Romans 10:16-18

 

 

Home
Site Index
Inductive Bible Study
Greek Word Studies
Commentaries by Verse
Area Precept Classes
Reference Search
Bible Dictionaries
Bible Maps & Pictures
It's Greek to Me
Bible Commentaries
Discipline Yourself
Christian Biography
Wailing Wall
Bible Prophecy

Search by Verse
Word or Phrase:

 

 

Study Tools

 
 

INDEX
PREVIOUS NEXT

COLLECTIONS
Commentaries, Word Studies, Devotionals, Sermons, Illustrations
Old and New Testament.

   
  

   

 

Search Every Word on Preceptaustin
PicoSearch
    Help

 

Summary of
Romans 9-11
Romans 9 Romans 10 Romans 11
Past
Election
Present
Rejection
Future
Reception
God's Sovereignty
Israel's Election by God
Man's responsibility
Israel's Rejection of God
God's Ways Higher
God Not Rejecting Israel

 

Romans 10:16  However, they did not all heed  (3PAAI the good news; for Isaiah says  (3SPAI), "LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED (3SAAI) OUR REPORT?" (NASB: Lockman)

Greek: All' ou pantes hupekousan (3PAAI)  to euaggelio; Esaias gar legei,  (3SPAI), Kurie, tis episteusen (3SAAI) te akoe hemon? 
Amplified: But they have not all heeded the Gospel; for Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed (had faith in) what he has heard from us?  (Amplified Bible - Lockman)
ESV: But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?" (
ESV)
ICB:  But not all the Jews accepted the good news. Isaiah said, "Lord, who believed what we told them?" (
ICB: Nelson)
NIV: But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message?" (
NIV - IBS)
NKJV:  But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our report?"
NLT: But not everyone welcomes the Good News, for Isaiah the prophet said, "Lord, who has believed our message?" (
NLT - Tyndale House)
Phillips: Yet all who have heard have not responded to the Gospel. Isaiah asks, you remember, 'Lord, who has believed our report?'  (
Phillips: Touchstone)
Wuest: But not all lent an obedient ear to the good news. For Isaiah says, Lord, who believed our message?  (
Erdmans
Young's Literal: But they were not all obedient to the good tidings, for Isaiah saith, 'Lord, who did give credence to our report?'

REFERENCES

Albert Barnes
Wayne Barber
Brian Bell
John Calvin
Thomas Constable
Bob Deffinbaugh
Tony Garland
Bruce Goettsche
Scott Grant
Dave Guzik
S Lewis Johnson
John MacArthur
Middletown
William Newell
John Piper
John Piper
A T Robertson
C H Spurgeon
Ray Stedman
Ray Stedman
Marvin Vincent
Drew Worthen
Precept Ministries
Illustrations

Romans 10: Notes on the NT
Romans 10:14-21: The Rejection of Righteousness
Romans 10
Romans 10: Commentary
Romans 10 Notes  (Pdf)
Romans 10:14-21 Without Excuse
Romans 9-11 - Excellent Audio Series (Ro 10 1-13)
Romans 10:1-5 Running Fast in the Wrong Direction
Romans 10:14-21 Truth About the Lost
Romans 10
Romans 10:14-21 (Pdf) or listen to MP3
Romans 10:16-21 Israel's Future, Part 7

Romans 10
Romans 10: Verse by Verse
Romans 10:13-21 How Shall People Be Saved? Part 1
Romans 10:13-21 How Shall People Be Saved? Part 2
Romans 10: Word Pictures

Romans 10:17 How Can I Obtain Faith?
Romans 9:30-10:21: How Far is God?
Romans 10:14-21: Have They Not Heard?

