Dear Christian friends:

Deaf sign "faith" this way. Illustrate. Hang on to a hand. What good is that? Hang on to God. Which God? So we see people say, "Need faith, need faith, need faith" as if to mean they can lift themselves by hanging on to their left hand. This is faith, but not Christian faith.

Our text shows that true faith is faith in God's Word, not in your own hand or in a vague god of the sky. Here is a more accurate sign. (Lift Bible and hang on to it).

I. Where it comes from, verse 17, "Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Jesus did not travel around yelling, "Have faith, faith." We read Mark 2:2, "He preached the Word unto them." And about the apostles we read: "They departed, preaching the Gospel" Acts 8:4. They did not preach weak sentimental words of man's invention, but strong dependable Word of God. Actually, "word of Christ" the Gospel (elaborate). Without Christ there is no Word of God and without the Word of God there is no Christ. You cannot separate The Word and Christ. No Word, no faith. "Faith cometh by the Word of Christ" (verse 17).

II. Which comes first - faith or the Word? (See verse 14) How can anyone believe what he has not yet heard? You must hear first and then believe. The Word comes first. It does not float around in the air. It does begin in your own heart or reason. But it comes from outside of you, from preaching of God's Word into your heart. (verse 8)

"The Word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart; that is the Word of faith, which we preach." The Word begins faith. It is like seed. Jesus said, "The seed is the Word of God." As seed is alive, so God's Word is alive. Peter called it the "seed of God which liveth" Seed, say an apple seed, appears dead when you look at it. So God's written or printed Word appears dead when you first look at it. That is perhaps why many people despise God's Word. That may be why you do not attend to it more. But when you put the dry apple seed into the ground - surprise! It begins to grow into a tree and later gives much fruit.

So God's "seed" His Word when preached or planted into our hearts grows faith in us. Our heart is the soil for God's seed. An apple seed needs water and fertilizer to keep the tree alive and growing so it can produce many apples. So our faith needs "water and "fertilizer" and God's Word is also the water for our faith. Jesus called His Word "the living water" or the "water of life". So God' Word is both seed and water in one.

Now we who have this "seed" and "water" of God in our hearts should produce (give out) fruits of faith. (verse 9) "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." One of the chief fruits is confession of faith. And in verse 13, we read: "Who so ever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." So those who believe in their heart about the crucified and risen Christ must confess with their mouth the Lord Jesus (verse 9) and pray to Him also with their mouth.

Notice words heart and mouth. If you have God's Word in your heart you also have it in your mouth. A deaf person who believes with his heart confesses with his hands.

Application: But the big question is do you? Usually we keep quiet about the faith in our heart. Oh, it is easy to confess our faith in Church as we do in prayer, singing and apostles Creed. Here we are with friends and are very brave. But do you talk about Jesus at home with your wife and children? It does much good for us to talk about our Savior Jesus at home. It is good for their salvation and our own. Then, how about talking Jesus with strangers? So often we are careful not to let anyone know what we believe. We want to be like the others.

Or we think: "He is a Christian already, not necessary for me to talk to Him." But it is. If you ask anyone: "Are you a Christian?" Ninety-five percent in America will answer "Yes". And I know that if you ask the deaf in Spokane who never go to Church: "Are you a Christian?" "90% of them will answer "Yes!" They will even name their church. "I'm Catholic," says one. "I'm Methodist says another: "I'm Episcopal." But if you start questioning and talking about Jesus, you will quickly find that many have not true faith in the crucified and risen Jesus. Oh they say, "I believe"; "Have faith", "Have faith" But they don't know what to have faith in or what to hang on to.

So it is necessary for you to open your mouths and limber up your arms and hands and tell them exactly and plainly "Believe in Jesus" (verse 11) "You need faith in the crucified and risen Christ." (verse 9) If you don't talk about Jesus crucified and risen again, you have nothing better to say than those who say "Have faith, have faith," and that without the Word you are back again to the old "hang-on to your-own-hand-religion." By that faith no one is saved.

Christians should not waste time yelling "Have faith" like the ignorant in the world. But they should show the great works of God - His death and resurrection and how that makes us righteous.

Now what do you think about that? Do you think this is too hard? Do you think it is Not necessary? If you do, look at verse 14 again. Do you want all these people who have blind faith in their own hand or in their own imagination to be lost in hell?

Then how about yourself. If you do not confess faith you will easily lose it. (verses 9-10) Paul says "if" you confess Jesus you will be saved" (verse 9) And verse 10 with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

It is true we get right with God by faith alone without confession, verse 10, "With the heart man believeth unto righteousness." But getting forgiveness now does not put us in heaven or give us final salvation. On the way to final salvation we have many temptations. If we do not strengthen our faith by confessing it, we will easily lose it. And if we lose faith we also lose righteousness in Christ. So Paul here correctly says that by confessing the Lord Jesus we shall be saved, verse 9 again. So let's be at it. God help us!

Amen