Faith Comes From Hearing

"So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17)

One thing that really makes hearing difficult is that what we already believe and feel affects what we hear.

The trouble with hearing is that often what we believe and feel comfortable with affects how we hear. We endeavor to interpret everything we hear in light of what we already know. This kind of hearing rejects what is not consistent with what I already believe. It is little wonder that Jesus warns us to take heed to how we hear.  Think about the weakness of this kind of approach to hearing and knowing God. Only accepting what we hear, which confirms what we already believe, closes our minds and hearts to discovery. What scientist would go out and on a study in any field of science rejecting everything that didn't confirm what he already believed? The purpose of scientific discovery is to validate or invalidate what we know or think we know.  There was a time when everyone believed the world was flat. What if no one ever challenged that belief? What if we were still walking around on what we believed was a flat earth? Too many are afraid to have what they believe and feel challenged. But challenging what we believe is never dangerous. It will only confirm or deny what we believe and feel.  Faith in God is the only thing that will open our hearts to truth. When we hear something that conflicts with what we feel and believe in our hearts, it may be time to place our hand into the hand of God and allow him to lead us out of our darkness. It is faith in God that will take us beyond the limitations of sense and feeling. Faith will pick us up where sense and feeling will let us down. Faith in God is the only thing that will allow us to truly hear what he is saying. True faith continually leads us into the unknown but it always brings us into the presence of God. I am not talking about some kind of subjective revelation that has no basis in the revealed, objective, received, written Word. Too many rely on their own private revelations interpreting the Word as they please. It should be obvious that people like Jim Jones, David Koresh and the Hale Bob Comet folks have perverted the truth of God through their own private interpretations. Someone suggested that their private interpretations had more to do with indigestion than the leading of the Spirit. It is the Word of God that leads us safely through the unknown. Whatever we believe---must be consistent with God's written Word. If we believe and feel that something is so, but we cannot find support for it in the Word we must conclude that what we believe and feel isn't from God.