Series: Romans
Title: The First
Cause
Text: Romans 10: 14-15
Date: June 9, 2019
Place: SGBC, NJ
Romans 10: 13: For whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved.
That is a wide, wide statement—“Whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord…”
That is a sure and blessed promise—“…shall be saved.” Will today be the day you call upon the name
of the Lord to save you?
Sadly, this verse is one that
will-worshippers think bolsters their claim that salvation begins with the
sinners will. They read the verse—“Whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Then they portray the Lord as a weary
beggar who has done all he can to save you but who has reached a stone wall. Then they exalt sinners begging them to do
the Lord a favor by calling on him so he can have his way and save you. But if we simply read the next few verses,
Paul traces this call back to its first cause.
Proposition: “Whosoever” shall call
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved but the first cause of every sinner
who calls on the Lord is the Lord himself.
Divisions: 1) First, no sinner shall call upon
the name of the Lord until they first believe—Romans 10: 14: How then shall
they call on him in whom they have not believed?
2) None shall believe except they
first hear of the Lord—Romans 10: 14:…and how shall they believe in him of
whom they have not heard?
3) None can hear except by a preacher—Romans
10: 14…and how shall they hear without a preacher?
4) Then we come to the first cause—Romans
10: 15: And how shall they preach, except they be sent?
Title: The First Cause
It is true that “Whosoever
shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” But…
NONE CALL UNTIL THEY
BELIEVE
Romans 10: 14: How
then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?
Last time, I ended by
asking, “Have you ever called on the name of the Lord?” If you answer no then the
Spirit of God tells you why right here, you have not believed on him—"How
then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?”
A sinner only calls
on the name of the Lord for salvation when he already believes the Lord.
One, he already
believes the Lord concerning himself—that he is a sinner who cannot save
himself. He believes God is holy and that
his condition is so unholy/unrighteous that he can do nothing to save himself
or even contribute to his salvation. No
one truly calls on the Lord for salvation until he believes the Lord’s word
against him that he needs salvation and that it is impossible for him to save
himself.
Two, a sinner calls
on the name of the Lord when he believes the Lord’s word that the Lord alone is
able to save him—that is why he calls upon the name of the Lord.
Consider the leper to
see that this is so. Scripture says, “It
came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who
seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt,
thou canst make me clean” (Lu 5:12). The
leper did not come to the Lord Jesus boasting of his own will. He did not come saying, “Lord, I WILL let you
make you clean.” No! The leper believed himself to be full of
leprosy. He believed himself to be unable
to make himself clean. The leper
believed the Lord Jesus alone was able to make him clean. So he came calling on the Lord because he
believed the Lord could make him whole.
And what did the Lord Jesus do?
“And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou
clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him” (Lu 5:13). Sinner, do you believe you are a sinner
unable to make yourself clean? Do you
believe the Lord Jesus alone can make you whole? If you do then you will call on the Lord and the
Lord will immediately make know your sin is forgiven!
Faith believes the
Lord’s word against ourselves. Faith believes
the Lord is able to save and will save according to his word. Therefore, the sinner who believes calls on
the Lord Jesus to save him.
When my children were
toddlers, they would stand on the stairs and I would say, “Fall back into my
arms, I will catch you.” They loved to
fall back and have me catch them.
Why? They believed me! They believed my ability and they believed my
word that I would catch them. Sinner
believe on the Lord Jesus and fall back in his arms. He will catch you and carry you to glory
righteous and holy by his person and works.
Now, our subject is “The
First Cause.” So before we move on, who
is the first cause of faith? Is the
first cause the sinner or is the first cause God? Let’s see what the word of God says.
Ephesians 2: 8: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9: Not of works, lest any man should
boast. 10: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Before making the
world, God chose who he would save and ordained each one unto good works such
as believing and calling on the name of the Lord. Therefore, in time, God creates each one anew
in Christ Jesus, gives us life and faith so that we walk in those good
works. Faith is the gift of God by his
free grace, not of the sinner, lest we should boast. It is not of our works but of God’s
workmanship that we believe on Christ.
So a sinner must call
on the Lord to be saved. But when we do,
it is because we already believe the Lord.
And the first cause of a believer’s faith is God, not the sinner. But how does God give faith? How does the sinner come to believe the Lord?
