Romans 10. I would like to consider
verses 13-15, a passage of Scripture I think truly necessary for our
understanding of what we're doing here today. Why are we here? Holding your place right there,
the book of Joel, the prophet, chapter 2, The Scripture says
in verse 32, and it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall
call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered. For in Mount
Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord has
said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. Now I know
this. I know that God Almighty has
a people. He has a remnant. Let me show
you the blessing of God having a remnant. Having an elect. Having a people. Having chosen
a people. from before the foundation of
the world. Listen to the blessing. You talk about the mercy of God.
This blessed truth of God's electing grace is despised and hated by
this world. They hate it. They hate God being
God. But listen to what God has to
say about their being an elect people. Isaiah 1.9, Except the
Lord of Hosts, had left unto us a very small remnant, we should
have been as Sodom and should have been like unto Gomorrah. Here is the bottom line. Unless
the Lord had chosen a people, unless God Almighty had purposed
to save a people Unless the Lord purposed, I am not going to allow
the order of man to perish. I am not going to let man be
exterminated and forever be under my wrath. I am not going to let
this order die in their sins. Except the Lord of Hosts had
left unto us a small remnant, we would have all been under
the judgment of God. Unless God Almighty purposed,
I'm going to save my people. Chosen out of every nation, kindred,
tribe, and tongue, I'm going to save my people. Now, the Scripture deals this
morning back in Romans 10. This Scripture I'm going to begin
in verse 11, but I'm actually going to be dealing with verses
13 to 15. But listen to this. For the Scripture saith, Whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed. They're not going to
be disappointed. That's what it means. Not going
to be disappointed. Whosoever believeth is not going
to be disappointed in this life. They're not going to be disappointed
in life to come. Whosoever. What a good word. It's God's Word. Whosoever. Whosoever is persuaded
Whosoever is convinced by God's Spirit, settled on their own helplessness,
convicted of their guilt, assured of His ability to save in spite
of themselves, because they know, whosoever believeth on Him, No confidence in their flesh,
whosoever. God's going to save them. Whosoever's
are scattered all over the place. I don't know where they are.
But I know this. I know the Lord's going to save
them. And I know this, there's no difference, Romans 10 and
12, between the Jew and the Greek. But the same Lord, the Scripture
says, is rich. Wealthy unto all that call upon
Him. He's rich in mercy, rich in grace,
rich in power. All powerful. So men are without
excuse. Man by nature will not call. Does that leave him without excuse?
No. No. All men are commanded to
repent. All men are commanded to repent?
Yes. Will all men come to Him according
to their own purpose? No. No excuse. The heavens declare the handiwork
of God. The creation declares God's power,
so therefore the scripture says they are without excuse. You
see, what must happen is that Almighty God must work in His
people to accomplish that which He demands. It is God that worketh
in you, both to will and do of His good pleasure. The Lord gives
His people a heart to believe. He that believeth, the Lord must save. The Lord
must give. The Lord must call. Men are without excuse. How broad! How broad! is God's Word, is
what Scripture says, whosoever. That's as broad as God. Whosoever! But I'll tell you this, His Word
is as narrow as the singleness of Christ. Whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord, Now men would do well to inquire,
what does that mean? Whosoever, whosoever, this world
loves that word whosoever. I told you before, men by nature
will tell preachers of the gospel, you guys don't believe in whosoever.
Oh yes we do. Yes we do. We just finished the
passage. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord. shall be saved. Listen to Psalm 145, verse 18.
Psalm 145, verse 18. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon
Him, to all that call upon Him in truth. I want to know what that means.
I want to understand what the Scriptures have to say about
salvation. Now, this morning, I'd like for
us to look at Romans 10, verses 13 to 15, and just take God's
Word and hear what does God have to say. What does God have to
say about calling, hearing, believing? What does the Lord have to say?
And let God be true and let every man be a liar. Now here's the
way it is. Here's the Word of God. You've
got a Bible in front of you. This is God's Word. That Word
that is not going to return unto Him. Boy, it's going to accomplish
the purpose for which it was sent. Now, what does the Lord
have to say? Four questions are asked in verses
13-15. Four questions. And they all
begin with the word, How? How? How? Here's what Scripture says. Well, verse 13 says, Whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Here's verse
14. Here's the first question. How
then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? Now, how? By what means shall they
call? How shall they worship? How shall
they appeal? The word call is an action of
the heart. I'm not talking about a verbal. How shall they call? How shall
they respond? How shall they move? How shall the heart be drawn
to act? It's an action. How shall they
call? on him whom they have not believed.
