Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word
of God
Without the word faith is non-existent. Think about that.
The word is the authority and the principle and the life of
faith. Without the word no one could be saved. Without the
word no one could be divinely healed. Without the word we would
be doomed to live only within the boundaries of our natural
giftedness. Without the word there would be no substance to hope.Rm10:17 When Jesus walked the earth he was the Word incarnate. When he spoke he spoke with authority. When he acted people saw the word in operation. Because of who he was, what he said, and what he did people came to a place of faith and they were healed, delivered, and set free. Those who could “hear” him received the gift of faith and were saved. Yet not all who saw and heard him believed. Those who could not give up their tradition and religion balked at Christ. They envied him and hated him and crucified him. So living in the time and place of Christ was no guarantee that one would be saved. Today Christ is not walking the earth in person. He walks the earth in those who have given their lives to him and died to self and have been filled with the Holy Spirit. Scripture is god-breathed and useful for instruction and correction in righteousness that the man of God may be thoroughly furnished to perform every good work. The result is that the Christian has the same calling as Christ himself had: to be presenced with God and speak and act as Christ did. The Christian becomes an epistle of Christ read by every man. The Christian becomes the word incarnate and must live, speak, and act like Christ so that others might be saved. Without the word faith is non-existent. Without faith it is impossible to please God. We are saved by faith, preserved by faith, baptized in the Spirit by faith, and will be caught up in the air by faith. Faith is the principle by which all the blessings of God are received and it comes by “hearing” the word. The word without the Spirit is a dead word. We need the Spirit to make the word come alive much like Christ at his baptism. As we live the Christian life and take in the Spirit and the word our lives will be a reflection of Christ and many people will come to faith by “hearing” us and seeing us act in accord with the scripture and love. Be people of faith. Be people of the word. Be people of love. Amen |