Romans 10:17
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
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In Romans 10 Paul argues that since salvation comes by calling on the Lord, people must hear the gospel, which makes the preaching of God's word essential to faith.
What Does Romans 10:17 Mean?
Paul sums up a chain of cause and effect: faith arises through hearing, and that hearing comes through the word of God. He has just asked how people can believe in one of whom they have not heard, and how they can hear without a preacher. This verse gives the answer in compact form -- faith does not appear from nowhere; it is awakened when the message about Christ reaches the ear and the heart.
The "hearing" Paul names is not merely the sound striking the ear but the report received and welcomed. And the source of that report is "the word of God" -- in many manuscripts, the word of Christ, the message of which Christ is the content. Faith, then, has a definite origin: it grows where God's word is made known. This dignifies the ordinary work of speaking and sharing the gospel, for through that means God brings faith to life. For the reader it is both encouragement and direction: if faith feels thin, return to the word; immerse yourself in what God has spoken, for that is the soil in which trust takes root and grows.
In the Original Language
The noun akoe means both the act of hearing and the thing heard, the report or message, so faith comes through the received word about Christ.
Cross References
“This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”
- Galatians 3:2
“But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
- John 20:31
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
- Romans 10:13
Application
If you long for stronger faith, give yourself steadily to hearing and reading God's word, for that is the appointed means by which trust is awakened and deepened.