“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17) In yesterday’s post, we started thinking about this verse and its relation to faith development. I mentioned that though this verse is frequently cited, it is almost never cited in context. I also noted that the immediate context is that of conversion, people who do not know Christ coming to know him.

There is something else we should note about the context. Look at the verse that follows: “But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did:  “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”” (Romans 10:18) Paul argues that the Jews did hear. I think that Paul is speaking about the number of Christians who went out preaching among the Jews, maybe even thinking of Pentecost when it was said that there were Jews from every nation under heaven present.

Still, look at the verse he quotes. Psalm 19:4. Here are the first four verses of Psalm 19: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” (Psalms 19:1-4) Now there’s a context that will ruin a perfectly good proof text! Ouch. When we quote Romans 10:17, it’s usually to support the need for Bible study or the need to hear preaching. How many times have you heard that verse quoted to talk about the need to observe God’s revelation in nature? A similar thought is found in Romans 1: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)

Paul’s argument in chapter 1 is that men in general have no excuse because they have “heard” God’s testimony, that being declared by nature. In chapter 10, Paul can use a verse talking about nature’s testimony to argue that Jews, specifically, have been preached to.

Maybe we need to expand our understanding of what it means to hear God’s message.

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17) If you grew up in a faith context similar to mine, you’ve probably heard that verse quoted hundreds of times. And, if your experience is like mine, that quoting almost never occurred in context.

Romans 10 is talking about conversion. This section of Romans, chapters 9-11, is talking about the Jews rejection of the message. The point Paul is making is that the Jews have heard. They had their chance. The gospel was presented to them, they had the chance to come to faith, and they didn’t do it.

In Galatians 3, the term “hearing” is used by Paul mostly to represent the preaching that is done during conversion (Galatians 3:2,5). That usage corresponds to the usage in Romans.

This verse from Romans 10 refers to how faith comes initially. Faith comes by hearing the message of Christ. Paul is not telling us how faith develops. He’s not talking about how Christians come to have more faith. Faith comes by hearing.

Let’s not try to make this verse say something it doesn’t.