The Pivotal Point: Not just What...but How! (Mark 11:22; Romans 10:13-17; Matthew 11:15, 13:9,15; Mark 4:24; Luke 8:18)

Mark 11:22 says, "...Jesus, answering, said to them, 'Be constantly; continuously; having faith in God' "

WHOEVER CALLS

Romans 10:13 says, that whoever calls on the name of the Lord (Jesus), shall be saved. Another way to state that, is, whoever has faith, to call on Jesus, shall be saved. A person is obviously not going to call on someone that they don't even believe exists, and to believe in His existence, to expect deliverance, or anything from Him, somebody must have declared the word, or announced the word to the person so that they could have faith. The following verses in Romans 10:14-16, state exactly that fact... somebody has to speak the message, and somebody that hears that message, receives faith, in the hearing. But Isaiah says they have not all obeyed, or all received faith, saying, 'who has believed (had faith in) what we said?' (Rm.10:16).

FAITH COMES

In other words, not everybody that hears the word announced receives faith. Romans 10:17 says, "so then, faith (comes) by hearing, and hearing by the word of God", at least that is what the English translation (KJV) says. The English misses some important elements in the text, that are lost in most translations. The text actually says, "...faith comes out of [ek] that which is heard, or the source of what is heard, and that which is heard, through or by [dia] the word of God".

REPORT

Also, the word "report", [ "...who has believed our 'report' (Rm.10:16) ] and "hearing" (Rm.10:17) are both the same Greek word (akoe), meaning, "the thing heard". The word "obeyed" (Rm.10:16), is from the same word (akoe). It is the Greek compound word (hupakouo), and it means, "to hear under" authority, [authority being implied in the meaning].

The key to "faith", is two-fold:

(1) What we hear, and,

(2) How we hear.

UNDER AUTHORITY

It is not that faith produces obedience, but rather, the other way around. By choosing to submit to, or "to hear under" authority, we receive faith, that produces change in our lives, by the power of the word spoken. Faith, then, comes out of what we hear, but hearing under authority, or being submissive, to the message, is a prerequisite.

EARS TO HEAR

Jesus said repeatedly, "...he who has ears to hear, let him hear..." (Matt.11:15; 13:9). Obviously, everyone had ears on the side of their head, but not everybody that heard was listening with a submissive heart (i.e. the Pharisees). Jesus went on to diagnose the condition of those who had chosen to listen, but not to hear. (Matt.13:15).

WHAT THE SPIRIT SAYS

The scripture goes on to say, that it is not just whoever that has ears to hear, but it is whoever that has ears to hear what the spirit is saying (Rev.2:7).

WHAT YOU HEAR - HOW YOU HEAR

Jesus said, "...take heed what you hear.." (Mk.4:24), but He also said, "...take heed how you hear..." (Lk.8:18). Receiving faith has both to do with hearing the announcement of the word, but, prior to that, we must, by an act of our will, be in a place, mentally; choose to, submit to a new thought; embrace God's idea about our lives; be open to His voice speaking to us.

To summarize, faith comes, first, by how we hear, and secondly, by out of what is heard, by the Spirit of God speaking to us, through His word announced.

You are God's Best and God's Best is Yours.