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"HOW SHALL THEY PREACH, EXCEPT THEY BE SENT?"Romans 10:15By Ian Potts “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 preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” Romans 10:14-15 Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of
God. It is by hearing the word of God, the Gospel of Christ, that men are
saved from their sins, for as Paul declares at the start of his epistle to
the Romans: “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for
it is the power of God unto salvation”. Yes, the Gospel of Christ is the power of God unto
salvation. It saves! It brings the knowledge of the Saviour into the ears
of sinners, who, when quickened by the Holy Spirit from the deadness of
their fallen, depraved state are given eyes to see and ears to hear, and
having that God-given gift of faith wrought within by the Spirit are
enabled to believe that word unto salvation. SENT TO
PREACH But that word must be heard - “How
shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?”
And to be heard it must be preached – “How
shall they hear without a preacher?”
“And how shall they preach, except they be sent?”
So, it must be asked just who are sent
preachers? What is it to preach the Gospel? Are all believers called upon
to preach the Gospel? Or is there a specific call to preach which is given
to some but not to others? Well, certainly scripture teaches the ‘priesthood’ of
all believers. All Christians are called upon to testify to the work of
God and to edify one another in the body of Christ. In this sense each
member of the body ministers to the body. There is a place in the
gatherings of the church for all to edify one another as the Lord leads
according to the gifts given to each (see 1 Corinthians 12). One might
bring a psalm, one might pray, one might read the word, another might give
a word of exhortation and another might give a short devotional message.
All these means of edification in the church have their rightful and
proper place. However scripture is also very clear that not all are
called to be apostles, not all are called to be prophets and not all are
called to be teachers (1 Corinthians SENT BY
GOD TO PREACH So to preach the Gospel one must be sent. But sent by
whom? By man? By the church? No, the call to preach comes from God and God alone.
Such a calling may be recognised and acknowledged by others in the church,
and indeed will be if it is true, but nevertheless the calling itself
comes direct from God to those whom He sends to preach. The scriptures
provide abundant examples of this pattern. Throughout the Old Testament we
read of many prophets and each one has a particular and distinct calling
of God. God meets with the man and sends him forth with His word as
directed by the Lord. Many examples could be provided such as Moses in
Exodus 3, Samuel in 1 Samuel 3, or Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1. The Lord
appeared unto each one and specifically sent him forth with His word. “Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest
forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet
unto the nations” Jeremiah 1:4-5 Likewise we see a similar pattern in the New
Testament with those whom God called and sent forth to preach His word.
Jesus called his disciples by name to follow Him and sent them forth to
preach the Gospel (see for example Mark “At And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am
Jesus whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have
appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness
both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the
which I will appear unto thee; Delivering thee from the people, and from
the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, To open their eyes, and to turn
them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that
they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are
sanctified by faith that is in me. Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto
the heavenly vision:” Acts 26:13-19 So we see clear examples in both the Old and New
Testament of the direct calling and sending of men to preach the Gospel.
Each heard the word of the Lord and each was sent forth with a specific
charge. But it may be asked whether these experiences were
unique to the prophets and apostles? Well, it is true that the ministry of the prophets
and apostles recorded in scripture was unique. They received the word of
God by direct revelation at a time when the scriptural canon was
incomplete. They had direct dealings with God often by hearing His voice
audibly or in a vision or dream. The disciples indeed lived at a time when
they actually beheld the Son of God incarnate in this world. Such
experiences were obviously unique to them. Nevertheless the general principles and patterns set
forth by the calling of these men to preach hold good to the end of time.
The principle of Romans 10, “How shall they preach except
they be sent?” is
as true today as it was in the early church. God still calls and sends men
into the ministry. Men sent to preach the Gospel. Men taught of God. Men
prepared by God for that work. Men, such as Timothy, who though not an
apostle was still nevertheless called by the same God to the ministry.
