To Hear Is To Obey

Yeshua (Jesus) said in Matthew 11:15: "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." (KJV) Shaul (Paul) wrote in Romans 10:17: "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (KJV) Remember that although you read these verses in English, they were originally spoken from a Hebraic world view. Regardless of the translation, to understand these verses you must think in Hebrew. The word for "hear" in Hebrew is shamea. it means to listen, to hear and obey, to understand, and to cause to hear, and that with acceptance. The word for "obey" is shama. It means to listen and to understand distinctly. We can see that hearing is tied to obeying what you heard. It is not passing a hearing test. It is not that you heard an audio sound. It is acting on what you have heard. Yeshua says in effect: "He that hath the ability to hear and obey, let him obey." Shaul is saying: "Faith comes by hearing and obeying the word of God." You have not heard the word unless you obey it. It must impact on your life.

Faith is not real in your life until you act on it. The cripple man at Lystra had the faith to be healed but he had not acted on it. Acts 14:9 says: "The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed...." Faith isn't faith unless it is acted on. Consider Philippians 4:19: "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." (RSV) Do you have faith in this verse? If so, have you acted on that faith? To the world, it is seeing is believing. However, if you can see something, you don't need to have faith for it because you have it. To the follower of Yeshua, believing is seeing. Once I cross the line into faith, I possess that for which I have believed. Then, I act on it.

Faith is not mental assent. It is alive. It is now. I appropriate the promises of God today. I fear not because I have heard the word of God that says, "Fear not." I do not worry about the future because I have heard the word, "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. (RSV) As I take hold of the word of God and obey it, I walk in faith regardless of what it looks like to others. I should be more concerned about what it looks like to God.