Where Does Faith Come From?
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Rom 10:17)
The popular idea today is that
I have heard what the Bible says, therefore I have the faith that pleases God. If I want to have faith to a greater degree than I do currently, I need to hear Scriptures mindlessly repeated until the desired faith is manufactured in my heart.
However, this is demonstrably not so. Supposedly, faith is produced when I hear what the Scriptures say.
For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. (Heb 4:2)
Ancient Israel did not mix faith with the Word they heard. Therefore faith was something they could have had, that they should have had, to properly respond to the Word that they heard. They did not, however, and the message preached to them did not benefit them. It seems they were faulted, and severely so, for not believing God. The hearing of the Word did not automatically produce faith.
The Pharisees talked face to face with Jesus, the Incarnate Word, and did not have any faith. Hearing sound did not result in saving faith in the lives of many people. Is it possible that we imagine we have God-pleasing faith just because we have sat in a church meeting once?
Jesus talked about different kinds of human hearts that may or may not produce some amount of faith or none at all when they hear the Word proclaimed. Obviously, real saving faith comes from somewhere other than merely hearing preacher-noise.
Do you (or I) have faith that we can walk on water. Why or why not? Let's say that we have just heard a sermon about Jesus and Peter walking on water. We have heard. Now we have faith, right? It is supposed to appear because we have heard about it. Something is missing. What is it? A confident assurance that what we heard about is going to take place in our experience. Do you have a confident assurance that you can walk on water? To be honest, I do not think I do.
What does Romans 10:17 mean when it says that faith comes by hearing? Another translation says,
No one can have faith without hearing the message about Christ. (CEV)
Or
So then, people must hear the message before they can trust God. And people hear that message when someone tells them about Christ. (EASY)
Saving faith is not produced by hearing about it. Yet, Saving Faith requires hearing about Christ. Without hearing the Gospel, the message about Jesus' Person and His work, one cannot have saving faith. So, faith seems to come from the action of hearing. In actuality it comes from somewhere else.
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: (Rom 1:20)
Paul says that the heathen who may have never heard about Christ are guilty of sin and failing to turn their hearts toward God. True, they may have never heard about Jesus and thus cannot technically have saving faith in the Gospel. However, they have another “message” presented to them – the creation of the world. If they cannot see God in Nature, they will not respond to the Gospel message.
He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, (Eccl 3:11 NASB)
God has placed an intuitive sense of something greater than us in the human heart. We either are drawn toward God or we are repelled by the very idea. I think here is the beginning or the root of what we call “faith”. When we hear the message about Christ, we either instinctively know it is true or we reject it. Hence, hearing is necessary for real faith to come about. This is where Romans 10:17 comes in. We must hear the Gospel and the name of Jesus in order to be saved. Even without the message being heard, there is a primitive love for God or a fear/hatred of Him. It cannot become saving faith without hearing the Gospel but this instinctive knowledge of a deity is present in every person. Thus God faults men for not having faith because they have rejected the most primitive form of belief in the True God.
Within our heart we know there is a God. We are either drawn to Him and His promises or we have fear and hatred of Him. Then, if we hear His Word, we instantly know it is true and that He is trustworthy. We do not initially know how we know. We just do. If we hear the Word about Christ, we may instantly know it is true and genuine saving faith is present. There certainly is a place for research or wrestling with the claims of the Bible. We may struggle for a while against mental arguments. God may grant a second chance, or a third and so on. Finally, Real Faith is the proper response to the Grace of God shown to us.
Aug 24, 2024