(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

So, this is one of the most famous passages in the book of Romans because you have all these verses about how you're saved as far as just by faith. So I just want to kind of go down the list on what this chapter is talking about. We've kind of already talked about this in our chapter nine because remember chapter nine, chapter nine, ten, and eleven are a group of chapters that are talking about the same subject. So when you go into chapter ten, he's just segued into it on what he was talking about in chapter nine. When you get to the end of chapter ten, when you go into eleven, you're still talking about the same thought. So chapter nine, ten, and eleven, what we're really dealing with is that Israel, the physical nation, that they're not saved and that the true Israel is not made up of just that nation, that it's made up of all believers. So he's going through this and so the beginning of chapter nine says, I say the truth in Christ, I lie not. My conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart, for I could wish that myself for a curse from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh. So he's basically saying, I have great sorrow, I have great heaviness, I could wish myself for a curse from Christ for my brethren who are Israelites to whom pertaining goes on. But when you get in chapter ten, remember we were seeing, why is he in heaviness? Why does he have this continual sorrow of heart? Because they're not saved. And so the very first verse in this chapter says, brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. So his desire and why his heart is in continual sorrow and why he's in heaviness is because they're not saved, but he wants them to be saved. So it's very clear that the Jews, especially in his day, were not saved. Most of them, by and large, were not saved, and just because they had a lineage back to Abraham and they had this genealogy that would go back, it doesn't mean that that saved them. There's no difference. God's not a respecter of persons. It's always been the same. There's one requirement for salvation, and this chapter really hits that hard, that the only requirement for salvation is faith. We end in chapter nine where it says, what shall we say then that the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, which is of faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness, wherefore because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. So we see that he's showing that it's by faith. Israel stumbled at that stumbling stone, but you know what that stumbling stone, people are still stumbling at that stumbling stone today where they think that they have to do good works or they have to keep the law. And so this is really just hammering that in again. So chapter nine, you're really just coming into the same thing where he's just really hammering in that the law can't save you unless you keep it all. And so in verse two there, let's read. So we see verse one, it says, brother, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. Remember the righteousness which is of God by faith, it says in Philippians. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. So this is the key. The law can't save you. If you try to go by the law, you're going to fail. And that's been the truth from the beginning of the world. This isn't something where David and Abraham kept the law, therefore they had righteousness. We know that Abraham believed God and was imputed unto him for righteousness. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. If anybody reads the book of Romans and comes out thinking you have to do good works to go to heaven, they're either morons when they're reading it, or I know the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, and we're going to get into that. But just understanding English grammar, it's kind of like the post-tribulation rapture. I feel like anybody that was just reading it as literature, and then you ask that same person, okay, when does Jesus come in the clouds, before or after the tribulation? I feel like you don't need to be saved to understand that. So maybe I'm wrong, maybe someone wouldn't be able to understand that, but I feel like just understanding English grammar you'd be okay. So throughout the book of Romans, it's very clear that works has nothing to do with your salvation. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. I mean, they're just verse upon verse, line upon line, precept upon precept, that it's not by works at all, it's by faith alone. And so he's just hammering this in as we go on here. But the Jews, by and large, rejected Christ. The Jews, they have a great zeal of God, just like Paul had a great zeal in his religion and he persecuted the church. Concerning zeal, persecuting the church, the Bible says in Philippians 3. And so that's why the Jews, in particularly, they were the enemies of the gospel, we'll see that in Romans chapter 11, because they were the main proponents of persecution on the Christians at the beginning there. Now obviously, later on and throughout history, different people have persecuted Christians, the Catholic Church, other countries, the Roman Empire, all that stuff. But at this point, the Romans actually, if you look at the book of Acts, were helping the Christians when the Jews were trying to kill them. And so when we see, you know, like in Revelation 2, 9, it says, I know thy works and tribulation and poverty, but thou art rich, and I know the blasphemy of them that say they are Jews and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. And then in chapter 3, in verse 9, it says, Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews and are not, but do lie. Behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. And so what this chapter, what these three chapters are really getting into is the fact that the Jews that call themselves Jews, that are Jews outwardly, and we know that he is not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart and the spirit and so forth. So we know that we're talking about a spiritual salvation, and it's not by the law, but they stumbled at that stumbling stone. And so he's just really hammering on that again in chapter 10 here, that it's by faith, not by the works of the law. Now notice what it says in verse 5 here, so, and you'll kind of remember what we talked about in chapter 2, that there are two ways to heaven. You know, one, keep the whole law, keep every point of the law, never sin, which no one can do, and there's only one person that did that, and that was Jesus Christ. And so there is that way, you know. There is that way that you could just be perfect, because why would you have to go to hell and pay for your sins if you never sinned? But in Romans 10, verse 5, it says, For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, that the man which doeth those things shall live by them. And I know we've looked at these verses before, but in Leviticus 18.5, this is where this comes from, it says, Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, which if a man do, he shall live in