Romans 10:17
If someone were to tell you that they had seen a man jump into the air and fly away, it is doubtful that you would believe it. You know man cannot fly and you know it based upon the fact that you have never seen it happen nor have you known anyone else that has. Even if 10 or 20 people claimed that they had seen the man fly, you probably would not believe it until you could see it with your own eyes, for as they say, “Seeing is believing”.
While we may be convinced only by what we see, our faith in Christ and His finished work is built on an entirely different foundation. To doubting Thomas, Jesus said, “Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:29). Jesus is pronouncing this blessing on all of us; those who believe that He has risen and we have never felt of His wounds. I accept that blessing!
In the world, our eyes are what we use to convince us of reality. This is why we believe that we are sick based upon our symptoms. We believe that we are under poverty based upon our lack and we believe that we are unrighteous based upon our latest failure. All of these things are seen with our eyes, but for the redeemed they are not necessarily true. Your sickness was placed into Jesus’ body at the cross, so you have His health (Isaiah 53:4). Jesus was made poor so that you would be made rich (2 Corinthians 8:9) and you have been made righteous because Jesus was made to be sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). These things are facts, even if you do not see them yet.
As believers, we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7) because we know that the just live by faith (Romans 1:17). Since our faith is our strength, we want to be found strong in the faith and not weak (Romans 4:19, 20). We can’t build our faith by begging God for more or by going through life’s difficulties, but we are promised that we can build it by “hearing the word of God”.
Did you know that some of the earliest Greek manuscripts of this verse do not say “word of God” but rather “word of Christ”? The early church fathers believed that in order to have your faith increase under the New Covenant you needed to focus on the words of Christ. This does not necessarily mean the words written in red in your Bible, but it agrees with the statement that God made from heaven on the Mt. Transfiguration, “This is my beloved Son: hear Him” (Luke 9:35).
Hear what Paul says about Jesus in his writings on the New Covenant. Hear what John says of the love that Christ has for you. Hear what Peter writes about the manifold grace of God and hear what the prophets like Isaiah say about the one who will be called Wonderful. When you feast on Jesus and His loveliness, your faith shoots high like a rocket. It pulls your eyes off of you and your circumstance, and it puts your focus on Jesus where it belongs.
As you face the world today, be influenced by what Jesus says about you in His word rather than what your circumstances tell you. You have been given peace through Jesus and His health and wholeness is yours. Let your faith grow as you hear more of that!
If someone were to tell you that they had seen a man jump into the air and fly away, it is doubtful that you would believe it. You know man cannot fly and you know it based upon the fact that you have never seen it happen nor have you known anyone else that has. Even if 10 or 20 people claimed that they had seen the man fly, you probably would not believe it until you could see it with your own eyes, for as they say, “Seeing is believing”.
While we may be convinced only by what we see, our faith in Christ and His finished work is built on an entirely different foundation. To doubting Thomas, Jesus said, “Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:29). Jesus is pronouncing this blessing on all of us; those who believe that He has risen and we have never felt of His wounds. I accept that blessing!
In the world, our eyes are what we use to convince us of reality. This is why we believe that we are sick based upon our symptoms. We believe that we are under poverty based upon our lack and we believe that we are unrighteous based upon our latest failure. All of these things are seen with our eyes, but for the redeemed they are not necessarily true. Your sickness was placed into Jesus’ body at the cross, so you have His health (Isaiah 53:4). Jesus was made poor so that you would be made rich (2 Corinthians 8:9) and you have been made righteous because Jesus was made to be sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). These things are facts, even if you do not see them yet.
As believers, we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7) because we know that the just live by faith (Romans 1:17). Since our faith is our strength, we want to be found strong in the faith and not weak (Romans 4:19, 20). We can’t build our faith by begging God for more or by going through life’s difficulties, but we are promised that we can build it by “hearing the word of God”.
Did you know that some of the earliest Greek manuscripts of this verse do not say “word of God” but rather “word of Christ”? The early church fathers believed that in order to have your faith increase under the New Covenant you needed to focus on the words of Christ. This does not necessarily mean the words written in red in your Bible, but it agrees with the statement that God made from heaven on the Mt. Transfiguration, “This is my beloved Son: hear Him” (Luke 9:35).
Hear what Paul says about Jesus in his writings on the New Covenant. Hear what John says of the love that Christ has for you. Hear what Peter writes about the manifold grace of God and hear what the prophets like Isaiah say about the one who will be called Wonderful. When you feast on Jesus and His loveliness, your faith shoots high like a rocket. It pulls your eyes off of you and your circumstance, and it puts your focus on Jesus where it belongs.
As you face the world today, be influenced by what Jesus says about you in His word rather than what your circumstances tell you. You have been given peace through Jesus and His health and wholeness is yours. Let your faith grow as you hear more of that!
