How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard?

Romans 10:14-11:12 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

¹⁴ How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? ¹⁵ How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”

¹⁶ However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” ¹⁷ So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

¹⁸ But I say, surely they have never heard, have they? Indeed they have;

“Their voice has gone out into all the earth,
And their words to the ends of the world.”

¹⁹ But I say, surely Israel did not know, did they? First Moses says,

“I will make you jealous by that which is not a nation,
By a nation without understanding will I anger you.”

²⁰ And Isaiah is very bold and says,

“I was found by those who did not seek Me,
I became manifest to those who did not ask for Me.”

²¹ But as for Israel He says, “All the day long I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.”

Israel Is Not Cast Away

11 I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. ² God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? ³ “Lord, they have killed Your prophets, they have torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.” ⁴ But what is the divine response to him? “I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” ⁵ In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice. ⁶ But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.

⁷ What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; ⁸ just as it is written,

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
Eyes to see not and ears to hear not,
Down to this very day.”

⁹ And David says,

“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
And a stumbling block and a retribution to them.
¹⁰ “Let their eyes be darkened to see not,
And bend their backs forever.”

¹¹ I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. ¹² Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be!

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. Paul begins this portion of his letter with these questions:  How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? Paul is speaking here about believing in and calling on Christ. Paul speaks about belief or denial of God in Romans 1:20:  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.  So again Paul is speaking here about belief in Christ,  the good news of the gospel, the truth that Jesus paid the price for the sins of all mankind.

 In Romans 1:16, he says:   For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  We as believers, Christians, followers of Christ, need to have that same mindset. We need to not be ashamed of the gospel. So much emphasis is placed on not offending people that often times we are afraid to tell the truth. The gospel is not a club meant to beat people with, but it is the power of God for salvation. Faith comes from hearing the word of Christ.

If our neighbors house was on fire, would we worry that our knocks and screams in the middle of the night might offend them or someone else, or would we continue to cry out to them until they heard and were saved? If we believe in Christ, if we believe what He says: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.(John 14:6), how can we stand by and watch them die? Will we continue to believe the lie that we should not offend them? Will we hide behind that excuse so that our lives are comfortable in the world? In Matthew 10:32-39, Jesus says:

everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. ³³ But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. ³⁴ “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; ³⁶ and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.  ³⁷ “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁸ And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁹ He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.

Paul writes, And how will they hear without a preacher? Jesus commission to His followers in Matthew 28:19-20 is:

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

In Mark 16:15-16 it is recorded this way: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. ¹⁶ He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.

We are not the ones who save, nor are we the ones who condemn. It is the word of Christ,  the gospel which has the power to save. It is the choice of those who hear the word to believe or disbelieve. Those who believe we are to teach them to observe everything Jesus commanded. We should not expect that those who do not believe or receive the truth of the gospel, the power of God for salvation, would observe the commandments.

The good news is to be preached. The Light and love of Christ is to be lived. We are to:  no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; ¹⁵ but ^]speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.(Ephesians 4:14-16)  

:  How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?

“Their voice has gone out into all the earth,
And their words to the ends of the world.”

Surly we live in a time when this prophetic word is fulfilled. Through the technology we have available the good news, the word of Christ which brings forth faith can be heard around the world. Still it is not our job to judge, to convict or condemn. That is for the Holy Spirit. Jesus says:  He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; ⁹ concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; ¹⁰ and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; ¹¹ and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.(John 16:8-11)

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, thank You for the word of Christ which brings forth faith. Thank You that the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. May I never be ashamed. Holy Spirit guide me and direct me, empower me, to speak the truth in love, to proclaim through both my life and my words the good news of the gospel. Teach me how to love so that I might speak the truth in love. Holy Spirit, I leave the conviction to You. To God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son be all the glory forever.   Amen.