How shall they invoke for aid from him unless," and here's
the word believe, unless they're persuaded, unless they're assured. I remember one time I was real
small. I was living in Louisiana. My daddy put me up on a There
was something up on the roof. I remember that. He lifted me
up and stuck me up and I climbed up on the roof and got whatever
it was and threw it back down. He stood right there. Of course,
my dad was tall and he could reach. His hand was right up
there where the fascia board is. It was right here. And he
said, OK, come on, just right here, just jump right in my hands.
And I can remember thinking, I want to believe. Boy, I'm telling you, you know
what? If I believed him, if I had no doubts, I wouldn't have thought
one second. I'd have just jumped. Did I believe
that he really... I knew he would, but it was still
that, you know, believe it. Believing is an assurance of
the heart. How shall they invoke for aid? How shall they call from the
heart on Him in whom they have not been assured of? How is that heart? It's going
to take a new heart, I can tell you that. How are they going
to call? on him whom they've not believed.
A believer is one given a new heart, a new man, new life, life
from above. Before a sinner will call, invoke
for aid, before a sinner will call upon the Lord, he's got
to be convinced in his heart He has to believe in his heart,
Almighty God is my hope. He's my life. He's all. It's
not my church denomination. It's not my this, it's the Lord. Salvations of the Lord. This
calling. It's not a one-time call either. You listen to this. Because the
gifts of God, Romans 11.9, calling, are without repentance. They
never change. If God Almighty gives a man a
heart to believe, that man believes. He dies believing, Mitch. He
dies there without repentance. I've quoted this passage of Scripture
so many times. Now you listen. John 6.37, All,
all, all, all without exception, all that the Father giveth me,
the Lord said, shall come to me, and him that cometh to me
I will in no wise cast out." Now here's what the first word
come, all that the Father giveth me shall arrive and be present. That first time. There's going
to be a time, there's going to be a time when God will actually
call His sheep out. And for the first time, they
heard. For the first time, in heart,
they believed. For the first time, they called. When God gives a man or woman
a heart to believe, they believe. They believe. Right now! And
when they believe the call, they call. Brother Henry said one
time, can you separate believing and calling? No. Just bam! They came for the first time.
You didn't always come. You didn't always believe. There
was a time when you went from darkness to light and for the
first time. Remember old Saul of Tarsus? Behold, he prayeth. He had been
in religion all of his life. Prayed for the first time. All that the Father gives me
shall come to me, shall arrive, they shall be drawn. And him
that cometh continually accompanies." They
don't leave. All that the Father giveth me
shall arrive, and those that continually accompany me, I will
in no wise cast about. They come the first time, but
they come, and they come, and they come, and they come. You
that know them are coming to them right now. You're calling
right now. You believe Him right now. You
invoke Him for aid right now. Everyone that the Father gave
Christ eternally comes to Him in time and they continue to
come. And the more they come, the more they see their need
to come. So that's the first question.
How then shall they call, invoke for aid on Him in whom they are
not assured of? Here's the second question. Verse
14. And how shall they believe? How
shall they be persuaded of, assured of? How shall they believe in
Him of whom they have not heard? For a sinner to believe on the name,
on the character, on the authority of the Lord, believing is that
assuredness. It's that convincing. How shall
they be persuaded in Him of whom they've not heard? How are they going to be persuaded
that He truly is the Jehovah-Jireh? That He is the provider of all
of my need? How am I going to be convinced
that He's my Jehovah Rapha? These are names back in the Old
Testament of the Lord. The Lord that healeth all of
our diseases. How is He going to be convinced
that He's Jehovah Nesai? The Lord, our banner, our ensign,
our flag is what it is. This is my Ebenezer. Here's why
I make my stand right here. I raise this banner. He is my
Lord. He's my God. He's my prophet.
