How does faith come from hearing God’s word? Does God force it down our throats? Does God implant it in us like a tracking chip? How can we find the answer to these questions? As always, the best way to find the answer to a Biblical question, is to search the scriptures with an honest and prayerful heart because God has promised to satisfy the hungry soul.
- Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (Matthew 5:6)
- Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)
- For He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. (Psalm 107:9)
- For I have fully satisfied the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul. (Jeremiah 31:25)
Faith comes from hearing God’s word
Does God cause the hunger? Does God cause the thirst? Does God cause the weary and burden? No! Those things exist. But, when we give up our works of fighting against God and really, actually, start hearing God’s word, he has promised to fill us with rest and good things to replenish our souls. That’s good enough for me.
So then faith cometh by hearing [189 akoḗ], and hearing by the word [4487 rhḗma] of God. (Romans 10:17 KJV)
- 189 akoḗ
- 1. Hearing, by which one perceives sounds; sense of hearing
2. The organ of hearing, the ear
3. A thing heard
a. instruction, namely oral; specifically, the preaching of the gospel
b. hearsay, report, rumor, concerning anyone –Thayer’s Greek Lexicon
- 4487 rhḗma (from 4483 /rhéō, “to speak”)
- 1. Properly that which is or has been uttered by the living voice, thing spoken, word
a. any sound produced by the voice and having a definite meaning
b. speech, discourse (because it consists of words)
c. a series of words joined together into a sentence (a declaration of one’s mind made in words)
2. The subject matter of speech, thing spoken of, thing
a. so far forth as it is a matter of narration
b. in so far as it is matter of command
c. a matter of dispute, case at law –Thayer’s Greek Lexicon
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:9-13 KJV)
Paul could have chosen to use any word, but he chose rhḗma instead of logos. Let’s look at the difference…
- 3056 logos (from 3004 /légō, “speaking to a conclusion”)
- a word, being the expression of a thought; a saying. 3056 /lógos (“word”) is preeminently used of Christ (Jn 1:1), expressing the thoughts of the Father through the Spirit.
Paul was emphasizing the same truth that he wrote to the Corinthians…
The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. As the Scriptures say,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise
and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”
So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. (1 Corinthians 1:18-23)
Who has God spoken to?
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? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. (Romans 10:14-18 KJV)
The heavens declare the glory of God,
And the firmament showeth His handiwork;
Day unto day uttereth speech,
And night unto night revealeth knowledge;
There is no speech, there are no words,
Neither is their voice heard.
Their line is gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.
In them hath He set a tent for the sun,
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
And rejoiceth as a strong man to run his course.
His going forth is from the end of the heaven,
And his circuit unto the ends of it;
And there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. (Psalm 19:2-6 JPS Tanakh 1917)
Have they heard it?
Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against Thee, and cast Thy law behind their back, and slew Thy prophets that did forewarn them to turn them back unto Thee, and they wrought great provocations. Therefore Thou didst deliver them into the hand of their adversaries, who distressed them; and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto Thee, Thou heardest from heaven; and according to Thy manifold mercies Thou gavest them saviours who might save them out of the hand of their adversaries. But after they had rest, they did evil again before Thee; therefore didst Thou leave them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them; yet when they returned, and cried unto Thee, many times didst Thou hear from heaven, and deliver them according to Thy mercies; and didst forewarn them, that Thou mightest bring them back unto Thy law; yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto Thy commandments, but sinned against Thine ordinances, which if a man do, he shall live by them, and presented a stubborn shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear. Yet many years didst Thou extend mercy unto them, and didst forewarn them by Thy spirit through Thy prophets; yet would they not give ear; therefore gavest Thou them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. Nevertheless in Thy manifold mercies Thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for Thou art a gracious and merciful God. (Nehemiah 9:26-31 JPS Tanakh 1917)
And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying: ‘Thus hath the LORD of hosts spoken, saying: Execute true judgment, and show mercy and compassion every man to his brother; and oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart. But they refused to attend, and turned a stubborn shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they might not hear. Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His spirit by the hand of the former prophets; therefore came there great wrath from the LORD of hosts. And it came to pass that, as He called, and they would not hear; so they shall call, and I will not hear, said the LORD of hosts; but I will scatter them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they have not known. Thus the land was desolate after them, so that no man passed through nor returned; for they laid the pleasant land desolate.’ (Zecharaiah 7:8-14 JPS Tanakh 1917)
His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?”
He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. That is why I use these parables,
For they look, but they don’t really see.
They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.
This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says,
‘When you hear what I say,
you will not understand.
When you see what I do,
you will not comprehend.
For the hearts of these people are hardened,
and their ears cannot hear,
and they have closed their eyes—
so their eyes cannot see,
and their ears cannot hear,
and their hearts cannot understand,
and they cannot turn to me
and let me heal them.’
“But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it. (Matthew 13:10-17 NLT)
Are you hearing God’s word?
Everyone has heard the good news of salvation from creation (Romans 2), the Holy Spirit speaking to their conscience (John 14, 15, 16), or another believer (Matthew 28). Our response is either faith or rejection. We are either for God or against God (Matthew 12:30). Faith is the substance!
God’s promise that we may enter his place of rest still stands. We are afraid that some of you think you won’t enter his place of rest. We have heard the same Good News that your ancestors heard. But the message didn’t help those who heard it in the past because they didn’t believe. (Hebrews 4:1-2 GWT)
Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God. (Galatians 3:1-4 NLT)
Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven! (Hebrews 12:25 NLT)
This is a statement that can be trusted: If we have died with him, we will live with him.
If we endure, we will rule with him. If we disown him, he will disown us.
If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful because he cannot be untrue to himself. (2 Timothy 2:11-13 GWT)