Romans 3: Word Studies
Romans 10:16ff
Romans 9-11 - Part 3
Romans 10:1 Romans 10:1

ROMANS ROAD
to RIGHTEOUSNESS
Romans
1
:18-3:20
Romans
3:21-5:21
Romans
6:1-8:39
Romans
9:1-11:36
Romans
12:1-16:27
SIN SALVATION SANCTIFICATION SOVEREIGNTY SERVICE
NEED
FOR
SALVATION
WAY
OF
SALVATION
LIFE
OF
SALVATION
SCOPE
OF
SALVATION
WORK
OF
SALVATION

HOWEVER, THEY DID NOT ALL HEED THE GOOD NEWS (GLAD TIDINGS): All' ou pantes hupekousan (3PAAI)  to euaggelio: (3:3; 11:17; John 10:26; Acts 28:24; Hebrews 4:2; 1 Peter 2:8) (1:5; 2:8; 6:17; 16:26; Isaiah 50:10; Galatians 3:1; 5:7; 2 Thessalonians 1:8; Hebrews 5:9; 11:8; 1 Peter 1:22; 3:1)

They did not all heed the good news - Notice that "heed" or obey is used in this verse as synonymous with believe. (See related topic - Obedience of faith). Faith alone saves but the faith that saves is inextricably linked with obedience. There are many in our day who see no clear and vital relationship between faith and obedience (or "heeding" as in Romans 10:16). Listen to what some of the giants of the Christian faith have to say about faith and obedience.

Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock. (See notes Matthew 7:24) — The Lord Jesus Christ

On the contrary. Blessed are those who hear the word of God, and observe it. (Luke 11:28) — The Lord Jesus Christ when someone  sought to bestow blessing on his mother Mary

Faith is the fountain, the foundation and the fosterer of obedience. — C. H. Spurgeon

Faith and obedience are bound up in the same bundle. He that obeys God, trusts God; and he that trusts God, obeys God. — C. H. Spurgeon

Obedience is the hallmark of faith. — C. H. Spurgeon

When a person truly trusts Christ, he or she will obey Him. — Warren Wiersbe

We see in the flood account (we see that) God has always saved people the same way: by grace (Genesis 6:8), through faith (Heb. 11:7)... (and) True faith leads to obedience (6:22; 7:5). — Warren Wiersbe

James 2:14-26 discusses the relationship between faith and works, and James uses this event to illustrate his main point: true faith is always proved by obedience.— Warren Wiersbe

Hebrews 11:17-19 indicates that Abraham believed that God could even raise Isaac from the dead! In short, Abraham proved his faith by his works. His obedience to the Word was evidence of his faith in the Word. His faith was made perfect (brought to maturity) in his act of obedience. — Warren Wiersbe

The threefold purpose of the Bible is to inform, to inspire faith and to secure obedience. Whenever it is used for any other purpose, it is used wrongly and may do actual injury. The Holy Scriptures will do us good only as we present an open mind to be taught, a tender heart to believe and a surrendered will to obey.— A W Tozer

The best measure of a spiritual life is not its ecstasies but its obedience. —Oswald Chambers

The message of the gospel is to call people to the obedience of faith, which is here used as a synonym for salvation...It is not that faith plus obedience equals salvation but that obedient faith equals salvation. True faith is verified in obedience. Obedient faith proves itself true, whereas disobedient faith proves itself false. It is for having true faith, that is, obedient faith, that Paul goes on to commend the Roman believers... Together, faith and obedience manifest the inseparable two sides of the coin of salvation, which Paul here calls the obedience of faith. — John MacArthur (Romans)

Faith is the starting-post of obedience. Thomas Chalmers

Obedience to the faith is very important to God. God saves us by faith, not by works; but after He has saved us, He wants to talk to us about our works, about our obedience to Him. I hear many people talk about believing in Jesus, then they live like the Devil and seem to be serving him. My friend, saving faith makes you obedient to Jesus Christ.— J Vernon McGee

Faith and obedience are bound up in the same bundle. He that obeys God, trusts God; and he that trusts God, obeys God. C. H. Spurgeon

Obedience is the hallmark of faith, and the proof of grace; but Judas and others worked miracles, and were lost.— C. H. Spurgeon

He does not believe that does not live according to his belief. — Thomas Fuller

Let the acts of the offspring indicate similarity to the Father. —  Augustine

It is faith alone that justifies, but the faith that justifies is not alone. —John Calvin

If we would know whether our faith is genuine, we do well to ask ourselves how we are living. J. C. Ryle

The Bible recognizes no faith that does not lead to obedience, nor does it recognize any obedience that does not spring from faith. The two are opposite sides of the same coin.— A W Tozer

Faith that saves has one distinguishing quality; saving faith is a faith that produces obedience, it is a faith that brings about a way of life. — Billy Graham

Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Believing and obeying always run side by side. — C. H. Spurgeon

What saves is faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone. —J. I. Packer

