• Let us Pray:  Lord Jesus, we thank you for calling Saul of Tarsus to become the Apostle Paul. As we study a portion of his letter to the Romans, please send the Holy Spirit so that we understand what Paul meant concerning faith and its relationship with preaching Your word. And especially we pray that you move us to take action to make disciples because of the importance that preaching has relative to building of faith.  We commit this petition to You, Lord Jesus, who reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.
• Paul’s concern: A little before today’s Epistle reading from Romans (Rom) ch#10, we see Paul’s concern for his fellow Jews.  He was well-schooled in Jewish traditions along with the Old Testament (OT) readings on which those traditions were based.  And so, as a former Pharisee, he was in a position to observe the zeal of the Jews who did what they knew of God’s will to gain His favor.  They were going to be so holy that God would have no choice but to let them into heaven.
  • Their zeal was misplaced however, because Paul saw the Jews rejecting the very Messiah they sought.[1] Instead of having faith that God would fulfill His promise of salvation through a Messiah, they were still trying to achieve a righteousness through works of the Law.[2] It’s worth noting, if you try to pursue righteousness by keeping the Law, you’ll have to keep *every* Law written in the Torah – the 1st five books of the Bible – 100% of the time.  You cannot ever sin, or it’s all over.  You just wrote your ticket into hell once you sin.  This is why they had such zeal to painstakingly keep the Law, and demand others do the same.  Isn’t it better to cling to faith that Jesus eliminated every sin you’ve committed? He got the job done for us that we couldn’t do.
    • Apart from the Christ, which is the New Testament (NT) name for Messiah, none of our works, no matter how consistent with God’s word they may be, are going to earn us a spot in heaven.  Instead, we do good works in appreciation for what the Christ has done for us in wiping away our sins.
  • After Paul made this observation of the Jews, in verses 6-8 he referred to Deuteronomy (Deu) 30:10-14 where God spoke through Moses in referring to a righteousness by faith.[3]  To summarize Paul’s quotation from Deu ch#30, we don’t have to go up to heaven (v6) or go down to hell (v7) to get God’s word.  The word is near us in our mouth and in our heart (v8).  God’s word got there because of the preaching done by someone called by Jesus to deliver His word to other people.
• Definition: Before continuing in Rom ch#10, I’ll refer to a Greek word defined in your bulletin.  That word is ὁμολογέω (hŏ-mŏ-lŏ-gé-ō).  Ὁμολογέω is a compound word which literally means same (homo) + word (logos). Wherever this word appears in the NT, it is rendered into English as acknowledge, confess, or profess what has been heard.  For example, you’ve heard what was spoken to you from this pulpit, even long before I got here, that we are saved from eternal damnation by the grace of God. You’ve heard it and now you “same word” it.
  • Paul by inspiration stated in v9 of our text if you confess, or “same word” with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved!  Then in v10, Paul explained how we confess and believe.
    • It is with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness. God looks into everyone’s heart & soul, looking for faith – faith that of itself is a gift from the Holy Spirit. We wouldn’t otherwise be able to believe.  And if there’s no faith found, that person is held in their sins.  They’re declared guilty of a sin against the Holy Spirit, for which there is no human remedy.[4]  The Jews Paul was concerned with were guilty of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit, because they rejected Jesus as the Son of God who took away the sins of the world.
    • However, if the Holy Spirit is present and building faith through hearing God’s Word, that person is declared innocent of any sins.  This conclusion is based on faith that Jesus has taken away all sins through His innocent suffering and death, and subsequent rising from the dead.  That’s what being righteous means – declared not guilty!
    • Paul also stated in v10, that with the mouth, a person confesses, that is repeats the “same word” that was given to them, resulting in salvation. If you confess Jesus before others, you can, by faith, expect that Jesus will confess to knowing you as one of His sheep before God our Father.  We have salvation because Jesus calls us as one of His own.
  • Let me repeat v10 so that it is refreshed in our heart, because I took a deeper dive into its content - for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.[5]   A few verses later, he then cited Joel 2:32 that whoever calls on the name of the Lord *will* be saved.[6]
  • You might be wondering about how this definition of ὁμολογέω applies to what we do near the beginning of celebration of Divine Service.  After the opening hymn we confess our sins and receive absolution, that is forgiveness, of those sins.  How can we be “same wording” when we confess our sins? Don’t those sins I’m confessing belong to just me?  When we confess our sins, not only are we indicating to God that we regret what we’ve done, we also agree with what He said about every human being starting with Adam & Eve.  We are “same wording” what Paul quoted from Ps 14 (LXX 13) of the Septuagint version of the OT - The Lord stooped down from heaven to look upon the sons of men, To see if there were any who understood or sought God.  All turned aside and were altogether corrupted; There was not even one doing good, no, not one.[7]
  • This makes our simple definition of ὁμολογέω as being “same word” apply even to our confession of sins.  Apart from Jesus, no one is righteous.  We look at God’s Law and it reflects back what a sinner we are, by pointing out our sins.[8]  We are deceived if we think otherwise.[9] 
