How can people call on God for salvation if they have not been moved to believe in him?
10 For it is by believing in his heart that a man becomes right with God; and with his mouth he tells others of his faith, confirming his salvation. 11 For the Scriptures tell us that no one who believes in Christ will ever be disappointed. 12 Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect: they all have the same Lord who generously gives his riches to all those who ask him for them. 13 Anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. 14 But how shall they ask him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them unless someone sends him? That is what the Scriptures are talking about when they say, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the Gospel of peace with God and bring glad tidings of good things.” In other words, how welcome are those who come preaching God’s Good News! 16 But not everyone who hears the Good News has welcomed it, for Isaiah the prophet said, “Lord, who has believed me when I told them?” 17 Yet faith comes from listening to this Good News—the Good News about Christ.[1] Romans 10:10-17 TLB
BECOMING A CHRISTIAN
Have you ever been asked, “How do I become a Christian?” These verses give the beautiful answer—salvation is as close as your own mouth and heart. People think it must be a complicated process, but it is not. If we believe in our heart and say with our mouth that Christ is the risen Lord, we will be saved.
10:10 It is with your heart that you believe and are justified. NIV You must first believe with your heart—that belief justifies you (God declares you “not guilty” for your sins).
It is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. NIV By prayer to God, you confess with your mouth your belief in God and what he has done for you. As in verses 8–9, belief and confession lead to salvation.
As has already been noted, neither of these components that establish our personal relationship with God can be reduced to reciting certain words or assenting to the facts. To believe and to confess involve whole-person commitment. Neither are these components described in such a way that a person might accomplish one without accomplishing the other. They are two parts of a single step, just as lifting the foot and then placing it back down are two movements in the one act of taking a step. Likewise, one cannot be saved without being justified, nor justified without being saved.
10:11 As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” NIV To summarize the transaction that he has just described, Paul quotes again from Isaiah 28:16, as he did at the end of chapter 9. Anyone who trusts in Christ will be saved. What appears momentarily in verse 10 to be two separate actions turns out to be two parts to the response the Bible calls trust (or belief).
Paul is not saying that Christians will never be disillusioned or disappointed. At times people will let us down and circumstances will take a turn for the worse. Paul is saying that God will keep his side of the bargain—those who call on him will be saved. God will never fail to provide righteousness to those who believe.
10:12 No difference between Jew and Gentile. NIV The “anyone” of verse 11 includes both Jews and Gentiles. In 3:22–23, Paul also writes that “there is no difference.” But the focus is on all people’s sinfulness, for “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Here, there is no difference because God’s salvation is available to all who believe (the point Paul has been making throughout this letter), for the same Lord is Lord of all. NRSV Every person is confronted with the need to acknowledge Jesus as Lord. Because sin is a universal condition, the remedy of justification by faith universally applies.
Richly blesses all who call on him. NIV To call on the Lord is to trust him for salvation. Paul is keeping the parallel between confession and belief, heart and mouth, and trust and call. Those who are saved will be richly blessed—in this world (although not always materially, as some might hope or expect), and most certainly in the world to come. Paul also keeps the parallel when describing the results: justification and salvation, not put to shame and blessed.
10:13 “Whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” NKJV A final quotation taken from the Hebrew Scriptures (Joel 2:32) serves well for Paul’s conclusion. God’s special relationship with Israel will continue, but it has been broadened to include everyone who calls on the name of the Lord. God’s plans for Israel had their climax in Christ. Access to God, for all people, now comes through Jesus Christ. With this last reference, Paul neatly lays the foundation for the necessity of worldwide evangelism. Joel 2:32 is an Old Testament mandate for missions. To call on the Lord is to ask the Lord to come to you and be real to you. Those who call on Jesus as their Lord want him to be their Lord and Savior.
10:14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? NIV If God’s salvation is to “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord” (10:13), how can people call on God for salvation if they have not been moved to believe in him? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? NIV There can be no call, no belief, if these people have not heard about God (“heard” means a hearing that understands the significance of the words and realizes that a response is required), and been given the offer of salvation. And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? NIV There can be no call, no belief, no hearing, unless someone communicates the truth.
"What is the best general method of preaching? (1) to invite, (2) to convince, (3) to offer Christ, (4) to build up; and to do this in some measure in every sermon."
—John Wesley
NEEDED: MORE THAN MODELS
In the task of evangelism, an effective witness must include more than being a good example. Eventually, someone will have to explain the content, the what and the how of the gospel. Modeling the Christian life is important, but someone will need to make the connection between the mind of the unbeliever and the message of the gospel. There should never be a debate between those who favor life-style evangelism (one’s living proclaims the gospel) and confrontational evangelism (declaring the message). Both should be used together in promoting the gospel. Do people know of your faith by your actions? To whom can you communicate the life-changing message of Christ?
10:15 How shall they preach unless they are sent? NKJV There can be no call, no belief, no hearing, no preaching, unless there are those sent to share the Good News. The Greek word for “preach” (kerusso) is not limited to the Sunday morning sermon from the pulpit; rather, it means to announce or proclaim something. All believers are sent to announce this Good News. The process of salvation begins with the one who tells another the Good News.
