So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Romans 10:17
Do you have enough faith? Would you like to have more faith? Do you know where faith comes from? Our text says it comes by hearing. Hearing what? The Word of God!
You already have faith; according to Ephesians 2:8, that’s how you were saved. That faith was a response to hearing the Gospel. After you heard the Gospel, the Holy Spirit brought you under conviction of sin and into repentance. Then you appreciated the grace of God, and trusted in the work of the Son. Nothing happened until you heard the Word of God, and accepted it as the Word of God. Accepting the Word of God (faith) opened the door to God revealing His Son to you. Your faith brought you into the good of all that God has for those who trust His Son. It delivered you from hell, prepared you for heaven, and gave you the power and right to live as a child of God. But you would like to have more faith. You would like to be able to trust the Lord for more victorious Christian living. How do you do that? By hearing. Hearing what? The Word of God!
God does not have two different types of faith or two different means of obtaining it. There is one huge difference, though. Before you were saved, the Holy Spirit was striving with you to bring you to faith. And the Word of God was a closed Book, very difficult for you to learn and understand. After you were saved, the same Holy Spirit came to dwell within you, no longer needing to strive with you as an external Agent. And the Word of God became an open book, unfolding its infinite resources to you. One of the primary roles of the Holy Spirit is to teach us the Word of God. He helps us to understand it and He empowers us to follow it. So if we want more faith, we read more of the Word of God and allow the Holy Spirit to put what we read into practice. It’s as simple as that.
Do you have enough faith? Start reading! – Jim MacIntosh