FAITH IN WHOM?

“SO THEN, FAITH COMES BY HEARING, AND HEARING BY THE WORD OF GOD.” ROMANS 10:17


While at the recent Organic Church Conference, God opened this verse to me in a way I had never seen before; a favorite verse of Preachers who like to use it as a hammer of legalism, it is usually preached as a way to compel people to read their Bibles or to “faithfully” attend their local congregations (based upon whatever the local pastor determines “faithful” to be).

It is, in fact saying so much more; “SO THEN, FAITH COMES BY HEARING AND HEARING BY THE WORD OF GOD”, This passage has so much more to do with “WHO” than it does with “WHAT”, it begs the question, “Who” is The Word of God?

Faith can only come through relationship with Jesus Christ. This verse is prefaced by the Apostle saying, “FOR WHOSOEVER SHALL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED.” ROMANS 10:13 Paul was saying much more than we need to hear a lot of preaching. We can hear preaching our entire lives and yet experience true faith. We know by context that He was not saying you need to read your Bibles, because they didn’t yet have The Bible and yet how many times have we hear this verse preached that way?

No! “FAITH COMES BY HEARING AND HEARING BY THE WORD OF GOD”; Jesus said over and over, “HE THAT HATH EARS TO HEAR, LET HIM HEAR.” MATTHEW 11:15 Frail man, cannot upon his own, see God or find God or know God; thus we have all the man-made religions that worship man-made gods, they are born of the feeble attempt of the carnal to experience the spiritual. However Jesus IS The Word of God and He is The Light; He expels our darkness that we might see God, Jesus is The Way, The Door, He said “NO MAN COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME.” Jesus is The Truth; We can only See, Hear and Know the Father in as much as we SEE, HEAR and KNOW The One who is The Truth; Jesus said, “HE THAT HAS SEEN ME HAS SEEN THE FATHER” JOHN 14:9 The Apostle Paul was saying so much more about knowing Jesus; being in relationship with Jesus, experiencing life in Jesus than he was enforcing religious dogma.

“SO THEN, FAITH COMES BY HEARING AND HEARING BY JESUS (who IS THE Word of God) ”; KNOWING HIM (not merely knowing about Him), EXPERIENCING HIM (having relationship as a brother and friend), living now and forever through Him for as Paul says, “FOR IN HIM WE LIVE, AND MOVE, AND HAVE OUR BEING” ACT 17:28 Not only is Christ the Word; He is also the “Preacher” of the Word, “SO THEN, FAITH COMES BY HEARING AND HEARING BY THE WORD OF GOD” AMEN!

The Parson

For many years, I have had a standing appointment with Brother John Brock at 6:00am at the local McDonalds. I have always said that we met to mentor one another; lest that sound like impossibility, consider Jesus said, “CONFESS YOUR SINS ONE TO ANOTHER”.


Dr. John has been there to support me and I have been there to support him as well, by support I mean encourage, comfort, chastise and rebuke. To talk, but more importantly to listen; to confess to one another our shortcomings in the ministry and life, to celebrate the many victories and to comfort one another through many abuses that go along with being in the ministry.

I have never had anyone so consistent in keeping their meetings with me, so much so that the one day John was not there and I didn’t hear anything I knew something was wrong and indeed the something turned out to be the heart attack that he had experienced and the subsequent trip into the hospital that prevented him from calling. Through winter blizzards, spring rains and summer heat, through triumphs and disasters we have met.

He drove the greater distance and even when his eyesight should have prevented him from driving, he was so determined, that we still met. On those days, his wife Patti would call me and say, “John is on his way. Will you let me know when he gets there?” As worried as she was about him at times, she never tried to prevent us from meeting, knowing how vital out time was together.

So now another season of my life has finished; John has taken a church in Northern Ohio, too far for us to meet weekly, but I am certain that our brotherhood which stretches back thirty years or so, will be kept intact, if not by our weekly face to face times of ministry. Tuesdays won’t be the same; life won’t be the same; ministry will never be the same without the love, correction and support we have both so dutifully shared together.

I have served with others more directly and for longer periods of time, but my heart has been knit to John’s in such a manner through these regular breakfasts that while I have not missed others at all, I miss him and he is not even gone yet.

As a going away present, I presented him with one of my favorite paintings that I have created called “THE PARSON: “Pastor” _________. (Name omitted to protect the guilty). The figure is that of a Pastor in his robes standing in front of a flawed stained-glass window. The colors are bright and vibrant, however while the preacher has a head, he has no eyes, ears or mouth. I inscribed on the back; this is Pastor _______, he has no eyes because he does not see, he has no ears because he does not hear; he has no mouth for he does NOT have a right to speak.” I told John, “Hang it where it can serve as a warning to you. Hang it where it reminds you of what NOT to be in the ministry. The man, who does not care to listen or to see the hurts of the lives around him, has not earned the right to speak into those lives.”

A calling is without repentance, however when the bureaucracy of the church, the buildings or programs or plans of the church; in short, when “Ministry” becomes more important the people of the church, you are no longer functioning as a Pastor – you have forsaken the ministry because people are your ministry. After all these years together, it’s the most importance advice I can send with my dear brother John. I will miss our times together, but John, you know I love you. Look at the picture of a man I knew and remember the man you are not to be. Amen!