Send, Preach, Hear, Believe, and Call on Jesus Christ (Romans 10:14-21)
In Romans 9–11, Paul addresses Israel’s present unbelief and future salvation. A quick sketch up to Romans 10:14–21 is that chapter 9 discusses this unbelief from God’s perspective while chapter 10 explains it from Israel’s perspective. Israel has rejected the righteousness of God in Christ because she pursued her own righteousness through the law, a pursuit that would never reach its goal (cf. Romans 9:30–10:13).
“Then” introduces a new section (Romans 10:14), connecting Romans 10:14–21 with Romans 10:13 with the repetition of the word “call.” The subject of Paul’s words is unclear as he spoke of “everyone” (Romans 10:13), leaving the identity of the repeated “they” unclear in Romans 10:14–18. However, Paul clearly identifies “Israel” in Romans 10:19, the main subject of Romans 9:30–10:21 (cf. Romans 9:31; 10:21). Putting these facts together and considering what follows, Paul’s aim in Romans 10:14–21 is explain why most of Israel has not believed or called upon the Lord for salvation. What he says of Israel could apply to other unbelievers as well.
Paul asks four “how?” questions in Romans 10:14–15a. How can one (1) call without believing, (2) believe without hearing, (3) hear without preaching, or (4) preach without being sent? For those who are sent, their feet are as beautiful as those who will tell Israel the good news that God’s eschatological wrath has ended and blessing has begun (Romans 10:15b; cf. Isa 52:7). Those “sent” (Greek, apostellō) could be apostles like Paul or Christians in general as Paul does not identify who these messengers are.
Paul then clarifies that “not all obeyed the gospel,” a roundabout way of saying that only a few Israelites have believed (Romans 10:16a; cf. 9:6, “not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel”). As few believed Isaiah about the coming Servant, so also few Israelites now believed in the same, the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 10:16; cf. Isa 53:1).
The problem for Israel was not hearing. Just as general revelation wordlessly speaks of the glory of God to all of creation, so also “the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17) had analogously been spoken to the Jews and Gentiles (Romans 10:18; cf. Ps 19:4).
Neither was the problem for Israel its understanding (Romans 10:19a). They simply refused to obey the call to salvation. Moses even prophesied that Israel would not believe while others would, provoking them to jealousy and anger (Romans 10:19b; cf. Deut 32:21). Additionally, the principle behind a prophecy of what God will do for future Israel applies to the Gentiles now—we have found God who has shown Himself to us, though we neither sought nor asked for Him (Romans 10:20; cf. Isa 65:1). The next words of this same prophecy in Isaiah are true of Israel today—they are “disobedient and contrary” to believe and obey the gospel, even when God has lovingly held out His hands to them “all day long” (Romans 10:21; cf. Isa 65:2).
While this passage deals primarily with Israel, it teaches us much for the church today. In order for anyone to believe, Jew or Gentile, we must send preachers who preach so that the lost can hear, believe, and call upon the Lord for salvation. Not all will believe, but many will. And while God is just to judge those who reject Him while never having heard the gospel (cf. Romans 1:18–21), it is a frightful thing to think of what might have been for some if we had only shared with them the gospel. May God help us to fervently spread the word of Christ today!
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David Huffstutler is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Rockford, IL. He blogs here, where this article first appeared. It is republished here by permission.
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