them. I am the Lord if a man do it. Remember he says, you know, if ye do those things, he shall live by them. Meaning that, yeah, you'll live, you'll have eternal life if you do them. So it's contingent on you keeping the law. And we know that for all of sin that comes to the glory of God, there's none that are righteous, no, not one. And so Deuteronomy 6, and I just want you to see this, I know we've looked at this before, but look at Deuteronomy 6 and verse 25, and this really just sums up, you know, what the law is compared to faith in Christ. Remember, the righteousness which is of God by faith. We're talking about God imputing his righteousness unto us, and what the law is, is our righteousness. So Deuteronomy 6 and verse 25, it says, and it shall be our righteousness if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God as he hath commanded us. Remember, you know, whosoever is of the works of the law are under the curse, for as written, cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. So you know, you can't just say, well, I'm keeping this part, I'm keeping that part. If you've offended in one point, you've broken the law. I mean, whoever shall offend in one point is guilty of all, but what that means is that if you break one commandment, you sin one time, you've transgressed the law, you're done. You know, there's no, like, I've done most of it, or whatever. It's either you've done it all, or you didn't do it, you know, you didn't keep it. So someone likened it one time, and I think this is an okay illustration, but you think of, like, let's say the law is hanging on a chain, and each link is a commandment. You break any one of those commandments, it falls. So you can kind of liken it like that, you've offended at any point, you transgressed the law. So it doesn't matter which link you take out, you know, all of them are the weak links. So it doesn't matter. So for all of us, then come show the glory of God. So we see that, it's very clear. Now what's interesting is how it goes into quoting the Old Testament, talking about the righteousness which is of faith. So I always find that interesting, especially when you're dealing with eternal salvation, how it'll go back to the Old Testament to give you a reference. So I'm going to read this, but I want you to, well I'll read it and then we're going to turn back to Deuteronomy 30, but in verse 6 here, it says, but the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise. So now he's quoting, you know, he's going to be quoting the Old Testament. Say not in thine heart, who shall ascend into heaven, that is to bring Christ down from above, or who shall descend into the deep, that is to bring up Christ again from the dead. But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thine mouth and in thine heart, that is the word of faith which we preach, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth of the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised from the dead, thou shalt be saved. So it's kind of explained, when you go to that is the word of faith which we preach, it's explaining it. Does that make sense? Because when we go back to Deuteronomy chapter 30, this is where this is quoted from. So you know, when you look at Deuteronomy, you're not going to see it as clearly as you see it in Romans 10. But this is what this is teaching, is that the fact that you have the word in your mouth and in your heart, and that's how you would even keep the law. Because that's where it goes into here. So Deuteronomy chapter 30 and verse 11, because remember it says, do we make void the law through faith? God forbid, yea, we establish the law. So when we get saved, it's not like we're supposed to just go and do whatever we want to do. Obviously that's the way to keep saying, God forbid, we shouldn't do that, we shouldn't continue in sin. As Christians, when we're freed from sin, we're supposed to establish the law. And so that's what I believe this is talking about. But Deuteronomy 30 and verse 11, it says, for this commandment, which I commanded you this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven that thou shouldest say, who shall go up for us to heaven and bring it unto us, that we may hear it and do it. Nor is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, who shall go over the sea for us and bring it unto us, that we may hear it and do it, but the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. So what's interesting, what I think is interesting here is that, when you look at Romans, it says, who shall ascend up to heaven, and then who shall descend into the deep. This is saying who shall go up to heaven, but then who shall go over across the sea. So it's kind of giving you another avenue, you know, you think about like different ways like your sins are as far as the east is from the west, and it gives you all these different analogies. So it's basically saying, you know, there's, he's saying don't say this, you know, like who's going to go get this for us, this word for us, because it's literally very naive, meaning that it would, they had the law of God right there, they had the word of God right there. And if you think of Christ, when it's, when he's giving you this analogy, this is sticking Christ into this scripture, because it says who shall ascend into heaven, that is to bring Christ down from above, meaning that you're basically saying Christ didn't go to heaven, you know, or Christ didn't descend into the deep, which is hell, right, by the way. So it's basically saying, hey, Christ in who is the word of God is very nigh to you, and in, in thy mouth and in thy heart. So what's interesting, though, is that in the Old Testament, it does talk about salvation, and it talks about, you know, a different place, but a lot of times it deals with the word trust than it does belief. So obviously you had the most famous passage, and if you look at the, I was looking up the word believe, and I believe, the first mention of believe is Genesis 15. Abraham believed God, and believed in the Lord, and was imputed unto him for righteousness. But then there's other places where it talks about trusting in the Lord, trusting in the Lord. One of the most famous passages in the Bible that you would even think of is Proverbs 3, 5. