Faith Made Possible

Faith is unarguably one of the most crucial aspects of one’s walk with God. As we see in today’s Scripture, pleasing Him at all hinges on whether or not we’ve placed our “measure of faith” (Rom. 12:3) in the God of Creation, Who is described here as “a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” And while it’s true that the object of our faith is far more important than its size, our trust in God should be as a mustard seed, “which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree.” (Matt. 13:32) Biblical faith may indeed start off small, but will grow rapidly when given proper attention.

The apostle Paul obviously understood both the principle and the process of faith, which he said “comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Rom. 10:17) He details the progression of faith even further in verses 14-15:

"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? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?"

Calling on God for salvation quite naturally depends on faith, which itself depends on the Gospel being preached. Simply put, faith is impossible without knowledge of what to have faith in. Trusting in the atoning work of Christ requires having heard about the cross. Believing in the promise of heaven to believers calls for an understanding of eternity. Even loving God is impossible without a realization of His love for us (1 John 4:19). Only to the extent that we are aware of what God has to say is faith and obedience even possible. Scripture memorization, at its core, is the practice of purposefully and permanently increasing our knowledge concerning the truth of God’s Word. Although our mission here at SMF is certainly not to make Bible trivia champs who never convert their knowledge into fruitful obedience, conformity to the image of Christ requires us knowing what He looks like, – a portrait which has been vividly painted for us in His Word – as well as daily submission to the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:29; Gal. 5:16). The more we learn about God, the more we are able to appreciate His goodness. And the greater our comprehension of the goodness of God, the greater our faith in Him becomes. The role of Scripture memorization, then, is absolutely vital, as it is a necessary step toward “the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” (1 John 5:4)