Rom. 10:17 ... "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ."
How can faith be overrated within the value system of Christianity? Without it no one can please or even approach God, for Heb. 11:6 declares, "Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is." A person deficient in faith need not expect blessings from God, even though he should pray for them. It says in Jas. 1:6-7, "Let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord." Lack of faith limits a person in the effort to make an effective contribution with his life. The Lord taught in Mt. 17:20, "Truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you." One who does not develop faith in Christ has no hope of salvation, but instead makes himself an object of God's wrath. Jesus said in Jno. 3:36, "He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." Faith is truly an essential part of the life which God will approve, support, and eternally reward.
When a person realizes that something has true value, he usually develops a powerful urge to gain access to it. If the thing also gives promise of enhancing the quality and perhaps also the quantity of one's life, that urge grows persistently stronger. The apostle wrote in I Pet. 1:7 about "the proof of your faith being more precious than gold which is perishable." If the proof (or trial) of faith is more precious than gold, then wonder what is the value of faith itself. History is replete with cases when people went nearly berserk in the mad rush to the site of the ore deposits. And yet, that precious metal, even when found in abundance, cannot benefit one forever. But faith can! When this life runs to its close, as all too soon it does, faith in Christ will continue its benefits on into eternity. In v.9 (of the last-quoted text) Peter went on to say, "obtaining as the outcome of your faith, even the salvation of your souls."
When gold was discovered in California in 1849, thousands of people from all over the world spared no effort in going there as quickly as possible. The same thing happened when gold was discovered in South Dakota in the Blacks Hills in 1874 and in Alaska in 1892. But where does one go to gain the far more valuable treasure of faith in Christ? The answer is given in Rom. 10:17; it is found in the word of God. In essence that verse says: Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through the word of God. The "message" is the gospel; it is the virgin source of Christian faith. Whether one reads that message for himself from the Bible, or hears it being taught accurately and fully by men of God, he is tapping into the source from which faith springs. There is no need to risk one's life and material resources in a hazardous trip to some remote place as the gold-seekers did. The ever flowing fountain of truth that generates faith is as near and accessible as the closest Bible. And in this, the Gospel Age, that is not very far. In Rom. 10:8 Paul declares that "the word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith which we are preaching." The word of God is available to anyone who wants it. And whosoever will can fill his heart with it and confess it with his mouth unto the salvation of his soul, (vs. 9-10).
