“So then, faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” Romans 10:17
“But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6
Can it be said that God is not going to place upon us a burden impossible? If he states that without faith we cannot please him then is it right to believe that it is possible for us to have faith? Can it be said then, in that place, it is our responsibility to have faith, develop faith, own faith for it is possible and necessary?
So, how do we get faith? We need it for salvation to begin. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8-9
So then, can we receive faith as a gift? We receive salvation as a gift. We do so by exercising faith. How is that? We state it; use our mouth to confess our faith. Our words bring it into existence. “the word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. ” Romans 10:8-9
We state it and believe it. Belief is needed in conjunction with the stating of faith. Faith comes by hearing, hearing is followed by belief, and this is followed by a statement. The words delivering faith must be spoken to the one who hasn’t heard. They are heard and received. They are restated as a personal confession and faith is built.
God’s Word has the power. We exercise it, access it by hearing it, then speak it. The gospel is the message we receive from God’s Word. It should be the words we speak.
Now that we have received salvation and claim him as Lord, what does that mean? It means we can rejoice in our salvation, for healing both physical and spiritual, for deliverance, for a personal relationship with him. We have been given the status of children of God, joint heirs with Christ.
It also means we have responsibility. No child of any king goes without responsibility; in fact they carry more than the average citizen. The same is true for us. In James we are told if we know to do something and do it not it is sin. In Luke, Christ states the servant who knows (God’s) the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what he (God) wants will be beaten with many blows.”
Ouch!
Now try to say “that doesn’t apply to me” when you read something in God’s Word spoken to his people. Don’t know about you, but if I study God’s Word to learn about my God and then find I’m supposed to be doing something, I better do it. For one, if any of us asks someone for something, or to do something, that person having told us they love us, and they do not follow through with our request or take offense, we doubt their love or at least the sincerity of it. Can we expect less of God? Yet, he continues to love us. We just don’t always get what we ask for. Wonder why?
What are your thoughts on this?
Practical Bible Teaching 
The Letter of James 1:1
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are in the Dispersion: Greetings……
Any Idea on who he is referring to in regards to the “twelve tribes which are in Dispersion?
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Jason,
The most we can gather for sure is that James was writing to the Jewish converts to Christianity who lived outside the Holy Land.
There is much speculation beyond that, and people have built entire religions on this text alone.
While it is indeed important to know who a paticular letter was written to in order to ascertain many aspects of the letter itself, let us not forget that the whole Bible is God’s letter to us.
The Epistle of James was written to Jason so that he might know the power of God towards him in this life.
Dale
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