Faith Comes By Hearing God

Romans 10: 1 - 4, Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. NKJV

God called Moses to lead the children of Israel to the wilderness so they could worship Him. The Lord God has always had a plan to reconnect His people with Himself through holy fellowship. When God instructed Moses to lead the people to Mount Sinai, His purpose was for them to get to know Him. When the presence of God descended on the mountain, His power caused lightning, thunder, smoke, and the mountain to tremble. This encounter with the living God caused Israel to draw back in great fear. Moses told them not to be AFRAID... however, he further added that the fear of the Lord would keep them from sinning against the Lord. 

Out of fear and anxiousness at the awesomeness of God's power and presence on the mountain that day, the children of Israel told Moses to go and speak with God. However, they, themselves, rejected listening to God's voice on earth (the very avenue by which they could walk by faith). Instead, they wanted Moses to speak with God and tell them what God wanted of them. They also vowed to do all that God would command of them... through the mouth of Moses. 

Here's where the story takes a turn. As God was descending upon Mount Sinai to speak with His people, He was also preparing to hand down His Law. The Law of God would spiritually govern the actions of this holy nation. When people have the Law of God, but refuse to listen to the voice of God, it opens the door for man to establish his own form of righteousness. As a result of Israel choosing to ignore the voice of God and, instead, listening to the voice of man, it left them to interpret what God meant to say according to the dictates of their own hearts.

In the New Testament, God has fulfilled the Law through the obedience of Christ, and we don't have to keep the Law. Instead, new covenant believers have been given the Holy Spirit, who represents the voice of God in the earth. As we listen to the Holy Spirit and obey the truth, our faith makes us righteous apart from the Law. Being made righteous through faith means that we measure up to God's standard. Righteousness is not based on our works, but on our faith in Christ and on our obedience to His leading. If you struggle with inadequacy and have the Holy Spirit living within your spirit, then you must focus on being obedient to the voice of God. Only through faith are we made complete. If we should ignore the voice of God like Israel did, then we, too, will fall from grace and go back under the works of the Law. There is freedom from works for those who place their faith in Christ and obey Him.

The Just Shall Live by Faith,

Pastor Asa Dockery