Faith Comes By Hearing

[Mr. M]

1 Corinthians 1:

17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel:

not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.

18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness;

but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

The more dire foolishness has evolved from those who DO NOT

preach the Cross, but instead present "another Gospel", denying

the power of the message and instead rely on the "wise arguments"

of the Apologist.

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Mark 16:

15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world 

and preach the gospel to every creature. 

16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; 

but he who does not believe will be condemned.

1 Corinthians 9:16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of,

for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!

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Paul continues by establishing his argument upon the prophetic word:

19 For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,

and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent."

20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? (on line?)

hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God,

it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:

23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block,

and unto the Greeks foolishness;

24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks,

Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men;

and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men

after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise;

and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen,

yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:

29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.

30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom,

and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

31 That, according as it is written, He that glories, let him glory in the Lord.

Again, returning to prophetic fulfillment, the foolishness of preaching

exposes the condition of the hearts of those who hear the Message.

Jeremiah 9:

24 But let him who glories glory in this,

That he understands and knows Me,

That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment,

and righteousness in the earth.For in these I delight,” says the Lord.

25 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that I will punish

all who are circumcised with the uncircumcised—

...and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.”

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Romans 10:14-17 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? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

[St_Worm2]

And yet, this idea continues to be popular............ 
 

 

Quite the odd thing for such an amazingly active itinerant preacher/evangelist to say, yes, who not only travelled to/preached in multiple towns each day (as many as 5 different towns/villages on the same day), but who also took the time to preach to animals.

 

 

Edited January 26 by St_Worm2

[St_Worm2]

This is interesting too: What St. Francis of Assisi Didn’t Actually Say| National Catholic Register

Quote

Last Sunday, our faithful deacon in the midst of his excellent homily used a quote that most of us have heard, perhaps many times.

    “Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.”

It is always attributed to St. Francis of Assisi—founder of the Franciscan Order—and is intended to say that proclaiming the Gospel by example is more virtuous than actually proclaiming it with voice. It is a quote that has often rankled me because it seems to create a useless dichotomy between speech and action. Besides, the spirit behind it can be a little arrogant—which I’m sure our deacon didn’t intend—intimating that those who "practice the Gospel" are in reality more faithful to the faith than those who preach it.

But here's the fact: Our good Francis never said it or anything close.

 

Go to the link at the top to read the rest of the article.

God bless you!!

--David
 

Edited January 27 by St_Worm2

[Who me]

." Faith Comes By Hearing " by far more than just hearing. Our task is to preach, gossip, tell  show, live the gospel to the world.

But we do not save those to whom we are witnessing! 

It is God/Jesus who actually saves. It is Jesus who breaks our chains of sin, so that we can respond to his call.

We are not free agents, we are either s.aves of the devil or slaves of God

[A Freeman]

Acts 5:29-33

5:29 Then Peter and the [other] Apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
5:30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
5:31 Him hath God exalted with His right hand [to be] a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
5:32 And we are His witnesses of these things; and [so is] also the Holy Spirit, whom God hath given to them that obey Him.
5:33 When they heard [that], they were cut [to the heart], and took counsel to slay them.

[D. Adrien]

On 1/26/2025 at 9:15 PM, St_Worm2 said:

This is interesting too: What St. Francis of Assisi Didn’t Actually Say| National Catholic Register

Go to the link at the top to read the rest of the article.

God bless you!!

--David
 

If you are involved with the same people daily I believe they would grow tired of being sermonized every day by someone who continually fell short of the preached word.

[St_Worm2]

6 hours ago, D. Adrien said:

If you are involved with the same people daily I believe they would grow tired of being sermonized every day by someone who continually fell short of the preached word.

Hello D. Adrien, please elaborate a bit, as I'd like to make sure that I'm understanding the point that you're making (also, are you referring to St. Francis specifically, or to preachers, witnesses and missionaries in general, as those who fall short of the word that they are preaching?). 

If it is St. Francis, remember that he was an itinerant preacher/missionary who went from town to town to town, sometimes preaching in as many as five different cities/villages on the same day, to the people who lived in each of these places and, apparently, sometimes to their cows, too :) (he must have taken Mark 16:15 VERY literally) :)

Thanks!

God bless you!!

--David

 

 

Edited March 2 by St_Worm2
Minor change for the sake of better grammar.

[D. Adrien]

David, I posted in reference to the meme about not always using words but behavior or action.

If someone is sermonizing to co-workers daily it could become a problem. Oh, and God bless you too!