He's my priest. He's my king. I'm his servant. How are they going to believe
on him that he is truly My great Shalom. Jehovah Shalom. Thy peace
before God. My Jehovah Re'ah. The Lord my Shepherd. How am
I going to believe that He is my Jehovah Sidcanu? My righteousness
before God. And Jehovah Shemok. The Lord
is present. How am I going to believe? How
am I going to be assured of that in my heart unless I hear For a sinner, according to the
Scriptures, to believe, to be assured of, they must hear. They must hear. Romans 10, 17,
So then faith cometh by hearing, but just any hearing, just any
kind of preaching, and hearing by the Word of God. The truth
of the gospel. The gospel that Paul says that
if any man preach any other gospel than that which we have preached
unto you, let him be accursed. God will curse him. You preach
any other gospel, what gospel? That gospel of God's sovereign
saving, electing, redeeming. Sovereign redeeming. Sovereign
calling. Irresistible call. Man preach
any other gospel than the gospel which we've preached. That gospel
that gives man no compliments. No glory. All the glory. Does man's free will preach and
count? No. No. Well, don't you think that the
Lord Don't you think that maybe he
could take, even though it's not all the truth, maybe he can
just take bits and pieces out of a lie. A little lovin' is
a whole lot. It's a lie. The truth. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of
it. How are they going to believe?
in whom they've not heard. Unless they've heard that gospel
that the Scripture sets forth is the truth of God's grace. They've got to hear, and before
they hear, God's going to have to give them a seeing eye and
a hearing ear. Let me read this Matthew 13. Matthew 13, verses 10 to 16. Listen to the words of our Lord
as He's talking to His disciples. Matthew 13, verses 10 to 16. The disciples came and said unto
Him, verse 10, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? We quote
that a lot. We're going through Proverbs.
Why? Listen to our Lord's answer. He answered and said unto them
because They asked me, now why do you preach in parables? Because
it's given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.
But to them it's not given. For whosoever hath, that is a
knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. For whosoever
hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance.
But whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away, even
that he hath a head knowledge, not a true understanding. Therefore
speak I to them in parables, because they seeing see not."
Now they say they see. A man or woman that does not
believe the glory of God in Christ, set forth in the glorious gospel
of free grace, they say they see. They say they do. They do not. You're saying, well, Marvin,
is that what you're saying? Yes. And I'm repeating what the
Lord said. This is preaching. Repeating
what God has to say. This is preaching. This is what
preaching is. Repeating what the Lord says. Now, I don't make
this up. If I'm making it up, it's not
the truth. Therefore, speak I to them in
parables. Because they seeing, see not.
And hearing, they hear not. Neither do they understand. And
in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing,
ye shall hear and not understand, and seeing, ye shall see and
shall not perceive. For this people's heart is wax
gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have
they closed, lest at any time they should see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears, and should understand with their
heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed
are your eyes, for they see, in your ears, for they hear. You are blessed people. Nobody calls unless they believe. Nobody believes unless they hear. And hear the gospel of free grace. To call You must believe. He that believeth is baptized,
shall be saved. But he that believeth not shall
be damned. And to believe, to be convinced,
a sinner must hear the gospel. I just quoted Romans 1.16. Listen
again. Paul said, I am not ashamed of
the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation
to everyone that believeth. Not to everyone that just hears
it, to everyone that believes it. How are they going to believe
it unless they hear it? How are they going to hear it
unless God gives them ears to hear it? Hearing eye, seeing
eye, hearing ears. To the Jew first, also to the
Greek, for therein is the righteousness of God revealed." Nowhere else. Nowhere else. Only in the gospel. Only in the gospel is the righteousness
of God to deal with sin. To truly deal with sin. And to
put it away in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Only in
the gospel. God actually dealt with it. A
false gospel says that Christ died and paid everybody's sin. Everybody's debt is paid for. Well, if everybody's debt is
paid, and one person goes to hell, God's not just. He judged
Christ for it, now He's going to judge that sinner for it. That's not right. Everybody sins paid for, but
you have to exercise your free will to make it effectual, then
salvation is by your works. You say, no, it's by grace. No,
it's not. Not if you believe that. If you
believe that you have to do something to make it effectual, then you
believe in salvation by works. That's not true. Therein is the righteousness
of God revealed from faith, From faith given to God's people to
faith, meaning beholding that it is by the faith of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Righteousness of God is revealed
from faith given to believe that it is not my faith that saves
me, I believe that it was His faith by which I was justified,
by the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. The just shall live by
faith. So do you have to hear? Yes. Yes. I want you to turn with
me to Acts 2. Let me show you something. Acts 2. Nobody calls from the
heart unless they believe. Nobody believes unless they hear. Acts 2. Verse 21 to 23, Peter
is preaching on the day of Pentecost and he says, Acts 2 verse 21,
It shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the
Lord shall be saved. I'm telling you, you notice how
many times that's recorded. The prophet Joel said it under
the inspiration of God's Spirit the first time, but look how
many times it's repeated. Right here, we just read it in
Romans 10. Ye men of Israel, verse 22, hear
these words, Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you
by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by Him in the midst
of you as you yourselves also know Him, being delivered by
the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken Him by
wicked hands, have crucified and slain." Look at verse 32.
