Romans 10:13-15: A Heart for the Nations

Romans 10:13-15: A Heart for the Nations

On April 16, 1858, John Paton set sail for a group of islands off of the coast of Australia known as the New Hebrides. He and his wife Mary were going there as missionaries. And the notable thing about the New Hebrides is that the indigenous people on these islands were cannibals. In fact, 19 years before prior to Paton’s journey, two other missionaries had bravely traveled to the New Hebrides only to be killed and eaten by the cannibals just minutes after they set foot on shore. So not surprisingly, a number of notable people strongly advised Paton not to go. They warned him that he and his wife would be eaten by cannibals just like the previous missionaries. They also pointed out that he had a very fruitful ministry in the Scottish city of Glasgow. Why leave what God was obviously blessing to go to a region where the results were so uncertain? But Paton determined nonetheless that God was calling him to the New Hebrides, so he and Mary departed for the islands in 1858. But…within a few months of arriving on the islands, both Paton’s wife and his newborn son died of sickness. So he had to dig their two graves with his own hands and buried them beside the small hut in which he lived. Paton then carried on the work alone, persevering through both the aching loneliness in his heart and the constant danger from the cannibals. He was finally driven off of the island four years later in 1862. However, after remarrying and spending another four years recruiting more missionaries for the New Hebrides, Paton returned to the islands and labored there with his new wife Margaret for 41 years until she died. During those years, they faced unbelievable dangers and came within inches of death time after time. The threat to their lives was almost constant. They never knew whether they’d be ambushed while traveling somewhere or when their house might be surrounded by angry natives. In fact, Paton’s journal records how he developed the habit of sleeping with his clothes on since he knew that at any time he might awaken to bands of hostile natives who had come to take his life. He recounts one situation as follows: “My enemies seldom slackened their hateful designs against my life…A wild chief followed me around for four hours with his loaded musket, and , though often directed towards me, God restrained his hand. I spoke kindly to him, and attended to my work as if he had not been there, fully persuaded that my God had placed me there, and would protect me till my allotted task was finished. Looking up in unceasing prayer to our dear Lord Jesus, I left all in his hands, and felt immortal till my work was done. Trials and hairbreadth escapes strengthened my faith, and seemed only to nerve me for more to follow; and they did tread swiftly upon each other’s heels.” And that last remark of his is very true. His journal is filled with stories of spectacular experiences of God delivering him time after time. Trials and hairbreadth escapes really did follow swiftly upon each other’s heels. And that was the way Paton lived for decades. 

Thankfully, God blessed Paton’s ministry in remarkable ways. Over the course of his ministry, he saw pretty much the entire population of the island he was on, the island of Aniwa, become Christians. Paton wrote, “I claimed Aniwa for Jesus, and by the grace of God Aniwa now worships at the Savior’s feet.” Even to this day, over 100 years later, 92 percent of that island identifies as Christian, with 41 percent being Bible-believing or evangelical Christian. But an important question we might ask after hearing about Paton is this: why would he do what he did and endure the hardships he endured and take the extreme risks he took? Why would he leave a fruitful ministry in Scotland to go to a place where he knew the chances were extremely high that he would die? Why would he continue laboring alone in that place for four years even after his wife and newborn son died? And why would he return to that place after leaving and spend the remaining four decades of his life ministering under the constant threat of attack? The Apostle Paul tells us why in Romans 10. 

So please turn with me to Romans 10. If you’re using one of the Story Bibles we provide that’s on page 783. We’ve been working our way passage by passage through Paul’s letter to the Romans, and this morning we find ourselves in Romans 10:13-15. It says, 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 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? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 

These words from Paul show us that missionary endeavors are both necessary and urgent. That’s the main idea we’ll be looking at this morning. Missionary endeavors are both necessary and urgent. Now, by the way, when I talk about missionary endeavors, I’m not talking about the colonialism that was often a part of missionary endeavors. I don’t believe colonialism is something that should be celebrated. So when I talk about missionary endeavors, I’m simply referring to bringing the gospel to groups of people who haven’t yet heard it. So let’s take a closer look at those two aspects of missionary endeavors I mentioned. First, their necessity. And second, their urgency. 

The Necessity of Missionary Endeavors

So, number one, the necessity of missionary endeavors. This passage from Romans 10 shows us that the only way people who are separated from God are able to be saved is if those of us who are Christians share the gospel with them. That’s the only way someone who doesn’t have Jesus can come to Jesus and be rescued by Jesus. Christians have to share the gospel—even if sharing the gospel requires us leaving the country and culture in which we were raised and going to a different country and culture. God’s plan for saving people involves Christians pushing through whatever obstacles they have to push through in order to share the gospel. 

