Romans 10:14

King James Version (KJV)

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?

Adam Clarke
Bible Commentary

How then shall they call on him - As the apostle had laid so much stress on believing in order to salvation, and as this doctrine, without farther explanation, might be misunderstood, it was necessary to show how this faith was produced; and therefore he lays the whole doctrine down in a beautifully graduated order.

There can be no salvation without the Gospel: a dispensation of mercy and grace from God alone, here called, Romans 10:15, the Gospel of peace; glad tidings of good things.

This must be preached, proclaimed in the world for the obedience of faith.

None can effectually preach this unless he have a Divine mission; for how shall they preach except they be Sent, Romans 10:15. The matter must come from God; and the person mho proclaims it must have both authority and unction from on high.

This Divinely-commissioned person must be heard: it is the duty of all, to whom this message of salvation is sent, to hear it with the deepest reverence and attention.

What is heard must be credited; for they who do not believe the Gospel as the record which God has given of his Son cannot be saved, Romans 10:14.

Those who believe must invoke God by Christ, which they cannot do unless they believe in him; and in this way alone they are to expect salvation. Professing to believe in Christ, without earnest, importunate prayer for salvation, can save no man. All these things the apostle lays down as essentially necessary; and they all follow from his grand proposition, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. But, says the apostle, How shall they Call upon 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? And how shall they Preach except they be sent? And with what message which can bring salvation can they be sent, but with the Gospel of Peace, the Glad Tidings Of Good Things. When, therefore, there is:

1st, a proper Message;

2ndly, a proper Messenger;

3rdly, the message Preached, proclaimed, or properly delivered by him;

4thly, the proclamation properly Heard and attentively considered by the people;

5thly, the message which they have heard, conscientiously Believed;

6thly, the name of the Lord Jesus, by whom alone this salvation is provided, most fervently Invoked; then,

7thly, salvation, or redemption from sin and misery, and the enjoyment of peace and happiness, will be the result of such calling, believing, hearing, preaching, sending, and message sent: - and thus the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith is guarded from abuse.

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Albert Barnes
Notes on the Whole Bible

How then shall they call. … - The apostle here adverts to an objection which might be urged to his argument. His doctrine was, that faith in Christ was essential to justification and salvation; and that this was needful for all; and that, without this, man must perish. The objection was, that they could not call on him in whom they had not believed; that they could not believe in him of whom they had not heard; and that this was arranged by God himself, so that a large part of the world was destitute of the gospel, and in fact did not believe; Romans 10:16-17. The objection had particular reference to the Jews; and the ground of injustice which a Jew would complain of, would be, that the plan made salvation dependent on faith, when a large part of the nation had not heard the gospel, and had had no opportunity to know it. This objection the apostle meets, so far as it was of importance to his argument, in Romans 10:18-21. The first part of the objection is, that they could “not call on him in whom they had not believed.” That is, how could they call on one in whose existence, ability, and willingness to help, they did not believe? The objection is, that in order to our calling on one for help, we must be satisfied that there is such a being, and that he is able to aid us. This remark is just, and every man feels it. But the point of the objection is, that “sufficient evidence of the divine mission and claims of Jesus Christ had not been given to authorize the doctrine that eternal salvation depended on belief in him, or that it would be right to suspend the eternal happiness of few and Gentile on this.”

How shall they believe in him … - This position is equally undeniable, that people could not believe in a being of whom they had not heard. And the implied objection was, that people could not be expected to believe in one of whose existence they knew nothing, and, of course, that they could not be blamed for not doing it. It was not right, therefore, to make eternal life depend, both among Jews and Gentiles, on faith in Christ.

And how shall they hear … - How can people hear, unless some one proclaim to them, or preach to them what is to be heard and believed? This is also true. The objection thence derived is, that it is not right to condemn people for not believing what has never been proclaimed to them; and, of course, that the doctrine that eternal life is suspended on faith cannot be just and right.

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Matthew Henry
Concise Bible Commentary

There is not one God to the Jews, more kind, and another to the Gentiles, who is less kind; the Lord is a Father to all men. The promise is the same to all, who call on the name of the Lord Jesus as the Son of God, as God manifest in the flesh. All believers thus call upon the Lord Jesus, and none else will do so humbly or sincerely. But how should any call on the Lord Jesus, the Divine Saviour, who had not heard of him? And what is the life of a Christian but a life of prayer? It shows that we feel our dependence on him, and are ready to give up ourselves to him, and have a believing expectation of our all from him. It was necessary that the gospel should be preached to the Gentiles. Somebody must show them what they are to believe. How welcome the gospel ought to be to those to whom it was preached! The gospel is given, not only to be known and believed, but to be obeyed. It is not a system of notions, but a rule of practice. The beginning, progress, and strength of faith is by hearing. But it is only hearing the word, as the word of God that will strengthen faith.

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SDA Bible Commentary (limited)
Volume 1-7

14. How then shall they call? Having stated the universality of salvation by faith, Paul now discusses the conditions that must be fulfilled in order for all to have the opportunity to accept it. He lists these conditions as a series of questions. Each question in the chain is an argument, the conclusion of which is tacitly assumed and forms the basis of the next question. For example, “How can they call on the Lord unless they believe in Him? They cannot; therefore, they must first believe. But how can they believe if they have not heard? They cannot.” And so on.

