Romans 10:17
"So then Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God."
Faith is the gift of God. "For by grace are ye saved through Faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the Gift of God:" (Ephesians 2:8). The hearing by which Faith comes is not merely the physical hearing of the Word of God, but the Spiritual hearing, by the Spirit of grace bringing THE WORD (Christ Jesus) to the heart of the sinner and drawing that heart to the LORD Jesus. " But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are Spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14).
When Faith is revealed in the heart, its object is Jesus Christ and HIM crucified. When the LORD Jesus Christ is revealed in the heart, that heart, having been given the very life of Christ, is thereby affected by the revelation of Christ and cries out after Him, much as the hart pants after the water brook in its thirst: "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God (Psalm 42:1). The soul is initially bowed down in condemnation before the Lord Jesus, owning God’s right to condemn: "If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: If I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse" (Job 9:20). Being made alive by the LORD Jesus Himself, that soul is made to see its vileness before a Holy God: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9).
Faith causes the sinner to justify the LORD rather than justify the sinner. Faith ascribes righteousness to HIM and causes the sinner to abhor himself in dust and ashes: "Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:6). Faith is the effect of the Spirit working repentance in the heart. Where there is repentance there is Faith—"testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21). There is the casting of the soul on the LORD Jesus Christ, who came, lived, died, and rose again to pay that soul’s sin debt once for all. Faith casts the soul on the Mercy of God (Christ the Mercy Seat) and rests wholly and completely on His blood and righteousness alone for salvation. Faith looks to the LORD Jesus with a singular eye, causing the awakened soul to rest solely on Him who accomplished his salvation.
How do we know when somebody has truly heard? How do you know when your children have listened to you? You can call their name. You can tell them to stop doing what they're doing, but they keep going until you get their attention. That's what it takes to be drawn to Christ. Faith comes by hearing with a Spiritual inner ear. There has to be the hearing—the inner hearing of the heart.
What part do the Scriptures play in the revelation of the Faith in the heart? Many people look for some daily promise when they read scripture—something to perk them up and make them feel better—but that's not the purpose of the Bible. The purpose of the Bible is to reveal Christ. The Bible that people hold in their hands, from Genesis to Revelation, is all about HIM. The LORD Jesus told the Pharisees, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39). The Scriptures are inspired by the Holy Spirit and therefore all about Christ. The Spirit's singular work is to reveal Christ in the hearts of sinners elected by God the Father from eternity and redeemed in time by the LORD Jesus. "[He] shall glorify me: for He shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you" (John 16:14).
There are portions where we may not see right away, because to see Christ, it must be God giving us the eyes and the hearing. The LORD Jesus is the Eternal Word of God (John 1:1), the Incarnate Word (John 1:14), the Living Word (Hebrews 3:12), revealed in the hearts of those that were given Him by the Father before the foundation of the world, that by Him (Faith revealed) they might know Him as that Word who is Life Eternal (John 17:3).
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