• New dilemma: Continuing on to our theme verse of today, Paul has a new concern for the Gentiles as well as Jews.  I repeat v14 from an original translation of the Greek - How then might they call [on Jesus] in whom they did not believe?  And how might they believe [in Jesus] whom they did not hear? And how might they hear without one preaching?[10]
  • Paul is guilty of stating the obvious, but by doing so, he’s making a rhetorical point. How could someone call on Jesus and believe in Him, if they never heard of Him?  The writer to the Hebrews stated - And without faith it is impossible to please [God], for he who comes to God must believe that He [exists] and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.[11] This fact puts a person who never heard of Jesus in a bad place.  How can they believe that Jesus exists and what He has done for them if they never heard of Him?  Is that a shame on that person who never heard of Jesus, or shame on us for not proclaiming Jesus?
  • Paul then asked in v10, how can someone believe and “same word” if they have not heard?  This isn’t the first time Paul employed rhetoric to make a point.  In his letter to the Galatians, he asked, “did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?”  Just a few verses later in  Galatians, he doubles-down on this line of questioning, “So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?”[12]
  • Finishing this logical progression, Paul asked how might a person hear about Jesus without one preaching?  They didn’t have the elaborate structure of churches being served by seminary-trained pastors in the 1st century.  And so, it wasn’t obvious where a church was located, or men running around in clericals and albs preaching God’s word in its truth and purity.  Where was one to go to hear preaching of God’s word? Preachers and the churches where they served were going to have to reach out with the message of who Jesus is and what has He done for you.  In Paul’s final epistle before being executed in Rome, he wrote to a young pastor named Timothy, “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.”[13] 
  • After all that effort, those to whom the word of God was brought might reject the message.[14] One take-away from this is that those who reject the message we faithfully bring are not rejecting us.  They are rejecting Jesus who called us to make disciples.[15]
• Implications: After the series of rhetorical questions, Paul sums up today’s Epistle reading with this - So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.[16]  This is a big reason to come to church.  It’s so you can hear the word of God and have it explained faithfully.  That’s what builds faith.
  • People, especially since the COVID lock-downs at the beginning of this decade, are lulled into thinking that they can receive the word of God by reading on their own. What happens if that’s your only way to get God’s word and you encounter something you don’t understand?
    • Think of the Ethiopian of Act ch#8 who, when riding in his chariot, was reading from Isaiah. Philip the evangelist was called by God to run up to the chariot and ask, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.[17]
  • The whole purpose of a church is to work with the preacher to “disciplize”[18]. It’s more grammatically correct in English from the Great Commission to say, “make disciples”.   But I like “disciplize”, because having gone out into the world, how do you disciplize? We disciplize every nation by baptizing and teaching.  The pastor is here to be a conduit of the Holy Spirit to unlock the meaning in God’s word.
  • That implies we aren’t to keep the gift of God’s word just for our ourselves.[19] This was especially true in Paul’s time, that the gospel message of salvation through Christ, not be preached to just the Jews.  The word needed to be preached also to the Gentiles.  That’s because God’s word is “…the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the [Gentile] 17 For in [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”[20] 
• Our purpose: That brings us to our 21st century context here at St. Paul.  Knowing that people who’ve never heard God’s word can’t call on Jesus in whom they did not believe; and knowing that they can’t believe in Jesus whom they did not hear; and knowing they can’t hear without one preaching; we have a purpose as a church to disciplize in the hope we have,[21] and not with the intent to merely fill seats in the church.  There are probably better ways to fill a church than to preach law & gospel, and to confess sins in order to receive the forgiveness of Christ proclaimed.  Filling seats is not the goal; it’s an end result of disciplizing.
  • This is where our English as a 2nd Language (ESL) program, that starts up next month, will serve as a conduit to disciplize.  Out of love for others through teaching communication skills in English, we will integrate prayer and the word of God into each night of teaching. Let’s introduce people to Jesus, so they can believe in Him.  Let’s teach something from His word so that faith can be built in the souls of the learners.  When we award a certificate of completion at the end of the semester in December, let them also hear preaching in this place.
  • Our school is another venue in which to disciplize.  Each grade level teaches God’s little ones the stories from the Old and New Testament.  We do this, because it is *not* the will of our Father in heaven that one of these little ones perishes eternally.[22] These little ones would benefit from someone conducting story time, when a story from God’s word is read to the children.  I’d like to see us arrange for people to sign up to read to the children.  Studies have shown that reading to little ones does assist with academic performance.  But it will also provide them with the Name that is above all names to call on.
  • These major activities of our church will introduce people to Jesus, so that they can believe in our Lord Jesus and “same word” as we did earlier today from Ps 18:1-3. They can call upon the same Lord we call upon to be saved from two major enemies – death and hades.  These enemies get tossed into the lake of fire at the end of the world.[23] For those believing in Christ, these enemies will never, ever threaten us again.  Amen!

