The Urgency of the Gospel
Text: Romans 10:13-15
“For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 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? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’”
Point 1: The Gospel Is Not an Option, It’s a Rescue Mission
“For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
This verse is a promise, but it also carries an implicit warning: If they do not call on the Lord, they will not be saved. The world is not morally neutral. It is lost. It is under the curse of sin and the reign of death. Scripture does not present humanity as innocent wanderers but as rebels who need redemption (Ephesians 2:1-3).
Imagine a group of people trapped in a burning building. They may not know the fire is consuming the walls around them. They may not believe they are in danger. But does their ignorance save them? No. What they need is rescue.
The Gospel is not simply a better way to live; it is the only way to live at all. It is the only path out of destruction, the only way to be reconciled to God. Jesus did not say, “I am a truth”—He said, “I am THE way, THE truth, and THE life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”(John 14:6).
If the Gospel is optional, then the cross was unnecessary. If people can be saved apart from Christ, then Jesus suffered in vain. But we know the truth: There is salvation in no one else (Acts 4:12).
So the question is not, What about those who never heard?—the real question is, Who will go so they can hear?
Point 2: The Natural Revelation Is Enough to Condemn, but Not to Save
“How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed?” (Romans 10:14a)
Some argue that if people are sincere, if they do their best, surely God will accept them. After all, don’t they have some knowledge of God through nature?
Yes, but that knowledge only reveals enough to condemn them, not enough to save them.
Paul says in Romans 1:19-20 that creation itself testifies to God’s power and divine nature, so that people are without excuse. But what does this knowledge do? It convicts, but it does not redeem. It leaves people longing, but it does not provide the answer.
The world has always had glimpses of God. The wisdom of the nations—the righteous ones among them, the Chochmei Umot HaOlam—may see the moral order of the universe, may grasp at truth, may even live with a certain ethical clarity. But without the full revelation of God in Christ, they remain in darkness.
Cornelius was a God-fearing man, devout, generous, and prayerful (Acts 10). But was that enough? No. An angel appeared and told him to send for Peter, because he still needed the Gospel! If morality alone were enough, then Jesus would not have had to die.
This is why the world needs to hear. Because truth without the Gospel is not salvation. Wisdom without Christ is still a road that ends in death. The good man who does not know Christ is like a traveler who walks in the right direction but never reaches the destination.
Point 3: The Gospel Is Meant to Be Preached, Not Assumed
“How are they to hear without someone preaching?” (Romans 10:14b)
If people could find God on their own, there would be no need for missions, no need for evangelism, no need for the church to exist. But Paul is clear: People do not believe unless they hear, and they do not hear unless someone preaches to them.
The world is not going to stumble into the Gospel by accident. It must be announced. The Gospels were written because the event of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection had to be proclaimed. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing comes through the word of Christ (Romans 10:17).
This is why Jesus commanded His disciples, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Because the Gospel is an announcement, not a secret. It is a mission, not a suggestion.
And this is why the church exists today: because there are still people who have never heard, and we have been given the responsibility to go and tell them.
Point 4: The Feet That Bring Good News Are Beautiful
“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” (Romans 10:15)
The world does not always welcome the Gospel. The message of Christ is an offense to human pride. It exposes our need for a Savior. But to the one who receives it, to the one who was perishing but is now saved—it is the most beautiful news in the world.
Imagine the relief of a prisoner hearing he has been pardoned. The joy of a sick man receiving the cure. The gratitude of a lost child being brought home. That is the power of the Gospel.
And that is why we must go. That is why we must preach. That is why the urgency of the Gospel must grip our hearts. Because this world is full of people in need of the Good News, and God has sent us to tell them.
Conclusion: What Will You Do?
The question, “What about those who never heard?” should never be an excuse to delay, doubt, or debate—it should be a fire that compels us to act.
• Some of us are called to go—to be the beautiful feet that carry the Gospel to the nations.
• Some of us are called to send—to support, pray, and equip those who go.
• All of us are called to speak—to be unashamed of the Gospel in our homes, workplaces, and communities.
But none of us are called to be silent.
Brothers and sisters, this is why they need to hear. Because there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. Because faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
So let us go, let us send, let us speak.
Because they need to hear.
Amen.
