God has told us that without faith it is impossible to please Him, but He has also told us how to get faith. If we don't have faith, God is not to blame. To blame God for our lack of faith is nothing in the world but ignorance. If we lack faith, we are to blame.
This is also true concerning faith for salvation. Faith for salvation also comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Rom. 10:17). Paul said in Ephesians 2:8: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." We know that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God, but how are we to get faith to get saved? Romans chapter 10 tells us.
ROMANS 10:8-10,13,14
8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, THE WORD OF FAITH, WHICH WE PREACH;
9 That 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. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation ...
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 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?
Men are saved by hearing God's Word, because the Scripture says, ". . . faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17). You cannot believe and have faith without hearing the Word. In Acts 10 and 11 we read about Cornelius, who, although devout, had not yet been saved. He had not heard the gospel yet, so how could he have been saved? No, Cornelius was not saved until he heard Peter preach. An angel of the Lord appeared to Cornelius (Acts 10:3).
The angel who spoke to Cornelius couldn't preach the gospel to Cornelius because angels can't preach the gospel; God sent men to preach. Remember Jesus said, ". . .
Go YE into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). But the angel could tell Cornelius where to go to get someone who could preach the gospel to him (Acts 11:13).
The angel instructed Cornelius to call for Peter: "And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do" (Acts 10:5,6). Acts 11:14 reports that the angel said that Peter would preach the gospel to Cornelius: "Who shall tell thee WORDS, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved." This verse also shows us that men are saved by hearing words - God's Word: "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17). You can't believe without hearing. So many are trying to believe without hearing.
How does faith for healing come? The same way - by hearing the Word of God concerning healing. In Acts 14 we are told the story of the impotent man who received his healing because of what he heard.
ACTS 14:7-10
7 And there they [Paul and Barnabas] PREACHED the GOSPEL.
8 And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked:
9 The same HEARD Paul SPEAK: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed,
10 Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked. The casual reader of the Word of God might say, "Isn't it wonderful how Paul healed that man?" You've heard that said, and so have I. But Paul did not heal the man. The man was not healed because Paul was an apostle. The man was not healed by Paul's faith. The man himself had the faith to be healed. But notice what had to take place before this man was healed: "And there they [Paul and Barnabas] PREACHED the GOSPEL" (Acts 14:7).
So Paul did three things:
1. He preached the gospel to the man.
2. He perceived that the man had faith to be healed.
3. He told the man to rise up and walk.
The man also did three things:
1. He heard Paul preach the gospel.
2. He had faith to be healed.
3. He leaped up and walked.
The man was not healed by some special power that Paul had. The man himself had faith to be healed. Where and how did he get faith to be healed? He got it from what he heard! Remember Acts 14:9 says, "The same [man] heard Paul SPEAK. . . ." What did Paul speak? Verse 7 says, "And there they PREACHED the GOSPEL." If Paul preached what we call the gospel of salvation, how did the man get faith to be healed? The man got faith to be healed because Paul preached what the Bible calls the gospel, which also includes healing.
