Romans 10:14,15

“ How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent, as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that publish peace, who announce good things! ”

No invocation without faith; no faith without hearing; no hearing without preaching; no preaching without sending. A universal apostolate is therefore the necessary corollary of a free and universal salvation. Such are the contents of our two verses, which are directed, not against Judeo-Christian prejudices, but against the ignorance of Israel, the final result of which was necessarily their rejection. Paul points out to the Jews, who took offence at the wide and universal character of his apostleship, the internal necessity on which it was based, and the positive prophetical texts which justified it. We are therefore still at the development of this theme: The ignorance of Israel the cause of their rejection.

And first, no invocation without faith. It is difficult to decide between the T. R. ἐπικαλέσονται, shall they call on, and the Alex. and Greco-Latin texts: ἐπικαλέσωνται, shall they be able to call on. This same variant reappears in the following verbs, and that without the critical authorities being consequent with themselves. The simple future is more natural, though the subjunctive may easily be defended.

No faith without the hearing of the gospel message. The pronoun οὖ, whom, presents a difficulty; for the meaning is: “Him whom they have not heard.” Now, men cannot hear Jesus Christ. Meyer answers, that they can hear Him by the mouth of His messengers: “whom they have not heard preaching by His apostles.” But could this idea be left to be wholly understood? Hofmann gives to οὖ a local meaning: in the place where: “How could He be invoked in the place where men have not heard (Him spoken of)?” But the ellipsis of the last words would be very marked. It seems to me simpler to apply the pronoun οὖ to Jesus, not as preaching (Meyer), but as preached; comp. Ephesians 4:21: “If at least ye have heard Him, and have been taught by Him.” It is true the pronoun which is the object of have heard, in this passage, is in the accusative (αὐτόν), and not, as here, in the genitive. But this difference is easily explained; the act referred to in Ephesians is one of the understanding which penetrates the object, while here it is only a simple hearing, the condition of faith.