(14-21) Thus there is a distinct order—belief, confession, invocation. But before either the last or the first of these steps is taken the gospel must be preached. The Jew, however, cannot plead that the gospel has not been preached to him. It has been preached both to Jew and Gentile. Both Moses and Isaiah had foretold the conversion of the Gentiles, and Isaiah had also foretold the unbelief of the Jews.

Romans 10:14-17. How then — As if the apostle had said, From the promise of salvation made to them that shall call on the name of the Lord, I have inferred, that there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, as to the possibility of obtaining salvation from God; and from hence we may further infer, that the gospel must be preached to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews, and the sundry means of grace be dispensed to them, and therefore that we, the apostles, in so doing, do nothing but what is agreeable to the will of God, though on that account we are much reproached and persecuted. For how shall they call upon him — With sincerity; in whom they have not believed — In whose existence, power, and goodness they have not believed; or in whom, as capable of hearing, and able and willing to grant their requests, they have no confidence; (see on Hebrews 11:6;) or whom they do not believe to be a proper object of worship, or worthy to be invoked with divine honours and adoration. And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? — “Even the works of nature and providence must be made known to mankind by instructers, to make them able to understand them: much more the gospel of Christ.” — Baxter. Or the apostle speaks here chiefly, if not only, of believing in Christ, and therefore his words are not inconsistent with what he advances, Romans 1:19-20, concerning the existence and perfections of God being made known to all mankind by the works of creation. Some way or other the divine revelation concerning Christ must be made known to us, before we can understand and believe it. In hearing is included reading, which is tantamount to hearing, and by which many are brought to believe, John 20:31; These things are written that you may believe. But hearing only is mentioned as the more ordinary and natural way of receiving information. How shall they hear without a preacher — To carry these important tidings, which the light of nature could never be able to discover: or, except God reveal the gospel to them some way or other. And how shall they — The ministers of the gospel; preach except they be sent — Expressly for that purpose? that is, except they be both commissioned, and, at least in some measure, qualified for that difficult though important work? How shall a man act as an ambassador, unless he have both his instruction and his credentials from the prince that sends him? St. Paul probably intended to intimate, that as the apostles, and other first ministers of the gospel, were originally Jews, their own prejudices on this head were so strong, that they never would have thought of carrying the gospel to the Gentiles if God had not particularly charged them to do it; especially as its avowed opposition to the idolatry and the other vices which reigned in the Gentile countries, could not but expose them, more or less, to persecution in various forms, wherever they came and attempted to preach it. Thus, by a chain of reasoning from God’s will, that the Gentiles also should call upon him, Paul infers that the apostles were sent by God to preach to them also. As it is written — And described in that striking prophecy, Isaiah 52:7-8, How beautiful are the feet — The very footsteps, or the coming; of them that preach the gospel of peace — The gospel, which shows the way how peace is made between God and man. The figure here applied by Isaiah “is extremely proper. The feet of those who travel through dirty or dusty roads are a sight naturally disagreeable: but when they are thus disfigured by travelling a long journey, to bring good tidings of peace and deliverance to those who have been oppressed by their enemies, they appear beautiful.” — Macknight. Most commentators think “that the 52d chapter of Isaiah is to be explained as a prophecy of the return of the Jews from Babylon, and that the text here quoted refers to the joyful welcome that should be given to the messengers who brought the first tidings of Cyrus’s decree for their dismission. And if it were so, the apostle might very justly infer from thence the superior joy with which the messengers of the gospel should be received. But I think a great deal may be said to show it probable, that the context in question has, in its original sense, a further reference.” — Doddridge. See note on Isaiah 52:7. But they have not all obeyed, &c. — As if he had said, But you may say, Why then doth not this preaching convert more of the Jews? This excellence of the gospel, and the preaching of it, doth not suppose that all that hear it will be converted by it: for though faith comes by hearing, yet there may be hearing without faith. So Esaias saith — In that very context which contains so many illustrious testimonies to the gospel, namely, Isaiah 53:1, Lord, who hath believed our report? — That is, very few have been persuaded and converted by our preaching. So then faith cometh by hearing — Hearing is the ordinary means, even hearing the word of God, of begetting faith in people: and it was necessary for the Gentiles, in particular, who had not access to the Scriptures, to have the truths of the gospel declared to them by preaching, that they might hear and believe them.