This Jesus had God raised up. We are all witnesses. Therefore, being by the right
hand of God exalted, having received of the Father the promise of
the Holy Ghost, He has shed forth this which ye now see and hear. For David is on the day of Pentecost. For David is not ascending into
the heavens, but he saith himself, said unto my Lord, sit thou on
my right hand." Look how that's written. The, L-O-R-E, all caps. Jehovah said unto my Lord, capital
L, said to the Lord Jesus Christ, sit thou on my right hand until
I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore, Let all the house
of Israel know assuredly that God hath made the same Jesus
whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ." Now listen
to this, this next verse. Listen to this. Now when they heard this, they were
pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and to the rest of
the apostles, men and brethren, Shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent,
and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of
the Holy Ghost. What's the point when they heard? When they heard? When they heard? Here's my third question. Romans 10. The latter part of the 14th verse.
The first question was in that first part, how shall they call
on Him in whom they have not believed? How shall they believe
in Him whom they have not heard? Here's the third question. How
shall they hear without a preacher? Now let me ask you something.
I'm going to ask you a question. Does a person have to hear the
gospel preached, explained from a God-sent preacher to believe? Yes. Yes. You say, you're telling me that
a person has to hear preaching the preaching of the truth in
order to be converted. That's exactly what I'm telling
you. And if I can't prove it by the scriptures, then you don't
have any reason to believe it. But if God says it, that settles
it. Philip asked an Ethiopian eunuch
that was traveling from Jerusalem God sent, here was an Ethiopian
eunuch, a man that obviously God had ordained unto salvation,
purposed. And the Lord sent Philip out
of Jerusalem, told him, you go this certain way, you're just
going out into the desert. And Philip crossed paths with
this Ethiopian eunuch, and he heard this eunuch read out of
the book of Isaiah, Prevenient Grace, grace before grace. And that Ethiopian eunuch was
reading that passage of Scripture that talked about how he was
led as a sheep to the slaughter. And Philip came up to him and
he asked him, he said, Do you understandest thou what thou
readest? And listen to this answer. And
he said, how can I? Except some man should guide
me. Do you think that that was just
kind of something he came up with off the top of his head?
Or do you think that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God?
and it is profitable for instruction in righteousness and correction,
for reproof, for rebuke. Do you believe that the Spirit
of God moved on his heart to say it exactly the way he said
it? The Lord sent his disciples in
Mark 16.15. Here is the question, how shall
they hear without a preacher? He sent them on a specific mission. Go ye into all the world and
preach the gospel to every creature. Why? Listen to 1 Corinthians
1.21. For after that, in the wisdom
of God, the world, by wisdom, knew not God. It pleased God. by the foolishness, or what men
call foolishness, of preaching to save them that believe. In the wisdom of God, it pleased
God by the foolishness of preaching. The preaching of the gospel. The preaching of the gospel of
God's free grace that Paul said, I'm not ashamed of. Listen to
Titus 1, 1-3, and I'll ask you, is it necessary that a man but
a sinner here, a God-sent preacher. Titus 1, 1-3, Paul, a servant
of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith
of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness,
in hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised
before the world began, but hath in due times manifested His Word
through preaching. which is committed unto me according
to the commandment of God our Savior." God arrested Saul of Tarsus on
the road to Damascus. Let me ask you this. What did
the Lord do to teach Saul of Tarsus? He sent him a preacher. The Lord told Saul, arise and
go into the city. Saul was knocked down. Saul,
Saul, why persecutest thou me? Who art thou, Lord? I am Jesus
that you are persecuting. Lord, what would you have me
to do? What do you want me to do? Arise
and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou
must do. Then what happened? And the Lord
said to a preacher, Ananias, here Lord, arise and go into
the street which is called Strait, and inquire in the house of Judas
for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he prayeth." What
did the Lord do? He sent Saul of Tarsus, a preacher. A preacher. You say, well, what
about the thief on the cross? That thief on the cross heard
the preacher of all preachers. He heard God's prophet. From
that time, Matthew 4, 17, concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, from that
time Jesus began to preach and to say, repent, for the kingdom
of heaven is at hand. When he walked upon this earth,
he was God's servant, the preacher, the prophet of God, and he preached. He has ascended into heaven,
and the scriptures set forth that God has been pleased through
the foolishness of preaching. Someone says, I think that a
person can just take the Scriptures and just read them and just figure
them out for himself. Well, according to that Ethiopian
eunuch and the wording of the Spirit of God, they can't. No, they can't. Let me ask you
this. This is just a question for you. Have you ever had Say a passage of Scripture we'll
read, whether it was in Revelation or Proverbs or something. Have
you ever had me read it the first time? And then you just sit there
and wonder. And then after the services were
over, you think, now why didn't I see that? You know, that makes
sense. It makes sense to me. Has that ever happened to you?
