Romans 10

In this chapter, Paul continues his concern for Israel and his discussion about why they don’t believe in Jesus.  Some might say to Paul, “they don’t believe because they have never heard about Jesus.”  He confidently asserts that is untrue, it is not as though they never heard about Jesus.  In the midst of this argument comes the famous verse we hear all the time: 

Rom. 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. (NASB)

This has been quoted to mean that we should read or hear the Bible to get saved and increase our faith.  While that is a true statement (see 2 Timothy 3:14-17 where Paul says something very similar on which I will preach this coming Sunday), but that is not what Paul is specifically talking about here. He is talking about the verbal proclamation of the gospel about Jesus Christ.  In Paul’s day, people had to hear the Gospel to be saved; it was not written down yet and even if it was, a majority of people in the Roman empire were illiterate.  The Greek term for “word” is rhēma, which refers to the spoken word; logos is usually used if the written word is being referenced.    See the NET (New English Translation) below as it tries to bring out the nuance of the spoken word, i.e, preaching.

Rom. 10:17 Consequently faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the preached word (rhēma) of Christ.

Now, don't be put off by the word "preaching."  It simply means "proclaiming," not standing on stage with a pulpit or screaming at somebody on a street corner.  We all preach in different ways.  So, in light of this, we need to be in prayer about our role in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus to those with whom we have a relationship.