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Faith From Hearing
Authored by Takao Kiyohiro, Osaka, Japan ktakao@po.teleway.ne.jp
Translated by Rev. Mike Furey mfurey@seidata.com
at http://www.j-e-s-u-s.org.
TEXT: Romans 10:14-21
1. "Whoever believes on the Lord will never be disappointed." [That] is the message from [the Lord]
in chapter eleven and verse eleven which we read last week. "Whoever" -- in the original text it has
"all." In verse twelve as well "all persons" is repeated again. Also in verse thirteen, the text has
"whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved." It has "all persons." It even seems like the
words "all persons, all persons" were echoing in Paul's head [as he] was having this section dictated
verbally [to someone]. There is no longer either Jew or Greek. In Christ the door of salvation is
opened to all persons. Paul was joyously thinking this fact over and over. There is one and the same
Lord for all persons. This Lord is richly giving his grace to all persons who would call upon him.
Settling one's salvation is not up to what kind of person one is. It is not up to the type of place where a
person was born or raised. It is not even about what a person did in the past [with himself or herself].
It is about "whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
Christ Calling Out
2. With that let's read verses fourteen and fifteen. "However, how will they be able to call on him in
whom they have never believed? How will they be able to believe in him of whom they have never
heard? Or, who will be able to hear unless there is one to proclaim [the message]. How will they be
able to proclaim unless they are sent out? It is just as it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of the one
who passes on the good news!,'" (verses fourteen and fifteen).
3. "The person who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Yet, the event of "calling on the
name of the Lord" does not directly occur in just an instant. There is a sequential chain leading up to it.
Paul is making that chain clear link by link through the medium of directing a series of questions. A
person calls on the Lord. It must be that the person calls on the Lord after he or she believes on Him.
Here this matter of "calling on the Lord" is linked to this matter of "faith" which Paul has described up to
this point. Also, this matter of believing on the Lord cannot come to be unless there is the act of
"hearing." That one is able to hear is because there is a person to do the telling. And that [there is] one
doing the telling is because there is [a person] sent out by Christ. The church's mission of proclamation
is grounded on the commission of Christ [sending us out]. It says, it is written that "How will they be
able to proclaim unless they are sent out?"
4. These last words are pivotal. This means that the mission of proclaiming the gospel is not produced
out of the natural pathos of a Christian. At times we hear this matter of evangelism being equated to the
numerous "sales pitches of a good [item]" in this world. It's like "If a person eats something delicious,
he would want to tell someone else "try eating this." We understand evangelism and missions in the
same way as this. It might not necessarily be much different from that but we should not think that that
is all there is to it. [I don't really think] saying "You should try eating some for yourself" is what being
sent out and doing [the work of missions] is. The mission of proclaiming the gospel has no basis
whatsoever in the natural pathos of human beings but is through and through based on the commission
of Christ [sending us out].
5. Also, we need to keep in our understanding one other important element connected with what is
written after this, which is, what the terms "proclaiming" and "hearing" [mean]. "How will they be able
to believe in him of whom they have never heard?" This is commonly understood in the following
manner: "If [one] has never heard about Christ it is impossible for [a person] to believe." Yet, if you
give it some thought, if it is only a case of giving out some information about Christ, it would be possible
to do even if [one] had not been sent out from Christ. Because anybody can talk about Christ.
Therefore, it does not seem that when it talks about "proclaiming" here it means just talking "about
Christ" and neither does it seem that "hearing" just simply refers to hearing "about Christ."
6. Christ sends. And the sent person proclaims. As expected, the ones doing the proclaiming are
doing the speaking directly, but yet it means that Christ himself is doing the speaking indirectly. Christ
speaks of himself through the mission of proclamation. Through the words of proclamation Christ
invites persons to faith. Through the words of the church Christ calls out and speaks out. The
proclamation of the church is not when we talk to the world about Christ. It is the event of Christ
sending the church out and his speaking to the world. Since that is the case, the substance of this
matter of "hearing" also logically becomes clear. "Hearing" is not hearing about Christ. The fact is [the
person] hears Christ, who speaks through the words of proclamation, speaking out to him or her.
Faith From Hearing
7. Paul made clear in this way in the previous sequential chain, in which the purpose of Christ was
permeating, that there is the event of calling on the name of the Lord. So in that way, whoever calls on
the name of the Lord will be saved.
8. However, one clear truth is that even though the door of salvation is opened to all persons, not
every person is calling on the name of the Lord. Even in the places where the gospel is proclaimed, it
usually has to be experienced. What Paul specifically illustrates on his heart was the dogged resistance
of the Jews. Among them the name of the Lord, the name of Christ was not being called on.
Somewhere [along the line] the chain had broken off. Where in the world did the chain get broken off?
9. Please look at verses sixteen and seventeen. "But, not everyone has obeyed the gospel. Isaiah
said, 'O Lord, who has believed what they heard from us?' In truth, faith is by hearing, even more, it
begins by hearing the word of Christ," (verses sixteen and seventeen).
10. Paul laid out a reference to Isaiah. God established Isaiah as a prophet. Being sent by God there
and then took place. Isaiah gave out the word of God. It says he said "what they heard from us." But,
they did not believe. And, Paul says, "Faith is by hearing." Therefore, regarding their unbelieving, it
amounted to the fact that the problem lied in the first place in the very act of [their] hearing itself.
Because the problem lied in the act of hearing itself, the link to [their] believing ended up getting broken
off from their hearing.
