At this point in Romans, Paul was in the process of telling the Jews that the Gentiles were being invited to accept the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because he had been raised as a Pharisaic Jew, Paul knew full well what their reaction would be. They hated the idea. Knowing this, Paul foresaw one of their arguments and answered it before it was asked. “If God has called the Gentiles, and if you have been called to give to them the good news of Christ, then why haven’t those Gentiles believed, or why haven’t they all become proselytes to our faith.”
Some Jews might have thought that their argument was valid, but it has nothing to do with the fact. Paul’s reply was that despite what Israel might have thought, not even her people were flocking to Christ. Lay aside what the Gentiles are doing or have done, Israel has responded no better than the Heathen. And to prove his point, Paul quoted the Old Testament. In Isaiah 53:1, when the prophet said, “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?” he was talking primarily about his own nation and his own tribe of Judah. Earlier, in Romans 9, Paul had said, “For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel.” Not all the children of Abraham are children of Abraham’s faith. But some who never were children of Abraham have become children of Abraham through their faith in the God of Abraham. This was such a critical and divisive issue among the Jews that Paul spends the better part of three chapters dealing with it.
But for us this morning, let’s move on to a comment made by Paul in the midst of that discussion. It might even cause some consternation among us. “But they have not all OBEYED the gospel.” Obeyed, obeyed the gospel? That almost sounds heretical.
To rephrase it, the gospel is this: Upon the background of our sinfulness, and realizing that we deserve eternal damnation for our sins, God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son in order to save some of us. The gospel is that Christ Jesus, successfully lived a sinless life, teaching and preaching the things of God. But then, like one of the Old Testament sacrifices with which Israel was so familiar, Jesus was placed on the altar which God the Father had ordained for Him, and He died there as a substitute for anyone who would repent of their sin and trust that sacrifice. The good news is that Christ Jesus’ death is perfectly sufficient to cover all the sins of the believer. Jesus died as the Lamb of God; in fact in the plan of God, He was slain before the foundation of the world. All that is required of the sinner, in the manner of the Old Testament, is to put our sinful hands upon the head of the sacrifice through our faith. With that act, symbolic or real, God imputes our sin to the Saviour and His righteousness to us. The gospel is so beautiful and so simple that even children from an early age can see it and accept it, if they are taught by the Holy Spirit of God. In many cases the difficult part is the realization that everyone is thoroughly sinful and depraved; completely without any ability to contribute to God’s salvation.
And that brings us to the thorny issue of the morning.
Jackie’s dog is a pretty good mutt as far as dogs go; he has both redeeming and aggravating features. Somewhere between those two, is his idea that when he has done something good, he deserves a treat. After he goes for a walk, when he gets home he thinks that he deserves a treat. If he isn’t too obnoxious while the family eats their meal, afterward, he believes that he deserves a treat. There are many commands that he recognizes and sometimes obeys, and when he obeys, he thinks that he deserves a treat. Just like puppy dogs, most human beings believe that when they are obedient then they deserve a treat. And millions of professing Christians apply that philosophy to God’s salvation. When they are sufficiently good, kind, benevolent, faithful & loving, God is obligated to save their souls. When they are sufficiently successful in beating down certain terrible sins, God must save them. And some of them even believe that when they obediently repent of their sin and put their faith in Christ, they obligate God to forgive them of their sin and take them to Heaven. This last idea comes very, very close to the truth, but it is far enough away to condemn millions to Hell. What these people do is put their trust in repentance and faith, rather than in the sacrifice of Christ.
Let me show you something interesting about the Greek word “obey.” I realize that some don’t like my constant references to the original languages. Some may think that this is a waste of time, because it is the doctrine of this church that God has preserved His Word in our language in the pages of the King James Bible. Believe me, I do not want our references to Greek and Hebrew to detract from that doctrine. I believe it to be true with all my heart, and I consider all the new versions of the Bible as a satanic attack upon the Word of God itself. The reason that I like to refer to the original languages, is because they bring to me color and blessings which are hidden by the limitations of our English.
The word “obey” is derived from two Greek words spun together – “hupakouo” (hoop-ak-oo’-o). “Hupo” is a common preposition which is usually translated “of,” “under” or “with.” And “akouo” (ak-oo’-o) means “to hear,” or “to harken.” Put together, these two words suggest that “to obey” is “to hear WITH an obligation to respond.” And what do the next two verses say? “So then faith cometh by HEARING, and hearing by the word of God. But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.” The word “hearing” in Romans 10:17 is “akoe” (ak-o-ay’) and is directly related to “obey.” And the word “heard” found twice in the next verse is the same Greek word.