Like his spiritual ‘father’ Paul, he too was saved through the same
Gospel, by the same Saviour, and sent to preach the same truth. The
example of Timothy and the charge given to him by the apostle remains in
Holy Writ as a precedent for all those to follow who might consider
themselves to be called of God to the same ministry. For the Gospel of
Christ will continue to be proclaimed down through the ages until the very
last of God’s sheep has been brought into the sheep-fold and the Lord
returns again to gather his people to Himself for eternity to come. Until
that great day the Lord continues to feed His sheep and He does so by
sending men to preach His word. But what is the call to preach? Just how does God
call men to the ministry today? Well, whilst the examples of the prophets and
apostles may be unique, and whilst there may not be such signal, direct,
appearances of God to His servants today, nevertheless God does still call
His servants to His work, He does still speak to them and they will know
that their sending is of God. His word may come as a ‘still small voice’
and one sent to preach may well be beset by doubts to his calling for some
time, but nevertheless those truly sent to preach will hear the Lord’s
voice in direction, he will know the Lord’s will in the matter and it will
be made plain to him that his sending is of God not man. I believe the call of God to the ministry is very
definite and if and when a man is called to preach he will know it. He
will know that God has called him and ultimately he will have few if any
doubts about it. His call will be much more than just a desire to preach,
or a conviction that he should preach because of the need. No, a call is
definite - the man called of God knows that God has called him to preach
and he must do so. He feels compelled to – the love of Christ constrains
him. He may well be unsure of whether he has been truly called for some
time, but when he IS called then he will come to know it.
William Huntington wrote about the call to preach in
his work, "The Servant of the Lord – Described and
Vindicated", which is very helpful regarding this matter. He deals not
only with what is a call is but also with what isn’t a call.
So, in like manner, I would like to provide here a few pointers of what doesn’t
in itself represent a call to preach (although some of these things may well
form 'part' of an overall spiritual exercise leading to a
call):-
1. Seeing the need for the Gospel to be preached. How great a need there is for Gospel preachers today!
Yet seeing the need and feeling burdened about the state of the church
isn’t in itself a call to preach. 2. Feeling that we can possibly 'do better' than some
other preachers, who by the deadness of their preaching demonstrate that
they are quite possibly not called to preach.
Sadly there are many in pulpits today who really
shouldn’t be there. Many men ‘send’ themselves into the ministry who
simply have no calling and no gift from God for the purpose. Scripture
speaks of them as ‘hirelings’ and ‘false shepherds’. They bring real grief
to the true children of God who groan to see such men leading others
astray whilst making a name for themselves - and all under the guise of
doing God service. Yet, recognizing such things; being able to see the
errors of such men; knowing the true gospel better than they do; feeling
that one could preach that gospel more correctly; may all be very good –
but it doesn’t in itself represent a call from God to such a work. 3. Simply wanting to do something for the Lord or to
be useful in His service. This can be a great trap, a great snare into which
many young men fall. Many young believers, especially young men, feel a
great zeal for the things of God. They have a great desire to serve God
and to make His word known, and many desire – often out of good motives –
to be useful in the service of God and hence feel drawn to the work of the
ministry. Yet all these desires, no matter how good, do not represent in
themselves alone, a true call to preach. 4. Dissatisfaction with one’s current job/situation
and feeling that preaching would be more to God's glory. This is another danger. One can feel drawn to preach
because in some way the task seems more attractive than one’s current
employment. Some young men just starting out in life shun secular work in
favour of the ‘spiritually higher’ task of preaching. Other men, later on
in life may feel weary with their present occupation and thus consider the
work of the ministry as something more worthwhile. Much confusion can be
entered into by such feelings. Yet they must be guarded against – they do
not represent a call by God to preach. More often than not when God calls
a man to preach he is called to make a sacrifice – called to give up, not
a tiresome, unsatisfactory employment, but to give up that which is very
favourable to the flesh – that which is well paid perhaps, or comfortable.
Like Moses when he turned from the treasures of 5. Pressure from men/churches given the lack of men
these days entering the ministry. In a day when there are fewer and fewer seemingly
being called to the ministry there can be great pressure placed upon men
to consider the work. Many see the need for Gospel preachers and many look
to the young men in their congregations in the hope that they will serve
the Lord in this way. This presents a great pressure upon many. Yet,
feeling this pressure, seeing the needs and the hunger of others, does not
represent a call to preach. We must be careful not to be ‘forced’ into the
ministry, nor to force others into it. Yes, there are many points which may together form
part of a call to preach, but in themselves they do not represent such a
call, and we need to be careful to discern which impressions we have in
our hearts which are really from God, and which are not. Many things may
seem like a call to preach, but aren’t.
