How do we get faith?
God has provided the way where everyone can have faith.
Hebrews 11:6 reminds us "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."
So...if God demanded that we have faith and made it impossible for us to have it then we could challenge His justice. But if He gives us the means to have faith then the responsibility to have faith is all on us. Then He goes on to tell us He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.
faith for salvation
So if it is impossible to please God if we don't have faith, where can we get it? Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God;
So...how do you get faith to be saved, faith for salvation...in other words, faith that allows you to enter into eternal life in Heaven? (It's so easy you'll be kicking yourself)
Paul tells us in Romans 10: 8-10,13,14,and 17.
8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”[a](that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
After a closer look at the scripture in Romans, we can know a few things.
What does it take to be saved? How do I become a Christian? How do I get to heaven?
Three things:
1. confess
2. believe
3. accept. Who is this available to? Verse 13 says "whoever." And where does faith come from? Verse 17 says it comes by hearing the Word of God. That's it...thankfully.
Going back to Ephesians 2:8, it's a gift!
Before Cornelius was saved, in Acts 11:13,14 we read
13 And he told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house, who said to him, ‘Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon whose surname is Peter, 14 who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved."
(Again, we see more faith coming through hearing the Word.)
Here's a cool thing about humans that many people don't know. An angel of God instructed Cornelius to send for Peter in order to learn His plan for salvation. Well, why couldn't the angel just tell Conrnelius, you might ask?
God gave man the task of spreading the Gospel in the Great Commission in the book of Mark. (We do what the angels can't, the Great Commission, the Master Plan, the purpose of life.)
Mark 16: 15-1815 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they[a] will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Getting back to Acts 11:14...this verse tells us that men can be saved by hearing the Word. And this is because...in Romans 10:17...So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
So, how do you get faith for healing? It's just as simple. Let's look at God's word.
Acts 14:7-10 tells us, "7 And they were preaching the gospel there. 8 And in Lystra a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a cripple from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. 9 This man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, 10 said with a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet!” And he leaped and walked."
faith for healing
You might think by reading the above passage in Acts that Paul healed him. It wasn't Paul doing that "apostle thing" or Paul's faith that healed the man. It was the man's faith that healed him.
Paul shared the Gospel, perceived that the man had faith to be healed and told him to stand up and walk.
The man heard the Gospel, had faith, and acted on it. Where did the man get the faith to be healed? By hearing Paul speak the Gospel.
Again, Romans 10:17, "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
Paul preached the full gospel, not just part of it. He preached the Gospel of salvation and healing.
Romans 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek."
The Greek and Hebrew for "salvation" here translates the ideas of deliverance, safety, preservation, healing, and soundness. Jesus Christ of the New Testament was a Christ of healing. Physical healing is part of the Gospel. If there is no Gospel of healing today, then we don't have a complete Gospel. You might recall the woman with an issue of blood in Mark 5:34.
It says, "And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."
This is faith that's available to everyone. Not just some select few.
For Words to meditate on read these powerful healing scriptures.
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