Faith Comes by Hearing is the apostle Paul’s summary of how saving faith is born: faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
God does not ordinarily create faith in a vacuum.
He sends a message. Someone speaks. Someone hears. The word of Christ is believed.
The same verse that explains the origin of faith also explains the urgency of preaching.
In Romans 10 Paul traces the path from the heart’s confession to the ends of the earth. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Scripture says everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame, and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Then the questions follow: How will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him of whom they have never heard? How will they hear without someone preaching? How will they preach unless they are sent? Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. The word is not a human invention. It is the message about Christ and from Christ. Hearing here is more than sound. It is the receiving of that message so that the heart believes and the mouth confesses. Israel heard, and not all believed; the word must be mixed with faith in those who hear. Still the order stands: sent messengers, preached word, hearing, faith, calling on the Lord.
- Faith is created by God through the hearing of the word of Christ.
- Hearing requires a preached message; the message requires a sent preacher.
- The content of what is heard is the word of Christ—the gospel concerning Jesus.
- Not all who hear believe; yet no one believes without hearing.
- The verse fuels mission: people cannot call on a Lord they have not heard.
- Confession with the mouth and belief in the heart follow true hearing.
- The word that is heard must be mixed with faith.
- The Word of Christ – The message that produces faith is the gospel of the crucified and risen Lord.
- Hearing – The appointed means by which that word reaches the heart.
- Preaching – Someone must speak; faith is not born from silence about Christ.
- Sending – Preachers are sent; mission is the church’s obedience to this order.
- Believing and Confessing – Hearing leads to faith in the heart and confession with the mouth.
- Calling on the Lord – Those who hear and believe call on His name and are saved.
- Mixed with Faith – The word profits when it is received in faith, not merely heard as sound.
- Romans 10:17 – “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
- Romans 10:9-15 – “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved… For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’”
- Romans 10:16-18 – “But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?’… But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for ‘Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.’”
- Hebrews 4:2 – “For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.”
- Isaiah 53:1 – “Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
- Isaiah 52:7 – “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’”
- 1 Corinthians 1:21 – “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.”
- 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 – “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved… that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day…”
- John 5:24 – “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
- John 10:27 – “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
- Acts 4:4 – “But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.”
- Acts 10:44 – “While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word.”
- Acts 16:14 – “One who heard us was a woman named Lydia… The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.”
- Acts 18:8 – “Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.”
- Luke 8:12, 15 – “The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved… As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.”
- Galatians 3:2, 5 – “Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?… Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?”
- 1 Thessalonians 2:13 – “And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.”
- 2 Timothy 4:2 – “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.”
- Mark 4:24 – “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you.”
Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. That is how God has ordained that people believe. Someone is sent. The good news is preached. The word of Christ is heard. The heart believes. The mouth confesses. The name of the Lord is called upon. Do not hide the word. Do not wait for faith to appear without a message. Preach Christ. Hear Christ. Receive the word not as the word of men but as the word of God. How will they believe in Him of whom they have never heard? Beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. Let the word be spoken. Let the ear be opened. Let faith come.
Entry compiled for the JESUSaves.com Bible Glossary. Optimized for wiki.js Visual Editor.