Charles Spurgeon Commentary Romans 10:14

"How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?" — Romans 10:14 (ASV)

And how shall they hear without a preacher?

How is that possible? Do you see the machinery of the gospel?

There is the calling upon the name. That comes of faith. There is the faith that comes of hearing; but there is the hearing that comes of preaching. Now a little farther.

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?

That is the point: believing is the vital matter.

And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?

Those who do not hear the gospel are not likely to believe it, and there are many unbelievers who never seek to hear it.

It is always wrong for a man to refuse to believe any truth before he knows what it really is.

There should at least be a sincere searching of the Holy Scriptures and a candid listening to the preaching of the Word before it is rejected.

And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?

We must know what it is that we are to believe; and knowing it, we shall be helped by the Holy Spirit to believe it.

And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?

There cannot be such a thing as believing what has never been spoken in our hearing, and has never been made known to us. Of course, reading often serves the same purpose as hearing. It is a kind of hearing of the Word; but a man must know, or he cannot believe.

And how shall they hear without a preacher?

If the Word of the Lord does not reach a person either by the living voice or by the printing press, which often takes the preacher's place, how is he to believe it? You see here what I have often called "the whole machinery of salvation." First comes the preacher proclaiming the gospel, then comes the sinner listening to it, then comes the hearer believing it, and as a result, calling upon the name of the Lord as one who is saved with his everlasting salvation.

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?

For at the bottom of the saving invocation or call there must be real faith. There cannot be any true worship of God unless it is grounded and based upon faith in God.