Now in the previous chapter, chapter 9, Paul explained at length how God is sovereign in salvation. He told us that God sovereignly chooses some to be saved and passes over others. Paul summarized his point in verse 18 of chapter 9, where he wrote that God “has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.” God’s the one who ultimately determines who’s saved and who’s not. He’s sovereign in salvation. And yet, it would be huge mistake for us to come away from Romans 9 with the idea that we, therefore, don’t need to share the gospel. Some people might be tempted to think that sharing the gospel is pointless if everything’s already pre-determined anyway. But that would be a terrible error. And this passage from Romans 10 shows us why. 

Look again at what it says. Verse 13: For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” It doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done in the past. If you call on the name of the Lord Jesus, you will be saved. However, verse 14: How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? So believing in Jesus precedes calling on Jesus for salvation. That’s fairly obvious. Why would you call on Jesus for salvation if you don’t believe he’s able to save you? Then, the next question in verse 14 is this: And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? If someone’s never heard of Jesus, they’re not really in a position to believe in Jesus. They can’t believe in a Savior they’ve never heard of before. Then the next question: “And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” So people may be able to know a lot about God from looking at nature. They can know that he exists and that he’s powerful and majestic and wise and things like that. But nature isn’t going to tell them enough about God for them to be saved. They can’t look at nature and figure out the gospel or learn about Jesus. Someone has to tell them about Jesus. “How are they to hear without someone preaching?” And by the way, that word translated preaching, in its original language, is broad enough to refer to any ministry of verbally proclaiming the gospel. There’s probably an emphasis on the public preaching of the gospel in a manner similar to what I do each Sunday, but that’s not to exclude other ways of verbally proclaiming the gospel such as sharing the gospel in an ordinary conversation with someone. That also is a form of preaching. So, “How are they to hear without someone preaching?” Then finally, Paul writes, “And how are they to preach unless they are sent?” That word “sent” refers first of all to being sent or commissioned by God to preach the gospel. He’s our ultimate authority. He’s the one in charge of the mission. And in addition to being sent by God, it’s possible that Paul also has in mind being sent out and sponsored by a local congregation of believers. 

So as you can see from this logical chain of questions, missionary endeavors aren’t just part of God’s plan for bringing the gospel to the world. They are God’s plan. God’s plan for spreading the gospel and bringing people to faith consists of us as Christians sharing the gospel with them. Yes, Romans 9 teaches that God’s already chosen certain individuals for salvation. He’s issued a sovereign decree of who’s going to be saved. But God’s sovereign decree includes not only who will be saved but also of the way in which they’ll be saved—which, as we see in Romans 10, is Christians sharing the gospel with them. God has decreed both the end and the means to that end. Imagine I started telling you about a beautiful vacation I had planned to Hawaii. Let’s say that, in just a few days, I was planning on going to Hawaii for a whole month and that I went on and on about how amazing this trip was going to be. I couldn’t wait to soak in that sun and go surfing and eat lots and lots of good food. This vacation was really going to be something special. But then let’s say it came up that I hadn’t yet purchased my plane tickets. My trip to Hawaii is supposedly just a few days away, but no plane tickets or boat tickets, for that matter, have been purchased. If that were the case, I’m sure you’d probably give me a pretty strange look. Why would I make all these plans in Hawaii but apparently not give any thought to how I’m going to get there? That would be silly. It would be silly for me to focus all my attention on the end, which is my destination in Hawaii, without giving any thought to the means to that end, which is a plane ticket. And in a similar way, we don’t want to do that with God’s sovereignty either by focusing merely on the end God has decreed. Recognize that God has decreed not only the end—of certain people being saved—but also the means to that end, which is Christians sharing the gospel with them. You might say that God has not only a chosen people but also a chosen plan. That plan consists of Christians sharing the gospel. And it’s only through God’s chosen plan that his chosen people will come to faith. And these verses from Romans 10 make that plan very clear. So don’t neglect that plan. 

