What Kind of Faith Do You Have?

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

Romans 10:17 (NIV)

Many Christians define faith in terms of what they hope to receive from God. When they talk about having faith, for them it is receiving God's answer to their prayer. Nothing else. Some even go so far as to deny God and abandon their faith when they do not see the answer to their prayer. What does the Bible teach us about this?

To support their argument, some use Hebrews 11:1, which tells us that “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see (NIV).” They ignore Romans 10:17 which is our verse today. By the word of Christ, the verse implies the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is a call to faith, not the faith that focuses on what we expect from God, but the genuine faith that leads us to give up everything to turn to Jesus.

Matthew 6:33 teaches us this: "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (NIV)." It is a way of saying that our faith must first be in Jesus Christ who made God's salvation possible and then be in God's promises to take care of us.