In declaring how saving faith is developed, Paul wrote in Romans 10:17, “So belief comes of hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” Hearing here, therefore, means any receiving of the word of God whether it is communicated to us by preaching or reading the word of God, and accepting by faith that what God has said in His word is true, and then obediently acting upon that faith. As Paul said in Romans 1:16-17, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is revealed a righteousness of God from faith unto faith: as it is written, ‘But the righteous shall live by faith.’”
Hearing is truly the first step in God's plan for our soul's salvation. On the Mount of Transfiguration, Matthew records the voice of God declaring for the benefit of Peter, James and John, "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased; hear Him.” (Matthew 17:5)
The Hebrews writer states in Hebrews 1:1-2, “God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by diverse portions and in diverse manners, has at the end of these days spoken unto us in His Son, Whom He appointed heir of all things, through Whom also He made the worlds;”
So when the Holy Spirit came with power on the Day of Pentecost just as Jesus said He would, the apostles were inspired to remember all that Jesus had taught them, as well as being given new revelation. It is in this manner that Jesus speaks to us in this age as the Hebrews writer said. By using the apostles and the other authors of the New Testament, His will for us has been totally and completely revealed. Today, we have the complete written word so we can know His will. In fact, the Apostle Peter tells us that we lack nothing we need to know: “ . . . seeing that His divine power has granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that called us by His own glory and virtue; whereby He has granted unto us His precious and exceeding great promises; that through these you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust.” (2 Peter 1:3-4) Since the Lord now speaks to us through His word, we should hear and heed Him by studying His word and listening to what He has to say. As Jesus said in John 10:5 regarding His sheep, “And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.” We are to hear the Lord Jesus, which means we will reject any others who teach contrary to His word, regardless of who these individuals are. "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life," said Jesus in John 6:63. Why turn to anyone else? As the Apostle Peter added a few verses later in John 6:68, "You have the words of eternal life."
May the Lord bless you as you hear and heed His word!
Hearing is truly the first step in God's plan for our soul's salvation. On the Mount of Transfiguration, Matthew records the voice of God declaring for the benefit of Peter, James and John, "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased; hear Him.” (Matthew 17:5)
The Hebrews writer states in Hebrews 1:1-2, “God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by diverse portions and in diverse manners, has at the end of these days spoken unto us in His Son, Whom He appointed heir of all things, through Whom also He made the worlds;”
So when the Holy Spirit came with power on the Day of Pentecost just as Jesus said He would, the apostles were inspired to remember all that Jesus had taught them, as well as being given new revelation. It is in this manner that Jesus speaks to us in this age as the Hebrews writer said. By using the apostles and the other authors of the New Testament, His will for us has been totally and completely revealed. Today, we have the complete written word so we can know His will. In fact, the Apostle Peter tells us that we lack nothing we need to know: “ . . . seeing that His divine power has granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that called us by His own glory and virtue; whereby He has granted unto us His precious and exceeding great promises; that through these you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust.” (2 Peter 1:3-4) Since the Lord now speaks to us through His word, we should hear and heed Him by studying His word and listening to what He has to say. As Jesus said in John 10:5 regarding His sheep, “And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.” We are to hear the Lord Jesus, which means we will reject any others who teach contrary to His word, regardless of who these individuals are. "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life," said Jesus in John 6:63. Why turn to anyone else? As the Apostle Peter added a few verses later in John 6:68, "You have the words of eternal life."
May the Lord bless you as you hear and heed His word!
1 comment:
You can also listen to God's Word as well. It is powerful to sit and hear God's Word. I downloaded a free audio bible at Faith Comes By Hearing. They have 10 popular English versions and about 300 other languages.
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