Bible Reading – Romans 10:13-17
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 they 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 of God.
Devotion
It is clear from the above text that both Jew and Gentile are to call upon the name of the Lord to be saved. It is also clear from Scripture and from history that many Israelites rejected the message and the messenger sent from God. The Israelites would reject any gospel that would omit the Mosaic system with all its laws and prohibitions. Paul makes the point that in order for the message of the Gospel to be heard, there must be messengers sent from God. In order to hear and believe, there must be people proclaiming the Good News. In his commentary on the book of Romans, J.V. McGee writes, “The law of Moses surely was not glad tidings of good things, but it was a ministration of death.”
From this text, we clearly see that faith does not come by preaching philosophy or psychology or some political platform; it comes by proclaiming the Word of God. Until a person hears the Word of God, they cannot be saved. As believers we are called to hold out the Word of Truth. We must be faithful to the message and the messenger. Jesus said, “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself.”
The Big Question
How are you lifting up Jesus in a world that is spiritually lost? Have you called upon the name of the Lord to be saved? How are you proclaiming the Good News to those who are far from God? What pace does God’s Word have in your daily disciplines? How are you living out God’s Word today?
Spend some time in prayer meditating on what God revealed to you today.