hupakouo 'to hear under'; the word 'report' is akoe 'something heard', and so

leads to the conclusion,

'So then faith cometh by hearing (akoe), and hearing by the word of

God' (Rom. 10:17).

From this, it is evident that 'hearing' and 'believing' are but two sides of

one subject, and that hearing necessitates a preacher, so that when we read

that faith comes by hearing the Word of God, it is the preached Word, 'The

report' that is in view.

There are many and blessed instances given in the records of missionary

activities of where a portion of Scripture carried into the village or house

of people far removed from mission or preacher, has been blessed to the

salvation of many.  These exceptional cases, much as they give cause for

thanksgiving and demonstrate the innate power of the effectual Word, do not

in any sense lessen the insistence which the selfsame Word makes, that as a

general rule, it is the preaching of the Word that leads to conviction, faith

and salvation.

'It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that

believe' (1 Cor. 1:21).

So intimately connected is 'the Word' with 'preaching' that the Greek logos

is translated 'preaching' in 1 Corinthians 1:18: 'For the preaching of the

cross is to them that perish foolishness', but this very 'Word' or

'preaching' is the power of God to those who are saved.  And so we come to

Romans 10:17,

'So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God'.

We observe first of all that the text does not say 'Faith cometh by

reading', although as we have already said, there are many who owe their

conversion to the printed page.  Even so, the fact that people can read a

printed page presupposes the blessing of a human agent, and if such are

reading a printed page in their 'own dialect' that again presupposes the

intervention of the human translator.  We do not make these comments in order

to glorify man, but in faithful recognition of the principle given in Romans

10:14.  The preacher often supplies the spark that sets the whole machinery

of the Word in motion.  When the Ethiopian was discovered by Philip, he was

reading the prophecy of Isaiah.  And Philip hearing him read said to him,

'Understandest thou what thou readest?  And he said, How can I except some

man should guide me?'  The Ethiopian was reading the Word of God, but he had

questions in his mind that he could not answer.  The Ethiopian said to

'I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some

other man?  Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same

Scripture, and preached unto him Jesus' (Acts 8:34,35).

Here it is evident that 'faith came by hearing', and hearing by the

Word preached.  This same fifty -third of Isaiah is before the apostle in

Romans 10.  One version reads 'Who hath believed our report?'  As the

translation stands in the Authorized Version, 'the report' would be something

uttered or reported by the prophet.  The margin reads 'or doctrine?  Hebrew

hearing?'  The Revised Version puts in the margin 'that which we have heard'.

Rotherham's version: 'What we have heard'.  It is the passive participle