{"id":3832,"date":"2017-04-12T19:32:35","date_gmt":"2017-04-12T19:32:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/?p=3832"},"modified":"2023-08-29T11:21:09","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T17:21:09","slug":"word-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/","title":{"rendered":"Word & Faith"},"content":{"rendered":"

Greetings <\/span>Bible Advocate<\/span><\/i> readers! I hope you\u2019re enjoying this year\u2019s twin Reforming-Transforming theme. You\u2019ve already received the March-April \u201cSola Scriptura\u201d<\/span> issue, and the May-June \u201cSola Fide\u201d<\/span> BA<\/span> is off to the press and heading to the post office (and Internet) in two weeks. That puts us at the halfway mark \u2014 already \u2014 for our six 2017 publications.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this space between our last issue and the next, I hope to build a foundation for the upcoming \u201cFaith Alone\u201d<\/span> issue by discussing its intimate link with \u201cScripture Alone.\u201d The affinity between these chief Reformation <\/span>solas<\/span><\/i> could not be closer, and it is not exaggeration to say that the health of the Church of God can be measured by her success at holding these two together. <\/span><\/p>\n

The fundamental bond between God\u2019s Word and our faith is best expressed in the familiar passage from Paul: \u201c<\/span>So\u00a0then faith comes\u00a0by hearing, and hearing by the\u00a0word\u00a0of God\u201d (<\/span>Romans 10:17, <\/span>NKJV). A strong, mysterious attraction exists between <\/span>word<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>faith<\/span><\/i>. As Paul explains, the one follows directly from the other. But as we\u2019ll see, the Word too advances as faith is born and shared.<\/span><\/p>\n

This symbiotic relationship is illustrated well in the growth of the church as reported in the book of Acts: \u201cThe\u00a0word\u00a0of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the\u00a0faith\u201d (Acts 6:7). This correlation is critical: The Word of God defines and carries the good message, and disciples are made and cultivated when hearers respond with the obedience of faith.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus is at the heart of each of these <\/span>solas <\/span><\/i>and connects both. He\u2019s the subject of Scripture and also the object of faith. Because Jesus <\/span>is the center<\/span><\/i>, there is power in the Word to affect faith in hearers and also power in faith to affect sharing of the Word. What is immediately clear is the necessary role of living agents like you and me to bridge the gap between storied page and human ear. This is Paul\u2019s concern in Romans 10:<\/span><\/p>\n

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: \u201cHow beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!\u201d (Romans 10:14, 15, NKJV).<\/span><\/p>\n

Paul, drawing on Old Testament prophets Joel and Isaiah, explains the need. If \u201cwhoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved\u201d (v. 13, NKJV; Joel 2:32), someone must first step up and preach the gospel to them (Isaiah 52:7). Who will take and share the message? Someone in whom there is word <\/span>and<\/span><\/i> faith!<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be intimidated by the word <\/span>preacher<\/span><\/i>. This doesn\u2019t refer to the expert in the pulpit but to one who will publish and proclaim the story. Preachers come in a variety of packages. I recently heard the testimony of a taxi driver in Nigeria who came to saving faith in Christ from a gospel song he heard on his car radio. Around the same time I heard a professor from an American university share how she came to faith by sitting down and reading the Bible. <\/span><\/p>\n

A song, a Bible, a magazine, an online post: These and others are useful vehicles to mediate the good news, but the most powerful agent of all is <\/span>you<\/span><\/i>! The person who carries the Word, stimulating faith in others as they live it in public, is the best vehicle of all. \u201cHow beautiful are the feet of those,\u201d say Paul and Isaiah.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, disciples as witnesses grow faith in others and spread the grace and truth of the Word in the process. It is an ongoing loop of Word to faith, and faith to Word, and it needs you and me to endure. <\/span><\/p>\n

But this raises a final concern. The greatest challenge of our time is not <\/span>if<\/span><\/i> Christians will share the story but <\/span>if they know it<\/span><\/i> in the first place. Can we give what we don\u2019t have? If we do not know the life-giving Word, how healthy is our faith? Biblical illiteracy is an urgent concern for the church because it results in anemic faith. This kind of faith can\u2019t reproduce itself because it has lost its right yoke to the grace and truth of God\u2019s Word. <\/span><\/p>\n

The challenge is before us. We need not be scholars to know and love the Word of truth and its Author, our Savior. We need not be theologians to live and share this story, His story of creation and redemption in Jesus. Nevertheless, the risks are clear: Faith that is not grounded in the Word of God will be not only barren but also easily subverted and overwhelmed by the world and its affections. <\/span><\/p>\n

I believe that the Church of God is up to the challenge, but think about it while you finish reading \u201cScripture Alone\u201d and wait for the \u201cFaith Alone\u201d issue. While not everyone who hears the Word will respond to it in faith (Hebrews 4:2) it\u2019s critical for the sharp, powerful Word of God to be understood, experienced, and proclaimed clearly for those who will (Hebrews 4:12, 13). This is our health in Christ: a faith in God ordered by and rebounding to the Word of God.<\/span><\/p>\n

For the\u00a0word\u00a0of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, <\/span>but also in every place your\u00a0faith\u00a0toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to <\/span>say anything (1 Thessalonians 1:8).<\/span><\/p>\n

