:17). God made Faith easy to understand and to live by – the answers are all in the Book! FAITH COMES by hearing God’s Word! Meanwhile, Hebrews 11:6 says: “But without FAITH it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” God is not unjust to demand that we have faith when it’s impossible for us to do so. He has placed within our hands the means whereby faith can be produced; hence the responsibility rests with us as to whether or not we have faith.

God has told us HOW to obtain Faith; how Faith Comes – by His Word!  Lack of Faith is not God’s fault. To blame God for such is to be ignorant. God has provided the way whereby everyone can have faith. For example, Faith for Salvation “…comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”  We are saved by Grace through Faith (Eph.2:8). This explains why Cornelius, though a good man, could not be saved until he HEARD GOD’S WORD preached. God sent an angel to Cornelious, telling him to send for Peter in order to learn the plan of salvation (Acts 11: 13-14). Angels don’t preach the Word; men do! Todays’ meditation text says:

“But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your MOUTH and in your HEART” (that is the WORD of FAITH which we preach): that if you confess with your MOUTH the Lord Jesus and believe in your HEART that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto SALVATION… For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not BELIEVED? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (vv.8-10, 13-14).

Faith for Healing comes in the same way Faith for Salvation comes – by Hearing and Believing God’s Word: “And they were PREACHING the gospel there. And in Lystra a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a cripple from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. This man HEARD PAUL SPEAKING. Paul, observing him intently and SEEING that he had FAITH to be HEALED, said with a loud voice, “Stand up and straight on your feet!” And he leaped and walked” (Acts 14: 7-10). This man was not healed by Paul’s ‘apostolic’ power. He simply had Faith to be healed. And he got this Faith from God’s Word that he heard!

In Mark 5:34, Jesus said to the woman who was healed of the issue of blood, “Daughter, YOUR FAITH has made you well.” Jesus did not say that it was His power that made the woman whole. He said that her Faith did it. Mark 5:27 confirms that the woman “had HEARD of JESUS”! Faith still comes by hearing God’s Word – the Gospel, which is “...the Power of God to salvation for everyone who BELIEVES...” (Rom.1:16). Salvation bears the notions of deliverance, safety, preservation, healing, and soundness.

As soon as light comes from God’s Word, Faith is born – ignited! We’re saved because God’s Word says we are. We’re healed because His Word says we’re! Faith comes as we HEAR and BELIEVE GOD’S WORD! His Word is the Vehicle for our Faith!