Why have so many people rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ? I don’t just mean the atheists who have heard the gospel and then turned away. Specifically, why have so many religious people, even those raised in the church, turned away from the gospel? When you give it thought it just does not make sense. How can anyone in their right mind refuse the offer of forgiveness of sins and relationship with God forever?
I often struggled with this as a young Christian and young preacher. Since it did not make sense to turn away the offer of the gospel then it seemed reasonable to me to do everything that I could to get someone to make a verbal decision to be a Christian. I still recall to my own horror, sitting in my little Volkswagen with two classmates. One was a Christian, while the other was definitely not. Nor was he interested in being a Christian since it would interrupt his lifestyle. My friend and I talked him into sitting in the car in front of his house so that he could listen to us persuade him to believe in Jesus Christ. I’m sure that he wished a hundred times that he had not gotten into that car! To make matters worse for him, he got into the backseat. Here was this 18 year old kid crammed into the backseat of a VW listening to two classmates pound away at why he needed to pray a prayer to make him an instant Christian!
Did he need to know the Lord? Yes indeed, he was lost in sin. Did my friend and I need to tell him about Christ? Yes indeed, since he was a friend whom we saw almost daily and one that God had brought into our sphere of influence. Was it okay to get him into the VW for a gospel conversation? Absolutely, there was no problem at that point. But the problem arose when he showed no interest in the gospel. It was obvious that he did not want us talking with him about his sin or about what Jesus Christ had done in His death on the cross. Even after we had made our way through the gospel—at least our poor understanding of it—he gave no indication of needing Jesus Christ or wanting to follow Him. Yet my friend and I persisted—and persisted. We easily argued away his excuses. And we made no move to open the VW door and let him out! We had him captive and pretty much determined that the only way he would get out of the backseat of that car was to prayer ‘a sinner’s prayer’ with us.
Call it the power of persuasion. Or call it heavy-handed manipulation. We got our prayer and the smug satisfaction (I say this with great shame) that we had led another one to Jesus. Unfortunately, this guy got into the backseat of the VW an unbeliever and emerged the same. No change ever occurred in his life. No indication of love for Christ or His Word or desire to follow Him. None.
It did not take long for me to realize this. So I was left struggling over why this friend could indeed hear the gospel, undergo heavy-handed evangelistic techniques, and still not be a follower of Jesus Christ. I realized that my tactics were wrong and frankly, unchristian. But it still did not answer the question: why did he reject Jesus Christ and the gospel? Why does anyone reject Jesus Christ? We all struggle with this question. The answer is not complicated. Ultimately, the obstinacy of the heart is the root of unbelief and rejection of the gospel. But how can that happen when the gospel is such “good news”? That’s precisely what Paul explains at the close of Romans 10. Let’s look together.
Our struggle is not new. Paul faced the same 2000 years ago. And what he shows us is that it was not new to him in the 1st century either. He shows that both Moses and Isaiah encountered people rejecting the good news.
Consider what leads up to these verses. Paul had explained that the Word of God had not failed when it came to the Jews (9:6). God was faithful in electing grace to save some among them, showing mercy and compassion where He desired (9:8-18). Genetics did not determine the real people of God—the true Israel. It came by divine choice. By grace, God called both Jews and Gentiles out of darkness into the light and life of Jesus Christ. Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness through works obtained the righteousness of God by faith, while Jews pursuing righteousness through works failed to obtain it. Paul left us with the clear reason: God worked in saving grace among those who believed.
But did that mean that man had no responsibility toward Christ and the gospel? Since God elects people by grace does that let everyone off the hook, so to speak, when it comes to responding to the gospel? By no means! Chapter 10 drives this home, explaining the necessity of confessing with the mouth Jesus is Lord and believing in the heart that God raised Him from the dead (10:9-10). A person is not saved without responding in faith to the gospel message. So God is pleased to send heralds of the good news into the world to preach Jesus Christ crucified and risen from the dead, and inviting sinners to call upon the name of the Lord and be saved (10:13-15).
The Apostle shows the remarkable process: God sends someone to preach the gospel. The messenger proclaims the gospel. The sinner hears the gospel. He then believes in Jesus Christ who has spoken to him in the gospel. In believing, he now calls upon the Lord and is saved (note reverse order of vv. 13-15).
