|
Our last lesson showed us that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. That statement is the universal invitation to the gospel, which calls everyone to faith. Now Paul develops the idea of where saving faith comes from. Yes, anyone who calls on Jesus Christ will be saved, but how can people do that unless they know about Him? Our answer comes in verse 17, "faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." Christ speaks when the gospel is presented. "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?" (Romans 10:14) The answer is that they cannot! In verses 14-15, Paul makes a stirring plea for missions. No one can hear the gospel and believe in Christ unless someone takes the gospel to that person. Saving faith is from God. It is a gift of grace to sinful man. Faith has been defined as having three parts: 1) content or knowledge, 2) personal agreement with the knowledge, and 3) trust or commitment to that knowledge. It might be stated, "Lord Jesus Christ, I admit and agree that I am a sinner. I cannot save myself, and I believe only you can save me from my sin. I trust you to cover my sin, and I make you Lord of my life." The missionary plea of verses 14-15 states the need for Christian preaching and for expanding world-wide missionary efforts. It is essential that the world hears the gospel; that God has given us the ability to repent of sin and be forgiven by the substitutionary blood of Jesus Christ, that He is alive, and that one day He will return again. On that day every knee shall bow and every tongue confess Jesus Christ is Lord. The call to missions is from God. Jesus gave the 'great commission' in Matthew 28:18-20 saying, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age." Let us pay close attention to these words today since in many places commitment to missions is on the wane. We must never forget it was a band of Jewish missionaries like Paul, Barnabas and many others that endured hardship but reaped the benefit of being faithful to God's call to them. Do you believe that God has the power to do what He says He will do in His word? If you believe, then you will desire to spread this glorious message of hope and salvation to a world that is dying. Hudson Taylor once related the words of a recent Chinese convert, "How long have you had the Glad Tidings in your country?" "Some hundreds of years ", Hudson Taylor reluctantly response. "What! Hundreds of years?" "My father sought the Truth," the convert continued sadly, "and died without finding it. Oh, why did you not come sooner?" Hudson Taylor would never forget that moment, which deepened his already earnest desire to bring Christ to those who might still be reached. Let us remember the words of Romans 10:15 "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" When we think of how God has used men and women like George Whitefield in America, David Livingstone in Africa, Hudson Taylor in China, Amy Carmichael in India, and countless others throughout history, we can only marvel at the power of God working through yielded lives given in service to Him. We, too, can have beautiful feet as we bring this word of salvation where God has called each of us. It is not enough for a person to sit under the preaching of the Word of God. It is not enough for one to be only a student of the Bible. God calls us to be fishers of men wherever He places us, in our neighborhoods, communities and the world. In this section of chapter 10, Paul establishes the fact that the unbelief of Israel is not God's fault. God sent His prophets to Israel, and they spoke of the coming Messiah. We have their words recorded in the Old Testament. After Jesus, Paul and others preached the gospel clearly. If many of the Jewish people did not believe, it was not because they were not told, since they had both heard and understood the message. (see John 11:47-48) The problem was that they refused to accept Jesus as their Messiah. They knew the message being received by the Gentiles was a message of salvation by the grace of God apart from keeping the law. This message was being taught not as a contradiction of Judaism but as a fulfillment of it. That is what made it so offensive to them. Instead of detached indifference and smug superiority, there was jealousy and anger on the part of the Jewish leaders. This proved that they understood very well what was happening. They knew that the message being received by the Gentiles was a message of salvation by the grace of God. They chose to reject the miraculous signs they saw. They rejected their Messiah and clung to a religious system based upon what they might merit rather than upon God's grace. People today reject the gospel for exactly the same reason. They reject grace. Many have heard the gospel and even understand it. But they want to hold on to what they can see and know. There is a fear that if they accept Christ, somehow they will be changed and will regret the difference. What they do not see is that Jesus is the completion of self and salvation from death. In Christ we have life and hope. Our responsibility as followers of Jesus is not to make people believe this message, for only God can do that. Our responsibility is to tell His truth in love. Romans 9 is about God's election. Romans 10 is about personal responsibility. To most people these seem to be irreconcilable truths. We suppose that if God elects to salvation, then we cannot be responsible for rejection of the gospel, or, if we are responsible, then salvation must be by works and not by God's grace. But they are not irreconcilable teachings. Predestination and personal responsibility are two mutually supportive truths which always need to be understood together. Our minds will not fully
understand God. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are
your ways my ways, as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My
ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."
(Isaiah 55:8-9) But we can learn to trust Him for today and throughout
eternity. When we put our faith in God, we see Him for who He truly is,
Lord, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and
faithfulness. (Psalm 86:15; 103:8, Exodus 34:6) He is also holy and we
cannot come before Holy God clinging to our sin and false pride. Now is
the time of God's grace! He is holding out His hands to all who will
come.
|