Greetings CrossTrain family! What a beautiful Sunday it was as we were able to see more of our church body profess their faith in Christ and their belonging to our body through their baptism! We ought to be ever grateful to our Lord that we belong to a church which proclaims his word faithfully. The life changes and baptisms of genuine believers is the fruit which comes from this proclamation. That said, this is the perfect week for us to discuss our next family memory verse. In this last year and culminating in Ephesians 2:8-10, we have learned God’s story of salvation. The story is clear that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. Both the grace and the faith are gifts from God. The question we will answer this week is: how is someone to receive this saving faith?
“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17
Why this verse? If we know that the only way for our sins to be forgiven and to receive everlasting life is by grace through faith, we must know what the Bible says in regards to how we are to receive this saving faith. Many today, even in mainstream christianity, would argue that this would be an intellectual argument which would produce faith. Other professing believers say that miraculous signs, wonders or dreams are what produce faith. Still others appear to think it happens by osmosis and that somehow someone will come to faith without evangelism whatsoever. But what the Bible says, what God says, is that it is through hearing the word of Christ. It is the Gospel, the proclamation of Jesus’ life and death and resurrection for our sins, which God has chosen to use to save his sheep.
Questions Romans 10:17 can help to answer:
Does saving faith come by arguments? Experience? Miracles?
How do we get faith?
Why is it important to actually teach people the gospel?
This is why we go to such lengths to learn the word and to teach it to our children. This is also why these family memory verses have been purposefully organized to teach us clearly what the gospel (word of Christ) is. We are saved by grace through faith, and faith comes by the word. This should encourage us and cause us to feel empowered to be used by God as the instruments He chooses to bring his sheep into the fold. “We are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us” 2 Cor 5:20. We need not be burdened by the need to do anything more spectacular than to simply tell others the good news of Jesus’s death for our sins.
We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone, according to scripture alone and all for the glory of God ALONE. We pray that we would all continue to feed on his word daily and that through this we would grow in our faith and sanctification and that through his Spirit he would help us to be strong and courageous as we proclaim Christ’s death for our sins. God saves sinners, folks. Go spread the word. Until next time, may God richly bless you by the grace and mercy won by Jesus Christ!
In Christ,
Adam and Audra Griffin
Family Ministries