Those who are religious are often referred to as “people of faith.” There is a good reason for this – faith must be the foundation of our religious service and devotion.
Yet where does faith come from? This question may produce a variety of answers from religious people. For some, their “faith” is more of a wish (something they just want to be true). For others, their “faith” may be rooted in some dream they had in which they claim God, the Holy Spirit, an angel, or someone else said something to them. There may also be those who have “faith” because of some event that occurred in their lives that they attribute to the working of God.
However, all of these answers are different from the one given by the apostle Paul: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). True faith is not rooted in human desires, dreams we might have, personal experiences, or any other subjective thing. Instead, true faith is based upon the objective and certain word of God.
This means we need to preach the word of God in order to impart faith to others. It also means we need to listen to the word of God in order to develop our own faith.
So remember that faith comes by hearing the word. If we are not spreading the gospel, we are not helping anyone to obtain a saving faith. Also, if we are not reading, studying, and listening to the word of God, we are not developing or maintaining the faith that we need to be pleasing to the Lord.