Text: Romans 10:12-17
Date: February 6, 2022
Event: The Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, Year C
Romans 10:12–17 (EHV)
So there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord is Lord of all, who gives generously to all who call on him. 13Yes, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14So then, how can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one about whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without a preacher? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news of peace, who preach the gospel of good things!”
16But not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who believed our message?” 17So then, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through the word of Christ.
God’s Word Is His Special Tool for Us
I’m always amazed by craftsmen who do their complicated jobs well and seemingly effortlessly. It’s just astonishing to see someone who knows what they’re doing accomplish their goals, whether it’s a painter, an electrician, or an athlete. For me it’s especially amazing when it’s something I’ve dabbled in and know from first-hand experience that I could never do that, or at least, not do that as well as they can.
There are often times interesting, specialized tools involved in those areas of work. From a huge machine on the floor of a factory to specialized pens for detail in drawings, looking at the tools a professional uses for their work can sometimes be almost as interesting as the work itself.
But Consider the work of gospel messengers. Outside of a computer program that can speed up looking up Greek and Hebrew words or a little kit designed to bring communion to the home of a shut-in, there’s not really a lot of tools associated with that work that are of much interest or outside the realm of the familiar or mundane. But, as Paul shows us in our Second Reading for this morning, that’s because God chooses to work through the familiar, through the mundane, through the written and spoken Word. And for that reason, we do well to consider both our congregational work and our personal witnessing work recognizing the true power of the tool we have.
In our reading this morning, the apostle Paul sets a baseline need for God’s Word. He says, So there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord is Lord of all, who gives generously to all who call on him. Yes, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” This is important for us to remember as a general truth when working with God’s Word: no one is beyond reach. No matter what someone has done, no matter how convinced they seem to be of thinking that is in conflict with God’s Word, no matter how entrenched they may appear in their unbelief, the subtle-looking power of God’s Word is able to change all of that. The message that God has is for everyone. The warnings and condemnation of sin that God declares is for everyone. The forgiveness of those sins that God gives is for everyone. The eternal life that God has prepared is for everyone.
We should not limit the audience by assuming someone won’t listen. We should not limit the audience because culture or attitude might make us uncomfortable. We should not limit the audience for any possible reason. Jesus is for all, so we should be for all as well.
But this all raises a question, doesn’t it? If Jesus is for all, if God gives his forgiveness, freely, to all people, why will some not be in heaven with us? Forgiveness is made available to all, but faith is required. One must trust what God has promised and done. And this is the true power of God’s Word because no person can decide to believe. No person can make themselves a Christian or accept these truths on their own. God must convince them; God alone must work that faith, that trust, in their hearts. And he uses his Word to do that.
That brings us to Paul’s questions: So then, how can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one about whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? The Word is the tool God uses, but he doesn’t just write it in the clouds. He doesn’t often send angels to be his heralds to people on earth. No he uses people to bring his Word to other people. He uses you.
He intends you to bring the comfort of the gospel to someone overwhelmed with guilt and shame. He intends you to bring the correction of the gospel to a fellow Christian who is caught up in a sin. He intends for all of us to be his messengers. Because preaching the Word is not only a pastor standing in a pulpit. It’s a compassionate word spoken to someone wrestling with despair. It’s a teaching word spoken to someone who doesn’t firmly understand God’s will or work. How can people hear this unless preachers, messengers, are sent?
What will the results of this preaching and sharing of the Word be? Will there be a 100% success rate? Hardly. You know as well as I do that often times the message of God’s Word is rejected, no matter how true and comforting it is. And you know why, because you feel it in your own heart. You don’t want to hear you’re a sinner. You don’t want to hear that you can’t do anything to save yourself. You don’t want to hear what God has done for you—you want to know what you can do for yourself (and maybe for God along the way too). The sinful nature in us recoils at and rebels against what God has said in his Word.
Because we know our own hearts, even now, and how they respond to the message that God has to share, it is no surprise when we run into that same attitude when we share it with others. The message is rejected in ignorance; it’s rejected because it doesn’t allow people to do what they want to do even if it’s harmful; it’s rejected because it flies in the face of human reasoning. So we will not always find people rejoicing when we share this message. Paul acknowledges this: But not all obeyed [that is, believed] the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who believed our message?”
But a lack of belief on the part of the hearer doesn’t mean that we have wasted our time. It also doesn’t mean we should change things. You know the true power of the Word because you’ve experienced it yourself. God’s Word has changed you from a someone constantly warring against God to someone rejoicing in his peace. You’ve found forgiveness for your rejection of God’s standards; you’ve found forgiveness for when your desires run contrary to God’s expectations. And you know that you didn’t make that happen, God did.
So when we don’t see the results of sharing the Word that we would like to see, we need to remember how God works. He doesn’t work better if we change or water down the message. He doesn’t work better if we ignore the message of the Bible and focus on having fun and entertaining people. He doesn’t work better if we’re ingenious in the way we present things. If we do enough tweaking and changing of the Word to distort the truth of the message, what benefit is there in that?
No amount of flashy programs or colorful personalities can make the Word more effective. No, there’s only one thing that brings about a change, and Paul closes out our reading with the reminder: So then, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through the word of Christ.
The Word, the Word, and only the Word can change hearts. If we as a congregation or as individuals are looking to change people with something else, with a beautiful building or rationale arguments or overflowing generosity, we’re barking up the wrong tree. All of those things may be in service to the Word, may help to break down barriers or provide introductions, but the Word on the page, the Word spoken, and the Word connected to water, bread, and wine in Baptism and the Lord’s Supper is the only thing that truly changes and sustains hearts in faith and trust in Jesus as Savior.
So we need to go and share. We need people to be sent to proclaim. In our Bible Class on Sunday mornings in January, we heard that congregational ministry is perhaps well thought of in a one-by-one, individual way rather than thinking in a big sweeping numbers. You can be the one with beautiful feet by sharing your faith to a neighbor, or friend, or family member, or coworker. You don’t need to be theologically trained minister nor a classically trained orator to be able to share the love of Jesus. You can be the ones who bring good news to people.
But you can also send messengers in other ways. You can invite people to join us for a worship service or Bible Class. You can forward our weekly emails with all of the worship and Bible study information in them to people as a low-stakes invitation that they could even do from their kitchen table if they wanted. You can ask the question, “Do you have a pastor who will come and visit you? Because my pastor would if you want.” You can send a messenger of the gospel just by passing along an email or phone number to me.
But as we heard in our WELS Connection last week, we also have a great need in our church body for more people to go and share this good news. Do you have elementary, middle, or high school students in your family who might have the gifts to pursue being a teacher or pastor in our schools and churches? We should go on a trip to visit Martin Luther College and see if that might be the way for them. What about you who are already established in life or even retired—might there be a new chapter as a formal messenger of the gospel, supporting that work here or elsewhere? Pray about these things because the need is great for more who will catch not fish but people with the message of God’s love and forgiveness.
That message doesn’t look all that impressive on the outside, but on the inside we know it changes people’s hearts from damned to saved, from sinner to saint. Not only can it, but it’s the only thing that can. That Word points us to Jesus who died for us and gives us the faith to trust him as our only and complete Savior. That Word has changed us. May God bless our work to use it, and it alone, to change the hearts of others. Amen.
