There is a growing lack of confidence in the preached Word. May the Lord teach His people that the Word is true, that it is God who speaks in it, and that the children of God love sitting under the Word preached, for it is especially through the preaching of the Word that God makes our salvation effectual.

The church has always focused on the Word, the sacraments, and prayer. Question 154 of the Westminster Larger Catechism asks, “What are the outward means whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of his mediation?” The answer states, “The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicates to his church the benefits of his mediation, are all his ordinances; especially the Word, sacraments, and prayer; all which are made effectual to the elect for their salvation.” In his account of the early church, Luke confirms the necessity of this focus by recording that the church “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). Behind this doctrine and practice of the church is the belief that God chooses to communicate the benefits of His salvation in what is seemingly ordinary: the teaching of His Word, the sacraments, and prayer.

God’s Appointed Means

Christians often struggle with a fear of missing out. These simple means of communing with God may seem uninteresting compared to those of the past. In the Old Testament, God wrestled with Jacob, appeared in a burning bush before Moses, led His people on a cloud and pillar of fire, often appeared in dreams, and protected Elisha with an army of angels. And in the New Testament, the risen Lord appeared to the Apostle Paul in a blazing light. The temptation, then, is to seek similar supernatural encounters. But our spectacular God works in ordinary ways. Since He is the One who blesses His people, He is the One who chooses the means of His blessing. Wisdom, then, is to seek God where He promises He will be found.

Question 155 of the larger catechism asks, “How is the Word made effectual to salvation?” The answer states, “The Spirit of God makes the reading, but especially the preaching of the Word, an effectual means of enlightening, convincing, and humbling sinners; of driving them out of themselves, and drawing them unto Christ; of conforming them to his image, and subduing them to his will; of strengthening them against temptations and corruptions; of building them up in grace, and establishing their hearts in holiness and comfort through faith unto salvation.” Notice the phrase “especially the preaching of the Word.” Whereas the previous question spoke generally of effectual means, this question highlights the Word of God. More precisely, it highlights the Word preached.

The Necessity of Preaching for Salvation

Paul places this same emphasis on preaching in Romans 10:14–17. In the middle of explaining that Israel rejected the righteousness of God and replaced it with their own, Paul argues for the necessity of evangelistic preaching. His statement in verse 13—“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”—prompts a series of rhetorical questions, all asking “how?” Paul masterfully composes an interlocking verbal chain in which the last verb of every question begins the next question. “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?” (10:14–15).

Having asserted that all who call upon the Lord will be saved, Paul asks if calling is even possible without believing in Christ Jesus. How can someone call upon the Lord without first having faith? Calling on Jesus as Lord is impossible apart from faith in Him. Paul earlier noted, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (v. 9). “Believing in him” is a common phrase in the Apostle John’s writing; in the writings of Paul, however, this phrase is rare. Yet it encompasses the whole of what Paul teaches in Romans. Christ Jesus came, lived, died, and was raised for the justification of those who believe in Him. Apart from such faith in Christ Jesus, calling on the name of the Lord is not merely unlikely; it is impossible. Faith, then, is the prerequisite for calling on the Lord.

Paul then proceeds to ask if belief is possible apart from hearing the proclamation of the good news. Just as believing is logically prior to calling, so hearing is logically prior to believing. And what must be heard? What message is necessary for believing? In Colossians, Paul asserts, “Him we proclaim” (1:28). The only message Paul and the other Apostles proclaimed to a world seeking wisdom, knowledge, and insight was Christ Jesus. Here in Romans, Paul’s point is that Christ Himself is heard in the gospel proclamation.

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