Charles Spurgeon Commentary Romans 10:14-15

"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? and how shall they preach, except they be sent? even as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that bring glad tidings of good things!" — Romans 10:14-15 (ASV)

And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tiding of good things! (Romans 10:14–15)

The gospel brings gladness wherever it comes. The Word which we preach tells of joys that will last forever. The gospel shall make the whole world sing with new music when it is received by all; and it shall roll away the mists that now swathe this poor, dusky planet, and make it shine out like its sister stars in all the glory of God when once Christ is fully acknowledged here as Lord and Saviour.

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? and how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

See here the whole machinery of salvation. God provides salvation in Christ Jesus; he sends the preacher to tell of it. People hear, they believe, and salvation is theirs. You do not have to achieve righteousness; you have to accept the one that is made for you. It is not what you will do that will save you; it is what Christ has done.

You are to get out of self-confidence into confidence in him; and as soon as you do so, you are saved.

And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

We, dear friends, have had this whole process carried out in our midst. The gospel has been preached—preached, I trust, by one who can prove, by the many seals to his ministry, that he has been sent by God, who has given him these confirmations of his commission in the constant conversion of those to whom he has preached. Then, many of you have heard the preaching, and have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ; and, therefore, you are saved for all eternity.

But, alas! There are some of you who have not believed in Jesus; yet you must be saved by this process, or you can never be saved at all, for God will never try any other plan. His way of saving people is to send the preacher whom he has called and qualified to preach. The preacher preaches; the people hear; by hearing, they believe; and by believing they are saved. This is God's way of saving sinners, and he will not depart from it; so let us walk in it.

May his gracious Spirit take away from us all our proud, foolish and wicked objections to his simple plan, and may we all believe and live!

And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

You see all the machinery of salvation here. God provides a gospel, sends a preacher to proclaim it; men hear it; by the Holy Spirit they believe it, and they are saved. It is all in a nutshell, but oh! how blessedly suited to poor unworthy sinners like ourselves.

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? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Here you have the whole plan of salvation. Christ is preached, sinners hear the message of the gospel, they believe it, and so they are saved.

What a mass of rubbish men have interjected into this blessed simple plan! What counterfeits of so-called sacraments, and what a mass of human doings and external paraphernalia of all sorts they have interjected!

God requires none of their fripperies, fineries, and ornate performances, but simply says, "Believe, and live." How different is this from the cumbersome, complicated plan by which men would destroy our souls!

Cling to the old-fashioned gospel, beloved, and never turn away from it. There is nothing that can take the place of the simplicity of divine truth.

God grant that throughout England, and from one end of the world to the other, salvation by believing, the result of hearing the gospel, may be proclaimed.

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! And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

So that, rightly looked upon, the humblest preacher of the gospel stands in the most solemn relationship towards mankind. His Master sends him. He tells his message. Men hear it, believe it, and by it are saved. Happy is the messenger. His heart may well rejoice, even when his soul is heavy, because he has such work to do in his Master's name.