The Role of Preaching in Salvation
Thinking about Romans 10:14-15.
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? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF PEACE, WHO BRING GLAD TIDINGS OF GOOD THINGS!" (Romans 10:14-15)
Although God had provided the One who died for their sins, and God could be trusted not to disappoint them if they trusted in Him - many of the Jewish people had rejected the preaching of the “good news.”
Their rejection of the gospel was not unlike their rejection of God’s prophets. Paul appeals to many Old Testament passages to demonstrate this point.
The rejection of the gospel by the Jews was like the rejection of God’s message by Israel when He sent His prophets to them. The prophets, too, dealt with a hardened and unreceptive people - a people who could not use the excuse that they never had a chance to hear God’s word. - Pollard, Truth for Today Commentary, 366
You Can’t Call on Him If You’ve Not Believed.
Faith is the foundation and starting point on the road to salvation. Without it, no further need exists to proceed. This is why Mark stated in Mark 16:16 that the one who has believed and has been baptized will be saved. In the second part of the verse, he did not need to say that those who have not been baptized will be condemned because without faith the entire process had already been stopped in its tracks. - Pollard, Truth for Today Commentary, 366
Calling on Him connects back to Romans 10:13, which says, “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” This verse refers back to passages like Joel 2:28-32 - which Peter used as the foundation for his sermon in Act 2.
Believing in Jesus Christ is necessary to “call on Him” for salvation. How that calling on Him happens is found by following Peter’s sermon in Acts 2.
You Can’t Believe in Him If You’ve Not Heard.
To believe in Him, a person must first have heard of Christ and from Christ through God’s word.
Paul didn’t believe in people coming to faith in Christ apart from proclamation. There has been a lot of talk about God striking people and directly operating on their heart apart from the Gospel but none of this is countenanced by the Bible writings. Paul clearly affirms in his rhetorical question that one cannot believe on Christ unless Christ is (in one way or another) proclaimed [to] a person. - McGuiggan, Romans, 303
It’s impossible to believe in Jesus if we’ve never heard what God’s word has to say about Him - what He has to say about Himself in Scripture.
You Can’t Hear Without a Preacher.
A kerux [preacher] in the ancient world was an official entrusted with a proclamation delivered in public. He was a “herald” or “proclaimer.” In antiquity, the herald had a place in the royal court, and every prince had at least one…In the New Testament, a kerux was one who had been entrusted with proclaiming the gospel of God. - Pollard, Truth for Today Commentary, 367
The picture is - how will you hear the “good news” unless the one who has the news brings it to your attention?
This is what the preacher’s role is - to proclaim the good news of Jesus to people. Preaching is not about showcasing the abilities of the preacher but about exalting what Jesus has done.
Preaching was not the delivery of finely-tuned oratory, with all the proper words and gestures at the right places. Instead, it was the declaration of an event that centered on the person of Jesus Christ and what He did while on earth. Despite views to the contrary, the main concern in the New Testament was not the act of preaching itself, but rather the content of what was preached (1 Corinthians 1:21). - Pollard, Truth for Today Commentary, 367
The Preacher Can’t Preach Without Authority.
The gospel preacher's message has God's authority behind it. A herald who had been “sent” by his king to proclaim a message had the king’s authority behind him - because what was proclaimed was from the king himself.
God has not only provided the Christ to obtain for us the ground of our righteousness; he has not only provided the revelation of that work of Christ, he has also provided the messengers to carry that blessed message to the needy sinners. - McGuiggan, Romans, 303
The message with God’s authority behind it is truly “good news.” Paul quotes passages like Nahum 1:15, which spoke of the “good news” of Israel being delivered from Babylonian captivity and God’s name being exalted among the nations as a result of their return.
How God saved them was “good news!” Those who proclaim the “good news” of how Jesus saves us also proclaim a message of “good news.”
God had done all of this - He had even provided the messengers who proclaimed the gospel of Christ!
There would be no excuse for those who rejected the proclamation of the gospel of Christ. They had heard it - and they had refused it.
My job as a gospel preacher - and the job of every gospel preacher - is to proclaim from the Scriptures what Jesus has done for us, what that means for us, and how we should respond to what He has done.
It’s not the preacher’s job to make you believe. You must make that decision for yourself (Joshua 24:15).
It’s not the preacher’s job to entertain or impress you with his speaking ability (1 Corinthians 2:1-5). Any preacher that does this has wholly lost sight of what they are supposed to be doing.
It’s not the preacher’s job to proclaim his own opinions about trivial matters (1 Timothy 4:6-16). If a preacher proclaims his opinions or stirs up people over trivial matters, he proclaims a message that lacks the authority of God.
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. (2 Timothy 4:1-2)
And how shall they preach unless they are sent?
Jesus also warned in many places about false teachers, who come to deceive.
Take care that no man deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying I am Christ, and will deceive many. (Matt 24:4-5)
Many false preachers will come in the Name of Christ- claiming that Jesus is the Christ, and many (not few) people will be deceived by them!
Jesus is warning us very clearly.
Yet, how is it possible that those who preach Christ will actually deceive people?
Simple, they use the name of God to claim to be good, and then ask you for money to preach Jesus; yet in fact they are using it for their own profit, and not to promote God’s way of mercy and love. The scriptures have many warnings of such lying deceivers:
"But there were false prophets (teachers) among the people (in ancient Israel), as there will be false teachers among you, (within Christian groups) who will secretly (surreptitiously) put forward wrong teachings for your destruction, (how many different churches are there?) even turning (you) away from the Lord who gave himself for you; whose destruction (the false teachers’ destruction) will come quickly, and they themselves will be the cause of it (their own destruction). And a great number (of Christians) will go with (support) them in their evil ways, through whom the true way (of following Christ) will be evil spoken of. And in their desire for profit they will come to you with words of deceit, like traders doing business in souls (they will corrupt your souls for their profit!) whose punishment has been ready for a long time and their destruction is watching for them. (2Peter 2:1-3 BBE version)
These liars will try to make a profit from gullible people who follow them, but God will eventually punish and destroy them. In the meantime, we need to be careful of their actions.
The following translations of the first part of verse 3 shows the true motivations of the false teachers:
• They will be greedy and cheat you with smooth talk. (CEV)
• And by covetousness, with well-turned words, they will use you for gain, (LITV)
• And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. (ESV)
• Thirsting for riches, they will trade on you with their canting talk. (WNT)
• In their greed these false teachers will make a profit out of telling you made-up stories. (GNB)
• In their greed they will use good-sounding arguments to exploit you. (GW)
• And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you. (KJV)
• In their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. (ISV)
We need wisdom to discern who are the teachers of truth, and who are feathering their own nests- or we may pay for it with our money, and our eternal life! (John 16:2-3) (Matt 7:13-14, Luke 13:23-28)
Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves. (Matt 10:16)
Prior to Christ’s return we are told that a great false teacher, called the False Prophet, will lead many to worship God in vain, such that they will murder true followers of God. (Rev 6:9-11)
We therefore need to choose very carefully whom we listen to, and what teachers we follow.
Don’t believe men, even if they say they are preachers from God.
Believe what is in the Bible, and trust in the Lord to help you to understand his word. (Prov 3:5-7)
"And how shall they preach unless they are sent?" Preachers are sent by the Lord, but the means is through those of us who are not called to preach. We are "called to send". Our ministry is to make sure those who are "called to preach" are enabled to do carry out their ministry ...