Romans chapter 10, I'm taking the title for the message from what is found in verse 17. Romans 10 verse 17. So then, Isaiah says in Isaiah 53, who hath believed our report? To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? Talking about coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, who had believed the message, the preaching of Isaiah? Some did.

So then faith cometh by hearing. As I pointed out in reading, That word can be rendered, it's also the same exact word, report, or preaching. So then faith cometh by preaching, or hearing, and preaching, hearing, by the Word of God.

Now, if we're going to preach, we must preach the Word of God. Paul, when he was in prison, waiting to die, waiting to have his head removed for the gospel, He wrote back to young Timothy, he said, preach the Word. Preach the Word. Don't preach anything else. Preach the Word. Be instant, in season, out of, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine, the doctrine of Christ. Preach Christ. Preach the Word.

Paul said, in another place, I'm determined to know nothing among you but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Faith, true saving faith, is granted and given through the means God has ordained. And that's the preaching of the Gospel. The preaching of the Gospel. Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the Word of God, the Word of Truth.

Now, how important and how precious would you say that true saving faith really is? How important is true saving faith? The writers of the book of Hebrews put it this way, without faith, it is impossible to please God. Without faith, it's impossible to please God.

Faith is not something that blooms in our wicked heart. Faith is a sovereign gift of God. God grants us the precious, precious gift of faith. The foundation of faith is based upon the principles and doctrine of God, the doctrine of Christ, the doctrine that God has laid out in His Word, the salvation of the Lord.

The foundation of faith is not based upon feelings. As old Martin Luther said, feelings come and feelings go. and feelings are deceiving. My warrant is the Word of God, nothing else is worth believing. Not feelings, the foundation of faith is not based upon, remember that old song, family traditions, not based upon family traditions, not based upon religious excitement or religious experience, but saving faith is based upon thus saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord.

What does God say? True faith cannot be based upon the lies of men, for no lie can ever be the truth, but no truth can ever be a lie. Our Lord said this in John 8, you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free. It's the truth that sets us free. The truth of who God is, sovereign, holy. The truth of who we are, guilty, vile, sinners. The truth of who the Lord Jesus Christ is, God manifest in the flesh. The truth of what the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished for us, all salvation. He said it's finished.