Knowing what is a call to preach, however, is rather harder to
define. It is similar in some ways to how we know the Lord's will and
guidance in other matters, but obviously as this is such a high calling we
need to be very sure about it. I believe the sent minister will know his
calling in various ways – ways in which the Lord speaks to Him and reveals
His will in this matter to him. For example through various passages of
scriptures being laid very powerfully upon the man’s heart (not just
because he 'looks for them' once he feels inclined to preach, because
obviously there are texts there which can be found, but because when he isn’t looking
for them they seem to leap out at him, or come up in his daily readings,
or at services where he has heard preaching and so on), and also through
direct providences in life. By this I mean various incidences in life
showing the Lord's calling to preach in ways that are simply not just
(what men often call) ‘coincidences’. The kind of thing I mean is reading
a certain passage (which may have to do with preaching), then having the
very same passage preached on at the next church service, then having
something similar happen the next week. When that keeps on happening you
know that the Lord is saying something!
I heard one preacher say something about preaching
which I believe is good advice. He said that if a man feels that the Lord
is calling him to preach he should resist as long as he can until he can
resist no longer. That is sound advice - if the Lord really is calling
then you won't be able to resist His call. When God truly calls a man to
preach He makes His will known to him. That man will feel an increasing
burden in his heart about preaching. He will think about it constantly. He
may try to escape it but the thought keeps coming back. The Lord will keep
prompting him from within. Passages of scripture will keep on convicting
him regarding the matter. His heart will be filled with a sense of
compassion for God’s sheep, a desire that they might be fed, a desire that
Christ would be lifted up in the ministry and in the hearts and minds of
His people. Such a man will find that the everyday providences of his life
keep pointing him towards this matter. The Lord will place landmarks in
his path, continual pointers in this direction. The man may feel his utter
unworthiness and inability, yet the Lord will keep reminding him ‘this
is the way, walk ye in it’. He will complain of lack of strength, but the Lord
will assure him that He will be his strength. He will complain of
ignorance, yet the Lord will teach him and be all sufficient to him. In
the end he will have his doubts cast aside, his objections answered, and
ultimately he will feel that the love of Christ constrains him - he can't
but
preach.
Yet, withal there are many dangers in the way. Satan
does all he can to sow confusion and he loves to encourage men into the
ministry who have no true calling to it. Some things we need to be most
careful of are:-
1. Pride.
This can affect all preachers. Certainly when he sees so much false preaching about a man can think "I wish I was preaching, I could do better than that etc." and could easily get carried along by his own pride. Preaching is a high calling and obviously a position of authority, of being seen and noted in public, and we have to be very careful not to seek any approval from men, but only that approval that comes from above. Those called to preach seek not their own things, but the things of Jesus Christ, they seek not honour for themselves, but for all honour and glory to be ascribed to their God and Saviour.
2.
The applause of man and the fear of man.
Similarly,
another trap is to seek the applause of man or to be afraid of men and
their reaction. There are many who can preach in a way which is pleasing
to man, which draws great acclaim, much adulation and honour from others.
But those sent of God to preach will do so for God’s glory only,
proclaiming that message which God lays upon their heart to preach – no
matter what men might say. The fear of man and what others might say can
be a great stumbling-block to many, but those whom God sends forth with
His word will preach it with boldness and with great plainness of speech.
The message of the Gospel is not pleasing to man in the flesh,
indeed it is foolishness to him, but what man counts as foolish God calls
wisdom - the power of God unto salvation (1 Corinthians
1).
3. Sending ourselves or resorting to the 'arm of the flesh'.
Once a man feels inclined to preach it is very
easy to wonder whether he has been sent or not, and to be inclined to
run before he has been truly sent. To look for passages in scripture
to confirm his calling, before God really shows those passages to him, or
to try to 'open doors' to preach before God opens those doors for
him.
If we read the testimonies of past preachers who were
truly used of God we can learn much from their accounts of God’s dealings
with them and their own attitudes. The last thing, before God called them
to it, that most preachers wanted to do was to preach and I think that is
a good place to be - to not want to preach, but to feel that the Lord
nevertheless is calling us to such a work. Then we will know it is His
will and not ours.