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. So what you'll see is throughout the Old Testament, you'll see trust, kiss the Son lest he be angry, and now perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. You know, and Proverbs 30, which we use these verses a lot of times just dealing with the word of God, but you've got to think about the fact that these people are saved, and they're kind of telling you why they're saved. But Proverbs 30 and verse 4, what's interesting is this is kind of the same thing that we're dealing with in Romans chapter 10. So turn to Proverbs 30. Proverbs 30 is one of the most interesting Proverbs because there's a lot of information in there, and it was written by someone different than Solomon, and it was just interesting information that's in Proverbs 30. But starting there in verse 4, so verse 5 and 6 is the famous every word of God is pure, but there's verse 4 there. Who hath ascended up into heaven or descended, isn't that what we're kind of talking about with who hath ascended up into heaven and all this, or descended into the deep? Who hath gathered the wind in his fist? Who hath bound the waters in a garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What is his name and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell? What's interesting is the fact that he's saying, he's talking about God, and he's saying what is his name and what is his son's name? Remember, kiss the son, lest he be angry, blessed are all they who put their trust in him. And so here's an Old Testament passage talking about the Son of God. And so they knew a lot of these things. I do believe some of it was written down, but I believe a lot was spoken. So when, what I really want to get across, I know we've already kind of gone through the whole Old Testament, New Testament stuff, is the fact that these people knew this, and that's what we're going to see at the end of this chapter, is that Israel knew and it was spoken a lot that it was by faith alone. And just as much as we go out and preach the gospel and we're saying it's by faith alone, by faith alone, and people reject it, that's what was going on back then. And so, but notice as you go on, so it's basically saying, you know, who's God, basically what's God's name, what's his son's name, and then what you think about too is the fact that, you know when Jesus came on the scene, they didn't say, there is no son of God, that's blasphemy. What did they say? No, it's blasphemy because you're calling yourself God, right? Because he said that God is his father. They didn't think that that was weird. Does that make sense? They didn't say, you know, I can't believe you're saying there is a son of God, you know. We don't even know if there will be a son of God. They didn't say that. They were just saying, no, you're calling yourself the son of God, you're calling yourself God. You know, there was no confusion, I don't believe any of the people in Israel were even like the people today where they're saying, well, he's the son of God, but he's not God. No, that's why they wanted to stone him because he was saying he was God because he said he was the son of God. And so, but anyway, in verse five there, it says, every word of God is pure. He is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. So this is something, if you just want to do a word study on trust in the Old Testament, that's what you'll see is more so in the Old Testament, it does say believe to, you know, whosoever believes in him shall not make haste, Abraham believed in the Lord and it was imputed unto him for righteousness, but a lot of times you'll see the word trust. In the New Testament, it uses trust to sometimes, but most of the time it's believe. So do a word search on that sometime and you'll see that trusting in the Lord for salvation. And isn't that exactly how we explain salvation out soul winning? Because everybody's always saying, well, I do believe, but you know, what they mean by that is that they believe he exists, they believe, you know, who he is. But when we say we believe on Christ, that means that you're trusting him for salvation. You have your faith in him for salvation. And so that trust and believing is all the same. And so it's a great word, especially going out soul winning, to differentiate between what most people think believe means, right? Because most people think that just believing, you understand that something exists, right? But we know that believing is trusting in somebody for our souls, right? Trusting in Jesus to save us from hell. So go back to Romans chapter 10. So I can go all day with Old Testament passages on salvation, and we will go back to that actually in this next point, but again, there's a lot of stuff, and that's what I love about Romans and just the New Testament because it really just keeps pointing you back to these passages and showing you, hey, this is what was taught, you know, this was already in the scriptures, and he's just revealing it to us. Romans chapter 10 and verse 10. So we see that the confession with the mouth, in verse 10 there it says, For with the heart man believes unto righteous, with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. So I kind of want to talk about this for a second. Calling on the name of the Lord, and this is a subject that has a lot of controversy in it as far as is it necessary for salvation. And so I want to talk about this for just a second as far as calling upon the name of the Lord. I do believe it's necessary for salvation, but what does it mean to call upon the name of the Lord for salvation? Obviously believing is what saves us, right? But what I'm going to show you, go to Psalm 116 as I'm kind of explaining this. What I just simply believe about calling on the name of the Lord is that calling on the name of the Lord is when you literally are making the choice and putting your faith in Christ. Because if I give someone the gospel and I say to them, do you believe that? Do you believe that's how you get to heaven? Do you believe that's what the Bible says? They can say yes, and they can understand that that's what it takes to get to heaven. Does that make sense? They can believe that is the way to get to heaven, but they don't want it. Does that make sense? Because believing that's the way to heaven and putting your trust in it are two different things, okay? And so I believe that calling on the name of the Lord is where you are physically, you and God, are communicating. Now does this have to happen audibly? I don't believe so. I believe there's scriptures that prove that this doesn't necessarily have to happen audibly because we see that Cornelius, as they were speaking, the Holy Ghost fell upon them and they spoke with other tongues. So I believe that there are some people that I've given the gospel to that have gotten saved before I got to the prayer. So I'm not saying that the prayer, you know, that's the end all, like what saved somebody. What I'm saying is that the calling on the name of the Lord, there has to be the choice. Does that make sense? There has to be a choice that's being made where you're essentially pulling the trigger, you know, where you are saying, okay, I'm going to make a decision right now. You know, now's the time. Now's the day of salvation. This is where I'm going to take the cup of salvation. That's what we're going to see here in Psalm 116. So Psalm 116 verse 10, Psalm 116 and verse 10 it says, I believe, therefore have I spoken. I was greatly afflicted. I said in my haste, O men of liars, what shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. So what a lot of people have with this calling on the name of the Lord, well first of all, they try to say that you're adding works to salvation, which is ridiculous. But they say, well, if you have to ask for it, then it's not a gift. Well that's hogwash and that's not scriptural, okay, because I'll show you passages where asking for something is, it's still a