"How Shall They Hear?”: The Word, the Church, and the Birth of Faith

Rev. Dr. Ronald Moore

www.virtueonline.org

October 17, 2025

There are passages of Scripture that condense vast theological truths into a few short lines, and Romans 10:14–17 is among them. In four tightly linked verses, St. Paul articulates the divine logic behind evangelism, the vocation of the Church, and the very means by which faith is born. He traces a chain of necessity — from proclamation to hearing, from hearing to belief, from belief to calling, and from calling to salvation — showing that the Gospel is not merely a message to be believed, but a Word to be spoken and heard.

“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 unless they are sent? As it is written:

‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,

Who bring glad tidings of good things!’ …

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

(Romans 10:14–15, 17 NKJV)

The Golden Chain of Salvation

Paul’s argument here is both simple and profound. Salvation begins with calling upon the Lord (v. 13), but no one calls on a God they do not believe in. Belief, however, is impossible without hearing — faith is not innate; it arises in response to something external. And hearing requires a preacher, someone to proclaim the truth aloud.

Each link is dependent upon the previous one. If proclamation fails, hearing ceases. If hearing ceases, belief does not arise. Without belief, no one calls upon the Lord — and without calling upon the Lord, there is no salvation. Paul’s logic leaves no room for a silent Church. The Gospel is not a private possession; it is a spoken Word meant to be heralded.

Sent by God, Not Self

Paul goes further still: “How shall they preach unless they are sent?” The preacher’s authority is not self-appointed. The word he uses — apostalōsin — shares its root with “apostle.” To preach is to be commissioned, to be a bearer of a message that is not one’s own. This is why the Church’s mission is more than activism or enthusiasm. It is a continuation of the sending nature of God Himself: the Father sent the Son (John 3:17), the Son sent the apostles (John 20:21), and the Church, in turn, is sent into the world as Christ’s ambassador (2 Cor. 5:20).

Paul quotes Isaiah 52:7 to underline the dignity of this calling: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.” In its original context, the verse referred to the herald announcing Israel’s return from exile and the reign of God in Zion. Paul applies it to the preacher of the Gospel, for the ultimate “good news” is not political liberation but reconciliation with God and the dawn of His Kingdom in Christ.

The Tragic Refusal

Yet even as Paul builds this exalted vision of Gospel proclamation, he tempers it with realism: “But they have not all obeyed the gospel.” (v. 16). Even when the Word is faithfully proclaimed, not all will receive it. The Gospel must not only be heard but obeyed — a word that in Greek (hypakouō) means “to listen under,” or to hear with submission. Many will hear with their ears but resist with their hearts.

This is no failure of the Word itself. It is the perennial reality of human rebellion. Isaiah asked, “Lord, who has believed our report?” (Isa. 53:1), a question that echoes through the centuries. Even Christ Himself, the Word made flesh, was rejected by many. The sower scatters seed on all types of soil (Mark 4:3–20), but not all will yield fruit. Our task is not to guarantee results — it is to sow faithfully.

Faith Born of Hearing

Paul concludes his argument with one of the most profound statements in the New Testament: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (v. 17)

Faith (pistis) is not conjured up by human willpower. It does not emerge from reason alone or from moral striving. It is born — mysteriously, powerfully — when the human heart encounters the word of God (rhēma Theou). This is why the preaching of the Gospel is so central to the Church’s life. It is not the preacher’s eloquence that awakens faith, nor the cleverness of his arguments, but the Word itself, carried on human lips and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

This principle undergirds the Church’s liturgy, her preaching, her catechesis, and her evangelism. Christianity is not a philosophy that can be silently contemplated into existence. It is a Word that must be heard — a proclamation that confronts the human heart, calls it to repentance, and offers it life.

The Church’s Indispensable Vocation

Romans 10:14–17 is, at its core, a reminder of who we are and what we are for. The Church is not an institution that exists merely to preserve tradition or provide social services. She is the living Body of Christ sent into the world to speak the Word that saves. A silent Church is a disobedient Church — and a disobedient Church is a powerless one.

In every generation, the temptation arises to substitute proclamation with quietism — to retreat into the safety of private faith, to assume that people “know the message” already, or to hope that our actions alone will preach the Gospel. Yet Paul makes it clear: without the spoken Word, there is no hearing. Without hearing, there is no faith. Without faith, there is no salvation.

A Word for Our Time

The Western Church today faces a crisis of confidence in proclamation. We are told that evangelism is offensive, that truth claims are arrogant, that preaching is outdated in an age of dialogue. And yet, God has not altered His chosen means of saving souls. Faith still comes by hearing, and hearing still comes by the Word of God.

This means that every pulpit, every catechist, every missionary, every parent teaching their children Scripture is participating in the divine economy of salvation. Our words — when faithful to His Word — become vessels of grace. Our preaching — when rooted in the Gospel — becomes the means by which the Spirit births faith in the hearts of men and women.

The Feet of the Church

Paul’s rhetorical questions leave us with no room for complacency. The Gospel must be spoken. It must be proclaimed, heralded, and announced from rooftops and pulpits, across tables and into microphones. It must be declared in season and out of season, for the stakes are eternal.

The feet that go, the lips that speak, and the ears that hear — all are woven into the mystery of God’s redeeming work. And the Church, if she is to be faithful to her Lord, must once again find joy and boldness in her calling: to speak the Word that awakens faith, to sow the seed that God alone can cause to grow, and to stand upon the promise that “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

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