However, having an unhealthy view of God’s sovereignty isn’t the only thing that might hinder us from seeing the necessity of missionary endeavors. Another hindrance is a teaching that’s commonly called “inclusivism.” Inclusivism is the teaching that people can get to heaven without ever hearing about Jesus. Even if someone’s never heard about Jesus or about the gospel, they can still go to heaven. And you may be thinking that that sounds a lot like pluralism, which is the popular teaching that all religions are valid and that there are many different paths to get to heaven. Heaven for the pluralist is like the top of a mountain that can be reached by using whichever path you like best. And you may think that inclusivism sounds a lot like that. But even though it’s true that inclusivism is a step in that direction, there’s an important difference between the two. Unlike pluralism, inclusivism is kind of sneaky. Because it agrees with the Bible that Jesus is the only way to heaven. An inclusivist could look at John 14:6, where Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me,” and that inclusivist could be totally fine with those words. They would agree that Jesus is the only way to heaven. “But,” they would say, “people don’t necessarily have to hear about Jesus or put their faith in Jesus in order to benefit from the salvation he offers.” That’s where the sneakiness comes in. So they would say that a good Buddhist who faithfully practices Buddhism but hasn’t ever heard about Jesus can still go to heaven through Jesus. Even if that Buddhist doesn’t know about Jesus and isn’t able to put their faith in Jesus, they can still go to heaven through what Jesus did. Some of you may be surprised to learn that even someone of the stature of C. S. Lewis has suggested this pretty clearly in his Chronicles of Narnia series, and there are many others who have suggested it as well. After all, who really wants to say that Gandhi went to hell? That’s an idea that a lot of people would find rather offensive. So inclusivism gives people a way to say that Gandhi went to heaven and at the same time continue to maintain that Christianity is unique among the religions of the world and that Jesus is the only way to heaven. They can say that Gandhi went to heaven through Jesus even though he never put his faith in Jesus.  

The only problem with that view is that we read passages in the Bible like Romans 10:13-15 that clearly teach something quite different. According to this passage, the only people who will be saved are those who “call on the name of the Lord.” And the only way they’ll call on the name of the Lord is if they believe. And the only way they’ll believe is if they’ve heard. And the only way they’ll hear is if someone preaches to them. And the only way someone will preach to them is if that preacher is sent. That line of reasoning doesn’t leave any room for the possibility of someone being saved without hearing about Jesus. And listen: I get what makes inclusivism so attractive. Thinking about the countless multitudes of people all over the world who have never heard about Jesus being condemned to hell should break our hearts. We should be overwhelmed with grief and sorrow and compassion for those multitudes. But we dare not allow those kinds of feelings to lead us away from biblical truth. In reality, the most compassionate thing we can do isn’t making things up about people going to heaven who aren’t really going there. Rather, it’s doing what John Paton did and doing whatever we can to take the gospel to those people so that they can truly go to heaven when they die.  That’s what compassion looks like. It looks like using our fortunes and in some cases even risking our lives in an effort to proclaim the gospel to those who haven’t yet heard it. This passage is clear: the only way people can believe in Jesus and call out to Jesus for salvation is if they hear the gospel from us. 

The Urgency of Missionary Endeavors

And that leads us to the next point, which is the urgency of missionary endeavors. So first we had the necessity of missionary endeavors. Now we have, flowing out of that, the urgency of missionary endeavors. When I read our main passage, it’s hard for me to read it without detecting a distinct note of urgency. Again, verses 13-15: 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 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? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent?

There are two reasons why I believe Paul sounds so urgent here as he talks about missions. Number one, the time that we have to reach people is incredibly short. We have such a limited window of time. First of all, we don’t have very long to live. Also, people without the gospel don’t have very long to live. And finally, the time is getting closer and closer for Jesus to come back. In John 9:4, Jesus says, We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. We only have a small window of time to reach people with the gospel before it’s eternally too late. That’s why we should have a sense of urgency. We should feel every bit of the sense of urgency that firefighters feel as they’re racing down the road to get to a burning house that has people inside. Time is of the essence. 

Also, in addition to that, the stakes are unbelievably high. We’re talking about the welfare of eternal souls—about eternal souls hanging in the balance of heaven or hell. Now I realize that’s not an easy thing to think about. In fact, it’s so discomforting that we often try to keep ourselves from thinking about it very much at all. Thinking about it upsets our equilibrium. And yet, that really is the situation. The eternal destinies of countless multitudes all over the face of this earth hang in the balance even this morning. And one of the most significant factors that will determine where they spend eternity is whether the gospel reaches them before they die. If that’s not urgent, then I don’t know what is.  

So when you start thinking about these kinds of things, all of a sudden the mentality of men like John Paton that we looked at in the beginning makes a lot of sense. It makes sense why Paton would endure the dangers and the hardships he endured in order to bring the gospel to those islanders. He understood what was at stake. He understood the urgency. 

