What is the meaning of Romans 10:18? But I ask, did they not hear? Paul raises a rhetorical question about Israel’s exposure to the gospel. • Romans 10:14-17 shows that hearing is indispensable for saving faith, and Paul has just affirmed that preachers have been sent. • Isaiah 53:1 is quoted earlier (Romans 10:16) to prove that the message was proclaimed, even if not believed. • Matthew 13:14-15 illustrates that people can physically hear yet harden their hearts. Indeed they did Paul immediately answers his own question: Israel most certainly heard. • Acts 2:5-11 records Jews from “every nation under heaven” in Jerusalem at Pentecost, hearing the gospel in their own tongues. • Colossians 1:23 states that the gospel “has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven,” underscoring its wide dissemination within a generation of the resurrection. “Their voice has gone out into all the earth” Paul quotes Psalm 19:4, where the heavens declare God’s glory. He applies that universal witness to the spread of the gospel. • Psalm 19:1-4 reveals that creation’s testimony reaches everyone, leaving no excuse (Romans 1:20). • Romans 15:19-20 shows Paul himself preaching “from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum,” treating the Psalm’s language as being fulfilled through missionary work. • Revelation 14:6 depicts an angel carrying “the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation and tribe and tongue and people.” “their words to the ends of the world” The parallel line reinforces the total scope of the proclamation. • Mark 16:15 commands, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” • Acts 1:8 promises power to witness “to the ends of the earth,” language echoed here. • Romans 1:8 commends the Roman believers because “your faith is being proclaimed all over the world,” showing the message already circling the Mediterranean. summary Romans 10:18 silences any claim that Israel—or anyone else—lacked opportunity to hear. The gospel’s sound has spread far and wide, paralleling the universal testimony of creation in Psalm 19. Hearing alone, however, is not enough; faith must follow the message. Paul’s citation assures us that God has faithfully broadcast His saving word, and it challenges every listener to respond in obedient belief. |
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