How will they know?
Romans 10:13-15 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” 14 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? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”
Paul has been presenting that what was once thought only available to the Jews, is now available to all. The Lord God that all had known the Jews worshipped, had come to give Himself up for those not of Jewish decent too. The saving grace found in Him carried no ruse of exclusivity any longer; all could come to know Him and worship Him for what He freely gave to them. 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. This was no private party with a God all throughout the Old Testament that those opposing the Jews had feared; Paul preached a God of love who had came and paid the ultimate price for all to have forgiveness and access to Him. The doors were opened, and all needed to hear; Paul preached the Gospel with urgency.
I love this set of rhetorical questions that Paul presents here; the “how thens”. You say that you believe in Him, but how then did you come to believe? You at some point must have heard of Him, to come to a point of belief in Him. Someone, somewhere, somehow, presented the Good News of Jesus Christ to you. It may have been received with a hardened heart at the time it was presented; it may have fallen on your seemingly deaf ears; it may have nestled in a corner of your soul until God was ready to humble you to remind you of your need of Him. Paul is stressing the importance of spreading the Good News here, to live your life on mission. And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? Have, or more directly, is your life on mission? Do those around you know of Who you place your faith and hope in? How can they share in your joy if they have not heard of Him?
So much over the past couple of weeks of my life has been centered on missions. God has been putting people in my life that have true hearts for missions; for spreading the Gospel to the ends of the earth; with hearts like Paul. I have spent some time with a modern day Paul; he is just encouraging to be in his presence; sold out for Christ and spreading the Good News in a country far away from God. I have friends with true mission hearts such as Paul, I saw and experienced the evidences of it and Him greatly as we gathered to prayerfully send off the next team. The presence of the Holy Spirit was great in that home that evening; He was there, and we were blessed because 15b”How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” My heart is full of joy for those that God has put in my circle to influence me; to encourage me to press on, to feel the love they have for Him and the hearts they have for sharing Him with others. How else will they ever come to know Him?
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