Yeah, me too. A preacher is a servant of God. He is an unprofitable servant.
He adds nothing to the glory of God, but he is God's servant
that is taught. And God has been pleased to send
preachers. Preachers. And whatever men say,
it doesn't matter. I can be just as close to the Lord
out in the wilderness. I can be out in the woods. I
can be close to God and I can hear and I can learn. No, you
can't. No. How shall they call in whom
they've not believed? How are they going to believe
unless they hear? How are they going to hear without a preacher?
My friend, Almighty God is pleased to save His people through the
preaching of the gospel of God's grace. It pleased God in the
wisdom of God. Here's my last question. Verse
15. Like Romans 10. And how shall
they preach except they be sent? Unless they be set apart. That's
sent. Set apart. Taught of God. Given a heart for the ministry.
How are they going to preach except God Almighty sends them,
blesses them, equips them, The Lord said in Jeremiah 3.15, I
will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed
you with knowledge and understanding. Men called to preach are sent,
called, instructed, taught, settled. Matthew 28, 19 and 20. Go ye therefore and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever
I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always,
all way, even unto the end of the world." A sinner must call. He must call. He must cry out
for mercy. And when he does, God's already
had mercy on him. When Peter began to sink, when he saw the
waves, he said, Lord, save me. He was secure. He was secure. For a man or woman to call, they
must believe. Must be assured. Before he can
believe, the Scripture says he must hear the gospel, the power
of God and salvation. The way that he's going to hear,
according to the wisdom of God. And here again, as I said, look,
the best thing for us to do is whatever we think, well, I think,
well, what difference does it make what I think? What difference
does it make? It's not going to matter anyway.
What does God have to say? Before a man or woman hears,
they hear from a preacher. And before that preacher preaches,
God's got to send him. Before God blesses it, God's
got to send him. No man takes this calling unto
himself. Salvation is of the Lord. You know what I would do if it
was left up to me? It's just my foolish thinking.
Well, I tell you what, I kind of just sat down one day, and I know a lot of people are not
as smart as me, but I was able to take these Scriptures, and
I figured this out myself, Carl. And then I decided I was going
to preach. And I'm telling you, I bet you
with the eloquence by which I, you know, you look in your bulletin
today, one by Brother Henry on the back side, you know, read
that again. God has chosen the foolish things. The base things. The things that this world despises. Just some old fishermen. Who is Peter? He's just a fisherman. That's all he was. God is not chosen by and large. Not many wise. Not many noble. Not many affluent. He's chosen
the base things of this world and blessed it. Why? That no
flesh should glory in His presence. Do you know how I heard? If I
heard it all, I'll tell you how you heard. You know why you called? Because you believed Him. You
know why you believed Him? Because you heard the gospel.
You know why you heard the gospel? Because God sent you a preacher
and blessed it. The greatest blessing that God
has ever given a community. Where is Katy, West Virginia?
I've said that before. The greatest blessing that this
little piece of dirt ever had is that God sent a preacher and
raised up an assembly and kept it all of these years. And by
the grace of God, has called some sinners out of darkness
and has kept them. Kept them right now and shall
keep them till the day of salvation, the day of final redemption,
the day of His glory. What are we doing here today?
We're doing what God Almighty in His wisdom, His purpose is
going to be done. He's going to call out His people.
He's going to teach His people. He's going to bless His people.
And He's going to do it through the preaching of His Son. For
Christ's sake.