In verse 12 we are reminded again that there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek, when it comes to salvation. There is only one Lord. The Lord Jesus is the Saviour of both Jew and Greek. He desires to bless all people. As we have noted in the past, Abraham was chosen by God to be a shining light to the glory of God. Abraham’s descendants, through Isaac, were also to be shining lights. The rest of Abraham’s descendants were to see the blessing in Isaac and that would give them occasion to trust in the true God as well. Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob. They were both born from the same father and mother. Yet Jacob was the one chosen to carry on the promise. Esau proved unworthy to be a light. He despised his birthright and he was not fit to receive the blessing of God. The nation of Israel stumbled at the promise of God. The apostle Paul was addressing Jews who had been saved and were serving God. However, many other Jews were not saved and had no desire to be saved.
In verse 13 we are reminded that “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” That whosoever refers to either Jew or Greek. No room for the Calvinist heresies. No room for the easy believism that keeps the lost sinner from calling upon the Lord. As we have already noted, there needs to be the conviction in the heart of the need to call upon the Lord. When someone else puts the words into your mouth, that is not from the heart.
In verse 14 we see the importance of a right message. There is a need for the lost person to believe in the Lord Jesus. The majority of the Jews who lived during Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry, did not believe He was the Messiah. They rejected Him because He did not meet their standard for the Messiah. They wanted an earthly king, not a heavenly king.
God directed Paul to remind us that there is a need to hear the truth. There are multitudes of people who have not heard the truth. We had a meeting yesterday with some people who have not heard the truth. There were some younger people and there were some older people. The older people were raised either Catholic or United. They never heard the truth in either of those places. They are not innocent. However, those who are saved are commanded to go and tell people the truth. We dare not just tell them some nice sounding stories. They need to hear the truth.
We see in verse 14 that they need a preacher. A preacher does not tell nursery rhymes. A preacher speaks plainly and carefully. It was interesting to notice one of the younger ones in the meeting yesterday. She seems to be very keen to listen to what I was saying. I spoke from the book of Jonah. God has a message for the soul anywhere we go in the Bible. It is up to us to make that message known.
In verse 15 we see that the preacher needs to be sent. Who sends the preacher? It is the Lord Who sends the preacher. The preacher must be saved. The Catholic priest is not saved. The United church minister is not saved. They are not sent by God. They are a hindrance to the Gospel. They do not have the needed message of peace. They are frauds.
Certainly the local church is involved in the sending process as well. The true local church has a pastor that has been sent by the Lord. The pastor will be led by God to see anyone in his church that would also be an effective witness for the Lord. Every true born again Christian needs to be willing to be sent by God. Each one needs to be trained and each one needs to go out in the power of God. The local church needs to pray for each one.
We see that the feet of the faithful servant of God are beautiful feet. It does not guarantee that all people will see them as beautiful. The apostle Paul knew that he had enemies. He was writing this epistle from prison. He was a prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was coming closer and closer to the death he would face at the hands of wicked people. He did not die of a heart attack or cancer, or any other disease. He did not die of old age either. He died a violent death. However, his feet were beautiful. He brought the message of peace that Nero and the soldiers there guarding him needed to hear. He brought glad tidings of good things. The tragedy is that many of those who heard the gospel at his mouth, did not like it. They wanted nothing to do with it. The problem was with their hearts. The problem was not with the message or the messenger.
In verse 16 Paul wrote about those who have not obeyed the gospel. That is the problem. The apostle Paul quoted from Isaiah 53:1. The problem in Isaiah’s day was the same as it was in Paul’s day and it is the same today as well. We cannot make a person believe the gospel. We need to be careful to give the gospel. Don’t distract the hearer from the powerful message of the gospel of Christ.
In verse 17 we are reminded that faith — the necessary belief we need to have; cometh by hearing. What is it that the lost person needs to hear? The Word of God. How often do they need to hear it? As often as the Lord gives us opportunity. Some will only have one opportunity because they choose to ignore it. They will still be accountable. Some will sit in a pew every week for years and not receive to the gospel of Christ. Some will hear the gospel and they will turn to the true God in repentance and they will trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation. They are the ones who are saved. They are the ones who are blessed.
God told Paul to preach the gospel of Christ to the Jew first and also to the Greek. They both needed to hear the gospel of Christ. The same is true today. All people need to hear the gospel of Christ as often as God gives us opportunity. The Holy Spirit will always work with the Word of God. The results are in God’s hands. We do not learn how to speak to people from a car salesman. The goal of the faithful servant of God is to be obedient to the Lord in our witnessing. We listen to the response of the hearer. We do not overlook the truth just to get the right response. We do not coerce the listener to give us the answer we want. We pray prior to, and during our witnessing. We also pray following our meeting. The Holy Spirit is the One Who effects change in the heart of the hearer. He does that through the faithful preaching of God’s Word.
When the preacher is faithful to the Lord, there will be blessing. The hearer may not like what he hears. He may reject what he hears. He may receive what he hears. The preacher trusts God to do His Work and to be glorified in all that is said and done.
Pastor Bartel