Joseph Prince (January-05-2024) Daily Devotional: Faith Is Released by Speaking
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.” But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way . . . “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. - Romans 10:4–6, 8–10
Let’s take a moment to examine today’s scripture and what the apostle Paul says about the power of speaking in the new covenant of grace. In this passage, you see the differences that he skillfully laid out for us between the old and new covenants.
Christ marks the end of the law and the beginning of the new covenant. It is the gift of righteousness versus righteousness by works. Faith versus works. Believing versus working. Speaking versus doing.
It is vital for you to recognize the differences between the two covenants. You see, the new covenant is about right believing, whereas the old covenant was about right doing. The new covenant is about the power of speaking well, whereas the old covenant was about the power of working well.
I believe in the power of right believing. When a person believes right, he will live right. When a person believes that he is made righteous by the blood of Jesus Christ, he will be inwardly transformed to live right, and the spirit of godliness will be evident in his life.
He won’t just be outwardly fulfilling the letter of the law for fear of punishment with a heart that is not right. The grace revolution is about inside-out transformation. It is about a heart emancipated by grace.
A person transformed by grace not only keeps the law of God outwardly, but His heart is also full of Jesus. He overflows with generosity, he is passionate for his spouse, and he is zealous for good works and the glory of His Savior, Jesus Christ. See the difference? It’s like night and day.
Your words are powerful. The Bible says that the word of faith is near you, “in your mouth and in your heart” (Rom. 10:8). Notice that it is first in your mouth, and then it drops into your heart.
When you speak words of faith, what you speak will finally drop into your heart, and what is in your heart will lead you. So when you are sick, speak well over yourself, declaring, “Lord Jesus, I thank You that by Your stripes I am healed.”
It is important that under the new covenant you are not working for your own righteousness in order to be healed and blessed. Moses says this of the righteousness that is by the law: “The man who does those things shall live by them” (Rom. 10:5). The focus is on doing.
What about the righteousness that is of the new covenant? According to Romans 10:6, “the righteousness of faith speaks.” The focus is on speaking. Therefore, speak! Open your mouth and speak! Faith (believing) is released by speaking.
You and I are made in the image of God, who, when things were very dark at the beginning of creation, didn’t say, “Wow, it is so terribly dark here!” He didn’t speak about the darkness. He did not speak what He saw.
No, God spoke forth what He wanted to see. He said, “Let there be light,” and there was light (Gen. 1:3–4). God saw light after He spoke it. When Abram was still childless, God changed his name to Abraham, which means “father of many nations” (Gen. 17:5). When the man with the withered hand met our Lord Jesus, Jesus spoke the word, asking the man to stretch out his hand, and the man was completely healed (Matt. 12:10–13).
With physical eyes, man saw Abram as barren and the man with the withered hand as an invalid. But our Lord saw and spoke differently! We serve a God “who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did” (Rom. 4:17).
I love the King James translation, which says our God is a God “who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.” He quickened the dead and brought nonexistent things into existence with His spoken words!
You are made in His image. The same can and will happen for you when you see and speak what you believe and want to see!
