Can faith only develope through the bible?

[xdisciplex]

Does the bible say that the only way to actually develope faith is by reading or listening to the bible? I mean the bible says faith comes from the word, but does this mean faith ONLY comes from the bible? But this doesn't make sense. You can also get faith in the bible and faith in God when you simply hear arguments which support God and the bible. For example when you watch videos about prophecies which have been fulfilled or when you listen to experiences from other christians, then you also get faith. Or isn't this "real" faith?
But then how do I know if I have real faith?

 

[billwald]

Define "Bible." Jesus taught that the OT was sufficient for faith.

 

[Jim1999]

There is a difference between obtaining faith and developing faith. Faith only comes by the "word" whether that be old or new testament and ultimately by the "Word"; the Lord Jesus Himself.

We grow in our faith from experience, but receive our faith through the word.

How do you know? As that old children's chorus says, "The Bible tells me so...."

Cheers,

Jim

 

[Scarlett O.]

The scripture you are referring to is Romans 10:17, "So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God".

You have to back up a couple of verse to get the full effect.

• Paul says in verse 15 that it is a beautiful thing to have people out there sharing the gospel with others.
• He says in verse 16 that not everyone who is witnessed to is going to listen, let alone believe or obey. He provides an Old Testament example of that.
• Then comes the verse you cited.

Someone much smarter than me paraphrases verses 17 like this, "before you can have trust (faith), you have to listen and if it isn't the word of God being taught, then it isn't worth listening to."

The verse you cited is not saying that only the bible can produce faith. It is saying the only through listening and obeying the message of God's word can you have faith. You can listen to God's word in a sermon, a beautiful hymn, a gifted spiritual speaker or someone's personal testimony. You can be introduced to God' word in a child's Christmas play or a book of christian fiction or in a husband's and wife's devotion to each other and their children.

In my opinion, the bible should the primary source of "hearing" God's word. Every sermon, hymn, devotional, testimony, Christmas play, christian novel and christian marriage should be based on the foundations of the bible.

So, no, the bible is not saying that you can only have faith through the bible (the actual book).

It is saying that you can only have faith, which is trust in God, through the message of the book. And that can be found in many places and people.