Romans 10:13-17. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on December 9, 2018.
Today we will look at the importance that the Word of God has for the faith of a believer. Although Jesus is the object of our faith, that is the one upon whom we are putting our faith, we would not even know who Jesus was and what he said without the writings of the apostles and the prophets. Thus the Bible is a critical part of our faith.
It doesn’t take the place of Jesus, but rather represents the accumulated revelation that God has given to mankind. We could not know Jesus without the light of truth that it shines upon us. Thus, the Bible is God’s gift to mankind to act as a kind of spiritual litmus test for whether or not our faith is truly anchored upon God Himself and not something else.
Throughout history the false prophets and false teachers always claimed to have heard from the Lord, and to be exercising faith in Him. However, the Word of God enables us to determine what is true and what is false. Without its light we would be at the mercy of our own imaginations and the manipulations of others.
Let’s look at our passage today and hear the truth of the God.
Paul makes the statement in verse 13 that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. It is a summary statement regarding what God was trying to teach us throughout the Old Testament. God wants all who will come to Him by faith to be saved, whether Jew or Gentile. This is the testimony of Scripture. In fact back in verse 11 Paul states, “For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’”
In some ways we might get stuck on passages and places in the Bible that seem to say that only certain people can come near God (priests, the Holy of Holies, etc.). Yet, a more careful reading will help us to see that the emphasis is on the fact that no one can just approach God in any old way they choose. We must come to Him on His terms. Those terms require a sacrifice for our sins, which was accomplished by Jesus. So the point is not that God doesn’t want us near Him, but rather that He does.
We can now approach God, regardless of who we are, because of what Jesus has done, that is if we approach God through faith in Jesus. There is no other way.
It is still just as dangerous today to try and approach God in any other way, than through faith in Jesus, as it was back in the days of Moses. Our generation shouts out, “Surely there can’t be just one way. Surely God will accept a good Buddhist and a good Muslim, and a good… (Fill in alternate way here).” Yet, such statements do not represent trusting God, but rather, trusting our own minds, and we do so over the top of His proven Word.
How can I truly know that I am safe from Judgment before God? I can know because God Himself has told us in His Word. Some may mock this as circular reasoning. “The Bible says it is the Word of God, but I can only know that by the Bible.” In truth the generations that lived through these things have testified to us that these writings have proven themselves through prophecy, miraculous signs, and their life experience. So it is not a circular reasoning, but a testimony given to us by many generations of what God said and did in their day. Through it God is reasoning with you and with me.
In verses 14-15 Paul sort of reverse engineers the above statement. Starting with the truth that people need to call upon the Lord in order to be saved, he then asks questions to reveal what it is that a person needs in order to get to that place of calling on the Lord. To call on the Lord a person needs to have faith, that is belief in God. In order to have faith in God they need to hear what God has said and done. To hear what God has said and done they need someone to proclaim it to them. And lastly, in order to have someone proclaim it to them, someone will have to send them. Thus we have a cycle where Christians are sent to proclaim the Word of God, which is the Gospel, to people so that they will hear and believe. If they believe in God then they can call on Him and be saved. This brings us to the conclusion that people need to hear the Word of God and it is necessary for Christians to proclaim it.
God is faithful in every generation to send those who have already believed to go to those who have not heard. He does His part, but it also takes believers who are willing to partner with Him and help in this necessary endeavor. Now we must remember that the word “preach” simply means to proclaim the gospel. It is not talking about having a pulpit in a church, although that is proclamation as well. We are all called to proclaim the Gospel to those around us who have not heard the Gospel. We also support in finances and prayer those who go into other cultures and share the Gospel, especially where there has been no witness of the Gospel. Do we believe that those who have not heard the Gospel need to hear it if they are to be saved?
In our world today, the media castigate John Chau of Washington State who was recently martyred trying to take the Gospel to the Sentinelese on an island in the Bay of Bengal. They paint him as a selfish person who endangered the inhabitants of the remote island with disease for which they have no immunities. However, what does it profit a people to be safe from physical disease that attacks only the body, and yet still be at the mercy of sin, which destroys both body and soul? Those people need the Gospel and the God of heaven cares about them. If John Chau was selfish, he was selfish for a better resurrection. He was selfish for pleasing the God who was calling him, rather than the world who would praise him if he balked and “came to his senses.”
Christians should be in their hearts a “going people.” We must sense the call of the Holy Spirit to step outside of our comfort zone and proclaim the word of God to others. Without it they cannot save themselves. Thus Paul quotes Isaiah 52:7, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the Gospel!
In verse 16, Paul recognizes that not all Israel, who had clearly heard the Gospel, obeyed it. Yes, the Gospel must be obeyed. It tells us to turn from sin and follow Jesus into eternal life. Jesus does not lead us into sin, but away from it. Hearing God’s Word must be mixed with faith and trust. Thus when we believe in our hearts, we will act upon that belief.
Paul then emphasizes that faith requires hearing something to believe in, vs. 17. The thing we need to hear and believe is God’s Word. The Bible is God’s report on man (we are basically sinners in need of salvation) and a report on God (He is willing to save us if we will repent and turn to Him in faith). It tells us how we can be right with Him.
There are many ideas and philosophies of this world that we are hearing today, but none of them can save your soul. They may put a cell phone in your hand that enables you to surf the Web and interact with all manner of sin, delighting your flesh. They may put a false sense of security within your heart and mind, but in the end they will fail. Only Jesus can save you.
Let me close by recognizing that God was faithful to Israel, to make sure that they heard His Word. Yet, many of them, even most of them, did not believe it. Lest we focus on the sins of others, can we not see that America and every other nation on God’s green earth is guilty of the same sin? We have heard the Word of God until it is coming out of our noses. Yet, we do not believe. The answer is not in giving up, but in becoming even more courageous and fearless in sharing the Gospel with the lost. Romans 1:16 says, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of salvation for everyone who believes.” Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of the soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Hear the Word of the Lord today and believe in the only God who came down to this planet and died in your place. Let Him take your sins off of your shoulders and replace it with a burden that is light and easier to carry, the burden of sharing the good news with others!