gift, okay. And what it all comes down to is that if I said to you, I have a gift that's available to everybody, and then you never asked me for it, then you're not going to get it, okay. That's what it comes down to is that you have to make the choice to accept it or you have to make the choice to receive it. And that's what I believe this calling on the name of the Lord. This is where you're taking the cup of salvation. And obviously it's by faith, right, because you're not physically grabbing something, right? So you're literally, when you call upon the name of the Lord, it could be in your heart. What if someone's mute? This is the argument. I'm just giving you the arguments. People say, well, you think someone has a call, what if someone can't talk? Well, obviously it's not about the vocals, it's not about, you know, exactly what you say. You know what I mean? Like the thief on the cross said, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. I mean, there's a lot of things that people said that didn't necessarily make sense exactly with doctrine, right? You know, you think about that, he's like, well, let me go to hell until you come in your kingdom and then bring me out of the, you know what I mean? So what I believe this is talking about is basically that moment you choose to believe. That moment you put your trust in Christ. And so when we pray with people, what we're making sure is that they're making that choice. And what you'll find a lot of times is that they'll say, yeah, I believe that. I believe that. I believe that. And you'll say, okay, well, let me lead you in a prayer and you can tell God that's what you believe. And you can make that, you know, you can call upon the name of the Lord for that salvation. And that's where we're like, well, no, I've already been saved, you know, I've been saved all my life. No, you got to do good work, you know, like I was already good. And you really realize that's where you separate the boys from the men, so to speak. That's where you, where the dust settles. And are they really just giving you lip service? Okay. And so I personally like giving the prayer and I don't count people for salvation unless they do pray. It doesn't mean that there aren't people that have maybe gotten saved that didn't pray with me. Okay. That's not what I'm saying. But to me, if they don't pray, it could just be that they're shy. But most of the time, if someone doesn't want to pray, it's because maybe they were giving me a little bit of lip service. Maybe they were just kind of going along with it, but they didn't really believe it. And so I believe the prayer, personally, just as the sole winner, gives me a little more assurance that they understood it and that they believed it. And so, and as the person that's getting saved, that gives them really a foundation of like, hey, this is when this happened. You know, I've nailed this down. And here's the thing, when you're talking to somebody and you're giving them the gospel, it's just you and them. Does that make sense? Now obviously the Holy Ghost is there and the Holy Ghost is revealing stuff to them and I know that God's in that, but I can't save that person, right? I'm not the one that saves them. So there has to be a point where they're going to talk to God, you know, they're communicating with God. Does that make sense? And I believe that's where they're calling on the name of the Lord and that's where I believe they're asking. Now you may say, well, you know, where does it say you need to ask, you know, for salvation? Well, I'm glad you asked that question. Go to Matthew chapter 7 and first I want you to see that asking does not negate it being a gift. Now we know that salvation is a gift, but I want you to see this, Matthew chapter 7 and verse 7, and another thing too, you know, calling on the name of the Lord throughout the Bible, a lot of times it's just talking about a physical salvation, right? But you know, a lot of times in the Bible, believing on the Lord isn't always talking about eternal salvation either. So you have the ultimate, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, now shall be saved, and then you have the believe in Jesus Christ to be saved from your enemies, to be saved from other things, right? But you can have the ultimate taking the cup of salvation from escaping eternal damnation by calling upon the name of the Lord, but then you can also have, okay, I'm going to call upon the name of the Lord so it will save me out of this situation. So I don't disagree with that. I do see that a lot in the Bible. Abraham many times was calling upon the name of the Lord after he was already saved. And so I'm not saying that every time it says calling on the name of the Lord, you're getting saved eternally from hell, okay? So that's a straw man if anybody tries to bring that up. But Matthew 7 verse 7, it says, ask and it shall be given you. Seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth and he that seeketh findeth and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if ye ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? So clearly someone asking you for something and you giving it to them does not negate it being a gift. You did not work for that just by asking for it, okay? If you think about that, I mean like your children when you give them something, they asked you for food and you gave it to them and they'd be like, I earned that. How? You know, like it doesn't make any logical sense. But this is the rabbit trails to get down and try to say, well, no, calling on the name of the Lord, it's not works to call on the name of the Lord. And I'm not trying to separate believing and calling on the name of the Lord either. I'm not saying, well, they believed and what if they didn't call, would they have gone to hell? I'm not saying that. I'm just saying that that's what I believe calling on the name of the Lord is. It's where you are physically putting your faith in Christ. That's where you make that choice. And you do have to make that choice. This whole idea of, I mean, even with Cornelius, when the Holy Ghost is falling down on him, in his mind, in his heart, he had to make that choice, right? There had to be that conscious belief on Jesus and accepting that gift. It's not like it just happened by osmosis, okay? That's what people want you to think. And I think that's where it really comes down to is that they're believing and they don't even realize it or something. It's like, no, you realize there's an aha moment that you're like, yes, that's right, I want it. And so whenever that is, I'm not saying that it happens in different periods of time throughout the gospel with certain people. And so I'm not trying to put it in a box, but there's nothing wrong with saying that someone needs to call upon the name of the Lord for salvation. Because this is very much linked to the gospel. I mean, when you look at for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, how then shall they call on him whom they have not believed? And that progression goes all the way down to preaching the gospel. To try to pull that out of it and say