As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” NRSV Like Paul and the early Christians, who spread the message of Christ despite persecution and even death, we should be eager to share this Good News of salvation to all who will listen. In the verse quoted from Isaiah 52:7, the herald is bearing good news to Judah about the end of their exile in Babylon and their return to their own land. His feet were beautiful to them, for his good news was so welcome. The message was what he brought, but it was those worn and dusty feet that brought him. Those feet were beautiful because they represented the messenger’s willingness to be sent with good news. Only now the message was not just for Israel, but for the whole world.
We must take God’s great message of salvation to others so that they can respond to the Good News. How will our loved ones and neighbors hear about Christ unless someone tells them? Is God calling you to be a part of making his message known in your community? Besides thinking of a person who needs to hear the Good News, think of something you can do to help that person hear it. Then take that step as soon as possible.
10:16 Not all the Israelites accepted the good news. NIV Many Jews did not accept the gospel of Jesus Christ they heard it but refused to believe and submit to it. The failure of Jews to respond to God’s warnings of impending judgment was true in Isaiah’s day, for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” NRSV It was true while Jesus preached (John 12:37–41), and it was true in Paul’s day. We can expect the same today. Bringing people good news does not guarantee a welcome. But having been changed by the message ourselves ought to change the way we see those who have not yet heard. As Paul writes earlier in Romans, “I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks” (1:14). We are not held responsible for how others respond, but we are expected to carry the Good News.
10:17 Faith comes from hearing the message. NIV This statement expresses the main theme of this section. People need to hear the Good News of salvation in Christ in order to believe it (10:14). Faith does not respond in a vacuum or respond blindly. Faith is believing what one has been told about God’s offer of salvation and trusting the one who has been spoken about.
The message is heard through the word of Christ. NIV The word of Christ is the word about Christ and what he has accomplished to give salvation to all who believe in him.[2]
- How do I become a Christian?
- How can people call on God for salvation if they have not been moved to believe in him?
- And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?
- And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
- What is the best general method of preaching?
- Do people know of your faith by your actions?
- To whom can you communicate the life-changing message of Christ?
- How shall they preach unless they are sent?
- How will our loved ones and neighbors hear about Christ unless someone tells them?
- Is God calling you to be a part of making his message known in your community?
- Lord, who has believed our message?
What does it mean to Believe? (episteusan)—Commit (episteuen): the word “commit” is the very same word “believe” (Jn. 2:23). This gives an excellent picture of saving faith, of what genuine faith is—of the kind of faith that really saves a person.
1. Saving faith is not head knowledge, not just a mental conviction and intellectual assent. It is not just believing the fact that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. It is not just believing history, that Jesus Christ lived upon earth as the Savior just as George Washington lived upon earth as the President of America. It is not just believing the words and claims of Jesus in the same way that a person would believe the words of George Washington.
2. Saving faith is believing in Jesus, who and what He is, that He is the Savior and Lord of life. It is a man giving and turning his life over to Jesus. It is a man casting himself upon Jesus as Savior and Lord.
3. Saving faith is commitment—the commitment of a man’s total being and life to Jesus Christ. It is a man’s commitment of all he is and has to Jesus. It gives Jesus everything; therefore, it involves all of a man’s affairs. The man trusts Jesus to take care of his past (sins), his present (welfare), and his future (destiny). He entrusts his whole life, being, and possessions into Jesus’ hands. He lays himself upon Jesus’ keeping, confiding in Him about his daily necessities and acknowledging Him in all the ways of life. He follows Jesus in every area and in every detail of life, seeking His instructions and leaving his welfare up to Him. It is simply commitment of a man’s whole being, all he is and has, to Jesus. (Jn. 4:50; He. 5:5–10)
There are three steps involved in faith, steps that are clearly seen in this passage. (Ro. 10:16–17)
2. There is the step of mental assent. A man must agree that the message is true, that the facts of the case are thus and so. But this is not enough. Mere agreement does not lead to action. Many a person knows that something is true, but he does not change his behavior to match his knowledge. For example, a man knows that eating too much harms his body, but he may continue to eat too much. He agrees to the truth and knows the truth, but he does nothing about it. A person may believe and know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and yet do nothing about it, never make a decision to follow Christ. This man still does not have faith, not the kind of faith that the Bible talks about.
3. There is the step of commitment. When the New Testament speaks of faith, it speaks of commitment, a personal commitment to the truth. A man hears the truth and agrees that it is true and does something about it. He commits and yields his life to the truth. The truth becomes a part of his very being, a part of his behavior and life.[3]
[1] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible, Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
[2] Barton, Bruce B., David Veerman, and Neil S. Wilson. 1992. Romans. Life Application Bible Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[3] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2004. The Gospel according to John. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
Pics from YouVersion Bible App
Romans 10:13 NKJV; For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (bible.com)
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