Saving faith rests. I'll make a distinction here, and some might pick at me a little bit. But true saving faith does not rest in the work of Christ. A lot of people say that. I'm trusting the finished work of Christ. Well, okay. That's okay if you understand what you're saying. But a better saying is this. Saving faith trusts the Christ of God who finished the work. You see the difference? It's like someone say, well I'm trusting the sovereignty of God. That's not a good statement either. Because I'm trusting God who is sovereign. So you get back to the personal work of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm not splitting hairs here, I'm just trying to help us. Faith always looks to, remember in Isaiah 45, he said, I am God, beside me there is no other. And then he gives a very simple command that we all can understand. It's an easy word, look. Anything difficult about that word? He said, look unto me. and be ye saved. All the ends of the earth, I am God, and there is no other. When the writer of the book of Hebrews, some think it's Paul, some think it's others. Doesn't matter to me because all scripture is given of God. When he writes in Hebrews chapter 12, he said, saving faith is looking unto the Lord Jesus Christ who is the author and finisher of our faith. So saving faith is always looking to Christ. Saving faith is always coming to the Lord Jesus Christ. And saving faith is not some isolated experience. Like repentance. It's not an isolated experience. We have repented, and we are repenting. We have believed, but yet we are yet believing. We did come to the Lord Jesus Christ, but yet we are coming. I love what the old preacher said years ago. Come to Christ, don't move a muscle. By the A.D. Muse, 1954. Come to Christ, don't move a muscle. It's not something physical. It's in the heart. It's looking. With a heart, man believeth unto righteousness. The foundation of faith is based upon the Word of God. It's the truth that sets us free. Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has set us free. Now, let's go back. Romans 10, and let's see if we can work down to verse 17. The righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise. Verse 8, what saith it? The word is nigh thee. The word, the gospel of Christ, the word of God is nigh thee, it's near unto thee. Even in thy mouth, when you speak the word, the Lord Jesus Christ, you're speaking the word of salvation. The word is not, it just came out of your mouth. The Lord Jesus Christ. That's salvation. The word is nigh thee, even in thy heart. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. As one old preacher said, what's in the well of the heart comes out through the bucket of the mouth. The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart. Now this is that new heart given in regeneration. God said a new heart, I'll take away that stony heart, I'll give you a new heart. For any man being Christ, he's a new creature. Those who've been given a new heart, who've been granted life in the Lord Jesus Christ. And in thy heart, the word is neither, even in thy mouth and in thy heart, that is the word of faith, the word of truth which we preach. What do we preach? We preach Christ, don't we? We preach Christ, determined to preach Him. We preach the Lord Jesus Christ, His person, God Almighty, God our Savior, His work, successful, complete, atonement for our sin. That, verse 9, if thou shalt confess, confess with your mouth, the Lord Jesus, or Jesus to be Lord, and believe in thine heart, believe in your heart, that God raised Him from the dead, delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification. God raised him from the dead. Saving faith looks to the exalted Christ, the enthroned Christ, the seated Christ, the one who is the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe in thine heart that God raised him from the dead. Well, you might be saved. What does it say there? Thou shalt be saved. That's His Word. That's His promise. Verse 10, For with a heart man believeth unto righteousness. Abraham believed God. I believe I'm right about saying this. Genesis chapter 15, the first time the word believe is written in the scripture, it's written about Abraham. Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. With a heart man believeth unto righteousness. Now whenever you see the word righteousness, think about this. Look back at verse 4, Romans 10 verse 4. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. Whenever you see the word righteousness, think of Christ. He is the Lord, our righteousness. He's made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. With a heart man believeth. We believe because we've been given faith. Now think about this. It says in 1 John 5, verse 1, Whosoever believeth on the Lord Jesus Christ, Whosoever believes in the Lord Jesus Christ is born of God. Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ. Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. And everyone that loveth him that beget loveth him also that is begotten of God. Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. Now listen to me. We don't believe to be born again. We believe because we have been begotten of God. Except a man be born again, he cannot see, understand, perceive, or know the truth of God. So we believe, and there's not a choice. We don't choose to believe. We believe because we have no choice. He's given us faith, the precious gift of God. For the heart man believeth unto righteousness. That's Christ. And with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. What do we confess? Salvations of the Lord. It's all of His doing. He saved me, called me. Think about this, when Paul said in 2nd Corinthians, excuse me, 2nd Timothy 1.9, it's God who saved us and called us. When did He save us? He saved us in Christ before the foundation of the world. God saved us and then He called us. He called us in time with a holy calling, not according to our work, but according to God's own purpose and grace, giving us in Christ before the foundation of the world. And that's what we confess. Christ is our righteousness. We believe. Faith is a gift of God. It comes through hearing the word of truth. And we believe unto righteousness, and we confess Christ as all our salvation. For the scriptures say it. The Old Testament and the New Testament has one story, has one message. The Lord Jesus Christ is everything in salvation. Whether you read Isaiah, whether you read Ezekiel, whether you read Jeremiah, to Him, Peter puts it this way in Acts chapter 10 verse 43, to Him give all the prophets witness. The whole Old Testament Scriptures says someone's coming, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Old Testament and the New Testament have the same exact message. In salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ is everything. Christ is all and in all. The Scripture saith, and that's the same as saying God says, isn't it? Thus saith the Lord. reading through Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, you read over and over and over again, Thus saith the Lord, Thus saith the Lord, over and over and over again, You shall know that I am the Lord. The Scripture saith, God says, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed. Whosoever. Now, many times when you'll speak to someone who is religious, who is a church member, and you would start telling them about the God of Scripture, that God is sovereign, that God elected a people, that the Lord Jesus Christ died for His particular elect, His church. He laid down His life for the sheep. And when you start telling them that salvation is all of the Lord, it's all of grace, He chose us, He called us, He bought us, and oftentimes they're offended when you talk about sovereign mercy, sovereign love, and sovereign grace. And a lot of times they'll come up with this argument and they say, well, what about the word whosoever? As to think that there is a conflict between that word whosoever.

And I looked that word up in scripture. I don't think I've ever done this before. But I have one of those Bible programs and I can just type in a word and push a button and it tells me exactly how many times it's used and where it's used. And that word whosoever is used 65 times. in the word of God. It's whosoever. It's a blessed, blessed word. It's a blessed word.

