Romans 10:15b-17 (NRSV) As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’ But not all have obeyed the good news; for Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our message?’ So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.
Trying to conjure up faith and confidence in God for ourselves is as futile as trying not to worry. If such self-effort is futile, how do we get this faith? How do we gain this confidence for ourselves? Paul says faith comes by hearing. Repeatedly in Scripture God pleads with people to hear what He is saying, counseling and warning through the Psalms, Proverbs, and through the prophets.
Confidence in God hinges on our willingness to hear. How many of us are aware of a refusal to listen to what God is saying to us. Notice Paul does not say we gain faith “by hearing the words of Christ,” nor does he say, “by words about Christ,” but rather “through the word of Christ.” Faith comes from hearing that specific, living word that Christ has for you and me.
Jesus called to them … He turned and spoke to her … He answered him … He asked them. Over and over again Jesus spoke His specific personal word to people. And He does so still. How many of us have read familiar passages in Scripture and remarked to ourselves that we’ve never heard or read what we now hear from the passage. Christ speaks to us from Scripture when the written Word has become the Living Word of Christ to us.
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing comes hard for many of us. Hearing is difficult because there is so much distracting noise in our environment. Perhaps the noise around us is simply to drown out the noise within us – the chatter of busy minds, the churning of turbulent emotions, the clash of conflicting desires. Or maybe the noise is meant to fill a deep empty silence within. We may need to tune out, at least for a time, the noise of our lives, the uproar, the chatter, the unending demands, the franticness, the fears, even the sweet noise of idle dreams.
Hearing comes hard for many of us and perhaps for many reasons, but as difficult as that may be for some of us, the Word of Christ keeps coming to us. The Word of Christ can be heard but it requires at least the discipline of attention. We hear what we choose to hear, what we are in the habit of hearing. Do we choose to hear Christ? Do we listen for the Word of Christ in Scripture, in the writings of others, in the words of people speaking to us, in the message of music and creation? If we choose to hear and repeat that choice continually, confidence in God comes to us. If we are to hear regularly what Christ has to say to us, we must listen regularly.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope November 10, 1991
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles
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