Originally Posted by rrowell,
So one must do something (hear the Word of God) to "Believe" and one cannot "Believe" if they do not "hear" what they have to believe... there is no way to separate "obedient works" from "belief"
You're missing the true meaning of the verse.
Romans 10:17 "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
First, there is nothing in this verse that says that everyone who hears will
automatically have faith. All this verse says is that those who do have faith have
first heard.
We have all read God's Word for many years before we were
given faith to see and hear; and believe what we were finally
given faith to believe; and
given eyes that could see and ears that could finally
hear "the things of the spirit." Faith is a gift that
gives us the gift of
seeing eyes and hearing ears. It is not something we simply decide to do. Being
given faith is a sovereign work of God:
Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God."
Christ has deliberately withheld this gift from the multitudes who come to hear Him to this very day:
Matthew 13:1 "The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.
Matthew 13:2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
Matthew 13:3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
Matthew 13:9 "Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Matthew 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?"
Has Christ given the multitudes
"ears to hear?" No! Here is what He tells us about
the multitudes to this very day:
Matthew 13:11 "He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is NOT GIVEN."
The multitudes of Christianity are not given ears to hear. That is why Christ said
"Who has ears to hear, let him hear." But this is what He tells His few
chosen about His many
called:
Matthew 13:11 "He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is NOT GIVEN."
Matthew 13:12 "For whosoever hath, to him shall BE GIVEN, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath."
Matthew 13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand."
Matthew 13:14 "And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive."
Christ's words (the Word of God) are physically written in ink, but those physical words are not physical for those with eyes to see. Here is what Christ has to say of His words which are
physically written down:
John 6:63 "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."
Faith does not come by
physically hearing. Faith comes when God
GIVES US "spiritual" ears to hear and He
GIVES US "spiritual" eyes to see.
Notice how the Holy Spirit teaches:
1 Corinthians 2:12 "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely GIVEN TO US of God.
1 Corinthians 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."
Christ's words
"are SPIRIT," and the
natural man receives
not the things of the spirit... for they are foolishness to him and he cannot know them because they are spiritually discerned.
The natural man does not
HEAR the Word of God. He actually believes that all he has to do is to hear that Jesus is his Savior, say a
"ten-second sinner's prayer", or perform some
"outward, carnal ritual" and then he has faith and is saved.
But what does Christ and His spiritual words actually teach those with spiritual eyes to see and spiritual ears to hear?
Matthew 13:9 "Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."
Matthew 13:11 "He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given [ears to hear]."
Matthew 13:13 "Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand."
"Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God" is a
spiritual statement about who is, and who is not
GIVEN faith; and who is, and who is not
GIVEN the ability to
see and
hear the things
of the Spirit, which Christ tells us is His word:
John 6:63 "....the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."
