As Christians, we all have faith in Jesus Christ. How did you come by your faith? Someone had to tell you about Jesus and share with you the word of God. It could have been your parents or a friend or someone at a church you attended. I have heard of some who found a Bible, read it, and developed faith without anyone talking to them, but I am confident that that situation is rare. We all either had someone tell us the word of God or we read the Bible and we developed faith. Preaching is the way that most people hear the word of God. Romans 10:14-17 “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 unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!’ But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our report?’ So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
More basic than faith in Jesus Christ is that we all believe in God. We believe that God created the world around us. Usually, we believe because of our observation of the world and the universe. It is too beautiful, too complex, and too wonderful for it to just happen and evolve over billions of years. We see the hand of a designer rather than pure chance and survival of the fittest and evolution. Romans 1:18-21 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” For someone with an open heart, it should be very clear from what has been created that there is a creator.
Belief in God and faith in Jesus Christ are two different but related things. Belief in God typically comes from what we see and experience, but faith comes by hearing the word. The word tells us about the creation. It tells us how God dealt with the ancient patriarchs. It tells us how God dealt with the Israelite nation. But it also tells us about Jesus – His birth, His baptism, His miracles from turning water into wine and healing the sick, to raising Lazarus from the dead. The miracles of Jesus should cause us to believe. John 20:30-31 “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” The word also tells us His teaching. It tells us of His death and resurrection. It tells us how He went up into heaven and gave power to His disciples to carry the gospel to the world. It also reveals the future and the hope we have of eternal life. And when we hear the word, it should cause us to have faith.
Have you ever questioned your faith? I have. But when I read the word, my faith is strengthened. Luke 17:5 “And the apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’” If you, like the apostles, want to have more faith, my recommendation is to get into the word because “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”.
You should not want to keep your faith to yourself but you should share it with those who do not have faith. The great commission recorded in Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen”. There could be a friend, a family member, a neighbor or someone in another part of the world who needs faith. How do you help them have faith? There is only one way – by sharing the word of God. The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 1:16-17 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’” Others should be influenced by your faith and your good works, but they have to hear the word to develop faith. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Some, when they heard the word of God, received the word and it transformed their lives. The Thessalonians were that way. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 “For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.” Then they are born again. 1 Peter 1:23-25 “Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because ‘All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever.’ Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.” Faith brings salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Unfortunately, for some who hear, they do not develop faith. Hebrews 4:2 “For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.”
Don’t be ashamed of the Word of God. The Word of God contains the gospel and it is the power of God to salvation. People need to hear the word so that they can be saved. My encouragement is for you to share the word of God with someone who does not know it.