Faith must have adequate evidence, else it is mere superstition. — A. A. Hodge

True, God-exalting obedience comes from faith. Any other kind of obedience is not true obedience at all.  —  John Piper

Faith alone unites us to Christ and Christ alone is the ground of our justification. Our obedience is the fruit of that faith. The faith that justifies is the kind of faith that, by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:13), changes us. If your faith in Christ leaves you unchanged, you don’t have saving faith. Obedience—not perfection, but a new direction of thought and affections and behavior—is the fruit that shows that the faith is alive. James put it this way, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:17). Faith alone justifies, but the faith that justifies is never alone. It is always accompanied by “newness of life” (Romans 6:4).  —  John Piper (Sermon)

If lips and life do not agree, the testimony will not amount to much. —Harry Ironside

In His Word, God tells us again and again that as believing children we are to live by faith and we are to walk by faith. This reference is to God's believing, trusting people and to the kind of faith that is saving faith. There are many other brands of faith being displayed in our world today. Saving faith—biblical faith—is on the highest level, for it is the life of trust and obedience that our Lord requires of us.— A W Tozer

The difficulty we modern Christians face is not misunderstanding the Bible, but persuading our untamed hearts to accept its plain instructions. Our problem is to get the consent of our world-loving minds to make Jesus Lord in fact as well as in word. For it is one thing to say, "Lord, Lord," and quite another thing to obey the Lord's commandments. We may sing, "Crown Him Lord of all," and rejoice in the tones of the loud-sounding organ and the deep melody of harmonious voices, but still we have done nothing until we have left the world and set our faces toward the city of God in hard practical reality. When faith becomes obedience then it is true faith indeed. — A W Tozer

A visitor, passing through a certain department of a large shop, noticed a set of regulations written on a blackboard. He also noticed that, in several particulars, every man in the shop was disregarding them. He questioned the foreman concerning the matter. At first the man was reluctant about answering him. Finally he said, "Those rules were written by one of the firm. He has neither wisdom nor judgment. If we should follow his directions, we would ruin a good part of the work." The men took their own way because they lacked faith in their commander. However else we may characterize it, failure to obey is simply lack of faith.— Bible Illustrations

The man that believes will obey; failure to obey is convincing proof that there is not true faith present. — A W Tozer

Heed (5219) (hupakouo from hupó = agency or means, under + akoúo  physical hearing and apprehension of something with the mind - akouo gives us our English acoustics - the science of design which helps one hear) (Click also the word study on the related noun hupakoe) literally means to listen under with attentiveness and to respond positively to what is heard. To "listen or hear under" conveys the idea of subordinating one’s self to the person or thing heard, and hence to obey.  It means to hearken (give respectful attention) or to listen attentively in order to answer or respond.

The sense is that one understands and responds accordingly. Note that hupakouo implies an inward attitude of respect and honor, as well as external acts of obedience. 

Paul cites Isaiah 53:1 which introduces an extremely detailed prophecy of the redemptive work of Jesus. This clear passage is avoided or denied by unbelieving Jews. The problem is not hearing, but believing (heeding)!

Faith and obedience are closely related, C H Spurgeon writing that...

Faith and obedience are bound up in the same bundle. He that obeys God, trusts God; and he that trusts God, obeys God.

If you desire Christ for a perpetual guest, give him all the keys of your heart; let not one cabinet be locked up from him; give him the range of every room and the key of every chamber.

Good News (2098) (euaggelion from = good + aggéllo = proclaim, tell) means good news, glad tidings, Saxon = gōd-spell = lit. "good tale, message". Euaggelion originally referred to a reward for good news and later became the good news itself. The word euaggelion was in just as common use in the first century as our words good news today.  “Have you any good news for me today?” would have been a common question. In this secular use euaggelion described good news of any kind and prior to the writing of the New Testament, had no definite religious connotation in the ancient world until it was taken over by the "Cult of Caesar" which was the state religion and in which the emperor was worshipped as a god (see more discussion of this use below).

