ACC ~ Romans 10 v12 - 21

OVERVIEW:

Preaching is essential if people are to believe in Christ, since otherwise they will never hear of him. This is the justification for the missionary and teaching ministry of the church. Preaching is necessary, but it is not universally effective, since some of those who hear still refuse to believe. As always, there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles: among both there are some who believe and some who do not. The Jews knew but refused to believe, so God turned to the Gentiles. This made the Jews jealous but did little to bring them to repentance.

10:12 | No Distinction Between Jews and Gentiles

NO DISTINCTION. AMBROSIASTER: Paul says that in general everyone is lumped together because of unbelief or else exalted together because of their belief, because apart from Christ there is no salvation in God’s presence, only punishment or death. For neither the privileges of their ancestors nor the law can do the Jews any good if they do not accept the merit and promise made to them. Neither do the Gentiles have anything to boast about in the flesh, if they do not believe in Christ. . . .

Paul says that God bestows his riches not on those who believe but on those who call upon him, so that after believing the mind will not cease to ask God for what it has been taught to ask the Lord for. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

HE BESTOWS HIS RICHES. CHRYSOSTOM: Christ finds his wealth in the salvation of our souls. BAPTISMAL INSTRUCTIONS 11.26.

LORD OF ALL. PELAGIUS: There is one Lord of all, who abounds in mercy and possesses salvation, with which he is generous to all. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

10:13 | Calling on the Lord

THE NAME OF THE LORD. AMBROSIASTER: God himself, when he was seen by Moses, said to him: “My name is the Lord.” This is the Son of God, who is said to be both a messenger and God. The Son is not to be confused with the Father from whom all things come, but is to be acknowledged as the One through whom all things come and to whom all things belong. He is called God because the Father and the Son are one. He is also called an angel, because he was sent by the Father to announce the promised salvation. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

EVERYONE. CHRYSOSTOM: The words “Everyone who believes” point out faith, but the words “Everyone who calls upon” point out confession. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 17.

BEGINNING AND PERFECTING. AUGUSTINE: By faith in Jesus Christ is granted to us both possession of the little beginning of salvation and its perfecting, which we await in hope. THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER 51.

10:14 | Calling, Believing, Hearing

ACCEPTING OR REJECTING. AMBROSIASTER: As I said above, you have to believe first if you are going to have the faith to ask for anything. It is obvious that Christ cannot be believed in if he is not obeyed. It is likewise clear that whoever rejects a preacher does not accept the one who sent him either. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

REJECTION OF UNIVERSAL GRACE. APOLLINARIS OF LAODICEA: Paul says that salvation by the calling of the Lord is common to all but that the above mentioned rejection of this universal grace hardened the Jews, making them unable to receive the common good. As a result the mission and the message did not go to them but to the Gentiles, along with the hearing, the faith and the calling. For just as the light is by nature common to all but becomes something else to those who are blinded, so that the blind cannot see the sun, nor can the deaf hear the message when it is proclaimed, so those who have been sent to preach to the Jews have had little effect. They cannot hear the message because they have become deaf to God’s calling. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

WITHOUT A PREACHER. AUGUSTINE: The preaching of predestination should not hinder the preaching of perseverance and progress in faith, so that those to whom it has been given to obey should hear what they ought to hear. For how will they hear without a preacher? GIFT OF PERSEVERANCE 14.36.

WHO CAN CALL UPON GOD? AUGUSTINE: Those who believe rightly believe that they may call on him in whom they have believed and may be strong to do what they have learned in the precepts of the law, since faith obtains what the law commands. LETTER 157.

PROMISE TO ALL NATIONS, NOT ALL PERSONS. AUGUSTINE: God sends his angels and gathers together his elect from the four winds, that is, from the whole world. Therefore, the church must necessarily be found among the nations where it does not yet exist, but it does not necessarily follow that all who live there will believe. The promise was to all nations but not to all men of all nations, for not all have faith. LETTER 199.48.

PELAGIUS: Here we have an objection raised by the Jews concerning the Gentiles, viz. , that they could not call upon God. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

THE CREED’S PURPOSE. CAESARIUS OF ARLES: This is why you first learned the creed. Here is a rule of your faith which is both short and long—short in the number of words, long because of the weight of the thoughts. SERMON 147.1.

10:15 | Preaching the Good News

THE BEAUTY OF THE PREACHER’S FEET. ORIGEN: It seems to me that there is some difficulty with this [verse]. For if we understand it to mean that nobody preaches because nobody is sent … then it would appear that the reason they are not saved is ultimately the fault of Christ for not having sent them.