[1] Reference Rom 10:1-4

[2] Reference Rom 9:31-32

[3] Reference Rom 10:5-8

[4] Reference Mat 12:31-32

[5] Rom 10:10 from NASB95 at https://www.blueletterbible.org/nasb95/rom/10/10/t_conc_1056010

[6] Reference Rom 10:13

[7] Quoted Ps 13:2-3 (LXX) because most of what Paul quoted in Rom 3:10-18 is missing from Ps 14 (MT); English translation provided by The Orthodox Study Bible 

[8] Reference Rom 3:19-20

[9] Reference 1Jn 1:8-10

[10] Rom 10:14 from mGNT at https://www.blueletterbible.org/nasb95/rom/10/14/t_conc_1056014

[11] Heb 11:6 from NASB95 at https://www.blueletterbible.org/nasb95/heb/11/6/t_conc_1144006

[12] Gal 3:2, 5 from NASB95 at https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=gal%203&version=NASB1995

[13] 2Ti 4:2 from NASB95 at https://www.blueletterbible.org/nasb95/2ti/4/2/t_conc_1129002

[14] Reference Rom 10:16, Isa 6:9-10

[15] Reference Luke 10:16

[16] Rom 10:17 from NASB95 at https://www.blueletterbible.org/nasb95/rom/10/17/t_conc_1056017

[17] Act 8:30-31 from NASB95 at https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%208&version=NASB1995

[18] A wooden translation of μαθητεύσατε from the Greek of Mat 28:19 into English; this is an imperative to the apostles to make disciples

[19] Reference Rom 9:25-26, quoting from Hos 2:23 and 1:10 respectively

[20] Rom 1:16-17 from NASB95 at https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=rom%201&version=NASB1995

[21] Reference Heb 10:23; 1Pe 3:15

[22] Reference Mat 18:14

[23] Reference Rev 20:14