it's not a part of salvation is very, I don't see how you can do it. But go to John chapter 4. John chapter 4, and I'll show you another place where Jesus said to ask. John chapter 4, this is the woman at the well. So we're not going to read the whole story just for sake of time. But John chapter 4 and verse 10, it says, Jesus answered and said unto her, if thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. So this is the same thing like Matthew chapter 7. You know that he's going to give good gifts, good things, and of course your eternal life is good. But verse 13 there, it says, Jesus answered and said unto her, whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again, but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. So obviously we're talking about eternal life, we're talking about salvation. He's saying that hey, if you knew who I was, who I am, who I am, and what I can give you, you would ask for it. Isn't that exactly what we need to do for salvation? We need to realize who Jesus is and ask him for that salvation. So obviously this can happen in your heart. It doesn't say that, she says give me this water before she understood it, because he's saying I have water, she says give me the drink, and he said if you knew who I was. So she's kind of confused on who he was, that he was the Christ and all that stuff, and so he's kind of trying to explain this to her, but there's nothing wrong with asking for salvation. It is not a work to ask for salvation, and so it's just basically where you're making that choice. So hopefully all that makes sense, because there's been a lot of confusion on that. And here's the thing, if you don't think, here at this church I want you to pray with them, and if you don't want to pray with them, the thing is I just don't want to count it. I want to be conservative when it comes to the numbers. Because the numbers, obviously I don't save anybody, it's not like that number is written down in heaven, what I write on that card. Usually God knows, and each person knows whether they're saved or not, but I want to be conservative. I want to be thorough with the gospel. I don't want this one, two, three, repeat after me. I want to go through eternal security and make sure they understand it. You don't have to spend an hour with them, but they need to understand salvation and that it's by him alone. And however long that takes, it could take 10 minutes, it could take 40 minutes. But I want it to be thorough, and I personally, if they don't want to pray, I don't want to count that person. Because to me I feel like it's enough room for me to say maybe they didn't get it. And so that's all I'm going to say with that. But as we go on here, we're going to see the importance of soul winning here. Because as we go on we see in verse 13 is a segue into what it's going to say next. So in verse 14 it says, 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, except they be sent as it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things. You see the progression, right? You can go the other direction with this, right? It's kind of coming back to the finality, coming back to where you started. Notice, you preach the gospel by sending out a preacher so that they'll hear, believe it, and call upon the name of the Lord. I don't believe you can take out those steps, okay? And this is where you get into the fact that people, we were talking about the other versions of the Bible and they were saying, you know, can someone get saved off the NIV? No. But someone can't get saved just by reading this either. Now, I believe this is the holy word of God without error in the King James Bible, but I don't believe that an unsaved person could just read. I don't believe that if you gave them, just said, read the book of John, that they would get saved, okay? So turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 2, and I'll tell you why, and there's examples of this obviously in the Bible too, but 1 Corinthians 2, 14 is rarely where I go to when it comes to knowing that I don't believe someone's going to just get saved just by reading the Bible, okay? I think in this verse too, as you're going there, it says that the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, okay? And so we're talking about the gospel, it's revealed from faith to faith as it's written that just shall live by faith. So I believe that throughout the line, I don't believe there was a time in history where there wasn't saved people on the earth, because then the chain would be broken. Does that make sense? Because how do you get someone saved if there's not another saved person to give them the gospel? So I believe there's always been a remnant, there's always been a righteous remnant throughout the earth, and so, but 1 Corinthians chapter 2, verse 14, it says, but the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. I do not believe a natural man, meaning someone that's unsaved, can understand the scriptures. They can't, now the gospel's simple. The gospel's very simple, a child can understand it, but I don't believe someone's going to understand even that unless someone that's saved explains it to them. Acts chapter 8, go to Acts chapter 8 and verse 30, this is the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. And so this is a clear passage to really kind of show us that, no, they need someone to guide them, and I'm going to turn there myself just because I want to read something else in there, but this is where Philip is meeting up the Spirit led him over to this man, and so verse 30 is really what I want you to see, but I want to make sure I don't want to read anything else on that. So it says, and Philip ran thither to him and heard him read the prophet, Esaias, and said, understandest what thou readest, verse 31, and he said, how can I accept some man should guide me, and he desired, Philip, that he would come up and sit with him. And Philip says to him, I'm going to paraphrase this, do you understand what you're reading? And he says, how can I, except someone should guide me? So he's basically saying, I can't, I need someone to show me. And where was he reading exactly? He says, the place of the scripture which he read was this, he was led as a sheep to the slaughter and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth, and in his humiliation his judgment was taken away, and who shall declare his generation, for his life is taken from the earth. Do you know where that's at? Isaiah 53, which is actually quoted right after this in Romans 10 because it says, Lord, who hath believed our report? How does Isaiah 53 start off? Lord, who hath believed our report, and whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? So what's the gospel? Isaiah 53, so, but we see that he's reading the gospel in the Old Testament. He's reading the clearest portion of scripture as far as how someone's saved and what it takes to be saved, and he can't understand it. So he needs someone to guide him. And another thing that this shows in this passage is that to get people saved you need to go. What keeps coming up with salvation or preaching