Sharing the Word of Christ
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
— Romans 10:14-17, ESV
Paul’s heartfelt desire in the context of this passage is that his fellow Israelites, the people of his home, would come to faith and be saved. Trying to understand why they haven’t come to faith, Paul, earlier in the chapter, says that though the people of his home were zealous, they were ignorant of the righteousness from God and had sought to establish their own, based on the law (Rom. 10:2-4). Paul then moves on in the chapter to explain how the righteousness of faith is different and distinct from the righteousness of the law. The righteousness of faith does not need to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven?” or, “Who will descend into the abyss?” (Rom. 10:6-7). That is, who will go searching for the righteousness of Christ to bring it to us? Paul says it is not like that, because the righteousness of faith is a righteousness that comes through believing the Word. And that Word is near you, through the proclamation of his Church (Rom. 10:8).
Paul describes faith and calling together in this chapter. Calling means calling out to someone who can help you. There is a sense where we understand “calling on him” to be faith speaking out. That is the goal Paul has for the people of his home, that while believing, they would call out to the Lord for help, that they would confess him as Lord, because he writes,
For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him (Rom. 10:11-12).
Paul describes in our passage how the people of his home can call on Jesus. To summarize his point, they can call on the Lord, that is, they can believe and call on him, when someone brings the Word of Christ to them.
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?... So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ (Rom. 10:14-15a, 17).
When Paul gets right down to brass tacks, the Word of Christ lies at the center of the Church’s mission to the world and to our own homes. Paul, early in this letter to the Romans, delivers a powerful statement, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith’” (Rom. 1:16-17). For Paul, it was through the gospel itself that God worked for salvation to everyone who believes. The gospel itself was the engine behind God’s mission of salvation.
That the Word of God, the gospel of Christ, would be the engine for God’s mission of salvation is not something new. Rather we understand God’s Word to be the very engine behind creation itself. Behind every breath we take, every bite we eat and every drop we drink, we encounter the power of God’s Word. God speaks and it is. In Hebrews, the author describes Jesus, saying, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Heb. 1:3). In Genesis 1, we see God speaking creation into existence. In Romans 4, Paul describes God as the One “who gives life to the dead and calls into existence things that do not exist” (Rom. 4:17).
When we study our Bible, when we read it quietly to ourselves, when we share the message of Christ with our friends and neighbors, when we either preach or hear preaching—in all these ways we handle, hear, and see the very words of God. They are the words of eternal life, they are the words of power, the promise of forgiveness, the promise of resurrection, the promise of creation. It is through hearing these promises that faith comes, newness of life, that calls upon the Lord. God is at work bringing his gospel to the world, and in the mystery of God, he does so through his Church.
Paul was wrestling with why so few of his people were saved. I described them as the people of his home to help us think of our own homes. We can no longer take for granted that the people of our homes, our communities, those most familiar to us, have heard. Now that is no new insight, but consider the neighbors you have right next door. They may be a few houses down, but you know who they are. Perhaps they are even in your own house.
I have had many conversations with fellow Christians, in which they express that they just don’t know how people can face life and death, without faith. We should ruminate on that a bit. It is the reality for many of our neighbors and friends here at home. They have no one to turn to, no place to seek shelter in the storm, no ultimate help. So, we must ask, how will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching or proclaiming to them? And how are they to proclaim unless they are sent?
Let us realize we are the ones sent. God has sent us to bring the word of Christ, the message of Christ, to those people right next door. He has placed us, as the Church, in our homes and our communities for that very purpose. He has placed us where we are to share the word of Christ. As people hear that word, God grants faith. He gives new life, new hope—Someone to turn to—for those who live in this place we call home.
Rev. Clint Knutson serves the Church of the Lutheran Brethren as Professor of Systematic Theology at Lutheran Brethren Seminary in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.
— Romans 10:14-17, ESV
Paul’s heartfelt desire in the context of this passage is that his fellow Israelites, the people of his home, would come to faith and be saved. Trying to understand why they haven’t come to faith, Paul, earlier in the chapter, says that though the people of his home were zealous, they were ignorant of the righteousness from God and had sought to establish their own, based on the law (Rom. 10:2-4). Paul then moves on in the chapter to explain how the righteousness of faith is different and distinct from the righteousness of the law. The righteousness of faith does not need to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven?” or, “Who will descend into the abyss?” (Rom. 10:6-7). That is, who will go searching for the righteousness of Christ to bring it to us? Paul says it is not like that, because the righteousness of faith is a righteousness that comes through believing the Word. And that Word is near you, through the proclamation of his Church (Rom. 10:8).
Paul describes faith and calling together in this chapter. Calling means calling out to someone who can help you. There is a sense where we understand “calling on him” to be faith speaking out. That is the goal Paul has for the people of his home, that while believing, they would call out to the Lord for help, that they would confess him as Lord, because he writes,
For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him (Rom. 10:11-12).
Paul describes in our passage how the people of his home can call on Jesus. To summarize his point, they can call on the Lord, that is, they can believe and call on him, when someone brings the Word of Christ to them.
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?... So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ (Rom. 10:14-15a, 17).
When Paul gets right down to brass tacks, the Word of Christ lies at the center of the Church’s mission to the world and to our own homes. Paul, early in this letter to the Romans, delivers a powerful statement, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith’” (Rom. 1:16-17). For Paul, it was through the gospel itself that God worked for salvation to everyone who believes. The gospel itself was the engine behind God’s mission of salvation.
That the Word of God, the gospel of Christ, would be the engine for God’s mission of salvation is not something new. Rather we understand God’s Word to be the very engine behind creation itself. Behind every breath we take, every bite we eat and every drop we drink, we encounter the power of God’s Word. God speaks and it is. In Hebrews, the author describes Jesus, saying, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Heb. 1:3). In Genesis 1, we see God speaking creation into existence. In Romans 4, Paul describes God as the One “who gives life to the dead and calls into existence things that do not exist” (Rom. 4:17).
When we study our Bible, when we read it quietly to ourselves, when we share the message of Christ with our friends and neighbors, when we either preach or hear preaching—in all these ways we handle, hear, and see the very words of God. They are the words of eternal life, they are the words of power, the promise of forgiveness, the promise of resurrection, the promise of creation. It is through hearing these promises that faith comes, newness of life, that calls upon the Lord. God is at work bringing his gospel to the world, and in the mystery of God, he does so through his Church.
Paul was wrestling with why so few of his people were saved. I described them as the people of his home to help us think of our own homes. We can no longer take for granted that the people of our homes, our communities, those most familiar to us, have heard. Now that is no new insight, but consider the neighbors you have right next door. They may be a few houses down, but you know who they are. Perhaps they are even in your own house.
I have had many conversations with fellow Christians, in which they express that they just don’t know how people can face life and death, without faith. We should ruminate on that a bit. It is the reality for many of our neighbors and friends here at home. They have no one to turn to, no place to seek shelter in the storm, no ultimate help. So, we must ask, how will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching or proclaiming to them? And how are they to proclaim unless they are sent?
Let us realize we are the ones sent. God has sent us to bring the word of Christ, the message of Christ, to those people right next door. He has placed us, as the Church, in our homes and our communities for that very purpose. He has placed us where we are to share the word of Christ. As people hear that word, God grants faith. He gives new life, new hope—Someone to turn to—for those who live in this place we call home.
Rev. Clint Knutson serves the Church of the Lutheran Brethren as Professor of Systematic Theology at Lutheran Brethren Seminary in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.
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