But it is better for us to understand this as follows. It is as if the apostle were saying: “We, the heralds and preachers of Christ, would not be able to preach, nor would we have any power to proclaim, if he who sent us were not also present with us. So if you do not want to listen to us when we preach, that is your problem, if hearing you do not believe, and not believing, you do not call on him, and not calling on him, you are not saved.”

The beauty of the preacher’s feet must be understood in a spiritual, not in a physical sense. For it would make a mockery of the apostle’s meaning to suppose that the feet of the evangelists, which can be seen with the physical eye, should be regarded as beautiful in themselves. … Only those feet which walk in the way of life can make this claim. Given that Christ said that he is the way, you should understand that it is the feet of those evangelists who walk according to that way which deserve to be called beautiful. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

THE WAY OF PEACE. AMBROSIASTER: Nobody can be a true apostle unless he is sent by Christ, nor will he be able to preach without a mandate to do so, for his testimony will not reflect his signs of power.

Paul quotes the prophet Nahum. By talking about feet he means the coming of the apostles who went round the world preaching the coming of the kingdom of God. For their appearance enlightened mankind by showing them the way toward peace with God, which John the Baptist had come to prepare. This is the peace to which those who believe in Christ are hastening. Then St. Simeon, seeing the discord in the world, rejoiced at the coming of the Savior, saying: “Lord, now let your servant depart in peace,” because the kingdom of God is peace, and all discord is taken away when everyone bows the knee to the one God. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

HOW TO PREACH UNLESS ONE IS SENT? APOLLINARIS OF LAODICEA: It is clear even from the prophets that it is impossible to believe if nobody preaches the gospel. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

DISBELIEVING THE PROPHET AND THE APOSTLES. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul is saying that by disbelieving, the Jews are not disbelieving the apostles only but also the prophet Isaiah, who foretold many years before that they would be sent to preach the gospel. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 18.

ESSENTIAL TEACHING. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: If the heralds of these things are deemed worthy of such great admiration, how essential and how advantageous a thing the teaching of the apostles must be. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

10:16 | Not All Believe

NOT ALL HEEDED THE GOSPEL. ORIGEN: Not all the Gentiles have believed the gospel nor have all the Jews, but many have, and many more Gentiles have believed than Jews. In this passage, “who has believed really means few have believed.” … Isaiah here is speaking prophetically in the person of the apostles, to whom the work of preaching was entrusted. It was they, when they saw how few believers there were in Israel, who exclaimed: “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

PELAGIUS: The prophets were never sent to the Gentiles. If not all those to whom the prophets were sent obeyed, how much less those to whom no one was sent! PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: The first part of this [verse] ought to be read as a question to which the second part is the apostle’s answer. … There is nothing surprising about this, for Isaiah also testifies to the small number of believers. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

10:17 | Faith Comes From What Is Heard

SOMETHING MUST BE SAID. AMBROSIASTER: It is obvious that unless something is said, it can neither be heard nor believed. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

FAITH COMES BY HEARING. CHRYSOSTOM: The Jews were forever seeking a sign … but Isaiah promised them no such thing. Rather, it was by hearing that they were to believe. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 18.

PELAGIUS: From here on we have the apostle’s reply to the above questions. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: It is perfectly clear to us, says Paul, following the voice of the prophet and what we have said, that there can be no faith without teaching, and the teaching of godliness is impossible unless it shows the truth about God. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

JOHN OF DAMASCUS: Faith comes by hearing, because when we hear the holy Scriptures we believe in the teaching of the Holy Spirit. This faith is made perfect by all the things which Christ has ordained; it believes truly, it is devout and it keeps the commandments of him who has renewed us. For he who does not believe in accordance with the traditions of the catholic church or who through untoward works holds communion with the devil is without faith. ORTHODOX FAITH 4.10.

10:18 | Preaching to All the World

TERTULLIAN: Who else have the nations of the world believed in but Christ, who has already come? AN ANSWER TO THE JEWS 7.

ORIGEN: This passage, taken from Psalm 19[:4], must refer to the Gentiles. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

THEIR VOICE HAS GONE OUT TO ALL THE EARTH. AMBROSIASTER: They heard but they did not want to believe. For there are some who, in spite of the fact that they hear, do not believe. For they hear but do not understand, because their heart is blinded by wickedness. … If the sound of the gospel has gone out to the entire world, it is not possible that the Jews have not heard it, and so none of them can be pardoned from the sin of unbelief. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

CHRYSOSTOM: If the ends of the world have heard, how can the Jews claim that they have not? HOMILIES ON ROMANS 18.

