By And By

I would like for us to examine this passage of Scripture found in Romans 10:17: "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

The preposition "by" is used twice in this verse, but they are translated from two different Greek words (pardon me for getting a little technical, but I hope to show you a sweet truth in this). We might make the distinction by paraphrasing the verse in this way: faith comes out of (one’s heart) in hearing and hearing comes through the word of God. That is, hearing the gospel draws out faith.

Why is this distinction important? It is because some use this whole passage to declare that it is one’s response to the gospel that determines where he will spend eternity. But the passage actually shows that where one will spend eternity determines his response to the gospel! The context clearly teaches this. It plainly shows in verse thirteen that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, but we must also consider why some do not believe the gospel (verse 16).

Who is it that calls on the name of the Lord? Verse eight tells us very nicely; it is those in whose hearts God has placed the revelation of Himself (the word). As a matter of fact, it is called the "word of faith, which we preach."

Now, we can obviously see, I hope, that the preaching of the gospel can only bring out what God has first put in. When one considers this truth in light of what has just been discussed in Romans 9 about God having the absolute authority and sovereignty to give eternal life to whomsoever He pleases, it becomes crystal clear that only those in whose hearts God has done a sovereign work can hear the gospel and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:3-5).

If God had not sovereignly chosen to work this way, no one would have believed on Christ or lived with God in glory.