Our text is a profound
commentary on the problem of selective hearing- or better still, a commentary on how sin affects our hearing of the truth. I
will close with some application on this problem.
In his letter to the
Romans, Paul has presented us with the clearest and fullest explanation of the
Gospel. In the gospel humanity’s main problem is addressed and dealt with.
Unless we are reconciled with God, saved from the wrath of God, we will not go
the heaven. That is the bad news! The good news is that the gospel, the
message of salvation, is a gift from God, that can be received through
faith in Jesus Christ. It cannot be received by self-effort, and not by
following religious laws. Just look to Jesus !
Last time we considered Romans 10:1-13. There Paul had stressed the absolute need for faith in the Lord Jesus for salvation. A review of 10:9-13 teaches that confessing, believing, calling on the name of the Lord Jesus, are necessary for salvation. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved…” (10:9).
This is no new teaching. Paul finds it in the Old Testament.
- In Rom. 10:11 Paul finds it in Isa. 10:11 “Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.”
- And in Rom. 10:13 Paul finds it in Joel 2:32 : “For everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved”.
The gospel is for everyone – the Jews first, and the gentiles
(Rom.1:16)
If that is what the OT teaches, then we must ask, how did Israel, Paul’s countrymen, the most privileged nation upon the face of the earth (cf. 9:4-5) by and large not hear that? It is very clear that Paul is grieved by the overwhelming non-response of his Jewish countrymen to the gospel (Rom. 9:1-5; 10:1-4). This, incidentally, does not apply to Jews only. We see this kind of apathy also in our gentile world.
Why will our world at large not hear the gospel?
Why in fact does it reject the gospel?
We have already
considered this problem by way of the teaching on election in Romans 9.
That doctrine is God’s truth, and it explains the ultimate reason as to why
some people are saved at all. However, this knowledge of
who is elect and who is not, belongs to God. Romans 9 relates to the
doctrine of Divine Sovereignty, and the “why”
of it He has not revealed to us.[1]
In Romans 10 we find the counterpart to that great doctrine – the doctrine of human responsibility. What must we do to help men and women to believe? The answer is this: We must preach the gospel to them! This is our clear God given responsibility. All people, Jew and Gentile, need to hear the gospel, confess the gospel, believe the gospel, by calling on the Name of the Lord Jesus! Everyone may be saved by confessing, by believing, by calling on the Name of the Lord Jesus. (10:11,13). Our context is geared specifically to the Jews, but it can be applied to the rest of mankind.
But how is this to be
done? What we learn here is vital to our
understanding, doctrine and practice of evangelism. It is also important to the
expectations we may have of our evangelistic work. Follow the logic of the text
with me…
4 Questions
(i) How will they
call on Him (Christ) if they have not believed in Him?
(ii) How are they to believe in Him (Christ) if
they have never heard (the gospel of Christ)?
(iii) How will they hear (the gospel of Christ)
without someone preaching?
(iv) How are they to preach (the
gospel) unless they are sent?
Why these questions? We need gospel clarity in order to believe! In asking these four questions, Paul says that people need
(i) help to
call on Him in whom they have not believed
(ii) to hear a
clear explanation of who Christ is
(iii) a preacher to explain the gospel of Jesus the
Messiah
(iv) Preachers need to be sent. Churches do
selection and the sending
This is a very direct and pointed command, rooted in the Great Commission (Matt.28: 18-20). Here in Rom. 10:14-15 we have the how to do it. We need authorized (called) preachers who help people to receive a clear explanation of who Jesus is: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news”- another quote from the OT – Isa. 52:7. Just that. Nothing more, nothing less.
People need to hear the plain gospel, clearly explained. People need to hear how they may be saved from the consequences of their sin. Sadly, the church is very tempted by the idea that the preaching of the plain gospel is not enough. We are tempted to become more appealing to the culture; to focus more on not being offensive; to focus on contemporary worship; making a big fuss of people; making the church more user friendly; draw crowds by minimizing the problem of sin; avoid talking about substitutionary atonement and the cruel death of Christ on the cross; avoid talking directly about the need of repentance etc.
We are not saying that we must not be welcoming, friendly and joyful – we have every reason to be, but we must not do this at the expense of watering down the gospel.
THE POINT: Above all, the Gospel
must be clearly heard!
Again, this problem is
directly related to Israel in context but it also applies universally.
(i) 10:16-18 “But they have not all obeyed the gospel”. Some have, but most not. The problem is not that Israel did not have gospel preachers. They did. The OT proves it- see Isaiah 53:1: “Lord who has believed what he has heard from us?” and again in 10:18 which is a quote from Psalm 19:4. Psalm 19 deals with the two ways in which God has made Himself known to mankind:
1. General Revelation (19:1-6)- God’s revelation in nature and
2. Special
Revelation (19:7-14). God has made
Himself known through His OT Word, and then very specifically through sending
His Son into the World (Hebr. 1:1-3). He is the WORD. The Jews had
the best opportunity to hear
the message and respond to it. We
will come back to 10:17 in a moment...