FAITH COMES THROUGH
HEARING
Romans 10: 14:…and
how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?
It is impossible to believe
on the Savior we do not know and impossible to know the Savior of whom we have
not heard. This hearing includes the
general call as the gospel goes out to everyone. But there is a spiritual hearing that is only
by the effectual call, which is by God giving us spiritual ears to hear.
Most think that
everyone who preaches is preaching the Christ of the Bible. That is not so! Most are not preaching the Christ of the Bible. The apostle Paul spoke of “another Jesus,
whom we have not preached” and “another spirit, which ye have not
received” and he spoke of “another gospel, which is not another.” (2
Cor 11: 4; Gal 1: 6-7). He called it
a perverted gospel. Speaking by God the
Holy Spirit the apostle Paul said “But though we, or an angel from heaven,
preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let
him be accursed. As we said before, so
say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have
received, let him be accursed” (Gal 1: 8-9).
The true gospel is
good news! It is good news because it is the hearing of Christ Jesus the GodMan
Mediator, who is the successful Lord and Savior that God the Father sent to
save his chosen people.
We hear we are
sinners by hearing of Christ the Holy One.
We are conceived in sin of our father Adam, Christ was holy from the
womb; he is the eternal holy Son of God come in human flesh. We went astray as soon as we were born;
Christ was obedient from his mother’s womb, even unto the death of the cross. We have all sinned and come short of the
glory of God; Christ is the righteous servant of God who is very glory of
God. He said, “If I had not come and spoken unto them,
they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin” (Jn 15: 22).
The gospel is hearing
that the Man, Christ Jesus, is the one and only Mediator between God and men, the
one and only Salvation of chosen sinners.
In the gospel we hear that Christ is the Substitute who willingly took
the place of his people on the cross. Through
the preaching of the gospel, we hear that Christ made Propitiation for his
people. Through the gospel, we hear that
Christ satisfied justice for his people.
We hear that Christ purged the sins of his people. The gospel we must hear declares that Christ
brought in everlasting righteousness for his people. The good news we must hear is that Christ is
seated at God’s right hand with his people in him ever living to make
intercession for us.
In the gospel we hear Christ himself declare,
“I am the Way, the Truth and the Life and no man cometh to the Father but by
me” (Jn 14: 6). We hear Christ
promise “I am the door of the sheep. I am the door: by me if any man enter
in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture” (Jn 10:9) We hear Christ declare, “My sheep hear
my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal
life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my
hand” (Jn 10: 27-28).
What a precious promise it is to hear Christ declare
“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me and him that cometh to me I
shall in no wise cast out” (Jn 6: 37-38).
Faith comes by hearing Christ promise, “I am the light of the
world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the
light of life.” (Jn 8:12) The Spirit
enters giving life in regeneration as we hear Christ promise “I am the bread
of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me
shall never thirst.” (Jn 6:35)
As the Spirit makes us behold our complete
ruin in sin, we hear that Christ is able to save to the uttermost all who come
to God by him (Heb 7:25). As the
Holy Spirit teaches us that we are guilty under the curse and condemnation of
the law, we hear that “By him all that believe are justified from all things,
from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Ac 13:39).
The way we are given
willingness to call on the Lord is when we hear Christ effectually command us
in our hearts, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink” (Jn
7:39) We hear Christ effectually
command, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest.” (Mt 11: 28)
Be sure to get this:
there are other gospels which are not the true gospel. Christ said, “Take heed, HOW you hear!”
And he said, “Take heed, WHAT ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall
be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.” Make certain you are always hearing the truth
according to the scriptures! That is how
we know that we are hearing the true gospel, by looking to see if what they
preach is according to the word of God in the Bible.
Then when we hear, Christ
says we are to mete it with effort to hear and understand. Christ is our Solomon who says “INCLINE thine
ear unto wisdom, and APPLY thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou CRIEST
after knowledge, and LIFTEST UP THY VOICE for understanding; If thou seekest
her AS SILVER, and searchest for her AS FOR HID TREASURES; Then shalt thou
understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God” (Pro 2: 2-5).
Where does the ability
to hear spiritually come from? He said, “Lift UP thy voice for
understanding!” The ability to hear
comes from Christ! They brought a deaf
man with a speech impediment, Christ “looking up to heaven, he sighed, and
saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. And straightway his ears were
opened,…his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain…[they said]…he maketh both
the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. (Mk 7: 33-37) He does the same
spiritually. Lift up your voice to him and cry for understanding. He alone can give it!
