Faith comes by hearing through the Word of God, but it only takes root when God opens the listener's heart.
Romans 10:17 says, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Therefore faith is not a human invention or a denominational label; it is taking God at His Word after He has spoken it. The example of Lydia in Acts 16:14 shows that Paul could preach the Word, but the Lord had to open her heart so she could attend to what was spoken.
Romans 10:17 — This verse directly answers the question by stating that faith comes by hearing the Word of God.
Romans 10:17 declares that faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. In Romans 10:14 Paul asks, "How shall they hear without a preacher?" The Word must be proclaimed so that people can hear and respond with faith. In Acts 16:14, Lydia heard Paul speaking, but the text says the Lord opened her heart so that she attended to the things which were spoken of Paul. Paul also writes in 2 Corinthians 4:4 that the god of this world blinds the minds of those who believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine unto them. Scripture thus presents both the human proclamation of God's Word and the divine work of opening the heart.
Les Feldick teaches that you cannot exercise faith in something until God has spoken it. He repeatedly points to Romans 10:17 and says "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." You cannot believe what God has never said, and you cannot assume what God is going to say; you must wait until He reveals it. Les uses Lydia in Acts 16:14 as the example: she was religious but lost, and even Paul's preaching could not open her heart — the Lord Himself had to open it. Les concludes that we must do our part in sharing the Word, but only God can open a person's spiritual heart and strip away the blindness caused by the god of this world. God has also chosen to use human instruments to carry that Word, so preachers and teachers have a real, though limited, role.
Romans 10:17 states that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Les points out that this is the capstone of Paul's argument that people cannot hear without someone sharing the Word. Faith, then, is taking God at His Word — and a person can only believe what God has said.
Lydia was religious and worshipped God, yet she was still lost. Paul preached, but it took the Lord opening her heart for her to attend to his words. Les emphasizes that even the apostle Paul could not open hearts with preaching alone; God alone must open a person's spiritual heart.
Paul writes that people cannot hear without a preacher. Les says God has always used one human instrument to lead another person to a knowledge of salvation. The human messenger does his part by opening the Scriptures, but he cannot force belief — that takes an act of God.
Lydia was religious, worshipped God, and was still lost. Les says that being part of a denomination — Methodist faith, Catholic faith, etc. — is not the biblical idea of faith. Faith is taking God at His Word, and it only comes when a person has heard what God has spoken.
The Lord Opened Lydia's Heart
Even the apostle Paul could not open Lydia's heart with his preaching; the Lord Himself had to open it so she could attend to the words spoken by Paul.
Faith Comes by Hearing the Word
Romans 10:17 shows that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God; we cannot assume God's truth before He speaks it.
God Must Strip Away Blindness
The god of this world blinds people's minds, and unless God removes that blindness, even our efforts to share Scripture are helpless.
How Can They Hear Without a Preacher?
Faith comes by hearing, but someone must explain the Word to the hearer; that is why teaching and proclaiming Scripture matters.
Faith Is Taking God at His Word
Faith cannot be exercised until God speaks; true faith is taking God at His Word, not claiming a denominational label.
The Lord Opens the Spiritual Heart
Lydia was religious but lost; Paul and Barnabas did not open her heart — the Lord did.
God Must Reveal Before We Believe
We cannot place faith in something God has never said; God must reveal it before we are responsible to believe it.
God Uses Human Instruments
God has chosen to use people to carry the Word to others, but even then the Lord must open the hearer's heart.
Romans 10:17: So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
This verse directly states the source of faith: hearing God's Word.
Acts 16:14: And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
Lydia heard Paul, but she only believed when the Lord opened her heart.
Romans 10:14: How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
This shows the necessity of a human messenger to proclaim the Word so faith can be heard.
2 Corinthians 4:4: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
This reveals why people do not automatically believe the gospel when they hear it.
Deuteronomy 29:29: The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
Les cites this to show we must wait until God has spoken before we can believe.
No — Romans 10:17 says faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Les teaches that a person cannot exercise faith until God has spoken, because faith is taking God at His Word.
Hearing the words is not enough. The example of Lydia shows that the Lord must open the heart, and 2 Corinthians 4:4 says the god of this world blinds people's minds. As Les says, God must strip away the blindness and open the spiritual heart.
Preachers are the human instruments God uses, because Romans 10:14 asks how people can hear without a preacher. Yet Les emphasizes that a preacher can open the Scriptures but cannot force belief; only God can open a heart.
Watch the Teaching: What It Really Means to Be Saved - Romans 10:9 Explained