Rom 10:17 says, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”. This verse states clearly that we can hear the word of God. Paul is referring to the literal words of God. This King James Bible that we have is the word of God and these are the words of God. So, how do we get faith by the word of God?
Know his words – in order to have faith by the word of God you must hear the word of God. Jesus chided the Pharisees in Jn 8:43, saying, “Why do ye not understand my speech? Even because ye cannot hear my word”.
According to Prov 22:17-21, if you bow down your ear and apply your heart to God’s words, you will know the certainty of the words of truth.
You know his words by reading. Is 34:16, says, “Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read”. You know his words by studying, 2 Tim 2:15. And you now his words by attending to the preaching and teaching of his words. 2 Tim 4:2-4 instructs us to preach the word. We live in the time now where they don’t endure sound doctrine.
And we must receive his words with a humble mind and a believing heart. In 2 Tim 3:15 Paul told Timothy, “and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus”. Be humble; even a child can know these words.
Believe his words – faith comes by hearing the word of God. To have faith is to believe. In Jn 2:22, the disciples “believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said”;
Belief is the way to have faith. You either believe his words or you don’t. See Ps 106:12, 24 where the Jews believed, and they believed not. In Jn 11:25-26, when Jesus proclaimed to Martha that he was the resurrection and the life, he asked her “Believest thou this”? Martha believed that Lazarus would rise at the last day.
Martha didn’t really believe that Jesus would raise Lazarus right then. However, he did. And he said to her, “Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, that shouldest see the glory of God?”, Jn 11:40. With faith, believing is seeing.
In 1 Thes 2:13, Paul complimented the Thessalonians because when they received the word of God they believed the word of God. As he said, “… the word of God, which effectually worketh also in your that believe”. To have faith you must believe what God said.
Live by his words – Rom 1:17 says, “the just shall live by faith”. It does no good to know these words and believe these words if you are not going to live by Go’s words.
In Matt 4:4 Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God”. In Jas 1:22 James wrote, “But be ye doers of the word and not hearers only; deceiving your own selves”. In Jn 6:63 Jesus said, “the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life”. These are words to live by. Do what they say.
Conclusion: Jos 1:8 says, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success”.
If you have faith by the word of God, and do what you know God said, then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. I encourage you to start knowing these words if you don’t know them. Start believing these words if you haven’t believed them. And start living by these words if you haven’t been living by them.