Faith!

Faith!

Romans 10:17 AMPC

[17] So faith comes by hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the preaching [of the message that came from the lips] of Christ (the Messiah Himself).

We read of the letter of Paul to the church in Rome, and he was speaking to an audience that was not mainly Jewish. These were people who had come into contact with the gospel of Jesus  Christ through the preaching of Paul, and the other men who were with him on these missionary journeys. Many of the people who heard had responded the right way to the message and had come to place their faith in Jesus, accepting Him as their personal Lord and Saviour. That is the thrust of the gospel, and what it hopes to achieve: that men, no matter where they have been, or what they may have done in their past, have access to the grace of God that has been expressed in Jesus. We are in the season of Christmas, where we lay firm emphasis on the greatest gift given to man, and which has sealed our earthly gain and eternal hope. 

I can strive to challenge men by my words, but it is only God that can prepare a man's heart to receive that which God intends. I can speak with all the eloquence and elocution that education may give; but it is only God that can birth and also sustain that which leads to faith. What is faith? It is confidence in the person and power of God, even though you have not seen Him. It is an assurance that if I can only hand over my soul to Jesus, He can save my soul from eternal damnation. If I have to physically hold it before I believe, it is no longer faith. If it has to appeal to physical senses first, it is not really faith. I take God at His Word, and there is a burning conviction in me that He can save, deliver, and preserve to the end. Am I waiting for it to 'make sense' before I give my life to Jesus? It will not make sense to the natural man, but by the power of the Word, the natural man can give way to the spiritual man. 

This is where the one who gives the message comes in. Faith comes by hearing, but hearing must be about the One who can save from the power of sin. How can a man hear about the One who can save Him, if there is no one to speak to him/her about the Saviour, or there is no access to the Word? Christ may not reveal Himself physically, but He has left copious and clear evidence about Himself on earth, and it is my responsibility, as one who has had an encounter with this Jesus, to make Him known by my conduct, conversation and the company I keep. Faith comes by hearing the right message, and the right message has to be about the right person, so it can birth the right response. Anything else done to promote self, or selfish agendas may seem to succeed for a while, but will eventually crash and burn. Jesus is the focus; He is the reason for the season. Let us make Him known, so the world can respond to Him. God's time of favour is here.