Bible Study › Lesson 4 of 6
Hearing and Believing
Jesus is the source of salvation to all who obey Him. The first step toward Him is the same one God has always required... hearing His word and believing it. This lesson looks at where faith comes from and what it does.
17Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Where does faith come from, according to Paul?
Show the answer from the text
From hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Faith is not something a person works up inside himself, and it does not arrive by a feeling or a vision. It comes from hearing what God has said. That is why this study is built on reading the passages first.
11Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.
What did the people of Berea do with what they heard, and how does Luke describe them for doing it?
Show the answer from the text
They received the word eagerly and examined the Scriptures every day to see whether what they were being told was true. Luke calls them more noble for it. Checking a teaching against the Scriptures is not doubt or disrespect... it is exactly what God commends.
6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
What two things must a person believe in order to come to God, and what is impossible without faith?
Show the answer from the text
That God exists, and that He rewards those who seek Him. Without faith it is impossible to please Him. Faith is not optional, and it is not vague. It is believing that God is real and that seeking Him is worth it.
24That is why I told you that you would die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
What does Jesus say will happen to the person who does not believe that He is who He claims to be?
Show the answer from the text
He will die in his sins. Jesus does not treat belief in Him as one opinion among many. He makes it a matter of life and death.
19You believe that God is one. Good for you! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
Who else believes that there is one God, and what do they do?
Show the answer from the text
The demons believe, and they shudder. This verse settles something important. Believing true facts about God, by itself, is not saving faith. The demons have the facts right and are still lost.
24As you can see, then, a man is justified by his deeds and not by faith alone.
Is a person justified by faith alone? What does James say?
Show the answer from the text
No. James says a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. This is the only place in the Bible the words "faith alone" appear together, and they are preceded by "not." Real faith acts on what it believes.
46Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ but do not do what I say?
What question does Jesus ask of those who call Him Lord?
Show the answer from the text
Why do you call Me "Lord, Lord," and not do what I say? Calling Him Lord is not enough. Believing in Him is not enough. He expects the people who believe in Him to do what He says. What He says to do is the subject of the next several lessons.
In short
Faith comes from hearing the word of God, and the people God commends are the ones who check what they hear against the Scriptures. Without faith no one can please God, and Jesus said the one who does not believe in Him will die in his sins. So faith is essential.
But the Bible is just as clear that belief by itself is not the finish line. The demons believe and shudder. James says plainly that a person is not justified by faith alone. And Jesus Himself asks why anyone would call Him Lord and not do what He says. Saving faith is faith that obeys. The question is not whether to believe, but what a believer must do... and the Scriptures answer that in the lessons ahead.
Go deeper: Faith Only?