HEARING COMES BY A
PREACHER
Romans 10: 14:…and
how shall they hear without a preacher?
Paul takes us back
one more step declaring that hearing is given through a preacher. But, again, it is not just any preacher. Christ is the Head of his church. He only uses
his preacher. His preacher preaches him
and his cross. Through his preacher, Christ
gives spiritual ears and faith so a sinner can believe on him. Do you see how it is all of Christ, through
Christ and to Christ. “
Romans 11: 36: For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things:
to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
It insults the wise/prudent
to be told that God saves using another sinner to preach the gospel to us. But by God’s grace, it humbles the elect to
know that God saves using another sinner to preach the gospel. And that is God’s two-fold purpose in saving
through a preacher. That two-fold
purpose is declared by the apostle Paul by the Holy Spirit of God in 1
Corinthians chapter 1.
1 Corinthians 1: 18 For the preaching
of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it
is the power of God. 19: For it is written, I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE
WISE, AND WILL BRING TO NOTHING THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE PRUDENT. 20: Where is
the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this
world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21: For after that IN
THE WISDOM OF GOD the world by wisdom knew not God, IT PLEASED GOD BY THE FOOLISHNESS
OF PREACHING TO SAVE THEM THAT BELIEVE. 22: For the Jews require a sign, and
the Greeks seek after wisdom: 23: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews
a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; 24: But unto them which are
called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 25: Because THE FOOLISHNESS OF GOD IS WISER
THAN MEN; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26: For ye see your
calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty,
not many noble, are called: 27: BUT GOD HATH CHOSEN the foolish things
of the world TO CONFOUND THE WISE; and GOD HATH CHOSEN the weak things of the
world TO CONFOUND THE THINGS WHICH ARE MIGHTY; 28: And base things of the
world, and things which are despised, HATH GOD CHOSEN, yea, and things
which are not, TO BRING TO NOTHING THINGS THAT ARE29: That NO FLESH SHOULD
GLORY IN HIS PRESENCE. 30: But OF HIM are ye in Christ Jesus, WHO OF GOD is
made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: 31:
THAT, according as it is written, HE THAT GLORIETH LET HIM GLORY IN THE LORD.
Men and women, in their
wisdom, object to the truth that God saves through a preacher preaching Christ
crucified saying that it gives glory to man rather than the Lord. If the truth was known, they object to this
means because they want glory for their searching.
But God, in his wisdom,
says the opposite. Using a preacher does
not give man glory. Truth is, by using the
foolishness of preaching, delivered through the weakest-basest preacher of God’s
choosing, God actually destroys the wisdom of the wise and prudent. You will not find the wise and prudent in God’s
church amongst those God has truly sanctified.
Through this means, God
makes those who he calls by his grace to cease glorying in our flesh in his
presence by making us glory only in the Lord.
By using a preacher who preaches only Christ and him crucified, God makes
his elect to know it is of God that we are in Christ—we had nothing to do with
it. It is of God that we are made to know
Christ. And when God makes us know
Christ it makes Christ All unto us—Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification and Redemption—so
that we look not to ourselves, only to Christ!
Therefore, to us who
are saved by God through this means, the preaching of the cross is the power of
God unto salvation. God has made us to behold
and experience Christ the Power of God and the Wisdom of God!
THE FIRST CAUSE
Romans 10: 15: And
how shall they preach, except they be sent?
The Holy Spirit of
God made Paul take us back step-by-step until we come here to the first cause
of a sinner calling on the name of the Lord. Now, let’s start here at the first cause and
follow the links in this chain to the sinner who calls on the Lord.
The appointed time
comes which God foreordained from eternity when Christ, the Head of the church,
will call one of his lost sheep who he redeemed with his precious blood. Christ has already laid down his life for
this elect child of God on the cross. Christ has already worked out a righteousness
for this chosen child of God. Now the season
of love has come when Christ make it known to this lost vessel of mercy.
So first, since Christ has chosen his preacher
that he will use to preach the gospel to this lost sheep, Christ now sends
him—for how shall they preach, except they be sent?