And often times when, turn to John chapter, hold your place there in Romans 10, and look at John chapter 3. Now here's one of those times when it says whosoever. But you know there's always a qualifying word after the word whosoever. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord." That's a qualifying word.

In John 3, they always want to look at this scripture. Look at John 3, 14. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. That's pointing to Christ crucified. That comes from the book of Numbers, chapter 21. Those who looked to that brazen serpent were healed. As Moses lifted up the serpent, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. That's Christ crucified.

Verse 15, that whosoever, there's that word, whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that is His creation. That's what the word means, cosmos. that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but shall have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn it, but that the world might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned. He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

So it's whosoever Qualifying believeth that Jesus is the Christ. Now, where does that come from? How does a sinner believe the Gospel? Well, if you go on and read there in John 3, verse 19, it says that we men by nature love darkness, they don't love the light. The only reason behind any guilty, depraved, dead sinner believing the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is by His sovereign grace.

Now here's two scriptures. One is found in the book of Acts, chapter 13, verse 48, where it says, for as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. And we know from Ephesians chapter 2, for by grace are you saved through faith, that knowledge of yourself is a gift of God, not of work, lest any man should boast. And then Ephesians chapter 1, it talks about we believe according to the working of His mighty power which He brought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead.

How much power did it take to raise the dead body of the Lord Jesus Christ from the grave? From the dead. He died. And the third day He was raised up. What kind of power did that take? Almighty power. We believe according to the working of His mighty power which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead. So true saving faith is a resurrection from the dead. If you believe the gospel in your heart and you confess with your mouth that all salvation is of the Lord, it's because God has raised you from the dead and given you a new heart. A new hearth, amen, be in Christ. He's a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things have become new. Believers are not ashamed. Romans 10, verse 11, read it again. The Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed. We sing a song every once in a while. Maybe we should close our service with this song. Ashamed of Jesus? Can it be a mortal man ashamed of Thee? Ashamed of Thee through angels' praise, whose glory lasts through endless days? Let's close our service singing that. We'll change that last song. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God and the salvation to everyone that, there's that word again, believeth the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we say with the Apostle Paul, I'm not ashamed for I know whom I have believed and I'm persuaded he's able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day. The Scriptures say it, God say it, whosoever. You know what I am? I'm a whosoever. I'm a whosoever. It doesn't say that Thomas Alan Harding will believe the gospel, it says, whosoever. There are probably 10,000 other people named Thomas A. Harding. Look it up on the internet. You ever looked your name up? There's a lot of yous around. But it says, whosoever. I'm a whosoever. Whosoever believeth. Whosoever. I can fit in there. I can fit in there on that word, whosoever. Whosoever believeth the gospel. Now look at verse 12. There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him. There is no difference. Now, among men, among this human race, there is a difference. Among the human, there's, well, there's men, there's boys and there's girls. Now that's debatable in some circles. There are men and there are women. So there is a difference that way. And there are young people and there are old people. So there is a difference among men. But what he's saying here, there is no difference before God. before God. We have before both proved, Romans 3 verse 9, Jew and Gentile, they're all under sin. There is no difference before God. We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is no difference. The same Lord is over all. He's not the father of all men. We don't believe in the universal fatherhood of God. He's the father of His people. He's the God of all men, He's the Lord of all men, but He's not the Father of all men. For the same Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, over all is God blessed forever. There's His deity, who He is, and He's over all, over all things, all things are of God, and He's rich in mercy unto all that call upon Him. I'm going to call upon the Lord. I'm going to say with Peter, when the Lord Jesus came walking on the water, and Peter said, Lord, bid me come to thee, old Peter, rambunctious, said, come on! He got out on the water, saw the wind and the waves, took his eyes off the Lord Jesus Christ, he started to sink. What did he do? He called on the name of the Lord. What did the Lord do? He saved him. What did Peter say? Lord! Save me. Save me. That's a good prayer. How about the publican in the temple? He cried out, Lord, be merciful to me, thee sinner. You see, it's simplicity, isn't it? Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Now make sure you're calling upon the name of the Lord. The name of the Lord describes His character. When you think of a person, you think of His name. When someone tells you a certain name of a person, you have certain characteristics that identify that person. And the Lord Jesus Christ, He has a name which is above every name. That name He has described His character. Call His name Jesus, He shall save His people from their sin. For a virgin shall be with child, and thou shalt call His name Emmanuel. God with us. So He's the Savior who is God with us. What does that mean? That means He's God, our Savior. And Isaiah 9 talks about His name. A child is born, Isaiah 9, 6, remember? A child is born, a son is given, and His name shall be called, and the government shall be on His shoulders, and His name shall be called Wonderful. the Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, and of His reign and kingdom there is no end. That's His name. God has highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name. At that name every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Peter declared to that Self-righteous Sanhedrin counseled, neither is there salvation in any other name. They said, by whose name have you healed this man? He said, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, get up and walk. And he did. No other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Whosoever shall call upon the Lord shall be saved. That's his promise. Whosoever believeth, as the gift of God, whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Now there's a scripture that I've got written down, and that actually comes from the book of Joel. The book of Joel, chapter 2, verse 32. And let me, don't turn and read that, but I've got it written down here. It's interesting that when Peter preaches at Pentecost, he quotes that scripture. from Joel chapter 2. And here, when the apostle Paul talks about salvation to sinners, he quotes that same scripture. Here's what it says. And it shall come to pass, this is Joel chapter 2, 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, in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. You see, we don't want to call upon him. because He called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. We only love Him because what? He first loved us. We only believe Him because He chose us. Our Lord said, you didn't choose me, I've chosen you unto salvation. So we come to Him because He draws us with His everlasting love and His everlasting kindness. There's a remnant according to the election of grace. Look just across the page there in Romans 11. I think we'll look at this next week. Verse 5. Even so, at this present time, there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it's no more of works. Otherwise, grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it's no more grace. In other words, work is no more work. It's either grace all the way or work. It can't be both. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Now, verse 14. Here's these questions. Questions, questions, questions. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? How shall they hear without somebody telling them the truth? without a preacher, and how shall they preach except their sin of God? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them, and this comes from Isaiah 52 verse 7, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, that bring glad tidings, good news of good things. The Lord Jesus Christ, this is a faithful saying, worthy of all acceptation, the Lord Jesus Christ came to save sinners. We see here, The Apostle Paul lays out the ordained means the Lord has established in calling out his elect from all nations. He has a people out of every kindred, tribe, nation, tongue under heaven, and he calls them with the gospel. The Lord has established and purposed to send out gospel preachers that the sheep might hear his voice, and he calls them with the gospel truth. The gospel truth. It pleased God by the foolishest of preaching to save them that believe." Now, we believe in using the means that God has ordained. The preaching of the gospel. We're not what some people call hard shells. That is, they say God elected a people. Christ died for those people. Then they say the hard shell says it doesn't really matter whether the sinner believes or not. That's not what this book teaches. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish. We believe in using the means God has ordained. What has He ordained to call out His people? The preaching of the Gospel. The preaching of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. This pulpit was established 40 years ago for that one purpose of preaching the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we use much of those means. Every Sunday, we preach the Gospel. Not only here in the pulpit, but on the radio. We've been on the radio for more than 30 years. 830, 1030. We've preached the Gospel for the last few years. We've been rebroadcasting Brother Mahan's messages on WPRG at 10 o'clock in the morning. 8 o'clock at night. We've put up in the last 20 years, we've put up over 6,000 sermons on Sermon Audio. Why do you do that? God commanded us to go and preach the gospel. God will bless the means He has ordained. Go and preach the gospel, and God the Holy Spirit will use that preached word to call out His people. So we use the means that God has ordained. the preaching of the word, the preaching of the word, preaching Christ, preaching Christ, preaching Christ. And those who are sin of God, they all have the same message, salvation of the Lord. Verse 16, but they have not all obeyed the gospel. That's right. For Isaiah saith, Lord, Who hath believed our preaching? Who hath believed our message? To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? So then, here's the conclusion, so then, faith, faith is the precious gift of God, comes by the means God has ordained, by the preaching of the gospel. That word they're hearing means preaching. Faith comes by preaching, through preaching, the means God has ordained, through the preaching of the gospel. And preaching comes by the Word of God. What do we preach? The Word of God. We preach the Word of God. One of the greatest blessings God can send to any city, community, or congregation is a gospel sent preacher. God will bless it. He'll own it. He'll bless it. It's good news. Good news. So then, faith comes. Thank God for that precious gift. Faith comes by hearing. By hearing what? The truth. And hearing comes by the sovereign purpose of God. Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed. Whosoever calleth on the Lord shall be saved.