Romans 10:14-17
QUESTION
I'm with you in that God gives spiritual life, which then enables someone to believe the truth. But I'm interested in your take on Romans 10:14-17, because it sounds like you're saying that people are saved without having any idea who Jesus is. Which...is kind of ridiculous. Why would Jesus tell His disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations, if the speaking of the Word wasn't a vital part in this awakening?
"...the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
"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? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ."
Not trying to stir things up, I'm really interested in what you think. (Anonymous)
RESPONSE
I'm with you in that God gives spiritual life, which then enables someone to believe the truth.
Yes. That is correct (John 5:25, 8:47).
But I'm interested in your take on Romans 10:14-17, because it sounds like you're saying that people are saved without having any idea who Jesus is.
Yes. That is precisely what I am saying. The Old Testament is an enormous monument to this often-overlooked biblical fact. First off, none of the Old Testament saints knew the name of Jesus Christ – nor did they possess the explicit NT gospel of I Corinthians 15:3-4, II Corinthians 5:21. That alone is a devastating blow against the idea that the explicit NT gospel reaches ALL of God’s elect family during their natural lives. There are more explicit examples where some of God’s elect had no intellectual knowledge of Jesus whatsoever, not even some veiled types and shadows: David’s son (II Samuel 12:23), Abijah (I Kings 14:12-13), and Rachael’s children (Matthew 2:16-18, Jeremiah 31:15-17).
As for Romans 10:14-17, keep reading. Paul answers the questions asked and his argument does not conclude until 11:4, wherein he states that God is doing things that have NOTHING to do with what preachers are doing.
Which...is kind of ridiculous. Why would Jesus tell His disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations, if the speaking of the Word wasn't a vital part in this awakening?
It’s not ridiculous, provided the gospel has some OTHER useful purpose. The gospel has MANY useful purposes for God’s people but imparting eternal life via regeneration is not one of them. Indeed, the gospel presumes a living subject as its beneficiary, given that only those who are born again have the ears to hear gospel truth (I Corinthians 2:14). The objection you raise is common, but insubstantial. It proceeds on the basis that if the gospel does not serve the purpose of imparting eternal life, then it serves no purpose at all. That is demonstrably false. For more on the biblical purposes of gospel ministry you might find this helpful: The Gospel and the New Birth.
"...the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Consider these clarifying questions:
Did the OT saints ever declare that “Jesus is Lord!”? No.
Were they eternally saved? Yes.
What manner of man can sincerely profess faith in Christ – regenerate or unregenerate? Regenerate (I Corinthians 2:14). The unregenerate have no faith and are enmity against God (Psalm 10:4, Romans 3:10-18, II Thessalonians 3:2).
So are the men of Romans 10 calling on Jesus in order to OBTAIN eternal life or because they already HAVE eternal life? They already have it, else they could not believe or proclaim such things in sincerity.
Those answers prove beyond any dispute that these are the effects that attend the regenerate who have been converted to a proper understanding of gospel truth. They are NOT the prerequisites to obtaining eternal life. To make that point more explicitly, the Lord Jesus Christ said, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” (Matthew 12:34). It follows that if those words are spoken in sincerity, they do not arise from the unregenerate, deceitful, and wicked heart of natural man (Jeremiah 17:9) but from the new heart given in regeneration (Ezekiel 36:26). More proof that men declare such thing as an evidence of their existing state of eternal salvation, not as a prerequisite to obtaining eternal salvation.
"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? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ."
“Faith cometh by hearing” means that faith is made manifest in the hearing of gospel truth. It is not saying, “The gospel imparts faith to men.” We know this is true because the gospel reveals the righteousness of God “from faith TO FAITH.” (Romans 1:17). A man MUST possess faith already in order to have any reception of the gospel. Faith is a fruit of the indwelling Holy Spirit of God (Galatians 5:22). It follows that the gospel instructs those who are ALREADY in possession of eternal life – it tells them about their savior and what he has accomplished for them.
Not trying to stir things up, I'm really interested in what you think.
Understood. Your questions are pretty common. Most people use Romans 10 to insist that the gospel is a regenerating instrument in this world. The only way to possibly sustain that position is to turn a blind eye to the NUMEROUS people in the bible who were born again, had faith, and were eternally saved who NEVER encountered the explicit NT gospel. When we ignore that much of the bible’s testimony, we are bound to arrive at some false conclusions regarding the gospel’s utility. Consider this: “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.” (Acts 10:34-35)
QUESTIONS REGARDING ACTS 10:
Who had Peter heard speak when he made this declaration? Cornelius (Acts 10:24-25)
Was that person regenerate or unregenerate? Regenerate (Acts 10:2, Romans 3:18).
When Peter said that, had he spoken a word of gospel truth to them? No. His gospel sermon comes after that (Acts 10:36-43).
Is Peter speaking of something that is a present tense truth or some future state of men who might fear God and work righteousness only AFTER hearing a gospel sermon? He is speaking of a present state reality, BEFORE he’s ever preached the gospel to the gentiles, even as it is true of Cornelius BEFORE he’s preached a gospel sermon to him.
I believe that those observations are frequently overlooked. I think it likely that this happens because people have been so proselytized in the Romans 10, “without gospel preaching no one can go to heaven” falsehood that is overturned by a closer examination of the context of those statements as well as by the salvation of the OT saints who never knew the name of Jesus and by Peter’s declaration in Acts 10. Those observations are relentless, and they MUST shape our understanding of how God regenerates men. To make that point more explicitly, who preached a gospel sermon to Abraham when he was selling idols in Ur?
May God bless our studies and understanding of his word,
- Elder Daniel Samons