11. We probably need to direct our attention to how Paul saw fit to repeat and emphasize the link here
between hearing and faith. Rather than faith as something produced within a person Paul states how it
is something that comes from the outside by hearing. Beside that, "hearing," as I stated before, is not
the giving out of some information, but is nothing but hearing the message of Christ directed at one
through the words of proclamation. So, Paul here is saying that "[faith] begins by hearing the word of
Christ.
12. Being aware of this link [between faith and hearing] is quite important for understanding faith. That
is to say because there are many people who don't think faith "[comes] from hearing." Some quite
readily end up thinking that faith is an ability -- the ability to believe -- which they are given at birth.
Those who think this way suppose that "Whether I believe or not, it is up to me." I will believe if I think
it is something I think worthwhile and should believe in and I don't need to believe if I don't think it is
worth believing in. Unfortunately that's how [people] understand faith in general. But, if you give it
some careful thought, when a person says such a thing, what they already believe takes a priority. They
judge other situations worthy based on how they have believed in the past and if something harmonizes
with what they have believed before they will believe it, but they will only say that they do not believe in
something when it doesn't harmonize [with their presuppositions]. This type of situation has no
relationship of any kind with the faith the Bible speaks of. Because at that point the human being is the
focus through and through.
13. When "hearing" is truly done, the focus switches over [to a different point]. The focus switches
over to "the One directing his speech towards me." The Christ who is directing his speech towards me
becomes "the Lord," and I become "the servant." When hearing is done correctly, I shake from the
word of Christ, am broken down, humbled, and while in his love I am made to respect and worship
Christ as the true Lord. That indeed is the faith that begins "by hearing." If it's not that way and if
hearing has no relationship at all [to his lordship] and is a thing of human focus, even though we might
call it faith it is nothing more than something "I accepted because it conformed to my ideas." While we
may keep saying "I believe" it is nothing other than saying "I came to believe on my own and accepted it
by myself," to put it kind of awkwardly. Also, [in going] in this [idolatrous] direction, it even turns into
a thing that says "Since I have shown faith in you, I would appreciate some return [for this]."
14. "Faith comes by hearing." So, as for the unbelief of the Jews, we understand the problem was
with their hearing rather than the problem with their unbelief itself. Why was there a problem in their
hearing? I have a hunch we can understand it from Paul's words written in verses two and three of this
chapter. "I testify that they are serving God with a zealous heart, but their zeal is not based on a correct
awareness. Because in not knowing the righteousness of God they have not obeyed the righteousness
of God as they have tried to seek their own righteousness." They were zealous. They put everything
they had in trying to establish their own righteousness. They could not hear the words of Christ since
they were consumed with thoughts of "What am I supposed to do?"
15. Such a thing can happen to us today. While consumed with "What am I supposed to do?," when
all is said and done what takes precedence is not the words of Christ but [the idea] that "I think that if
things go according to my experience they will be fine." During our day as well, even in so far as
among zealous or active persons a kind of looking down on listening carefully to the Word takes
place. Thus, they tend to elevate the mindset of the times and their own ideals rather than the message
of the cross which the Bible and the church have proclaimed for generations. This is Pharisaism in a
new form and is similar to the problem the Jews back then had.
The Lord Holds Out His Hands All Day Long
16. Furthermore, let's read from verses eighteen to twenty-one. "With that I will ask a question.
Didn't they ever hear? Of course, they heard. 'The voice echoed in all the land and the word reached
the ends of the earth. But still, I will ask a question. Didn't Israel understand? Regarding this matter,
first of all Moses said, 'I will cause you to be jealous through those who are not my people and I will
make you angry through an ignorant people.' Isaiah also boldly said, 'I will be found by people who
were not searching for me and I will manifest myself to those who did not ask for me.' But, regarding
Israel he said "I have held out my hands all day long to a people who are disobedient and rebellious,'"
(verse eighteen through twenty-one).
17. Here Paul is quoting three biblical passages. The first is from Psalm nineteen, the second is
Deuteronomy thirty-two, and the third is a quote from Isaiah sixty-five. Actually, it is quite a free
quotation as is clear by opening up the Old Testament [and checking]. For example, when we write a
paper [our] quoting of references is done very differently [from the way Paul made his references]. [In
Paul's quotes] part of the words are different here and there, and most significantly they are quotes
where the context has been ignored for the most part. So, we cannot prove with these Old Testament
quotes the accuracy of Paul's claim. In the first place I don't think Paul himself was trying to prove the
accuracy of his claims with this. Paul says, "With that I will ask a question. Didn't they ever hear?"
But, his answer [to his question] is clear even if he hadn't quoted from the Old Testament. [It's clear]
because Paul went on to evangelize the Jews. They had certainly heard the gospel.
18. There is one thing that Paul wants to say through these biblical passages. It is that the
responsibility for human unbelief cannot fall on God. Human beings may be unconcerned with Christ,
or may oppose him, or may not receive the message of salvation. But, while it is a problem on the side
of humanity, God is never unconcerned about people like this. God has given the gospel, preached the
word and directed his efforts towards even the Gentiles who have not originally sought for him. The
Lord says, "I will be found by people who were not searching for me and I will manifest myself to those
who did not ask for me." Such a Lord is directing his words to even Israel in rebellion. He has
stretched his hands all day long to a people who are disobedient and rebellious.
19. Today, the Lord is there stretching his hands out all day long to all of us in this country. The chain
on the Lord's side is linked and is coming to where we are who are listening to the Word. It must not
get broken where we are. Faith begins from hearing. And, through the faith which has begun by
hearing, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Translated by Mike Furey
Hanover, IN, USA
mfurey@seidata.com
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