So it is simple. We just get the word out, let people know of God’s gospel invitation, and presto, everyone will call on the Lord for salvation! Or it seems simple. In one sense, it is very simple. We’re not to complicate the gospel nor manipulate the sinner. We’re heralds who must simply and clearly declare the message of our King. It is a message of good news! Yet the reality is that most reject the good news. Chief among them are the very ones to whom the good news was first declared: the Jewish people.
That brings us to Paul’s focus. How could the Jewish people reject the good news that God had consistently delivered—from Moses even down to Paul? With the Jews as the chief example, that being Paul’s focus in this passage, we apply the question and its answer beyond the Jews to the people of the world. As we understand how Jews rejected the good news we will also understand how people in our own homes, neighborhoods, and city do the same.
Even though the gospel is good news, not everyone believes. “However, they did not all heed the good news.” Even though the beautiful feet declared the good news in villages and along the way, “they did not all heed the good news.” The word “heed” means literally “to listen under.” What it implies is submission to the good news, obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s an important emphasis in light of many viewing believing through antinomian eyes—or with a total de-emphasis on obedience. The call to believe Christ is not just giving a mental nod to Him. It is the call to radical submission and obedience to Jesus Christ. It is the recognition of His Lordship, bowing head, heart, and life in submission to Jesus as Lord.
Paul’s explanation particularly concerns the Jews: so not all of the Jews heeded the good news. That’s an intended understatement! On the contrary, very few of the Jews, compared to Gentiles, were followers of Jesus Christ. But this was nothing new. He quotes Isaiah, “For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our report?’” You may recognize those words from Isaiah 53:1 where the prophet gives the clearest declaration of the gospel in the Old Testament. What is so significant about Isaiah 53? It is the message of the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ, of God laying our sins on Him, and then crushing Him in an atoning death on our behalf. The good news of the gospel is rooted in the story of redemption—the work of Jesus on the cross. Isaiah foretold of that work. So, with such a gift, why the rejection of the good news? If you study Isaiah 53 you will not find the prophet identifying Jesus partnering with us in salvation. “The Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” The full weight of redemption fell upon Christ. That means the good news of the gospel uproots self-dependence. There is no work of righteousness upon which to cling except the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Yet that runs counter to the human spirit. Men want to be in charge of their lives, which is why they reject any suggestion of God’s sovereignty much less that the work of redemption relies only on Jesus Christ. To think that we cannot make even the slightest contribution to our salvation leaves us humbled. But if our pride controls us, we will reject the gospel every time!
The Apostle had already explained that the Jews pursued a law of righteousness rather than the righteousness, which is by faith (9:30-32), so they consequently stumbled over the cross-centered gospel. Men still reject the gospel that relies upon the suffering and sufficiency of Jesus Christ alone. Realize that when you talk with people about the good news the biggest battle they face is not with Satan or the world but with themselves, as they cling stubbornly to self-righteousness. Men reject the gospel because it uproots self-dependence and crushes pride.
But we’re assuming that these people have sat under the teaching of the gospel. What if that’s not the case?
If faith comes by hearing then it must be a lack of gospel preaching that keeps most people from believing in Jesus Christ. We know that there’s a constant need for more preachers, missionaries, and gospel workers throughout the world. Even Paul recognized that there were places where there was no gospel work in his day. He stated his philosophy of ministry as ‘aspiring to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that he would not build upon another man’s foundation’ (Rom. 15:20). Did not Jesus command us to pray that the Lord of the harvest would send forth laborers into His harvest, telling us that the harvest was plentiful but the workers few? Did Paul not write to the Romans with the intention of eventually visiting with them to be helped on his way to Spain so that he might preach the gospel there? Yes, these things are true.
However, what about all of the Jews? That’s to whom Paul refers. Did all of them have gospel preachers living in their communities throughout the far-flung Roman Empire? This was a timeframe less than 30 years since the resurrection. Much can be done in 30 years if you have the manpower but keep in mind how small the early church was. Yet they were a mobilized people so that even when scattered by persecution they left a gospel trail everywhere they went (cf. Acts 8:4; 11:19-21). They took seriously the Great Commission: “as you are going make disciples of all peoples.” Even with this excellent work, some villages and cities and people had still not heard from the mouths of gospel preachers the good news.
