Our Faith Begins with The Gospel
ICS Daily Devotions
Romans 10:14-17 (NKJV) How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Most of us will find walking by faith in God uncomfortable because we are too used to “seeing is believing”, and we fear the loss of absolute control of our lives. As a result, most of us will have a contingency plan for almost everything in our lives. Often, we will ask ourselves how we can have faith in God and what the Word says about our situation, but ultimately, we will either succumb to fear and oppression or respond in faith in God. If we are honest with ourselves, even after doing everything possible, we still cannot avoid walking by faith because of the many life variables we face. As such, we should simply walk by faith in God from the start because it is faith in God that pleases Him.
Faith in God involves having faith in Him as a person. Therefore, it begins with knowing God. So, how do we know God? We can know Him through the gospel. The Bible advocates that one should not love with words only but in action and in truth. God expressed His love towards us through Jesus’ act of redemption and atonement for our sins. God sent His only begotten Son to die for us on the cross of Calvary—He spared no cost to save us.
Jesus is the Word made flesh, and He walked the earth. Jesus was the spoken Word at the time of creation. God and His Word are one. The Word of God represents God, and He will watch over His Word to perform it in our lives. All His promises are Yes and Amen in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). Therefore, we can take God at His Word because He is not a man that He should lie nor a son of man that He should change His mind (Numbers 23:19). If He speaks, He will act on what He has spoken.
We can rest in God’s promises by remembering that the Messiah was eventually born, even though it took twenty-two generations after the covenant was established with Abraham. God honoured His covenant promise to bless all the families of the earth! Essentially, the Bible is the word of the covenant. Therefore, we can take it as a done deal whenever God gives us a word of assurance when we seek His face in our daily devotion.
Sermon Series： Growing Our Faith In God