Then by Christ’s sovereign hand he works all
things in providence to make his preacher and this lost sheep cross paths—for how
shall they hear without a preacher?
So Christ gives his preacher the message for
the hour to preach which exalts Christ in his all his redemptive glory and
Christ blesses his lost sheep to hear—for how shall they believe in him of
whom they have not heard?
As his lost sheep hears the good news of how Christ
successfully accomplished the redemption of each of God’s elect, Christ
intercedes with the Father and they send the Holy Spirit who gives his lost
child life and faith so that he believe on Christ—for how shall they call on
him whom they have not believed?
Then the sinner calls on the Lord Jesus,
begging for mercy and Christ gives him peace in believing—for whosoever
shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
THE OUTCOME
Romans 10: 15:…as it is written, how
beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad
tidings of good things!
With those few words, way back in Isaiah’s day, Christ foretold the
outcome that he would produce in the heart of each of his saints by calling us
through this means of preaching—how he would make us value the preaching of the
gospel of Christ above all else. It is
what Paul speaks of the church as the family of God in all his epistles. Let me see if I can sum it up in a few words
in closing.
First, Christ said in that day when he has sent his preacher and called
his lost sheep through the preaching of the gospel, “My people shall know my
name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak:
behold, it is I.” (Isa 52:6) We
truly hear Christ. It is not an audible
voice of Christ. It is the voice of
Christ in spirit and in truth. We know
it is Christ speaking in that day. And
we know him—we know his name—in that day.
Therefore, from that day forward, the sinner saved through this means loves
the Lord Jesus, loves the Lord’s preacher and loves the Lord’s people because
they sacrificed of themselves to send him the gospel through which he was
saved.
Having experienced Christ’s power through the preaching of the gospel that
sinner esteems assembling with his brethren under the preaching of the gospel to
be priceless. He never forsakes it.
Having experienced Christ’s love, the sinner saved is constrained by the
love of Christ. In the face of the shortcomings
of his brethren, he forebears and forgives.
He endeavors to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace because
he values the preaching of Christ so much for himself and for his brethren.
Having experienced that the gospel is truly the power of God unto
salvation, it makes him less selfish and more generous to cheerfully give because
he knows the value of sending the gospel to other lost sheep.
Christ said all this through Isaiah—he said this would be the outcome he
would produce through this means—he said he would knit the hearts of his people
inseparably together with him by making us be in full agreement from the heart,
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good
tidings, that publish peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that
publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!”
Oh, the wisdom of God to save using his preacher and his people to send
the gospel forth! This is wisdom too
amazing, too great for me to put into words!
Christ said, “Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice
together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when THE LORD SHALL
BRING AGAIN ZION.” He was speaking
not only of his preachers, but also of his preacher and his people in each
local assembly. When he unites each of
us together we are, together, his watchmen.
“Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice”—we each lift up the
voice; Christ has given us one accord, one mind, so that together we make one
voice as we sing and preach the one gospel of our one Redeemer.
“With the voice together shall they sing”—when we are
assembled we sing and preach with one voice; but even better, with The
Voice—with Christ’s Voice together with our voice we sing and preach; together
we each sing and preach the gospel with one unified voice and we do so together
with Christ, whose Voice makes the gospel go into the heart of those he calls in
effectual, saving power.
“For they shall see eye to eye”—each of us are in full agreement; but each of
us are also of one mind and one accord with Christ himself.
“When the LORD shall bring again Zion”—it is not us who makes
the gospel effectual; it is the LORD who uses us who effectually brings again Zion
his church.
This is the difference between those who have
to have the preaching of the gospel and those who can take it or leave it! The sinner who vainly imagines he taught
himself does not value the preaching of the gospel. He does not value Christ’s preacher and
people. Therefore, he cannot commit himself
to a local church to be used of Christ to love his brethren and send forth the
gospel. But that sinner saved through this
means esteems assembling with his brethren under the preaching of Christ to be more
necessary that his temporal bread. He
must have Christ! Therefore, he must have
the preaching of Christ! He considers it
the richest blessing and greatest privilege to be used of his Lord and Savior to
provide the gospel for those he loves! May our glorious Redeemer call one of his lost
sheep now and give you this same heart with us.
And may Christ always keep us esteeming him and his gospel the only
thing we truly need in this world!
Amen!