the gospel? The feet, the feet, how beautiful are the feet, the feet. And so when you see the gospel it says go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, it says in Mark 16, 15, and it says go ye into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in. Notice it keeps saying go, go, go. It doesn't say bring them in to get them saved. It says go out and get them saved, then bring them in, okay? And that's what we're supposed to be doing is going out. And why would you do that? Because church is not tailored for the unsaved. This is a place for the believers, for the called out assembly of baptized believers that are already saved. If it wasn't, then I would preach salvation sermons every single service, and you guys would be bored out of your minds because you'd be like good night, I'm saved, I know. And so what this really shows is salvation, you know, giving the gospel is on the go. It's something we need to go out to do, go out ye into all the world, go in to the highways and hedges, you're to go out from the house of God in order to get it. Notice it says how shall they preach except to be sent? This is why I believe that church is very important when it comes to preaching the gospel. And I'm not saying that, you know, if you're not in church that you can never win someone to Christ, but there is something very different about being sent out by a pastor in a church and being sent out to preach the gospel in your area compared to doing it yourself and on your own. The church is what God has chosen to basically spread the gospel throughout the world. And so I send you, know that, that this church is sending you out. At any point in time of the day throughout this week, you had the authority of the word of God to preach the gospel to every creature, you have been sent. Now obviously we have our time on Sunday, our official time that we go out, and obviously I'm sending you out at that point. But there is a sending out. How shall they hear without a preaching? How shall they preach except they be sent? And so they're not going to hear the gospel unless we tell it to them. And this is where the Calvinists just, you know, they probably hate this passage. They love chapter 9 because they twisted that all to kingdom come, but they probably hate this passage where it says to go, where they actually have to get off their fat bottom and out of their ivory tower to go actually do some work. And so that's what it comes down to with a lot of these false doctrines, laziness. Laziness, they don't want to do anything. And so Ephesians chapter 6, this is where you have the whole armor of God. And so Ephesians chapter 6, I know this is a familiar passage, you probably already know where I'm going with this, but Ephesians chapter 6, let me make sure I'm, it says stand there for, in verse 14, having your loins girt about with truth and having on the breastplate of righteousness, and notice what it says in verse 15, in your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, and above all taking the shield of faith wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God. When you go out, notice the feet, the feet, that's what you're moving with, that's where you're going from point A to point B is with your feet. And so what's interesting, and this isn't in my notes or anything like that, but when you go to 1 Corinthians chapter 12, it talks about the members of the body, and it talks about how the comely parts and the uncommly parts, and you bestow more honor upon the uncommly parts. Think about that. Your feet have more honor than they all, than everything, because they're the ones that are moving you from point A to point B, but they're probably the most uncommly part on your body, right? No one's looking at their feet and be like, this is the most attractive member of my body right here, this is my feet. So obviously, no one's looking at that, and so your feet are probably the ugliest member on your body, but they have the most honor because they are doing a lot of work. They're going, they're preaching the gospel, okay? And so having your feet shot with the preparation of the gospel piece, that's another important point. To go out soul winning, we need to be prepared, we need to have a plan. When I got saved, the one thing that I remember is that I wanted to show anybody, I just wanted people to know, this is how you can go to heaven, but I didn't have a plan. I wasn't prepared. I had maybe Ephesians 2, 8, 9 under my belt. I had some other verses, but I didn't have a plan of action, I didn't know what I was doing, I didn't know where to start, where to end, we were talking about soul winning, how probably the hardest part is taking off the plane, getting that conversation started. And then the other hard part is landing the plane. How do you end this thing? How do you close the deal, so to speak? And so I had no plan of action, and that's where the church really comes in to where the church can train you, the church can give you that structure, and obviously the structure's not written in stone as far as how you give the gospel, but you need to have some kind of structure. You can put in whatever verses you want to prove a point, but you need to have some kind of structure. If I go up and give the gospel to somebody, I'm doing the same plan every single time. I'm doing the same structure every single time. I'm not trying to change it up and go wild, go rogue every single time I go up to a door. That'll also give you a lot of confidence because you're not worried about what you're going to say, because you know exactly where you're going. If anybody says, yeah, show me, it's second nature at this point, you just know where you're going, so you don't even have to worry about it. Obviously Isaiah 52.7 is our moniker verse, that with Nahum 1.15 as far as why I chose Mountain Baptist Church besides the fact that we're in a mountain state. It says in Isaiah 52.7, it says, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth. What's interesting, if you turn to Isaiah 52, as we go on as we're reading this, it actually segues in exactly what's said in Romans chapter 10 of what we're dealing with. What it's going to go into later is the fact that the whole world has heard this. The whole world has heard the Gospel. It's been preached throughout the whole world. I believe that this is actually talking about before Christ. This is talking about in the Old Testament where the Gospel's been preached throughout the whole world. Notice what it says in Isaiah 52. We read 7, so we're dealing with the Gospel, publishing salvation. Verse 8, it says, Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice, where the voice together shall they sing, for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall bring again Zion. Break forth into joy, sing together ye waste places of Jerusalem, for the Lord hath comforted his people and hath redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. What's interesting with that is making bare the holy arm. Remember, to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? What you see throughout Isaiah is that the arm