(ii) 10:18 -21 The Jews have heard the gospel, but did they
understand? Was the gospel explained
sufficiently? Was it clear? Paul says that the problem is not that
Israel lacked understanding. They should have. Even the gentiles had understood
it! [Notice, 10:19 is a reference
to Deut.:21 and 10:20 is a reference to Isaiah 65:1]
Paul’s point is this: If the gentiles
understood the gospel (with all their deficient OT background) how could the Jews
not have understood it? This is not an
intellectual problem and 10:21 gives the reason: "All day long I’ve stretched out my hands to
a disobedient and contrary people".
(Isaiah 65:2). There is the problem! Never underestimate the impact of disobedience and
contrariness. Disobedience to the clear Word
of God hardens our hearts to the gospel. This is what the Jews were when Jesus appeared. They had hardened hearts. A reading
of the gospels helps us to see this clearly.
"Faith comes from hearing, and hearing
through the word of Christ."
The
key to saving faith is to HEARING the Word of Christ by confessing Christ, by believing in Christ and by calling upon the
Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ, through His Word and the
outpoured Holy Spirit continues to stretch out His hands to a disobedient and
contrary people.
If faith comes by hearing, and that hearing is the hearing of the word of Christ, then we need messages from our pulpit that are full of the gospel of Christ Jesus, because that is the only means by which saving faith is produced.
Sadly, many churches don’t believe this anymore and that is why you hear motivational speakers rather than preachers. Motivational speakers preach about ‘Seven ways to Better Financial Planning’; ‘Eight Steps to Being a Better Parent or husband or wife’ ; ‘How to Improve Your Love Life’. The Bible is used as a launching pad and is quickly left behind, and the preacher basically becomes a pop psychologist. Christ is not heard. He is not the grand subject and solution to our problems.
This kind of proclamation cannot not sustain the
hungry impoverished soul.
Systematic, Spirit filled, passionate Bible exposition is key. When the Bible is properly preached, the Lord Jesus Christ and all His work for us is at the center of it all. And when Jesus is preached, He will draw people to Himself (John 12:32). As people come to Him, and as they remain in Him (John 15) they will become better husbands, wives, children, employers, employees, better financial stewards etc. They will become more kind, loving, merciful, honest… they will grow daily in the grace and the knowledge of Christ.
Regular sitting under the Word is key.
Israel sadly began to feed upon and listen to something else other than the word of God. She indulged in selective hearing. She became hardhearted, obstinate and unbelieving - and as a result she missed her Messiah, Jesus, the best gift that God has given to this world (2 Cor. 9:15)
The Bible frequently warns against the danger of selective hearing.
The Israelites often fell into this trap, choosing to follow God's commands only when convenient. Jeremiah 6:10, laments, "To whom shall I speak and give warning that they may hear? Behold their ears are uncircumcised, they cannot listen; behold the word of the LORD is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it."
The Pharisees were notorious for their selective adherence
to the Law. Jesus rebukes them in Matthew 23:23, saying, "Woe to
you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You tithe mint and dill and cumin and
have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and
faithfulness." Their focus on minor details while neglecting the core
principles of the Law exemplifies the danger of selective hearing. And
in the end, they were the one’s who could not bear to hear the words of Jesus.
Selective hearing refers to hearing only those parts of God's Word that
align with our desires while ignoring the rest.
Selective hearing poses significant spiritual danger.
- It leads to a distorted understanding of God's will.
- It hinders one's relationship with God.
- It leads to spiritual deafness. Jesus addresses this issue directly in Matthew 13:13-15: "This is why I speak to them in parables: 'Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.'" A hardened heart and selective hearing prevents people from truly understanding and accepting Jesus’ teachings.
- It leads to lack of spiritual depth and authenticity. James 1:22-24 warns us, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like." Here we learn the importance of not only hearing God's Word but also acting upon it.
- It makes us vulnerable to false teachings. In 2 Timothy 4:3-4, Paul cautions, "For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." If we engage in selective hearing an stop relying on the good counsel of God’s Word, false teachings become plausible.
- Be receptive to all God's Word.
- Test all teachings against Scripture (e.g. the Bereans in Acts 17:11). Read and study the Bible for yourself
- Seek the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit with prayer
- Keep your focus on the Lord Jesus. Look for Him in the Bible.
- Be obedient to God’s revealed will
[1] Deut. 29:29 “The secret things belong to the LORD
our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children
forever, that we may do all the works of his law.”
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