“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”

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

How then are they to call on Him in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? ¹⁵ But how are they to 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? On the contrary:

“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 with those who are not a nation,
With a foolish nation I will anger you.”

²⁰ And Isaiah is very bold and says,

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

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

11 I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? Far from it! 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, since 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,

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

¹¹ I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? Far from it! But by their wrongdoing salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. ¹² Now if their wrongdoing proves to be riches for the world, and their failure, riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be!

For context, Romans 10:9-13 says: If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  Today’s text continues saying: How then are they to call on Him in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? But how are they to preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”  If we are followers of Christ, then we have been sent to preach, to bring the good news of good things. In Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus says: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  In Mark 16:15-16 He says: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. The one who has believed and has been baptized will be saved; but the one who has not believed will be condemned.”  In Acts 1:8 He says: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.”

The text says: However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. But I say, surely they have never heard, have they? On the contrary: “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world.”  We are not responsible for people’s response to the good news of the Gospel. Not all will believe and heed our report. “The one who has believed will be saved; but the one who has not believed will be condemned.” We are though responsible to voice the message to all the earth and the ends of the world. In Luke 9:26 Jesus says: “Whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and the glory of the Father and the holy angels.” At the very least, even if we are not comfortable preaching the Gospel, in Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus says: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” If we are not ashamed of Christ, we should shine His light in the darkness of the world. We should not keep it hidden for fear that it might offend the darkness. Our lives should stand out as different than and even opposed to the culture. James 4:4 says: Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

May we never be enemies of God. Instead, may we share the good news everywhere we go, that: If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation…  for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  Amen.