September 14, 2025 – Romans 10:12–17

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Hope Lutheran Church
Manhattan, Kansas
September 14, 2025
Romans 10:12–17

Romans 10:12–17 – 12 There is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” 16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been thinking about what it means that we are Joining Jesus on His Mission. One of the things we’ve noticed is that the cultural climate and landscape surrounding Christianity has changed. It’s become less and less common for people to be connected with or attend services at a church.

But now consider two more points: 1) Physical church buildings on Sunday mornings are still the primary place where the proclamation of God’s Word happens, and 2) as Lutherans, we believe that God doesn’t just zap the good news of Jesus into people’s heads. God instead chooses to work through means – tools – to give the life-saving message of Jesus to people. And the tool God gives us that he promises can take someone from unbelief to faith is his Word, and in particular, his Word of the gospel that tells them of sins forgiven in Christ.

Now, when you bring all of that together, what tension do you notice? I think an illustration can be helpful for us here to make the point more concrete. This is the Choluteca Bridge in Honduras. As you look at that bridge, what do you notice right away? It doesn’t span the river, right? And it’s not that this was some weird art project or monument.

The truth is that when the Choluteca Bridge was built, it spanned the river perfectly. But then in 1998, there was a massive hurricane – Hurricane Mitch. And Hurricane Mitch was so powerful that it actually changed the course of the river. The river moved. The bridge was clearly well-made and well-designed. It withstood a literal earth-shifting storm. But as it stands, it no longer spans the river. The Choluteca Bridge is no longer able to do the thing that it was created to do. Not because the bridge was poorly made, but because the river moved.

We could say the same about the landscape of 21st-century America regarding Christianity. The river moved. And if we think about the places where God’s Word is most often shared as the bridge in this illustration, you can start to see the tension, right?

For generations, church and culture came together. The bridge spanned the river. But in a remarkably short time, the culture shifted. Meanwhile, churches have, in general, remained the same. Not because the church was poorly made, but because the culture moved.

And all of this isn’t just cultural or in the past – it’s personal. We’ve been guilty of being content to maintain and watch out for our comfortable bridge while souls perish in the shifted river.

Here’s the point: if churches and worship services – like what we’re doing right now – are the only place where the gospel is proclaimed, it means the vast majority of people aren’t going to hear the gospel. Not because church or the gospel failed, but because the river moved.

And yet the truth is that Jesus hasn’t abandoned his mission. The river may have moved, but our Lord moves with it, and he invites us to join and move with him. And his mission is for everyone to hear and know and believe what he has done for them.

Paul wrote: “There is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” In other words, Paul is saying that the good news of sins forgiven is for all people.

Jesus didn’t just come for some and not others. Jesus came for all people, regardless of background or ethnicity or culture. Christ’s salvation spans every cultural divide. And I know that because Christ came for people like you and me. 

Elsewhere, Paul says that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” It’s like we were over here stuck in our sin. Meanwhile, Jesus Christ was holy and perfect. Talk about a cultural difference. And yet Jesus came to us to save us from our sin and its consequences. We weren’t going to be able to change course and come to him, so instead he moved and came to us.

And because Jesus wanted you to know that, he sent people into your life to make sure you knew what he had done for you. He sent you pastors and teachers and parents and friends who gave you Christ, so you would know that what Jesus did for the world, he did for you.

And they didn’t just give you information and facts about Jesus. They told you that Christ died for you, he rose for you, and he has forgiven you. It’s that powerful Word of the gospel that created faith where there had been unbelief.

And now Jesus invites us to come along with him and go to the people around us with that same message and word of the gospel. And the reality is that means we might need to move a bit. Not because the gospel has failed or changed, but because people have.

Paul put it this way: “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’ …  Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” 

To put it another way, we go out to people because they need someone to tell them what Christ has done for them! We take the gospel to the places where people already are and share God’s Word with them. And God promises that when that message of the gospel is proclaimed to someone, it has the power to create faith.

But here’s where I think we run into problems. We know what Christ has invited us to do, and we know why he has invited us to do that. The trouble we often encounter is how. It’s that part that we struggle with. And that’s because we convince ourselves that this is complicated.

We think that we have to nail it. We think we should have an elegant statement ready to present at a moment’s notice. We think we need to have a list of Bible passages memorized and in our back pocket, ready to be unloaded at any time. But what if it could be simpler? 

Imagine this scenario: You’re at a cookout at someone’s house that you’ve been getting to know for a while. And because you’ve started to get to know each other a little bit, they know you’re a “church person.” And so they ask, “Why do you and your family go to church?” 

At that moment, you don’t have to give a systematic answer that lays out all of the good reasons why you and your family go to church or why you go to Hope in particular. You don’t have to give a rundown of everything you believe about God.

Instead, maybe after thinking for a second, you just say something like, “Well, I believe I’m a sinner, and I need forgiveness. And on Sundays, that’s what I get to hear every single time – that I’m a forgiven child of God.” That’s not a Bible passage. That’s not a memorized script. That’s you putting the gospel in your own words. But it stirs something.

And maybe it builds from there. Maybe that leads to an opportunity to invite a person to something like Bibles and Brews, where they’ll have the chance to spend time in the Word. 

And maybe it keeps building. Maybe they hear that we offer this Bible study called Hope Foundations, where they get to sit down with me, a pastor, and ask their questions and talk about God and the Bible and Jesus and the things that matter. 

And then maybe at the end of that, they decide they want to come to worship. And if they come on a Sunday morning, what are they going to find and hear? They’re going to hear God’s powerful Word of Christ shared with them. And maybe then? ”Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”

I called it an imaginary scenario, but that’s not far from the story of lots of people who are Christians today. And I know that because I’ve seen it. I know you’ve seen it before, too. A simple, small gospel seed that gets planted and turns into something wonderful.

You know, the river may have moved, but Jesus moves with it, and he invites us to join and move with him. He came for people like you and me who were far from him. He sent people to you and me so we could be told what he’s done for us. And now he gives you and me the joy of taking that powerful message and Word to others. Amen!

Questions for Further Discussion
1) Check in from last week: Did you notice and pay attention to people and places in your neighborhoods where God is already working? Share with the group if you’re comfortable!

2) God’s Word has power. We want to get other people in contact with that powerful Word. However, we also need to remember that God’s Word is still powerful for us. What are some reasons it’s good for us to regularly be filled with and fed by God’s Word?

3) Do you have ways to immerse yourself in God’s Word outside of Sunday mornings? What practical advice would you give to someone who is looking for consistency when it comes to that kind of thing?

4) There are countless blessings God promises when we spend time in his Word. How do you think time in God’s Word could be a blessing to us as we’re Joining Jesus on His Mission?

5) Evaluate this statement: When you talk about God’s love with someone using your own words, the Holy Spirit works through that testimony just as much as through a memorized Bible passage.

6) Consider these three points:
• It’s becoming less and less common for people to be connected with or attend services at a church
• Physical church buildings on Sunday mornings are still the primary place where the proclamation of God’s Word happens
• As Lutherans, we believe that the only thing that can take someone from unbelief to faith is a proclamation of the gospel
If all these things are true, what issues are we going to encounter? What do you think could be some good ways to respond?

7) Brainstorm ways we might give people opportunities to hear God’s Word – primarily his gospel – in a setting that is different from Sunday morning worship.

8) Challenge for the next week: Write out how you might share the gospel using your own words with 100 words or fewer.