Verse of the day — Romans 10:17

https://www.bible.com/verse-images/ROM.10.17/98400?version=114

Rom 10:17 (ESV) So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

This is one of those familiar verses that has been used out of context so much that it has developed a popular understanding much different than what the writer, Paul, ever intended. Preachers and church leaders, for generations, have used Rom 10:17 as the answer to the question, “How do I get more faith?” The usual answer: “Rom 10:17 says, ‘Faith comes by hearing the word of God’, which is the Bible”. This is wrong on both counts, even though, experientially, most of us can verify that it works. Though spending time in the Bible does build faith, and that lesson must not be dropped, it is important to investigate the actual meaning of this verse and put that into practice.

The first thing that strikes us is that the ESV says, “the word of Christ” instead of “the word of God”, as most preachers quote. This last phrase is specific to the King James Version (The New King James Version carries on this tradition), because the Greek text behind it (known as the Textus Receptus) follows the text as it was known in the Byzantine period. Unavailable, however, to the KJV translators were our two oldest and best New Testament manuscripts, Sinaiticus (because it was found in a monastery on Mount Sinai) and Vaticanus (because it is housed in the Vatican). They both have the reading, “word of Christ”. One of the accepted principles of textual criticism is that when these two agree on the wording of a passage, that reading outweighs all other textual variations. All modern versions not tied to the TR have “word of Christ”. It is more difficult to coerce this phrase to mean the Bible than “word of God”.

It’s even harder when you find out that “word” is a translation, not of LOGOS (λόγος), as you might expect, but of RHEMA (ῥῆμα). LOGOS is the word used most often for the written Scriptures, while RHEMA is generally used for spoken words. Yet, it is not the ‘spoken word’ coming from Christ that Paul speaks of (although, when Jesus speaks to us in times of prayer, faith does result).

If we follow carefully the argument that Paul is making in Romans 10, it is clear that “the word of Christ” is actually the word about Christ — the gospel. What Paul has been saying is that if the whole world is going to call on the name of Jesus and be saved (10:13), then they first need to hear about Jesus. This is the “good news” that Isaiah had prophesied about (10:15, quoting Isa 52:7). The word ‘gospel’ [EUANGELION (εὐαγγέλιον)] means ‘good news’. This word is found in the previous verse (10:16). There, Paul quotes Isa 53:1, saying, “But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?’ (ESV)”. Thus, what is believed comes from what is heard.

Preachers sometimes make a distinction between ‘belief’ and ‘faith’. The difference comes down to English semantics. In Greek, there is no such difference. The verb ‘believe’ is PISTEUO (πιστεύω), while the word for ‘faith’ or ‘belief’ is the related word PISTIS (πίστις).

The secret, powerful message of this verse, held back by well-meaning preachers is this: Faith emerges out of the preaching of the gospel. The gospel has a spiritual force of itself. Christ indwells the message, giving it the power to produce faith in the hearer.

If you want more faith then you still need to read the Bible. You still need to pray and hear Him speak in your heart. But, if you want to see saving faith rise up in the hearts of people, no other message is as effective as the gospel. Faith comes by hearing who Jesus is, what He did, and what He is still doing in our lives today.

Be Blessed Dr. Chuck Day