Euaggelion was commonly used in the Greco-Roman culture as "a technical term for "news of victory." The messenger appears, raises his right hand in greeting and calls out with a loud voice: "rejoice …we are victorious". By his appearance it is known already that he brings good news. His face shines, his spear is decked with laurel, his head is crowned, he swings a branch of palms, joy fills the city, euaggelia are offered, the temples are garlanded, an agon (race) is held, crowns are put on for the sacrifices and the one to whom the message is owed is honored with a wreath...[thus] euaggelion is closely linked with the thought of victory in battle. " (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament) This is a convicting definition - here a pagan messenger radiantly announces good news of an earthly victory. How much more radiant should we be who are the bearers of the great news of Christ's eternal triumph over sin, Satan, and death!

The writers of the New Testament adapted the term as God's message of salvation for lost sinners. Euaggelion is found in several combination phrases, each describing the gospel like a multifaceted jewel in various terms from a different viewpoint (from the NASB, 1977): "the gospel of the kingdom" (Mt4:23), "the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God" (Mk1:1) because it centers in Christ, "the gospel of God" (Mk1:14) because it originates with God and was not invented by man, "the gospel of the kingdom of God" (Lu16:16), "the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts20:24),  "the gospel of His Son" (Ro1:9), "the gospel of Christ" (Ro15:19), "the gospel of the glory of Christ" (2Co4:4), "the gospel of your salvation" (Eph1:13), "the gospel of peace" (Eph 6:15), "the gospel of our Lord Jesus" (2Th1:8), "the glorious gospel of the blessed God" (1Ti1:11)

FOR ISAIAH SAYS LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT: Esaias gar legei (3SPAI) kurie, tis episteusen (3SAAI) te akoe hemon
: (John 12:38-40)

For Isaiah says - In this passage Paul quotes from the great chapter on "The Suffering Servant"...

Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? (Isaiah 53:1)

What is the "report" Isaiah is referring to? Here it is...Isaiah 53

2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
3 He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living, For the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due?
9 His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
10 But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
11 As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the tra
nsgressors. 

It's the glorious report of the substitutionary death of the Messiah, Who bore all our sins, the truth of which is the basis for the good news of the gospel.

Who has believed our report? - Paul's rhetorical question in the original Greek construction expects a negative answer.

Report (189) (akoe from verb akoúo = to hear) means "the thing heard” and so refers to “a report”.

Paul proves not all of Israel would obey His Word. This verse introduced one of the greatest messianic chapters in the OT.

Traditionally and tragically, Jewish scholars have misapplied (suppressed the truth in unrighteousness) the truths of Isaiah 53 to the nation of Israel rather than to an individual person, the Messiah

However it is worth noting that many ancient rabbis did interpret Isaiah 53 as presenting a picture of a suffering Messiah who would bear the sins of His people (see the discourse between Phillip and the Ethiopian eunuch regarding the meaning of Isaiah 53 in Acts 8:26-40).

In Isaiah’s day, the people did not believe God’s Word, nor did they believe when the Living Word was in their very midst. John records that...

though He (Jesus) had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him; 38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, (quoting Isaiah 53:1)

LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED?

For this cause they could not believe (they refused the light they had), for Isaiah said again,

HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES, AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART; LEST THEY SEE WITH THEIR EYES, AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED, AND I HEAL THEM (quoting from Isaiah 6:10 "Render the hearts of this people insensitive, their ears dull, and their eyes dim, lest they see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed."  The Israelites in Isaiah’s day had already hardened their hearts against the Lord, and His retributive judgment on them had already begun when Isaiah received his commission. The point is that when they would hear Isaiah's prophetic message, God explained that they would become even more hardened against the Lord.)

These things Isaiah said, because he saw His (Jesus') glory (In Isaiah 6:1ff), and he spoke of Him. (John 12:37-41)

John cites Isaiah 53:1 to explain how the nation saw Christ’s miracles and still refused to believe. Because they would not believe, judgment came on them and they could not believe.