10:12-17 There is not one God to the Jews, more kind, and another to the Gentiles, who is less kind; the Lord is a Father to all men. The promise is the same to all, who call on the name of the Lord Jesus as the Son of God, as God manifest in the flesh. All believers thus call upon the Lord Jesus, and none else will do so humbly or sincerely. But how should any call on the Lord Jesus, the Divine Saviour, who had not heard of him? And what is the life of a Christian but a life of prayer? It shows that we feel our dependence on him, and are ready to give up ourselves to him, and have a believing expectation of our all from him. It was necessary that the gospel should be preached to the Gentiles. Somebody must show them what they are to believe. How welcome the gospel ought to be to those to whom it was preached! The gospel is given, not only to be known and believed, but to be obeyed. It is not a system of notions, but a rule of practice. The beginning, progress, and strength of faith is by hearing. But it is only hearing the word, as the word of God that will strengthen faith.How then shall they call. ... - The apostle here adverts to an objection which might be urged to his argument. His doctrine was, that faith in Christ was essential to justification and salvation; and that this was needful for all; and that, without this, man must perish. The objection was, that they could not call on him in whom they had not believed; that they could not believe in him of whom they had not heard; and that this was arranged by God himself, so that a large part of the world was destitute of the gospel, and in fact did not believe; Romans 10:16-17. The objection had particular reference to the Jews; and the ground of injustice which a Jew would complain of, would be, that the plan made salvation dependent on faith, when a large part of the nation had not heard the gospel, and had had no opportunity to know it. This objection the apostle meets, so far as it was of importance to his argument, in Romans 10:18-21. The first part of the objection is, that they could "not call on him in whom they had not believed." That is, how could they call on one in whose existence, ability, and willingness to help, they did not believe? The objection is, that in order to our calling on one for help, we must be satisfied that there is such a being, and that he is able to aid us. This remark is just, and every man feels it. But the point of the objection is, that "sufficient evidence of the divine mission and claims of Jesus Christ had not been given to authorize the doctrine that eternal salvation depended on belief in him, or that it would be right to suspend the eternal happiness of few and Gentile on this."

How shall they believe in him ... - This position is equally undeniable, that people could not believe in a being of whom they had not heard. And the implied objection was, that people could not be expected to believe in one of whose existence they knew nothing, and, of course, that they could not be blamed for not doing it. It was not right, therefore, to make eternal life depend, both among Jews and Gentiles, on faith in Christ.

And how shall they hear ... - How can people hear, unless some one proclaim to them, or preach to them what is to be heard and believed? This is also true. The objection thence derived is, that it is not right to condemn people for not believing what has never been proclaimed to them; and, of course, that the doctrine that eternal life is suspended on faith cannot be just and right.

14, 15. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and … believe in him of whom they have not heard? and … hear without a preacher? and … preach except … sent?—that is, "True, the same Lord over all is rich unto all alike that call upon Him. But this calling implies believing, and believing hearing, and hearing preaching, and preaching a mission to preach: Why, then, take ye it so ill, O children of Abraham, that in obedience to our heavenly mission (Ac 26:16-18) we preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ?" The connexion of this verse and the following verses of this chapter is very obscure. Some connect these words with Romans 10:12. There he said: There is no difference between Jew and Greek, & c. And this he proves, because the means to attain salvation by the true invocation of God hath been made common to all; and consequently faith, and so, from time to time, the hearing and preaching the word of God, according as the one is occasioned by the other. Others make this the coherence: Seeing the righteousness of faith is the only true righteousness, and doth, in common, by the promise of God, belong to Jew and Gentile (as hath been said); it was therefore necessary, that some must be sent of God to both people, which is the ordinary way and means to beget faith, and to bring men to Christ. His way of arguing is such, as logicians call sorites; rhetoricians, a gradation; and it is very forcible and demonstrative: q. d. God hath, by his prophets, promised salvation indifferently to Jew and Gentile; but without calling on him, there is no salvation; and without faith, there is no prayer; and without hearing, there is no faith; and without a preacher, there is no hearing; and without solemn mission, there can be no preacher. His manner of speaking all along is by way of interrogation, which is the more convincing, because it carries in it a kind of an appeal to the persons spoken to; every interrogation is equivalent to a negation.

