Some denominations today teach a doctrine rooted in Calvinism, which holds that the Holy Spirit grants the gift of faith, enabling people to believe in the Gospel. This perspective suggests that faith is passive; it is not something we can achieve but rather something God does for us. However, the problem with this claim is that the Bible teaches a different message altogether!
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ (Rom 10:17).
The Bible teaches that faith comes about when we hear the Word of Christ. We would be remiss to deny the role of the Holy Spirit as the inspirer of the Word of God, but this is not the same thing as the Spirit causing. In fact, a few verses earlier:
How are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? (Rom 10:14)?
This is an important reminder that evangelism does not occur by accident. God works through His people and providentially through various situations to deliver the message of the Gospel to others (Phil 1:12–13). When the Gospel is proclaimed, people can hear it. When people can hear, they can believe. Faith is not a passive activity. Jesus considered believing to be something that people must do, a “work” (John 6:28).
Every day, we encounter lost individuals who need to hear the message of Christ. Without hearing the Word of Christ, how can they believe? And how can they hear unless someone proclaims it to them? Their best opportunity is not someone else; it’s you! As daunting as that may seem, I hope you will prayerfully reflect on Romans 10:14-17 in your daily life. While we may not be the only ones that proclaim the word to them, I hope that we can all at least be part of that seed-planting process so that they might believe in Him.
By Spencer Clark