Romans 10:14-21
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? (vv. 14-15a) These words strike me every time I read them. They are a clear call to all of us for evangelism. The Ethiopian eunuch asks a similar question of Philip: So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. (Acts 8:30-31) A world is waiting for us to speak…!
In this paragraph “they” refers to the Jewish people: But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.” (vv. 18-19) This last verse comes from the Song of Moses, his final speech to the children of Israel in Deuteronomy 32. Here is that verse’s context: They stirred him to jealousy with strange gods; with abominations they provoked Him to anger. They sacrificed to demons that were no gods, to gods they had never known, to new gods that had come recently, whom your fathers had never dreaded. You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you, and you forgot the God who gave you birth. The Lord saw it and spurned them, because of the provocation of His sons and His daughters. And He said, “I will hide My face from them; I will see what their end will be, for they are a perverse generation, children in whom is no faithfulness. They have made Me jealous with what is no god; they have provoked Me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are no people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.” (vv. 16-21) Paul is saying that the Jewish people’s failure to believe, to follow God faithfully has a long history, going way back to their time in the wilderness. And they are still that way in Paul’s “today” and in our own “today”. Sad.
Slava Bohu!
When I was reading that, I was pondering on sharing the Gospel. Dr. Tennant’s message yesterday gave a plug for ALPHA and noted that the research indicated it was the most effective way to share the gospel in the western world. So I Googled looking for the research. Didn’t find what he mentioned, but I did find blogs and YouTube clips declaring that it brainwashed people, was evil, etc. If Satan is attacking, it must be reaching a number of people!