May this praise for a lived and shared <\/span>Word<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>faith<\/span><\/i> be true of us also! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Scripture quotations are from the <\/span>New American Standard Bible<\/span><\/i>, unless otherwise noted. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Greetings Bible Advocate readers! I hope you\u2019re enjoying this year\u2019s twin Reforming-Transforming theme. You\u2019ve already received the March-April \u201cSola Scriptura\u201d issue, and the May-June \u201cSola Fide\u201d BA is off to the press and heading to the post office (and Internet) in two weeks. That puts us at the halfway mark \u2014 already \u2014 for our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":3833,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37,36],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nWord & Faith - Bible Advocate<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Word & Faith - Bible Advocate\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Greetings Bible Advocate readers! I hope you\u2019re enjoying this year\u2019s twin Reforming-Transforming theme. You\u2019ve already received the March-April \u201cSola Scriptura\u201d issue, and the May-June \u201cSola Fide\u201d BA is off to the press and heading to the post office (and Internet) in two weeks. That puts us at the halfway mark \u2014 already \u2014 for our […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Bible Advocate\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-04-12T19:32:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-08-29T17:21:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/baonline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2017\/04\/prayer-1308663_1920.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jason Overman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jason Overman\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jason Overman\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/baonline.org\/#\/schema\/person\/68443b7dc847765e22d7d9934532a7a1\"},\"headline\":\"Word & Faith\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-04-12T19:32:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-29T17:21:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/\"},\"wordCount\":990,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/baonline.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2017\/04\/prayer-1308663_1920.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"BA\",\"Editor's Desk\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/\",\"name\":\"Word & Faith - Bible Advocate\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/baonline.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2017\/04\/prayer-1308663_1920.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-04-12T19:32:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-29T17:21:09+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2017\/04\/prayer-1308663_1920.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2017\/04\/prayer-1308663_1920.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1280},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Word & Faith\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/baonline.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/baonline.org\/\",\"name\":\"Bible Advocate\",\"description\":\"Advocating the Bible, representing the Church, and glorifying the God of grace and truth\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/baonline.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/baonline.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/baonline.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Bible Advocate\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/baonline.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/baonline.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/05\/cropped-BA-Online-Logo-1-3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/05\/cropped-BA-Online-Logo-1-3.jpg\",\"width\":380,\"height\":80,\"caption\":\"Bible Advocate\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/baonline.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/baonline.org\/#\/schema\/person\/68443b7dc847765e22d7d9934532a7a1\",\"name\":\"Jason Overman\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/baonline.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/879dd44f62e0c705659ad5d45bc1498a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/879dd44f62e0c705659ad5d45bc1498a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jason Overman\"},\"description\":\"Jason Overman is Editor of Publications of the Bible Advocate Press. After 24 years in the publishing industry (in sales and management) with the Harrison Daily Times, Jason left his general manager\u2019s position to join the BAP family in 2015. He has served in ministry for 30 years and currently pastors the Church of God (Seventh Day) in Jasper, Arkansas, with his wife, Stephanie, and two children, Tabitha and Isaac. Jason enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, reading theology, playing his guitar, and taking in the beautiful Ozark Mountains he calls home.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/author\/jason\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Word & Faith - Bible Advocate","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Word & Faith - Bible Advocate","og_description":"Greetings Bible Advocate readers! I hope you\u2019re enjoying this year\u2019s twin Reforming-Transforming theme. You\u2019ve already received the March-April \u201cSola Scriptura\u201d issue, and the May-June \u201cSola Fide\u201d BA is off to the press and heading to the post office (and Internet) in two weeks. That puts us at the halfway mark \u2014 already \u2014 for our […]","og_url":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/","og_site_name":"Bible Advocate","article_published_time":"2017-04-12T19:32:35+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-08-29T17:21:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1280,"url":"https:\/\/baonline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2017\/04\/prayer-1308663_1920.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jason Overman","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jason Overman","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/"},"author":{"name":"Jason Overman","@id":"https:\/\/baonline.org\/#\/schema\/person\/68443b7dc847765e22d7d9934532a7a1"},"headline":"Word & Faith","datePublished":"2017-04-12T19:32:35+00:00","dateModified":"2023-08-29T17:21:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/"},"wordCount":990,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/baonline.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2017\/04\/prayer-1308663_1920.jpg","articleSection":["BA","Editor's Desk"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/","url":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/","name":"Word & Faith - Bible Advocate","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/baonline.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2017\/04\/prayer-1308663_1920.jpg","datePublished":"2017-04-12T19:32:35+00:00","dateModified":"2023-08-29T17:21:09+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2017\/04\/prayer-1308663_1920.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2017\/04\/prayer-1308663_1920.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/word-faith\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Word & Faith"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/baonline.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/baonline.org\/","name":"Bible Advocate","description":"Advocating the Bible, representing the Church, and glorifying the God of grace and truth","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/baonline.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/baonline.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/baonline.org\/#organization","name":"Bible Advocate","url":"https:\/\/baonline.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/baonline.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/05\/cropped-BA-Online-Logo-1-3.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/05\/cropped-BA-Online-Logo-1-3.jpg","width":380,"height":80,"caption":"Bible Advocate"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/baonline.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/baonline.org\/#\/schema\/person\/68443b7dc847765e22d7d9934532a7a1","name":"Jason Overman","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/baonline.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/879dd44f62e0c705659ad5d45bc1498a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/879dd44f62e0c705659ad5d45bc1498a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jason Overman"},"description":"Jason Overman is Editor of Publications of the Bible Advocate Press. After 24 years in the publishing industry (in sales and management) with the Harrison Daily Times, Jason left his general manager\u2019s position to join the BAP family in 2015. He has served in ministry for 30 years and currently pastors the Church of God (Seventh Day) in Jasper, Arkansas, with his wife, Stephanie, and two children, Tabitha and Isaac. Jason enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, reading theology, playing his guitar, and taking in the beautiful Ozark Mountains he calls home.","url":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/author\/jason\/"}]}},"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":false,"source_text":false,"source_url":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3832"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3832"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19621,"href":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3832\/revisions\/19621"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}