“…and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith…” Hebrews 12:1
Where does faith come from? And how is it strengthened, or renewed? The answer lies but in on place, or one Person…the Lord Jesus Christ. We see this in the letter to the Hebrews where the author describes Him as being the “…Author and Finisher of faith.” This means that faith begins with Him and has its perfect realization and accomplishment in Him. Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, adds to this matter: “For by grace you have been saved by faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the GIFT of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (2:8) Faith begins with Christ, has its enduring, overcoming, application and realization in Christ, and will always be for His glory. Man can only receive it, give thanks to God for it, trusting the Spirit of God to reveal to him how faith it is to be applied, being strengthened by faith, enabled to run this race set before him. How then does this faith come, and then be applied?
Paul wrote to the believers at Rome the following concerning faith: “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (10:17) What does he mean by this? First he is declaring that there is something IN and ABOUT “the word of God” that possesses power, and strength to believe. In the book of Hebrews, the author declares the “word of God” to be “living and powerful.” How? The Spirit of God has the power to “quicken,” or make alive the objective truths of Scripture, the word of God, communicating this to the believer. On one occasion, the Apostle Paul wrote the following: “…even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive (or quickened) together with Christ…” (Eph. 2:5) How does God do this? The Spirit of God, by the word of God, makes alive that which is dead, communicating His Life by the Spirit, so that one can be born again of the Spirit, and/or renewed, revived, refreshed by the power of the Spirit to believe, increasingly so. When one is born of the Spirit, according to the absolute truth of the word of God, it is like the wind which blows. One does not know where it comes from, and where it goes. However, it always leaves the effect of His presence and working. How then is faith given by the Spirit? It comes with the knowledge of truth, and the God quickening.
On one occasion in Jesus’ ministry, a desperate father brought to him his son who had been possessed by a demon from childhood. The demon had several times sought to kill him, causing him to fall into fire or water. The desperate father, pleaded with the Lord Jesus by asking him, “If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” (Mark 9:22) Already we know that there must have been some faith in the heart of this father, for him to come first to Jesus’ disciples, and then to the Lord Himself, to seek help for his son. Jesus then would say, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” (9:23) The father immediately realized that he was up against an insurmountable wall of helplessness. He had not this faith to believe God for this faith for the impossible. However, with the faith that he had, based upon the knowledge of the truth, he cried out to Christ: “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.” (v.24) In the moment of his cry, and the confession of Christ as Lord, and his evident helplessness, the father cast all upon Christ, staked all upon Him, and that which he knew of Him. Then there was the content of his prayer directed to the only One who could give him the faith for the impossible. The plea was for the Lord to deal with his unbelief, to remove it entirely, then quicken him to believe Christ for the saving, healing faith.
Dear Father, Speak Your living Word. In Jesus’ name, Amen.