“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?”
The full verse · Romans 10:14 · KJV
shall they call him they ? shall they believe him of they ? shall they a ?
Asked by
Paul: the apostle writing to the church at Rome, explaining how people come to call on the Lord (Romans 10:13)
The Scene
Paul has just quoted the promise that "whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13), right after saying there is "no difference between the Jew and the Greek" (Romans 10:12).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionPaul traces the promise backward, one step at a time. Calling on the Lord needs believing. Believing needs hearing. Hearing needs someone to proclaim. Barnes says Paul here "adverts to an objection which might be urged to his argument": a Jew might say it was unfair to make salvation depend on faith when "a large part of the nation had not heard the gospel." After all, people "could not be expected to believe in one of whose existence they knew nothing." Gill reads the chain as Paul's own teaching: "there can be no true calling upon God without faith, no faith without hearing, no hearing without preaching." Either way, the three questions make the reader see that the good news has to be carried to people.
The Response
What Scripture recordsEach question expects the answer "they cannot." Paul adds one more link, "how shall they preach, except they be sent?" (Romans 10:15), and answers it from Isaiah: "How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace" (Romans 10:15). He then sums up the whole chain: "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). Finally he asks whether people have in fact heard, and answers, "Yes verily" (Romans 10:18).
Historical Context
The world behind the words"Preacher" here means a public announcer, not only a pastor in a pulpit. Barnes, explaining the next verse, says to preach means "to proclaim in a public manner, as a crier does." The "him" in these questions is the Lord of Romans 10:13, the same Lord Jesus whom Paul says is confessed with the mouth and believed in the heart (Romans 10:9). Paul's teaching that there is "no difference between the Jew and the Greek" (Romans 10:12) had opened the promise to everyone.
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThese questions show how God has chosen to work. He saves "whosoever" calls on Him (Romans 10:13), and He brings people to that point through a message that is spoken and heard. Matthew Henry puts it simply: "They cannot hear without a preacher; how should they?" Paul's summary is that "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17).
So the God who makes the promise is also the God who sends the message. Paul does not end the chain with human effort. He ends it with sending (Romans 10:15), which points back to God's own initiative.
Look Closer
How are the steps in Paul's questions connected?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord, You chose to let people hear of You through others; who around me has not really heard, and how would You have me speak?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- Who first helped you hear about Christ, and what about them made you listen?
- What makes it hard for you to talk about Jesus with people who may never have heard clearly?
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
If you believe, someone told you. Faith came to you by hearing, and hearing came through a person who spoke (Romans 10:14, 17). Take a moment to thank God for the people He used.
The same chain is still at work. People around you cannot call on a Lord they have not believed, or believe in One they have not heard of. You can pray for those who carry the message, and be ready to speak of Christ when the door opens.
This does not mean everything rests on you. Paul ends the chain with God's sending (Romans 10:15), and he says plainly that "they have not all obeyed the gospel" (Romans 10:16). Your part is to speak faithfully; the results belong to God.
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