Romans 10:13-21

Romans 10:13-21

13for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

16But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message?" 17Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

18But I ask: Did they not hear?

Of course they did:

"Their voice has gone out into all the earth,

their words to the ends of the world."

19Again I ask: Did Israel not understand?

First, Moses says,

"I will make you envious by those who are not a nation;

I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding."

20And Isaiah boldly says,

"I was found by those who did not seek me;

I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me."

21But concerning Israel he says,

"All day long I have held out my hands

to a disobedient and obstinate people."

We ended last week with Romans chapter 10:13 and today we will start with Romans chapter 10:13.

Verse 13 sets up the last half of Romans chapter 10 so we must go back to it in order for us to understand it in its proper context.

13for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Now for starters the fact is that when we call on the name of the Lord, God is already started to work in our lives. That is why we even begin to realize that we are in need of Him. That we are not in control like we thought we were.

We have talked in the past about what is needed for salvation, so I wanted to just briefly go over again a few things we must have in order for the salvation process to take place. Keep in mind that these three things are not by our works in any way but the work of God within us through Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Intellectual knowledge, instilled in us by Christ through His word (Will talk more later)

Personal belief of that knowledge

Living a life dedicated and committed to that knowledge

These three elements must be all met in order for salvation to be a reality. Any one of these three truths not found in a person that claims salvation, is deceiving themselves about their salvation. Not any one or two of these combined will do it, it must be all three.

But we do see one more critical thing here in verse 13 and that is the calling on of Christ to come in to your life. Acknowledging that He is Lord and Savior and that you can’t do it on your own and you need Him to do it for you.

This is as important of an element as the other three, because it says "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" and I would say that it means that we must call on Jesus in order to be saved. Again it is acknowledgement of who Christ is and that we need Him to be a part of our lives. It is admitting that we were wrong and that only He can get us on the right path.

Paul gives a picture of how this process comes about but he puts it in an ascending order going back through the steps.

14-15 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

Christ sends out believers to share His gospel message usually through the church but this sending out does come directly from Jesus and is a personal responsibility of every Christian.

We are all called to proclaim Christ as Lord and Savior; both as a church and as individuals.

Christ speaks directly to that person through His word. It is not just the hearing of the words but Christ communicating with them directly through His words.

The personal belief of Christ’s word, which is a gift from God.

I believe this with all my heart, that we, that is every single one of us, has a personal responsibility to be a part of spreading the gospel message of Jesus Christ.