By Robin Swoverland
Hebrews 11:6 says “Without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”(KJV)
In this article we want to look at where faith comes from and how to get it. The Bible tells us in Rom 12:3: For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.(KJV)
Paul is speaking here to the church (the believers) in Rome. In Romans chapter 1 he addresses: 7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints:(KJV). The saints are believers, those who have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. To those believers He has given the measure of faith. The word measure here is the Greek word metron which Strong’s Concordance defines as a “limited portion” and Thayer’s Greek Lexicon as a “determined extent” or “the required measure”. Every believer has been given the required measure of faith (persuasion, assurance, belief) in order to begin acting on God’s Word. But we need more than just that measure to continue and to become strong in faith and God has provided for us to attain more faith.
God’s Word tells us that the place to get more faith is in His Word. Rom 10:17 says: So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.(KJV) Faith (persuasion, assurance, belief) in God’s Word, so that we can act on God’s Word, comes from God’s Word! The Word of God has the power in itself to create and to increase faith. Faith for healing, for instance, will come as we spend time “hearing” God’s Word concerning healing. Faith for financial prosperity will come as we spend time “hearing” God’s Word concerning finances, etc. The word hearing here is from the Greek word, akoe, which means the act of hearing or giving audience to, and comes from the Greek word, akouo, which means to comprehend or understand. That tells me that the more I give audience to, pay attention to, hear (see, read, study, meditate on) God’s Word, the more I will comprehend what He is saying. I will understand the promises and have the assurance that when I do what he tells me to do, He will fulfill the promise. He will cause His Word to come to pass in my life and I will be pleasing to Him! I like that!
Why does God require us to walk in faith? Why doesn’t He just do everything automatically for us so we don’t have to have faith? Because He created us to have fellowship with Him. To think and talk and act like Him. To be His heirs and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. We are to operate as kings and priests in the Kingdom of God, in the family of God. We are to be like Him in this world so that we can draw others to Him. We were created in His image and He walks in faith!
We are in a win-win situation! He gives us the seed of faith (the measure), then He gives us His Word, with which we feed and water our faith to cause it to grow and become strong, so that we can be pleasing to Him by acting on His Word and having the results He wants us to have! He has set us up for success! Only the truly lazy wouldn’t like that, and I know that’s not you or you wouldn’t be reading this!
In our next article on faith we will look at how to act on the growing faith we have!