We see in Romans 10 that faith comes by hearing the “word of Christ,” which is the gospel.
Our faith is built up as we hear the message of the cross repeatedly. Earlier, we prayed for faith, and now we listen for the answer to our prayer by reading God’s Word. We need to be actively preaching the gospel to ourselves by reading our Bibles, looking for the gospel, and then applying the gospel.
I remember reading and finding so much hope in these simple words from 2 Thessalonians 3:3, “But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.” I read that verse and thought, “Yes! God has been faithful in the past; He will always be faithful. He sent Jesus to die on the cross, providing a way of salvation for me. Jesus has overcome sin, death, and hell and risen victorious; I am safe in Him. God did not bring me this far only to abandon me. I just need to wait on God to do the work He is doing in my marriage.”
My marriage appeared dead and without hope, but through His Word, God said, “Trust me; I’m faithful; I will guard you and establish your marriage on Christ.”
This good word brought peace to my heart and mind, and I stored that promise away in my heart to remember on days when I was struggling. I even wrote it down on a card and stuck it to my refrigerator to help me remember.
But, dear friend, I would have never received my encouragement if I had not been reading my Bible. If you want your faith to grow, then you must read the Bible so that you can hear from the Giver of faith.
I like the way the New Living Translation of Colossians 2:7 puts it, “Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done.”
We must be in the Word of God so that our roots can grow down into Christ, where we will be able to draw up nourishment for our souls, and our faith will grow strong!
Question 6. Are you reading your Bible regularly to hear from God?
Another way for us to have our faith built up is to hear the gospel taught, preached, and sung at our local church.
Hebrews 10:24-25 guides us in this regard: “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Here, we can see that this “giving up” on meeting with other believers is a common struggle. Sexual impurity in a marriage fosters isolation, but we must resist the desire to shut ourselves off from the body of Christ.
By His death and resurrection, Jesus has removed all barriers between God and us; we are safe in Him, our High Priest. Therefore, we can, and we should draw near to Him (Hebrews 10:19-23), but we aren’t meant always to do this privately. God has a purpose in having His people gather together.
When we come together corporately as a body of believers to worship our Lord, we have the opportunity to be served and to serve others, to encourage others and be encouraged toward love and good deeds.
Mike and I did not have a local church when we first started out, but God led us to one quickly. It was there that we found the guidance, love, and counsel that set us on the path to gospel freedom.
If you and your spouse don’t go to church, you will miss out on being encouraged in the gospel. And you will deny yourselves the encouragement, love, and the help of other believers.
Question 7. Are you and your spouse being encouraged through your local church? Please share.
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As you pass through this trial, you might be called, as I was, to forgive repeatedly. The devil is never happy to see captives freed from his trap of impurity, and he will do all he can to cause you and your husband to stumble and fall back into the pit of lust or the snare of despair, so don’t be surprised if things seem to get worse before they get better. But remember, God is with you, and He will give you the faith you need to forgive as He has forgiven you.