Treasures New and Old
Treasures New and OldRomans: Faith Cometh by Hearing
I can’t emphasize enough the importance of speaking God’s Word out loud and praying out loud. Paul understood this principle and shared it in a variety of ways. Take last month’s lesson and Verse 8 of Romans 10: the word of faith has to be in thy mouth.
To hear a thing has greater impact on you than just reading that same thing. Good speakers practice their speeches out loud in order to get the emphasis, inflections, pauses, and other delivery techniques honed to the best conveyance as possible.
But even more important, the spiritual world is watching and listening to every word that we say. Where God can hear our thoughts, other supernatural beings cannot. An out loud prayer or testimony has a powerful effect on the spiritual realm that we cannot see in our present condition. Additionally, hearing God’s Word out loud has a greater impact on us than does simply reading it.
Consider the power of speaking the truth in love in person over writing the truth in love in a letter. Consider these things as we delve into this lesson from Paul regarding faith cometh by hearing.
Jew or Gentile, we all need to hear God’s Word
Romans 10:12-18:
For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.
Verse 12 Notes: “For there is not difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.”
- “For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek”: They are on precisely the same footing. It discriminates against neither one. There is no distinction.
- “[F]or the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon [H]im:” The same Person is the Lord. His riches are for everyone who calls, full of blessing for all who at any time call upon Him, and He gives richly to all. He is bountiful to all who invoke Him and His aid, is infinitely kind to all, constantly rich toward all.
Verse 13 Notes: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
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- “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”: Everyone who invokes the name. For everyone, without exception.
- Joel 2:32: “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.”
- Call: qara: (Strong’s H7121): “A primitive root . . . through the idea of accosting a person met); to call out to (that is properly address by name, but used in a wide variety of applications) :- bewray [self], that are bidden, call (for, forth, self, upon), cry (unto), (be) famous, guest, invite, mention, (give) name, preach, (make) proclaim (-tion), pronounce, publish, read, renowned, say.”
- Delivered: malat: (Strong’s H4422): “A primitive root; properly to be smooth, that is, (by implication) to escape (as if by slipperiness); causatively to release or rescue; specifically to bring forth young, emit sparks :- deliver (self), escape, lay, leap out, let alone, let go, preserve, save, x speedily, x surely.”
- Saved: sozo: (Strong’s G4982): “From a primary sos (contracted for obsolete saos, “safe“); to save, that is deliver or protect (literally or figuratively) :- heal, preserve, save (self), do well, be (make) whole.
- Hebrew delivered and Greek saved complement each other. Deliver, preserve, save, plus escape, heal.
Verse 14-15 Notes: “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!“
- Paul makes a progressing argument. Let’s break it down into its component parts:
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- “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?”
- “and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?”
- “and how shall they hear without a preacher?”
- “And how shall they preach, except they be sent?”
- “as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”
- Let’s reverse the order of Paul’s logic and repeat the points he made:
1. The true gospel is glad tidings of good things and of peace: salvation, redemption, forgiveness, cleansing, repentance, adoption, eternity, justification, sanctification, and glorification.
2. God must then send someone to preach His gospel.
3. The sent person must then preach the gospel, must speak the truth of the gospel, must share and teach the truth of God’s gospel.
4. Those being spoken to must hear and listen to the gospel.
5. Those who hear must then believe the gospel, accept as truth, specifically regarding the person and work of Jesus Christ.
6. The one who heard and believed must now call on the name of Jesus Christ just as Romans 10:9-11 teaches.
Romans 10:8-11 (bold added): “But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”
Psalm 25:1-3: “A Psalm of David Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me. Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.”
Verse 16 Notes: “But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?”
Isaiah 53:1-3: “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”
- The report Isaiah is referring to is all about Jesus as the suffering Messiah. The Jews saw two messiahs in Scripture: a royal messiah and a suffering messiah. Who wants a suffering messiah when you can have a kingly, conquering messiah? One to save you from your oppressors (but not your sin . . .)
- A suffering messiah? Why do I need such a thing when I have the Law of Moses, and I keep the law to please God? Therefore, in Isaiah’s day, they ignored or “did not obey” the report, the gospel.
- In Isaiah’s time, it was oppression from Assyria and later Babylon. In Paul’s time, it was Rome (and Greece before that). They’re always looking for another messiah like Judas Maccabees to free them from oppression.
- Jesus comes along, and His first recorded reading of Scripture is from Isaiah 61:1-2 which says:
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of your God; to comfort all that mourn;”
Luke 4:17-21:
And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears.
- So even despite the messages of Jesus throughout His ministry, they were looking for a royal, kingly messiah – not a suffering messiah – therefore, most did not believe the gospel’s report!
Verse 17 Notes: “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
- Paul now falls back on the little progression logic series we find in Verses 14 and 15 of Romans 10 and provides a very important conclusion for us to ponder: That is: Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
- Two important elements are involved:
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- One must hear to believe or have faith. The power of the spoken word is mighty. Whether someone speaks it to you, or you speak it to yourself, the element of speaking truth is important to the imparting of belief and faith to a hearer.
- It must be God’s Word. It must be the gospel. It cannot be another gospel, belief in a church, belief in a series of acts, or long repeated prayers, or indulgences, or flogging of your body or any other system – nor can it be so called new revelations, added truth, some guru’s insights, or a lifetime of good works. It must be and can only be God’s Word and specifically the gospel of Jesus Christ.
- Back to Isaiah 53:1: Who hath believed our report? The word report is the Hebrew word (Strong’s H8052) shemuah, which means something heard, hearing, as a noun, it could be news, a rumor, tidings, an announcement, a document read, etc. It has the same meaning as hearing in the Greek as written by Paul in Verse 17.
- Paul is stressing an important point. For others to believe in Christ as their Savior, they must first hear the gospel and then believe the gospel, and it must be God’s Word, His gospel, not another or frankly one that has added onto or taken away from God’s gospel – a partial gospel.
- Isaiah’s statement, “Who hath believed our report” is clearly about Jesus Christ, the suffering messiah, and his statement is rhetorical. It has a clear implied answer: No one believed the report or at least not many believed.
- Same problem in Paul’s day; not many believed the report of the gospel.
- Same problem today. Not many want to believe in the need for a suffering messiah. Not many want to believe in the gospel. They reject the report.
Verse 18 Notes : “But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.”
- Have they not heard? Paul said in Colossians 1:23: “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;”
- The gospel has gone out and has been heard, but not everyone has believed.
We Have a Task
Matthew 28:16-20: “Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshiped him: but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.“
- Faith cometh by hearing
- Hearing the gospel – the Word of God
- Who will go and share so that they may hear?
- Hearers must hear it from someone who shares, preaches, or teaches the gospel
John 20:19-23:
Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
May God Bless you!
Maranatha!
Bro. Joe
References
Strong, J. Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries. Meyers, R. (2005). e-Sword. [computer software] . Franklin, TN: Equipping Ministries Foundation. (Original work published 1539)