“Faith comes by hearing, and
hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17)
Morgan Jackson, Director of “Faith
Comes by Hearing,” tells of an incident in northern Nigeria. The local
Muslim imam (Islamic leader) of the town gave the call to prayer through
loudspeakers each morning between 5:00 and 5:30 AM. A local Christian pastor
decided he would have his own call to prayer and placed an audio Bible tape into
his cassette player. He turned it up loud and played it next to an open window.
Morgan Jackson noted that thousands of Christians have been killed in Nigeria
during recent years, a place where it’s dangerous to have faith in Jesus Christ,
and it certainly was dangerous to do what this pastor did. The imam summoned the
Christian pastor, who assumed he was in trouble, but he dressed well and
appeared before the man. The meeting was not what he expected. He learned that
both the imam and the imam’s wife had come to personal faith in Christ by
hearing those audio Bible tapes.
Many have been enlightened and encouraged by
today’s Scripture. Romans 10 contains a number of wonderful verses that relate
to the faith we receive from God's Word, like Verse
9 - “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as
Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you SHALL be
saved.” When you hear God’s Word, the Holy Spirit will enable you,
like the imam and his wife, to know that Jesus Christ is the One who
saves us from our sins. We receive “faith” through
“HEARING” the “Word of God.”
Verse 11 of Romans Chapter Ten says that if you hear the
Word of God and then
trust in the Lord Jesus Christ you will “NOT be
disappointed” – ever. Oh yes, life on this earth is difficult, but
faith in the Lord will not let you down. If you fall, He will lift you up. When
you hear, you will be given faith to believe. When you believe, you WILL be
saved, and you discover with interest that you are NOT disappointed.
And notice Verse 12 about "distinction." Let’s be honest here – we all have
made distinctions between people. We want others to accept us just as we are, but for the most part we are not so generous with THEM. The human
tendency is to judge people instantly, and we don’t even know why. Perhaps it’s
something about the way they hold their head. Maybe they use their hands too
much (or not enough)! Perhaps they look like somebody that treated you badly in
the past. Maybe you have lingering prejudice in your mind and heart.
Or possibly you were just in a bad mood that day.
Wonderfully, as it says in Verse 12, God makes “NO
distinction” between people. If you hear about Jesus Christ and believe
He is the Son of God who died for your sins and then rose from the dead,
you “SHALL” be saved. He ACCEPTS you as His own, on
the basis of “faith” alone. Humanly speaking there ARE distinctions
between people and Romans 10:12 uses the example of the “Jew
and Greek,” and at the time these verses
were written, the two groups were completely unlike one another.
The Greeks worshipped the human body and gave high
regard to what they termed “perfection.” The Olympic Games were among the
biggest events of that day, and the men who participated in them competed
without clothing, presenting the idea that sporting events not only showed
who was the fastest or strongest, but also, from their perspective, who was the
best in physical appearance. The Greeks felt that the practice of circumcision,
which was performed upon all Jewish males at the age of eight days of age, was
an insult to the perfection of the human body. The Jews strongly
disagreed.
In the Greek culture, they worshipped many “gods,”
whereas the Jews acknowledged only One. The so-called “mystery religions”
abounded in Greece, but were shunned by the Jews. The artistic pursuits
including painting and sculpture were highly regarded in Greece (and also in
Rome where they copied the Greeks). The Jews, however, felt the “arts” were a
form of idolatry. The Greeks cherished logic and reason above everything else,
whereas the Jews valued the perceived will of God as revealed in His Word, and
many of the Jews did indeed base their lives on faith in the Lord.
There’s much more, but it’s important for us to note is
that if you can imagine some group of people who are just the opposite of the
way you think things should be, God will have some of His people living among
them. It shocked the Jews, but God had His people even among the Greeks! He
saves people “from ALL nations, tribes, peoples and
tongues” (Revelation 5:9, 7:9). Any bad conclusion you might have about
certain kinds of people is something to pray about; for there is “no
distinction” with God.
Today’s verse is this: “Faith
comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). What
would be the OPPOSITE of that statement and why is it important? I
suggest this as the opposite: unbelief comes by hearing, and hearing by the
ideas of this world. It’s important to be selective about what we take into our
minds.
I’ve always been a “reader” and through the years, read everything
in sight. I know other “readers” and I’m surprised by those who can read,
but don’t do it like I do. When my children were little and when they became
adults, bigger than I am, I read their books to understand them better and
hopefully have a bond of relationship with them. My parents were readers and I
did my best to pass it on. But not all reading is necessarily good.
It IS an excellent study in contrasts to compare the
Jewish ways of doing things, 2000 years ago, with the Greek culture of that
time. To be fair, what we know of the Greek “arts,” including music, statuary,
paintings, architecture and the theater, is simply beautiful in its
entirety. And yet you can become involved with outward things to the extent that
you miss the wonder and delight of faith in our Lord. Just as God has His “Word”
and gives us “faith” through placing it into our
hearts, there is an enemy who is also very busy filling our hearts and minds
with ideas that would distract us. The enemy uses words and other symbols to
lead us into – unbelief. Authors, writers, editors, actors, producers, directors
and creators of video games, can be the unwitting tools of the one who wishes to
mislead humanity – forever.
Give your heart to the Lord. Prayerfully read His Word,
the Bible. Let Him lead you. Love the Lord and let Him draw you to love others. Like the
imam, the
wife & the pastor, you’ll not be disappointed.
Lord, I place my faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ. Open Your Word to my understanding that I may trust in
Him more. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Ron Beckham, Pastor
Friday Study Ministries www.FirstChurchOnTheNet.org
www.FridayStudy.org
Write to:
Letters@FridayStudy.org "While
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us"
(Romans 5:8)
__________________________________________________
Donations to this ministry may be sent to:
Friday Study Ministries
P.O. Box 92131
Long Beach, CA 90809-2131 USA
