“16 But not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our message? 17 So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ. 18 But I ask, “Did they not hear?” Yes, they did: Their voice has gone out to the whole earth, and their words to the ends of the world.”
In the previous verses, Paul laid out a clear presentation of the gospel. He mentions how God has chosen to use His people as messengers to deliver the good news of the gospel by means of evangelism, that is, sharing the message by making it known to others. “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news”, (v. 15b) Paul said, speaking of the gospel.
What a beautiful story! God is using His people to bring salvation to His elect by spreading the good news of the gospel. Condemned sinners are being set free from the bondage of sin by simply hearing the Words of God and responding to it with repentance and belief. But wait, remember that Paul, in this chapter, has been lamenting the unbelief of Israel. How could it be that God’s chosen nation has not believed? Why has Israel rejected her Messiah? Why has Israel rejected Jesus and the Gospel that saves? Perhaps it is because they have not heard. Has Israel not believed because no one has preached the good news to them? Well, not exactly. Paul expressed how not all who hear will believe, paraphrasing the prophet Isaiah:
“Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” — Isaiah 53:1
It is not an issue of hearing the gospel then, but rather an issue of disobedience? Yes, that’s what Paul says: “But I ask, “Did they not hear?” Yes, they did: Their voice has gone out to the whole earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” (v. 18) Here Paul quotes Psalm 19, and it’s helpful to pull in some context (It would be appropriate to follow along in Psalm 19 as we dissect what David has written). Psalm 19 is a Psalm written by David wherein he dedicates the first six verses to praise the glory and majesty of God in his creation.
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands. Day after day they pour out speech; night after night they communicate knowledge…Their message has gone out to the whole earth, and their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun.” — Psalms 19:1-2, 4
This is the section that Paul pulls from as evidence that Israel has heard the message. A message from the stars? Yes! Remember that Paul addressed earlier in Romans that all are without excuse with respect to knowledge of God because He has revealed Himself in His creation. Not only that, keeping on in Psalm 19, starting in verse 7 it would appear that David breaks off his train of thought:
“The instruction of the Lord is perfect, renewing one’s life; the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy, making the inexperienced wise.” — Psalms 19:7
He continues on like this, praising God for His precepts, His commandments and the fear and the ordinances of the Lord. Why would he do this after talking about God’s glory in creation? Two reasons: 1) From a poetic standpoint, David correlates the beauty found in God’s creation with the beauty of His law. The law is a beautiful creation of God’s. 2) Observing the beauty of creation, and being a part of creation ourselves, makes us subject to the creator of this world. So then, we are to submit to God’s precepts, obey His commandments, fear the Lord and observe His ordinances. David continues:
“In addition, your servant is warned by them, and in keeping them there is an abundant reward.” — Psalms 19:11
These are not just laws for us to follow. God’s law protects us from sin, when we are obedient to them. Next, David exposes a viral flaw in humanity:
“Who perceives his unintentional sins? Cleanse me from my hidden faults. Moreover, keep your servant from willful sins; do not let them rule me. Then I will be blameless and cleansed from blatant rebellion.” — Psalms 19:12-13
David knows that he must be cleansed by God. David knows he has sinned and not kept God’s law. He asks God to change his heart and keep him from willful sins. Moreover, even if David were not to willfully sin, he acknowledges that there are unintentional sins that might remain unperceived in his life. So David, and we, need to be cleansed from all our sin, even our unintentional and unknown sins. We have all violated the law. From this Psalm, Paul has used this one example to say to the Jews, you had plenty of opportunity to hear and respond in faith to the message of salvation. The entirety of the law and the prophets was a witness to Israel of the salvation that would come through the Son of God, the Messiah. The words and signs of Jesus make clear that He was the one on whom Israel was waiting, but they did not listen to Him.
“Even though he had performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet, who said: Lord, who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? This is why they were unable to believe, because Isaiah also said: He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they would not see with their eyes or understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.” — John 12:37-40