Another Christian who was a lot like Paton and who understood the urgency was John Chau. You may have seen the news story several months ago on all the major media outlets about how a Christian named John Chau died in his attempt to bring the gospel to a small tribe located on a remote island off the coast of India. This tribe is believed to be one of the only people groups in the world that has had almost no contact whatsoever with any outsider. The handful of attempts at making contact with this tribe have resulted in the members of the tribe being extremely hostile and shooting arrows at the unwelcome visitors. So the Indian government and everyone else has pretty much just left them alone. But John Chau understood from Scripture that this tribe desperately needs the gospel. So he spent a few years preparing to make contact with the tribe and thought through his approach very carefully. And then, in November of last year, he had some local fishermen bring him to the island, where he made contact with the tribe and gave them some gifts he thought they’d appreciate. And at first, the tribe seemed to tolerate him, but then they became a bit hostile. So Chau had to swim a mile back to the fishermen’s boat. 

That night, Chau wrote in his journal that he was very scared. He described watching the sunset and thinking about how beautiful it was but then wondering “if it’ll be the last sunset I see before being in the place where the sun never sets.” He went on to write, speaking to his family, “You guys might think I’m crazy in all this, but I think it’s worth it to declare Jesus to these people.” He also penned a prayer to God in which he grieved over this island “where none have heard or even had a chance to hear your name.” The next day, Chau went to the island again, this time without the fishermen nearby. He thought that perhaps appearing alone would make the islanders more comfortable. And he knew the risks, but he also understood the urgency. After that, Chau was never seen or heard from again. Now there’s been a lot of debate over whether John Chau’s approach was wise or could have been done differently. I’m not sure I know enough about that say one way or the other. But I will say this: John Chau understood the urgency of our missionary mandate. He knew these people are in dire need and eternal souls are at stake. Do you understand that urgency? Is that sense of urgency alive in your heart?

Conclusion

And as you consider these realities and as you consider this passage from Romans 10, I encourage you—if you’re a Christian—to also ask yourself, where is your missionary assignment? Where is your missionary assignment? You see, it’s not a question of if you have a missionary assignment. Scripture’s clear that God calls every believer to embrace a missionary lifestyle. The only question is where and in what context God’s called you to be a missionary. Maybe he’s called you to be a cross-cultural missionary and go overseas to spread the gospel. Maybe the thought that there are still countless people all over this world who haven’t even heard of Jesus a single time breaks your heart and makes you want to go to them and bring the gospel to them. We’ve been praying that God would raise up someone from our church who would do that. So maybe you’re the answer to those prayers. And what a high and holy calling that is. As verse 15 of our main passage says, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

Or maybe God’s calling you not to go overseas as a missionary but to stay right here in Pittsburgh as a missionary. That also is a high calling. And again: that is your calling if you’re not called to go elsewhere. If you’re a Christian and God’s not calling you to labor somewhere else as a missionary, he is calling you to labor here as a missionary. There’s no legitimate third option of you staying here but not doing anything for God’s Kingdom. Now of course that doesn’t mean you should quit your job or anything like that. Rather, it means that you should be a missionary where God has already planted you—among your friends, your family, your work associates, and your neighbors. Are you living with that mentality? Are you living the focused lifestyle of a missionary where you are right now? 

And I will say that if God has indeed called you this second option of being a missionary here in Pittsburgh, you still have a responsibility to do everything you can to support those who are called to that first option of going elsewhere. William Carey famously described cross-cultural missionaries as those who venture down into a gold mine. And he said that the other Christians who don’t go down into the mine themselves are called to hold the rope for those who do go down. So our job here in Pittsburgh is to hold that rope. We do that primarily by praying for cross-cultural missionaries and by giving our money generously to support those missionaries. So even from our location here in Pittsburgh, we have a part to play in reaching the entire world with the gospel. 

And yet, as we think about doing all of this, we always want to remind ourselves that we don’t labor as missionaries in order to earn God’s acceptance or make ourselves right with God through our own efforts. That can only happen through Jesus. Jesus is the one who makes us right with God. His death on the cross for our sins is what enables us to be forgiven, and his resurrection from the dead is what enables us to be saved. There’s nothing we can do to add to that. Jesus has already accomplished everything that needs to be accomplished. And the way we can enjoy what Jesus has accomplished is simply by putting our trust in him. And it’s only after we do that and receive that salvation that we devote ourselves to missionary endeavors. So don’t get the order mixed up. First, we receive God’s grace by trusting Jesus. Then, we share God’s grace by telling others. The sharing is simply a response to the receiving. We’re so grateful that we’ve received God’s grace that we just want to tell everybody.