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NASB | Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the [preaching of the] message concerning Christ. |
Bible Question:
In another thread I said that I believed in the Bible because I believed in Jesus, not the other way around: 'I realize that those who were able to convince me of the believability of Jesus' claims about himself based their knowledge on the Bible. But the Bible did not directly influence me.... After a few faithful witnesses had opened my mind, I asked a God whose very existence I still questioned to tell me if Jesus really was his son. He did. Only then did I begin to pay any attention to the Bible.' I received this response: 'You experience of realizing that Jesus was the Son of God simply by "asking God" apart from the Bible is pretty darn close to the Mormon practice of praying over the Book of Mormon to determine whether Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.' This emphasis on actually reading the Bible to find faith in Christ seems, well, pretty darn unbiblical. In retrospect, I consider my experience to be an illustration of not only this passage in Romans but also of Jeremiah 29:13 - "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." So how about it? Can one come to faith without reading it directly out of the Bible? Peace and grace, Steve |
Bible Answer: Dear Steve, Of course people can come to faith in Christ apart from reading the Bible for themselves. Otherwise, the illiterate and the blind could never reach a point of putting their trust in God. God reveals Himself through many different ways. For some, He may use creation to initially draw men to Himself. For others, He may use the Bible itself, other religious writings, or other people. God does indeed draw men to Himself. In fact, the 'truest' revelation of God is not the Bible itself but the Christ of the Bible. He alone is the exact representation of God. Not even the OT was a true representation. Jesus told the Pharisees that they knew the letter of the word but missed the Spirit behind it. I believe that anyone who is truly seeking God will eventually have the Bible in their life in some form becuase it is through the Bible that the Truth, Jesus Christ, is revealed. Don't be afraid of being accused of 'heresy' here on this forum. I made a statement yesterday that I believe that if a man only had the ability to read and a Bible, that, because of the Holy Spirit's work as the teacher, that person could come to true saving faith and learn all he would need to know. Because of that statement, I was then informed that my viewpoint was also that which led to the start of Jehovah's Witnesses. What it all boils down to, brother, is that the legalists want to control you and your relationship with God rather than trusting that God is indeed revealing Himself to you and that He is the author and completer of our faith. The very ones that hold staunchly to God's complete sovereignty are the ones who will tell you to do it THEIR way or it just ain't good enough. Keep standing firm and don't let other attempt to squeeze your or God into a box. In Christ, Bill Mc |