Some connect vs. 14 and 15 with the preceding passage and relate them to the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles. If the gospel is intended for everyone, as implied in the “whosoever” of v. 13, then it should be preached to everyone. Others connect vs. 14 and 15 more closely with the remaining verses of the chapter. They argue that Paul is not dealing in this section with the mission to the Gentiles but with the unbelief of the Jews. The Jews, as Paul has already explained, have been “ignorant” of the right way to obtain righteousness. To convince them of their very great guilt in this matter, Paul seeks to show that they have had ample opportunity to know and understand God’s plan. He begins by asking what conditions are necessary for “calling on the Lord,” and then shows that these conditions have been fulfilled. Therefore the Jews are without excuse for their unbelief.

The argument in vs. 14-21 may be summarized as follows: Have the preachers of the gospel been sent, so that all may have opportunity to believe (v. 14)? Yes, the gospel has been preached, as Isaiah foretold (v. 15). Does the fact that all have not believed prove that they have not heard (v. 16)? No, for Isaiah also foretold that some would not receive the message (vs. 16, 17). Is it possible that some of the Jews may not have heard (v. 18)? This could not be, for the gospel message has gone everywhere. Even if it is true that Israel heard the gospel, is it possible that they did not grasp its significance (v. 19)? This also could not be, for, as Moses and Isaiah have described, the less privileged and less enlightened Gentiles have been able to understand (vs. 19, 20). Therefore, the Jews cannot plead ignorance of the gospel as an excuse for their unbelief. The real fact is that, as Isaiah has said, they are a disobedient, self-willed people (v. 21).

Of whom. To hear the gospel from a preacher sent of Christ is to hear Christ (2 Cor. 5:20). The Lord is heard speaking through His chosen representatives.

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Ellen G. White
The Upward Look, 60.4

All classes are to be reached. As we labor, we shall meet with various nationalities. None are to be passed by, unwarned. The Lord Jesus was the gift of God to the entire world—not to the higher classes alone, and not to any one nationality, to the exclusion of others. His saving grace encircles the whole world. Whosoever will may drink of the water of life freely. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). But there is earnest work to be done. The gospel invitation is to be given in every place, for “how ... 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?” (Verse 14). UL 60.4

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Ellen G. White
Gospel Workers 1915, 19

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!” “Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted His people, He hath redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord hath made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.” [Isaiah 52:7, 9, 10.] GW 19.1

*****

Workers for Christ are never to think, much less to speak, of failure in their work. The Lord Jesus is our efficiency in all things; His Spirit is to be our inspiration; and as we place ourselves in His hands, to be channels of light, our means of doing good will never be exhausted. We may draw upon His fulness, and receive of that grace which has no limit. GW 19.2

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Ellen G. White
Testimonies for the Church, vol. 7, 224

“We do not,” it was said, “question the need of missions in foreign lands. But we do question the right of those who claim to have present truth to pass by millions of human beings in their own country, many of whom are as ignorant as the heathen. Why is it that so little is done for the colored people of the South, many of whom are ignorant and destitute, and need to be taught that Christ is their Creator and Redeemer? How can they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? How can they hear without a preacher? And how can one preach except he be sent? 7T 224.1

“We lay this matter before those who profess to believe the truth for this time. What are you doing for the unenlightened colored race? Why have you not a deeper sense of the necessities of the Southern field? Does there not rest upon ministers of the gospel the responsibility of setting in operation plans whereby this people can be educated? Does not the commission of the Saviour teach this? Is it right for professing Christians to hold themselves aloof from this work, allowing a few to carry the burden? In all your plans for medical missionary work and foreign missionary work, has God given you no message for us?” 7T 224.2

Then He who has authority arose, and called upon all to give heed to the instruction that the Lord has given in regard to the work in the South. He said: “Much more evangelistic work should be done in the South. There should be a hundred workers where now there is but one. 7T 224.3

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Ellen G. White
Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 399

The Lord calls for united action. Well-organized efforts must be made to secure laborers. There are poor, honest, humble souls whom the Lord will put in your place, who have never had the opportunities you have had, and who could not have them because you were not worked by the Holy Spirit. We may be sure that when the Holy Spirit is poured out those who did not receive and appreciate the early rain will not see or understand the value of the latter rain. When we are truly consecrated to God, His love will abide in our hearts by faith, and we will cheerfully do our duty in accordance with the will of God. TM 399.1

But the little interest that has been manifested in the work of God by our churches alarms me. I would ask all who have means to remember that God has entrusted this means to them to be used in the advancement of the work which Christ came to our world to do. The Lord tells every man that in the sight of God he is not the owner of what he possesses, but only a trustee. Not thine, but Mine, saith the Lord. God will call you to account for your stewardship. Whether you have one talent, or two, or five, not a farthing is to be squandered on your own selfish indulgences. Your accountability to Heaven should cause you to fear and tremble. The decisions of the last day turn upon our practical benevolence. Christ acknowledges every act of beneficence as done to Himself. TM 399.2

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