TRUE FAITH HEARS GOD’S WORD
March 11, 2022
“Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” – Words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 10:17.
“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe” – Hebrews 1:1-2.
True faith is in the incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ, the one revealed in pages of the Bible. It is not in a generic idea of a higher power, or in a “God as I understand him.” To believe in Christ, one must recognize that God spoke through him. The story of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection did not originate in the minds of men. What they wrote came as a revelation from God (2 Peter 1:20-21).
People ask, “How do you know that the Bible is the true word of God? Aren’t the scriptures of other religions equally true? Don’t all religions lead to God—Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc.? And, if other scriptures are false, how do we know what is the right one?” Let’s try to answer this question.
Moses, at least 1200 years before Christ, gave us a guide on how to evaluate the word of a prophet. He wrote, “You may say to yourselves, ‘How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?’ If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed” (Deuteronomy 18:21-22).
Often true prophets were rejected in their own day, but because their words came true, they were later recognized as people who spoke from God. For this reason, their writings were preserved. Rulers and their people were faced with a choice: the words of a despised prophet, but true, or the counsel of prophets who pleased the masses. Often, it was not until after the prophesied disaster struck that people realized who spoke the truth and was sent by God. Jeremiah is a perfect example of this.
When the New Testament Gospels tell us about the events of the life of Jesus, they often add, “This was spoken through the prophet ….” Isaiah being one of the prophets most quoted. Once in the synagogue Jesus read from the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah and then said, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). The Apostle John records that at the crucifixion, the soldiers divided Jesus’ clothes among them (19:24), and that when they saw that he was dead, they did not break his bones, but thrust a spear was thrust into his side, all this fulfilling words of Old Testament scripture (19:33-37).
Further, Jesus prophesied his own rejection, trial, suffering, death and resurrection (Matthew 16:21). At the Last Supper, Jesus told Simon Peter that he would deny him three times before the rooster crowed (Luke 22:34), that he would repent and then strengthen other discouraged disciples (Luke 22:32). When God’s promises take place, they generate faith.
The miracles that Jesus performed spoke about his divine nature. He said, “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me” (John 5:36). Later Jesus said, “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves” (John 14:11). The Apostle John started his Gospel with these words, “We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John1:14). These were not just displays of power, but signs of God’s loving heavenly kingdom. After the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles continued to perform these signs in the name of Jesus (Acts 3:6; 4:10).
Some allege that Jesus did not rise from the dead, but that the disciples of Jesus created the story of the resurrection to symbolize a type of spiritual rebirth. However, it makes no sense to believe that twelve men agreed upon a fabricated story, and then went out from Jerusalem in every direction, proclaiming this message unaltered, and died as martyrs maintaining its truth. The only one who did not suffer a martyr’s death was the Apostle John, who was exiled to the Island of Patmos (Revelation 1:9). .
The message that we have received in the Gospels is not the product of an inventive mind. It is the story of eyewitnesses. Luke, a companion of the Apostle Paul, is concerned about historical accuracy. He wrote that he “drew up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word” (Luke 1:1-2). Paul would write that after the resurrection Jesus “appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living” (1 Corinthians 15:6).
Over the centuries, people have heard the word about Christ and come to believe in him. They declared that “Jesus is Lord,” and believed in their hearts that God raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9). As a result, their sins were forgiven and their lives transformed. They no longer lived in conformity to the world and its passions (Galatians 5:19-21), but lived a life empowered by the Holy Spirit, producing his fruit, “Love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).
Faith in Jesus Christ recognizes the word of the eternal God. Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me” (John 12:43,44). The Apostle John recognized God speaking through Jesus, so he begins his Gospel with these words, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:1,14). True faith is not deaf but hears the voice of God.