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? There is no foundation then for the popish doctrine of invocating saints and angels.

How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? Amongst the elect of God, there may be some that are born deaf; and in these, God doth supply the want of outward means in an extraordinary way: but ordinarily, hearing is as necessary to faith, as faith is to prayer, or prayer to salvation.

How then shall they call on him in whom they, have not believed?.... The apostle having observed, that whoever, Jew or Gentile, believe in the Lord and call upon his name, shall be saved; and that the same Lord was ready and willing to dispense his grace, without any difference to them; suggests, that it was therefore absolutely necessary, that the Gospel should be preached to the Gentiles, as well as to the Jews; that it was the will of God it should be; that what he and others did, was by a divine commission; that they were sent by the Lord to preach the Gospel to them; that hearing they might believe, and so call upon the name of the Lord, and be saved; and therefore the Jews ought not to blame them for so doing, for there was a real necessity for it, since there can be no true calling upon God without faith, no faith without hearing, no hearing without preaching, and no preaching without a divine mission. The first of these is signified by this interrogation. Every man calls upon the God he believes in, and him only; this has been the practice of all men, in all nations; such as have not believed in God and Christ, do not call upon them; it is true indeed, there may be an external invocation of them, where there is no true faith; but then this is not calling upon them in truth and sincerity; as is their faith, so is their calling upon them; as the one is historical, the other is only external; there is no true invocation without faith, or any that is acceptable to God, or of any avail to men; for calling on the name of the Lord, as it ought to be practised in all religious worship, so it includes and every part of worship as done in faith:

and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? the meaning is, that there is no faith in Christ without hearing of him; as it is in human, so in divine faith, there may be believing without seeing, but not without hearing; so we believe that there were such men as Alexander and Julius Caesar, and other persons now in being, though we never saw them, having heard of them, or had a report made of them, which we have reason to give credit to; so there may be, and is faith in Christ without seeing him with our bodily eyes, though not without hearing of him; for of an unheard of person, there can be no faith in him, because no exercise of thought about him. This is to be understood of outward hearing of the word, and of adult persons only; for that, infants may have the grace of regeneration, and so faith wrought in them by the Spirit of God, without hearing the word, is not to be denied; since as they are capable of the principles of corruption, why not of grace? and also of such persons as have the right and free exercise of the faculties of hearing and speaking, and not of such who never could hear, and speak; for as the Spirit works where, and how he pleases, so he can work faith in the hearts of such persons who never heard the word, and enable them to exercise it on the proper object, and cause them secretly to call upon the name of the Lord, with groans which cannot be uttered. Moreover, this is to be, understood of the ordinary way and means of believing; for though God can, and sometimes does work by other means, and even without any, yet his usual way and method is, to bring men to faith and repentance by the hearing of the word:

and how shall they hear without a preacher? or there is no hearing without, preaching; there may be reading without it, and this ought to be where there is preaching, to see that what is preached is agreeably to the Scriptures; but there is no hearing the word explained without preaching; explaining the word is preaching. There is no hearing of Christ, and salvation by him, without the preaching of the Gospel; the usual and ordinary way of hearing from God, and of Christ, is by the ministry of the word: this shows not only the necessity and usefulness of the Gospel ministry, but also points out the subject matter of it, which is Christ, and him crucified. They that preach ought to preach concerning the person of Christ, his offices, grace, righteousness, blood, sacrifice and satisfaction, otherwise men may hear the preacher, and not hear Christ.

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? {9} and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

(9) That is, true faith, which seeks God in his word, and that preached: and this preaching God has appointed in the Church.