 

Romans 10:17  So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. (NASB: Lockman)

Greek: ara e pistis ex akoes, e de akoe dia rhematos Christou. 
Amplified: So faith comes by hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the preaching [of the message that came from the lips] of Christ (the Messiah Himself). (Amplified Bible - Lockman)
ESV:  So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (
ESV)
ICB: So faith comes from hearing the Good News. And people hear the Good News when someone tells them about Christ. (
ICB: Nelson)
NIV
: Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. (
NIV - IBS)
NKJV:  So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
NLT: Yet faith comes from listening to this message of good news--the Good News about Christ. (
NLT - Tyndale House)
Phillips: (Belief you see, can only come from hearing the message, and the message is the word of Christ.)  (
Phillips: Touchstone)
Wuest: So then, faith is out of the source of that which is heard, and that which is heard [the message] is through the agency of the Word concerning Christ. (
Erdmans
Young's Literal: so then the faith is by a report, and the report through a saying of God,

SO FAITH COMES FROM HEARING: ara e pistis ex akoes: (Ro 10:14; 1:16; Luke 16:29-31; 1 Corinthians 1:18-24; Colossians 1:4-6; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:13,14; James 1:18-21; 1 Peter 1:23-25; 2:1,2)

so then the faith by a report, and the report through a saying of Christ (YLT)

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. (NIV)

D L Moody once said...

I prayed for faith and thought that some day faith would come down and strike me like lightning. But faith did not seem to come. One day I read in the tenth chapter of Romans, "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." I had up to this time closed my Bible and prayed for faith. I now opened my Bible and began to study, and faith has been growing ever since.

Paul says that faith is aroused by hearing. If you hear a message, then you either have to believe it or disbelieve it. Your faith is aroused by the message. But if it is to be saving faith, he says, it must be a word about Christ.

Comes from hearing - Literally out of a report.

Morris writes that...

Hearing is a reflection of first-century life. Paul does not raise the possibility of the message being read. While there were people who could read, the ordinary first-century citizen depended rather on being able to hear something.

Faith (4102)(pistis) is synonymous with trust or belief and is the conviction of the truth of anything, but in Scripture usually speaks of belief  respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervor born of faith and joined with it. As pistis relates to God, it is the conviction that God exists and is the Creator and Ruler of all things well as the Provider and Bestower of eternal salvation through Christ. As faith relates to Christ it represents a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through Whom we obtain eternal salvation and entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. Stated another way, eternal salvation comes only through belief in Jesus Christ and no other way.

Scofield wrote that...

The essence of faith consists in believing and receiving what God has revealed, and may be defined as that trust in the God of the Scriptures and in Jesus Christ whom He has sent, which receives Him as Lord and Savior and impels to loving obedience and good works (John 1:12; James 2:14-26).

Biblical faith is not synonymous with mental assent or acquiescence which by itself is not genuine (saving) faith. For example, the apostle John gives a dramatic example of belief that fell short of genuine saving belief in John 8:30-59. The apostle records that when Jesus addressed those Jews "who had believed him" (John 8:31), their subsequent actions demonstrated that their belief was not genuine. In this exchange Jesus accused them of "seeking to kill Me" (John 8:40) declaring that these "believers" were of their father the devil (John 8:44). After several heated exchanges, these same "believing" Jews "fulfilled prophecy" proving what and who they really believed as they actually proceeded to try to kill Jesus, picking "up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple." (John 8:59).

True faith that saves one's soul includes at least three main elements (1) firm persuasion or firm conviction, (2) a surrender to that truth and (3) a conduct emanating from that surrender. In sum, faith shows itself genuine by a changed life. (Click here for W E Vine's similar definition of faith)

Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to thee for dress;
Helpless, look to thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Saviour, or I die.
—Augustus M. Toplady

The highly respected theologian Louis Berkhof defines genuine faith in essentially the same way noting that it includes an intellectual element (notitia), which is "a positive recognition of the truth"; an emotional element (assensus), which includes "a deep conviction of the truth"; and a volitional element (fiducia), which involves "a personal trust in Christ as Savior and Lord, including a surrender … to Christ." (Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1939)

Little faith will bring your soul to heaven; great faith will bring heaven to your soul. — C. H. Spurgeon

What saves us is faith in Christ, not faith in our faith, or faith in the faith.—Augustus H. Strong

Saving faith is resting faith, the trust which relies entirely on the Saviour. —John R. W. Stott

Tozer writes that...

True faith is not the intellectual ability to visualize unseen things to the satisfaction of our imperfect minds; it is rather the moral power to trust Christ. To be contented and unafraid when going on a journey with his father the child need not be able to imagine events; he need but know the father. Our earthly lives are one shining web of golden mystery which we experience without understanding, how much more our life in the Spirit. Jesus Christ is our all in all. We need but trust Him and He will take care of the rest....God has not failed me in this world; I can trust Him for the world to come.