of salvation is mentioned a lot, and it makens the salvation to God revealing his arm and making bare his arm. Notice that all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of God. This is back in the Old Testament. We saw that with the Gospel in Isaiah 53. To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? What's interesting is Isaiah 52 is talking about preaching the Gospel. Isaiah 53 is the Gospel, and then actually Isaiah 54, and this is another study for another day, is talking about there's a lot of stuff dealing with the Gentiles and all that stuff that comes later. So it's interesting, isn't that same progression that we're dealing with here, is dealing with how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things, and what is the next thing that it says? For Isaiah said, they have not obeyed the Gospel, for Isaiah said, Lord, who hath believed our report? Isn't that exactly the progression? Isaiah 52 is verse 14, I'm sorry verse 15, and verse 16 is Isaiah 53. So it's giving us this progression, and then it goes on to say that everybody's heard it. Isn't that exactly what it says in Isaiah 52 there? I just thought it was interesting how all this stuff fits together, like hand in glove, and just how the Bible fits together is amazing. But they have not all obeyed the Gospel, it says in verse 16, for Isaiah said, Lord who hath believed our report? Notice it gives you exactly what that means when it says obey the Gospel. It means believe. When it's saying obey the Gospel, it's saying believe the Gospel. They have not all obeyed the Gospel, for because Isaiah said, Lord who hath believed our report? So the Gospel is Isaiah 53, and that's where he says, Lord who hath believed our report? And so he's saying here that the Gospel has been preached throughout the whole world, but not everybody has obeyed it. Not everybody has believed it. So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Notice what it says in 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 22. You don't have to turn it around. It says, seeing yet purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God which liveth in the body forever. You cannot get saved without the Word of God, period. You have to have the Word of God. I don't care if you're dealing with a five year old, you need to give them the Word of God. You need to give them scripture because faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. If you give them the wordless book, they're not going to get saved, period. They can pray a prayer all day long with you, but they're not going to get saved. It's the Word of God that's quick and powerful, not colors. And so we need to make sure they hear the Word of God in order to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. It says, and this is the word which by the gospel was preached unto you. So that's how we preach the gospel. We take the Word of God in our hand, the sword of the Spirit, and we go with our feet to give the gospel to every creature, and they need to hear that Word of God. That's when I give the gospel, I try to make sure that I'm using the Word of God more than anything else. I want the Word of God to be, I want it to be at least 50-50, if not swayed in the other direction for the Word of God. Now obviously you've got to explain it, but I want the Word of God to just be constantly there. Because here's the thing, if they get anything out of it, they're hearing a lot of Bible, and something that's going to just kind of stick with them. But in verse 18, we see that this is throughout the whole world that this was preached. Remember, it even said that in Isaiah 52, but I say, have they not heard? Yes, verily. Their sound went into all the earth and their words unto the ends of the world. So we see that yes, they've heard this, it's gone to the ends of the world. And this is quoted actually, where it says their sound went into all the earth and their words unto the ends of the world, from Psalm 19. Go to Psalm 19. So Psalm 19, it's interesting that this is what, it's what this is linking this to, but Psalm 119 is what? What is Psalm 119 all about? The Word of God. Well, Psalm 19 is actually about the Word of God, too. It's kind of like an abridged version, but it definitely does talk about half the chapter here. When you get past what we're going to talk about here, it's just talking about the Word of God, the law of God, and all that. But Psalm 19 and verse 1, let's start reading there. So we'll see what this is talking about. It says, the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day utter speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. And them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoices as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and is circled unto the ends of it, and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise is simple. And it goes on about the Word of God. So what's interesting about this is that clearly in context with Romans 10, we're dealing about who's the them, or their words. Notice it says, their words went unto the ends of the earth. It's dealing with who's the them. It says, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace. So whose words the preachers of the gospel went unto all the earth. But what's interesting is chapter 19 or Psalm 19 is likening this unto the stars and the moon and the sun, right? Because the heavens declare his glory, but it's throughout the whole world, right? So you can see why it's likening this to it, because no matter what part of the world you're on, you see the sun, you see the moon, you see the stars. Does that make sense? And so he's making a point that this is throughout the whole world. And notice who's called the bridegroom usually in the New Testament? Jesus. Isn't Jesus called the son of righteousness? And he's going to shine as bride of the son in the new heaven and new earth. And so we can see how all this stuff links together in context. We know this is talking about preaching the gospels. It's talking about the words of God that are throughout the whole world, but it likens it to the sun, moon and stars and the fact that everybody sees it, right? So this isn't in a corner. This isn't like, and this is what people want you to think. This is where you have all the people that have dispensations and all this stuff. They want you to believe that God was only concerned with this nation, this small little nation in Israel, and he just let everybody else go to hell. That's what they want you to think, okay? But this has not been true. From the foundation of the world, his salvation has been seen throughout the whole world. The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. And so throughout the whole world, the gospel is being preached from the foundation of the world. That's what I believe this is teaching. And so now he used Israel, and that's why he set up Israel was basically kind of like you would look at the individual churches today, or you look at maybe America, how we're a Christian nation and we're kind of sending out missionaries to go preach the gospel in other places. That's what you