So what do these words mean in the context of the gospel? If I told you that the weight of last month’s snow had caused the cracks in our ceiling to expand, I wouldn’t be surprised if several of you looked up in response. If I told you that yesterday, I heard on the news that the sun was going to turn blue at about 12:15 this afternoon, I would expect a few of you to go outside after our service this morning to check it out. I remember as a wicked high school kid, Fred Norling, wanted us all to independently ask one of our teachers if she felt well that day, because she didn’t look too well. The idea was that if enough of us suggested that she didn’t feel well, she might actually think that she was getting sick. Those may be poor examples, in fact they may actually be negative examples, but they are going in the right direction.
To obey the gospel is to hear it with an ear of response. “Christ died for my sins according to the scripture? What a humbling thought that I should need such a sacrifice like this. I must be a terrible person to warrant such a desperate step as the death of the Son of God.” Biblical obedience to the gospel involves a voluntary, or perhaps we could properly say, an involuntary repentance of sin. Repentance is literally a change of mind, a new agreement with God, about our sinfulness. It is a rejection of all our self-righteousness and the idea that we are capable of saving ourselves. It is a casting of ourselves upon the grace and mercy of God. A proper “hearing” of God’s good news invokes this kind of “obedience.” – repentance.
And then of course there is faith. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” “For ye are saved by grace through faith.” Exactly what is this faith? It is to believe that the death of Christ is true in its relationship to us. It is to look to Christ hanging on the cross, as though He was there wearing my sins as a backpack strapped across His naked shoulders. There is a sense in which faith is a reaction, an obedience, to the gospel which we have heard. “Lord Jesus, you died there for me? For ME? I believe you!” I hope that you can see that this faith isn’t so much something that we do in regard to the gospel. It is simply the correct response to the gospel, coming up from the depth of our hearts.
Let me add another interesting fact from the original Greek language. Notice the word “word” verse 17. There are two Greek words translated “word” in the New Testament. There is “logos” – the “logos theos.” This word is often applied to the written word – our Bibles. And it is equally applied to the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Incarnate Word of God. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” But here, this isn’t that Greek word; this is “rhema” (hray’-mah) – “that which is spoken” by God.
Romans 10:17 isn’t directly saying, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Bible.” Although it could certainly be applied that way. This is saying that faith comes by the command – by the words of God. And in this there are at least two important lessons. The first takes us back to verses 13 and 14 – “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” Once again, we cannot stress enough the importance of the gospel ministry. Under the authority of God, through the church of Christ, is the ministry of preaching the gospel. It is God’s ministry, and the message must be God’s message.
But there is an additional application – Faith cometh by the command, the word, the will of God. Obedience to the gospel – that is faith and repentance – are results of God’s ministry – God’s will – in our hearts. Those who are dead in trespasses and sin; those who cannot please God until they are born again, are incapable of repentance and faith without the command of God which gives them life and ability. This is why Paul told Timothy that he needed to maintain as pure a ministry as possible – “Be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.” Repentance is the gift of God bestowed upon sinners through the ministry of the gospel. And faith, too, is the gift of God. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
When a sinner hears the gospel, and in obedience repents of his sin, believing on the Lord Jesus, he doesn’t have anything in which to boast or brag. What has happened is that the sovereign grace of God has done its perfect work through the gospel.
So what has this got to do with the cat on the hot shingled roof? Verse 21 says that to a disobedient and gainsaying, back-talking people God stretched out his arms. He was holding up a chair to souls in distress. Perhaps it wasn’t the most logical answer to the problem according to human wisdom, but it was of God. And by the very lifting up of the chair and the stretching out of the arms, an invitation was made. Some kittens would never consider such an avenue of escape, but a few step out by faith. There is a sense in which they obey the offer.
Should the gospel preacher exhort and command that sinners repent and trust Christ? Absolutely, assuming that the preacher has adequately presented the true gospel! This is what we see throughout the New Testament. But if that sinner is saved, he will not look back upon his faith and repentance for salvation. It was nothing that he did which saved his soul. It was Christ Jesus and his precious blood which redeemed him, saved him, justified him. All praise to God above! Saved souls have indeed obeyed the gospel, but only in the sense that they heard it and responded as the Lord lead them to respond.
Have you fully, truly, and humbly repented of your sin – along with every shred of your old self-righteousness? Is your faith for deliverance and salvation in no other than the crucified Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ? Amen! But if not, I implore you to bow before the cross, bow before the empty tomb and bow before the throne of God today. Repent of your sin and “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”