Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Romans 10:15

"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 10:15 (ASV)

Paul now turns from the responsibility of the seeker after salvation to emphasize the role that believers have in God’s plan for reaching the lost. Calling on the Lord is meaningless apart from some assurance that he is worthy of confidence and trust, that he has something to offer guilty sinners. Calling on the Lord continues to be a mark of the believer, not simply the first step in the direction of establishing relationship to him (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:2).

Paul then proceeds to the second consideration in his closely reasoned argument—that faith depends on knowledge. One must hear the Gospel before he or she can be expected either to receive it or to reject it. The message of the Gospel has to be communicated by word of mouth to the hearing of others.

The third step is the necessity that someone proclaim the message. We are saved to serve, and the paramount element in that service is to bear witness to the saving power of Christ.

“And how can they preach unless they are sent?” (v.15) rounds out Paul’s series of questions. No answers are given, for the logic is so airtight that no one could properly question the essential role of each step in the process. To be “sent” (GK 690) suggests at least two things: that one operates under a higher authority and that one’s message does not originate with oneself but is given by the sending authority. The OT prophets had been sent in these two respects. So was the Lord Jesus (7:16). The apostles also received their commission from the risen Lord (cf. Romans 1:1). All Christians are sent in these two respects in their witness-bearing capacity. The task was too big for just a handful of people (11:19). The sending out of missionaries by a sponsoring group of believers (Acts 13:3) is likewise included here.

Once again (v.15) Paul corroborates his words by the sayings of the prophets, this time using Isa 52:7, which heralds the favor of the Lord to the city of Jerusalem that had lain desolate during the Babylonian captivity. The tidings are good; the proclamation is one of peace. If the message to returning Israel in the former day was good news, how much more the promise of eternal salvation in God’s Son!