Faith and morals are two sides of the same coin. Indeed the very essence of faith is moral. Any professed faith in Christ as personal Saviour that does not bring the life under plenary obedience to Christ as Lord is inadequate and must betray its victim at the last. The man that believes will obey. God gives faith to the obedient heart only. Where real repentance is, there is obedience.

True faith brings a spiritual and moral transformation and an inward witness that cannot be mistaken. These come when we stop believing in belief and start believing in the Lord Jesus Christ indeed.

Faith is not optimism, though it may breed optimism; it is not cheerfulness, though the man of faith is likely to be a reasonably cheerful; it is not a vague sense of well-being or a tender appreciation for the beauty of human togetherness. Faith is confidence in God's self-revelation as found in the Holy Scriptures.

To believe savingly in Jesus Christ is to believe all He has said about Himself and all that the prophets and apostles have said about Him. Let us beware that the Jesus we "accept" is not one we have created out of the dust of our imagination and formed after our own likeness. True faith commits us to obedience. That dreamy, sentimental faith which ignores the judgments of God against us and listens to the affirmations of the soul is as deadly as cyanide. Faith in faith is faith astray. To hope for heaven by means of such faith is to drive in the dark across a deep chasm on a bridge that does not quite reach the other side. (Of God and Men)

The faith of Paul and Luther was a revolutionizing thing. It upset the whole life of the individual and made him into another person altogether. It laid hold on the life and brought it under obedience to Christ. It had a finality about it. It snapped shut on a man's heart like a trap. It realigned all life's actions and brought them into accord with the will of God.

To escape the error of salvation by works we have fallen into the opposite error of salvation without obedience.

A whole new generation of Christians has come up believing that it is possible to "accept" Christ without forsaking the world.

Faith, as Paul saw it, was a living, flaming thing leading to surrender and obedience to the commandments of Christ.

Real faith invariably produces holiness of heart and righteousness of life.

If our faith is to have a firm foundation we must be convinced beyond any possible doubt that God is altogether worthy of our trust....

A promise is only as good as the one who made it, but it is as good, and from this knowledge springs our assurance. By cultivating the knowledge of God we at the same time cultivate our faith...

True faith rests upon the character of God and asks no further proof than the moral perfections of the One who cannot lie. It is enough that God said it, and if the statement should contradict every one of the five senses and all the conclusions of logic as well, still the believer continues to believe. "Let God be true, but every man a liar" is the language of true faith. Heaven approves such faith because it rises above mere proofs and rests in the bosom of God....

Faith as the Bible knows it is confidence in God and His Son Jesus Christ; it is the response of the soul to the divine character as revealed in the Scriptures; and even this response is impossible apart from the prior inworking of the Holy Spirit. Faith is a gift of God to a penitent soul and has nothing whatsoever to do with the senses or the data they afford. Faith is a miracle; it is the ability God gives to trust His Son, and anything that does not result in action in accord with the will of God is not faith but something else short of it.

Faith is at the foundation of all Christian living, and because faith has to do with the character of God, it is safe from all vacillations of mood. A man may be believing soundly and effectively even when his mood is low, so low that he is hardly aware that he is alive emotionally at all.

True faith is not an end; it is a means to an end. It is not a destination; it is a journey, and the initial act of believing in Christ is a gate leading into the long lane we are to travel with Christ for the rest of our earthly days. That journey is hard and tired, but it is wonderful also, and no one ever regretted the weariness when he came to the end of the road.

Maclaren writes that

Faith is the hand that grasps. It is the means of communication, it is the channel through which the grace which is the life, or, rather, I should say, the life which is the grace, comes to us. It is the open door by which the angel of God comes in with his gifts. It is like the petals of the flowers, opening when the sunshine kisses them, and, by opening, laying bare the depths of their calyxes to be illuminated and coloured, and made to grow by the sunshine which itself has opened them, and without the presence of which, within the cup, there would have been neither life nor beauty. So faith is the basis of everything; the first shoot from which all the others ascend...Faith works. It is the foundation of all true work; even in the lowest sense of the word we might almost say that. But in the Christian scheme it is eminently the underlying requisite for all work which God does not consider as busy idleness...

Your work of faith. There is the whole of the thorny subject of the relation of faith and works packed in