can look at. Israel is kind of the hub for the truth, but they were to preach the gospel to every creature. That's what their purpose was. They failed, right? They failed ultimately at it, therefore God took the kingdom of God away from them and gave it to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. There's a big difference between the Old Testament and New Testament, but the gospel has always been wanting the Gentiles to be saved. This isn't plan B. It's not like he's just like, oh, I guess I'll try to get these people saved now. It's only been 4,000 years of these people dying and going to hell. Once the world is dying and going to hell, I'm going to finally start giving them the gospel too. That's what people want you to think and it's ludicrous. God's always not willing that any should perish. He's wanting all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. That's not just New Testament. That's from the foundation of the world. Now he starts hitting on Israel because he's saying, have they not heard? He's saying, it went throughout all, into all the earth and into the ends of the world. Now he's getting on Israel and he's saying, but I say, did not Israel know in verse 19? First Moses said, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people and by a foolish nation I will anger you. But Isaiah says, very bold, and said, I was found in them that sought me not. I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me. But to Israel, he said, all day long I have stretched forth my hands into a disobedient and gainsaying people. He's kind of hitting them hard here that, you know, Israel knew. That's a rhetorical question. Did not Israel know? Yes. Yes, they knew. Israel knew salvation was by faith. They rejected it. Israel knew that their job was to preach the gospel to every creature. They failed at it. And so that's where we get into chapter 11, where we're going to get into that, how they were broken off and we were grafted in, talking about the nations. The other nations were grafted in. But I want to show you the two passages and then we'll be done. So we see this is quoted. So what Moses said and what Isaiah said. So go to Deuteronomy chapter 32 and we'll breeze through this real quick and then we'll be done. Any time it ever quotes them from the Old Testament, I always like to see what it has to say here. Deuteronomy 32 and verse 20. So Deuteronomy 32 and verse 20 says, and he said, I will hide my face from them. I will see what their end shall be. For they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith. They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God. They have provoked me to anger with their vanities. And I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people, and I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation. For a fire is kindled in my anger and shall burn unto the lowest hell and shall consume the earth and her increase and set on fire the foundations of the mountains. That really didn't pertain to what I, but I do like that verse. So but it's interesting, the generation in whom is no faith, so he's making a point that these, they have not obeyed the gospel, and he's saying, I'm going to provoke them to jealousy. That's exactly what Paul says in the next chapter, where he's going to provoke them to emulation, you know, those that are of his flesh. So he's basically trying to get them jealous, you know, like, no, I want that. Does that make sense? And so he's provoking them to jealousy. This was prophesied that this was going to happen. So Isaiah 65, this is the last place we'll go. This is where Isaiah is speaking about Israel. What's interesting to me is that how everybody thinks that Israel is like this untouchable nation, and that the people of Israel are, like, they can do no wrong, or if they do wrong, it doesn't matter. And throughout the Old Testament, that's all they're ever doing is getting rebuked. They're getting their face ripped off throughout most of the Old Testament and getting cursed and getting punished and getting yelled at by prophets. And yet now, if you say something against Israel, you're like anathema to the world's Christianity, and it's just ludicrous to me. I'm talking Old Testament. We're looking at Old Testament scriptures here, ripping the face off of the Israelites. And so, what it comes down to is they don't read the Bible, they don't believe the Bible. Isaiah 65, verse 1, it says, I am sought of them that asked not for me. I am found of them that sought me not. I said, behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name. I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good after their own thoughts. Now, that's where it basically ends, where we're in Romans, but it keeps going. So there's a semi-colon there. People that provoke with me to anger continually to my face, that sacrificeth in gardens and burneth incense upon altars of brick, which remain among the graves and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine's flesh and broth of abominable things, is in their vessels, which say, stand by thyself, come not near to me, for I am holier than thou. These are smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day. So this is what he's saying about Israel. Holier than thou. Isn't that exactly what Israel was back then? Because they didn't want the Gentiles to even hear the Gospel. Any time that Paul would mention the Gentiles at all in a good light, they wanted to kill them. Read Acts. Every single time he brings up the Gentiles, they listened to him until he said that. That's exactly, and he even says that. They gave him audience until he said that. God forbid that you'd actually care about other nations. This is just an exact picture of Israel. Great passage really just shows us salvation very clearly. Salvation is by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, believing that God had raised him from the dead. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. It's very simple to be saved. Just call on him in faith, accept that gift of salvation, and you will be saved. No doubt you'll be saved. The importance of soul winning, that we need to preach the Gospel to every creature. We need to go. We need to be prepared. This isn't something that God just all of a sudden said, oh, you know what? Maybe I'm going to try to reach the whole world. It's always been the fact that he's trying to reach the whole world. He just had different ways of trying to accomplish that, and he tried it with the children of Israel. They failed. Therefore, now all nations, every believer makes up the nation of Israel, and we've been doing this for 2,000 years through the local churches, and so great passage. We have one more chapter in this kind of group of chapters dealing with Israel, and then it kind of switches gears in chapter 12. So let's end with a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, what we thank you for today. Thank you for everybody that came out, and Lord, just pray that you be with us as we go home, give us safety on the roads, and Lord, we love you, and pray all this in Jesus Christ's name, amen.