Faith comes by hearing. (Rom.10:17)
It is now more than 2000 years since Yahshua Messiah came into this world and said.’ Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’(Matt.4:17). People have not repented. He said,” I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”(John.14:6). But people have devised their own ways to try and obtain eternal life. Thousands of people die everyday without knowing the Saviour. This is evident even more in rural areas which do not have accessible roads or other means of communication.
The scripture says, in Rom 10:13-17,” For whosoever shall call upon 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? 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.
The problem with hearing is that we hear only what we want to hear. We close our minds to everything else that is not in tune with our preconceived notions. People in the olden days believed that the earth was flat. They believed that the earth was the center of the universe. But over a period of time people started to examine their beliefs and realized that the earth was not flat but round and that the sun, not earth, was the center of the universe.
The first step to coming to Elohim is to hear His word. After hearing, we should examine our beliefs in the context of what we have heard. When we hear, we should believe that what we have heard is the word of Elohim. Belief and faith in his word will open our hearts to Him. When we believe in something, it should find support in the Bible. Otherwise that word is not from Elohim.
We can hear the word of Elohim only when we have the desire to repent. An unrepentant heart cannot hear and understand Elohim’s word.
Hearing must lead one to confess that Yahshua is the Messiah.
Mat 9:27 And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us.
Mar 10:47 And when he heard that it was Yahshua of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Yahshua, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
These people heard that Yahshua of Nazareth was healing the sick and the lame. They believed and had faith that they too would be healed. They confessed that Yahshua is the Messiah. Their faith came when they heard others talk about Messiah.
In 2 Chr.34, we read how Josiah became king of Judah, He did what was right before the Lord. When he gave orders to repair the temple of the Lord, they found a book of the Law. When Josiah read this book of the Law, he was troubles because they had gone away from the ways of the Lord.. Josiah then made a covenant to walk in the ways of the Lord. How did this transformation take place? Because he heard the word of Elohim and had faith in Elohim.
Paul is talking about genuine faith when he tells us, “faith comes from hearing”. He is talking about sincere faith in which people live. We don't get faith by keeping a Bible under our pillow at night. We can’t inherit faith. We don't get faith by having Christian friends or Christian books. We get faith only by hearing the word.
In the New Testament, we read how Simon Magus and the people of Samaria believed and were baptized after they heard Philip preach the Gospel (Acts 8:4-13). The Ethiopian eunuch believed and was baptized after Philip explained the Scriptures to him (Acts 8:26-40). Saul believed when he was on the way to Damascus and heard the voice of Elohim (Acts 9). Cornelius and his family heard the gospel preached by Peter and believed in Messiah (Acts 10). The Philippian jailer believed only after Paul and Silas preached to him in the name of Messiah (Acts 16:16f). In all these instances faith came by hearing.
Before we can believe in Messiah, we have to hear about him. To hear about Messiah, someone should preach the gospel to them. In Matt.28:19-20, Messiah tells his disciples, us, to teach all nations. Spreading the gospel is the foremost duty of a Christian. To be able to preach the gospel, we have to be sent by the Holy Spirit.
The gospel is that Yahshua Messiah came into this world in human form, he suffered for our sins and was crucified, he died, was buried and the third day he rose again, defeating satan, conquering the grave and death. He is even now seated at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us. He has come to give us eternal life. This is our faith that comes by hearing the word of Elohim.