PELAGIUS: Paul wants this passage to be understood allegorically to refer to the cries of the prophets. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: It is clear that Paul did not put this here as a kind of prophecy but rather as a statement of what was actually going on at the time. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

10:19 | Israel’s Lack of Understanding

MOSES FORESAW THE FOOLISHNESS OF GRACE. ORIGEN: Having just spoken of the Gentiles Paul goes on, as is his custom, to talk about Israel as well. His intention is to demonstrate by suitable quotations that Israel has no excuse for its rejection of Christ.

In this passage it is true that Moses the friend of God wanted to attach blame to the people of God, but he also foresaw in the Spirit that if someone wants to be wise in this world he must become foolish, in order to be wise in the sight of God. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

AUGUSTINE: By calling a people “foolish” Paul explained what he meant by “those who are not a people,” viz., a foolish people ought not to be called a people at all. But he says that the Jewish people will be angered by the Gentiles’ faith, because they have received what the Jews have rejected. … Even though entire peoples were foolish idol worshipers, they nevertheless put away their paganism by believing. Thus Paul said: “If a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?” Thus he means: “I will make you jealous of those who once were not a people but were made a people,” because although they were once a foolish idol-worshiping people, they put aside their paganism through their faith in Christ. AUGUSTINE ON ROMANS 68.

I WILL MAKE YOU JEALOUS. AMBROSIASTER: Paul means here that of course Israel knew. … They all heard but they did not all believe.

The jealousy of the Jews arose from their envy at seeing a people which earlier had been without God and barbarous claim the Jewish God as their own and receive the promise which had originally been made to the Jews. … Nothing destroys a man so much as jealousy, which is why God made it the avenger of unbelief, because that is a great sin. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

DID NOT ISRAEL UNDERSTAND? CHRYSOSTOM: Israel ought to have known even on the basis of Moses alone how to tell who were the true preachers, not merely from the fact that they believed, nor from the fact that the preachers spoke of peace, nor from the fact that they brought glad tidings of good things, nor from the fact that the word was sown in all the world, but from the ironic fact that their inferiors, the Gentiles, were receiving greater honor than they had. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 18.

PELAGIUS: Israel did not understand that the Gentiles were to be called to faith. Moses is first because the prophets after him spoke of the salvation of the Gentiles. Before they believed in God, they were not God’s people. Therefore it is as if he says: “I shall call those who are not my people, and they will believe in me in order to provoke you, so that although you should have been better than they are, you will be glad to be their equals.” It is just as if someone has a disobedient son and in order to reform him gives half his inheritance to his slave, so that when he finally repents he may be glad if he deserves to receive even that much. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

10:20 | Found by Those Who Did Not Seek

ORIGEN: From the context, it is obvious that this must refer to the Gentiles. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

ISAIAH SPEAKING IN THE ROLE OF CHRIST. AMBROSIASTER: Having made us aware of the words of Moses to talk about the rejection of the Jews, Paul here adds the testimony of the prophet Isaiah in order to make his point clearer still. … Isaiah here is speaking in the role of Christ. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

ENQUIRING OF IDOLS. PELAGIUS: The Gentiles did not enquire after God in the law but after idols in ignorance. They asked not of God but of demons through the augurs, astrologers and haruspices of the idols. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

10:21 | God Held Out His Hands

UNDERSTANDING THE PASSAGE. ORIGEN: The Hebrew text does not contain the words and contrary, but here the apostle has followed the Septuagint and quoted the passage as they understood it. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

SHELTERING THE DISOBEDIENT. JEROME: The hands of the Lord lifted up to heaven were not begging for help but were sheltering us, his miserable creatures. HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 68.

HELD OUT MY HANDS. AMBROSIASTER: Here Israel refers to the Israel of the flesh, those who are children of Abraham but not according to faith. For the true Israel is spiritual and sees God by believing in him. “All day long” means “always.”

This passage may also refer to the Savior, who held out his hands on the cross to plead forgiveness for those who were killing him. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

DIODORE: It appears from the holding out of his hands that God is calling the people to himself. It is also a sign pointing toward the form of the cross. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

CHRYSOSTOM: Throughout the period of the old dispensation, God held out his hands to the Jews to call them and draw them to himself. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 18.

PELAGIUS: The same prophet who made promises of this sort to the Gentiles issues similar warnings here to the Jews, so that you may know that both were foretold. The holding out of the hands means, allegorically, the cross. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.