So the Apostle asks, “But I say, surely they have never heard, have they?” Here was the Jewish problem. They have just not heard the gospel. Right? Paul begs to differ. “Indeed they have; ‘Their voice has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world’.” He quotes from Psalm 19, which is generally the first place we turn if we want to teach natural or general revelation. The psalmist offers a tour de force explanation of how God has revealed Himself in the natural order of creation. Paul picks up on the same idea in Romans 1:18-23, explaining that the degree of natural revelation God has made to mankind leaves them without excuse for acknowledging Him and bowing to His sovereignty. But natural revelation is not the same as special revelation in the gospel. Natural revelation may declare to us the glory of God as Creator but it does not tell us that this same God is also Redeemer. For that one must have the gospel.
Is it not strange that Paul would quote a verse that contextually speaks of natural revelation when special gospel revelation is necessary for one to hear and believe in Christ? Perhaps but in this case he uses the well-known implication of universal knowledge of God as “representative universalism,” as F.F. Bruce calls it. Leon Morris explained, “The gospel has been widely enough preached for it to be said that the representatives of Judaism throughout the known world had heard it” [The Epistle to the Romans, 393, also quotes Bruce]. Similar language is used in Colossians 1:5-6 and 23 where Paul implies that the gospel has been “proclaimed in all creation under heaven.” In the case of the Jews the gospel had been preached to them for centuries. Gospel is not a New Testament phenomenon absent from the Old Testament. The promised Messiah was proclaimed from the fall in the Garden and throughout the Old Testament era. So in that sense the voice of the gospel had gone forth “into all the earth.” So it was not a problem of hearing that left Jews unbelieving just as that is not the problem with those about us.
That’s what you would think in light of hearing not being the problem. If so many have heard the good news then surely they just lack the knowledge necessary to exercise faith. Right? Let’s follow Paul’s reasoning. “But I say, surely Israel did not know, did they?” To prove the contrary he quotes from both the Law and the Prophets, taking Moses and Isaiah as representative of the Old Testament teaching concerning the good news. “First Moses says, ‘I will make you jealous by that which is not a nation, by a nation without understanding I will anger you’.”
(a) The word from the Law: Quoting from Deuteronomy 32:21, Paul turns to Moses’ sermon song at the close of his life. Here’s the point that he makes. Historically, Israel knew the first half of the Decalogue: you shall have no other gods before Me, you shall not make for yourself a graven image, you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, and you shall honor the Sabbath day to keep it holy. These laws were written not only in stone, but also in their minds from the times they could hear and understand. Yet Israel’s practice proved just the opposite. They had hardly been out of Egypt and known the mighty redeeming power of God when they made a golden calf and worshiped it. All along the way they complained against Yahweh and longed for their former life of bondage. Once the second generation entered the Promised Land, their graves were hardly cold when Israel began to follow after other gods. Just read through Judges and get the picture. They knew better—but they did it anyway. It was not a matter of not knowing God’s law. They acted in willful disobedience. They continued in arrogant defiance of the Lord God.
So what does He promise? “I will make you jealous by that which is not a nation, by a nation without understanding I will anger you.” Who were these who were not a nation and without understanding, in contrast to Israel whom God had set apart as a people and given understanding? It is the Gentile world. God promised to make them jealous by people who were not gathered as a holy nation or blessed with the law and understanding of it. When the gospel came to the Gentiles, Israel should have immediately thought of this well-known declaration, and repented. But they did not.
(b) The word from the prophets: Now Paul turns to his second source, the prophets. “And Isaiah is very bold and says, ‘I was found by those who did not seek Me, I became manifest to those who did not ask for Me’.” Were the Gentiles pursuing the living God? Certainly not: they were idolaters and very satisfied with their idolatry. They did not seek the Lord yet the Lord made Himself known to them in the gospel. The whole enterprise of the gospel highlighted the grace of God as He pursued Gentiles rather than Gentiles pursuing Him. So God is not found because people have great personal motives and decide to seek Him. Those not looking for God find Him, as He manifests Himself through the gospel.
Rather than pursue Him, God pursues sinners to make known His redemptive love through Jesus Christ. What underlines that whole thought? Grace! Israel’s self-righteousness had stood in the way of knowing God. They thought that because they were so dedicated and morally upright and so detailed in their religious observances that they had achieved righteous standing with God. But the self-righteousness stood as an immoveable barrier to their salvation, just as it does with so many in our day. Many of these sit in evangelical and mainline churches every week. They are no different than the self-righteous Jews who thought that they could reach a standard approved by God through their adherence to religious practices. Even though they’ve heard the gospel read and preached, they still cling to self-righteousness in defiance of Jesus Christ and the gospel.
God just has it in for the lost and unbelieving! He makes life hard for them—so that it is just impossible for them to believe the gospel.
But is that true? Consider what Paul declares. “But as for Israel He says, ‘All the day long I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and obstinate people’.” Rather than divine opposition there is divine love, compassion, and even longing for Israel’s repentance and faith. While Israel objected to God’s mercy and kindness toward Gentiles, He speaks through Isaiah a word of His compassion (Isa. 65:2). To stretch out the hands implies God’s reaching out to welcome the rebellious Jews, calling them by His gospel and His goodness to know Him, reaching out like a gentle parent to a stubborn child, or like the waiting father reaching to the prodigal. But Israel refused God’s compassion. It was not God against them but reaching out to them that the Scripture highlights.
So why did Israel refuse God’s compassionate reach for salvation? For that reason, why do multitudes who have heard of the kindness of the Lord in the gospel refuse to believe? Is it the Sovereign Lord’s fault? Paul, quoting Isaiah, tells us that the reason is found in the heart: “a disobedient and obstinate people.” The gospel is a call to obedient faith. It’s not just hearing and acknowledging a few facts. It is not bare faith in the sense that one simply acquiesces to some gospel truths. That’s why we reject the easy-believism practiced so often in modern evangelism. The gospel does not call for us to repeat a quick prayer then go about our merry way. It does not call us to give a head nod to gospel facts. The gospel, instead, calls for an obedient faith—giving heed to the good news, as Paul expressed it in v. 16.
“Obstinate” implies rebellion, objecting to God’s call for obedient faith. It is a steady opposition to submission to Christ as Lord. So who is to blame for Israel’s unbelief? Who is to blame for the rampant unbelief that we see all about us? Do we retreat to say, ‘Well, they were not the elect so the fault obviously lies with God?’ No! A thundering “No!” is proclaimed since the Lord God stretches out His hands even to disobedient and obstinate people. Here’s the point that Paul makes. Man is responsible for his own damnation.
‘But I thought Paul believed election!’ Yes, but as we saw in working through Romans 9-10, man is still responsible even though God is sovereign in salvation. Here’s the reality. If the Lord did not pursue a people in grace all would remain in the same condition marked by disobedience, obstinacy, ignorance, and unbelief. Salvation is all of God. Yet the reason for damnation falls on the disobedience and obstinacy of the human heart.
One answer comes via the thrust of the context of chapters 9-10; the other is found in the verse I skipped earlier, v. 17. First, the pointed message throughout this section is the necessity of God’s grace for salvation. Even religious people, like the Jews, pursue salvation through self-righteousness. Unless God meets them in grace, as well as the most stubborn pagan, none will ever be saved. Election is God’s grace at work before the world existed. God sending out gospel heralds and then Christ speaking to sinners through the gospel preached is grace working immediately and effectively in the heart. We do not control God’s grace; we receive it in gratitude.
Second, saving grace comes to us by the Spirit through the gospel proclaimed. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” This verse summarizes the more detailed explanation in vv. 5-15. It’s more literally, “So then faith from the message heard, and the message heard through the word of Christ.” That “word of Christ” can be objective—the gospel preached, or subjective—Christ speaking to us through the gospel. The only thing that can uproot stubbornness, recalcitrance, obstinacy, and disobedience toward God is the gospel heard and believed. It’s not our persuasiveness, and certainly not our manipulation that changes the heart and affects the will. Christ speaking to us in the gospel, showing us that His death alone atones for sin, and His resurrection alone assures us of eternal life, bends the will into submission to Him as Lord. And that is obedient faith. It is faith that trusts in Christ and follows Him in glad obedience.
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