Ultimately if God calls a man to preach he will know it when it has
happened. He will be brought to a settled, inward, persuasion in his heart and mind of the
Lord's will in the matter. The confirmation of this being true will be that
God will open a door, and an effectual one, for the preaching of the
Gospel. Often that doesn’t come simply because that man has told others of
his calling, but he will be asked to preach, or a door will open, without
any contrivance of his own. Then when a door opens that man will know that the
work is all of God.
To preach in God’s name is a solemn and weighty
calling which carries with it a huge responsibility. Hence no man should
enter into the ministry hastily. But when God sends a man to preach, then
that man will know that he walks in God’s will, that God has called him,
and that God will help him. For the word is not his, but God’s, and he
merely speaks as God’s ambassador. SENT BY GOD TO PREACH THE
GOSPEL
Yes, a man must be sent to
preach, and he must be sent of God to preach. But what does he
preach? The Gospel of Christ! Whilst that might sound obvious to some the fact is
that often it seemingly isn’t so obvious to many. Many preach what amounts
to anything and everything but the Gospel of Christ. They preach morals, the
wisdom of men, anecdotes, advice, funny stories, history, philosophy,
intellectualism, sacramentalism, legalism, dispensationalism… and the list
goes on. Yet, few, very few, really, truly, preach
the Gospel of Christ as it is revealed in the scriptures. Many preach another gospel and another Jesus. But
those truly sent of God, called of God, preach THE Gospel; The One Gospel;
The Gospel of Christ. In fact, we may test a man’s calling by whether or
not he truly preaches that Gospel, in the power of God, by His Spirit –
see 2 Corinthians 11. But any sent of
God to preach will preach
the Gospel. As Paul declares:- “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it
is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew
first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God
revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by
faith.” Romans 1:16-17
“For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the
gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made
of none effect. But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a
stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are
called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of
God.” 1 Corinthians 1:17, 23-24 This Gospel which Paul preached was that which he
learnt of God. Not only was Paul not sent by man, but by God, but also the
Gospel he was sent with was given to him not by man, but by God. As he
states in Galatians 1:11-12:- “But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which
was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man,
neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus
Christ.” All those truly sent by God will be taught of God.
The word they bring is not theirs, not man’s, but God’s. They look to Him
to teach, and the word they bring is that which He gives them. When
Jeremiah was called of God he felt his poverty and his ignorance. He
complained “Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a
child”, but God’s answer was “Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that
I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not
afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the
LORD.” Jeremiah writes, “Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my
mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy
mouth. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the
kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw
down, to build, and to plant.” To preach isn't simply to know the doctrines of the
Gospel well and to have a desire to convey those truths to others. It is
to be God's mouthpiece. To preach what God would have us preach, at that
particular time, by the Spirit. This requires great humility, much
exercise of soul, and much prayer before God, searching out what He would
have preached from the scriptures. Sermons aren't simply
'constructed' from commentaries and books, but are sought out from the
Lord. The fact that a preacher is God’s mouthpiece, His
ambassador on earth, cannot be stressed enough. Ultimately it is not men
who preach, but God. It is Christ who preaches from the heavens. He is the
one that speaketh and He speaks from heaven (Hebrews A preacher who preaches in the power of the Holy
Ghost is one who effectively 'disappears' into the background so that the
hearers aren't so much impressed by him, his learning or his oratory, but
feel that they are hearing the Lord speak through him. He should be like a
window through whom the light shines in. And I think every true preacher
would probably confess that more often than not 'he gets in the way' of
the clear shining of that light, but nevertheless when the Spirit is
present he knows it and has liberty in his preaching. As Romans 1:16-17
says the power of God is in the GOSPEL. Not in the church, nor yet in preachers.
Not actually in the Spirit either, but in the Gospel. Indeed, the power of
the Holy Spirit is in the preaching of that Gospel – the Gospel of Christ.
The very same Gospel of which Paul was not ashamed,
for it is the power of God unto salvation. A Gospel which he received not
of man, neither was he taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ
(Galatians SENT BY GOD, AND
PREPARED BY GOD, TO PREACH THE GOSPEL Not only are Gospel preachers sent by God, not only
are they taught the Gospel by God, but they are also prepared for the work
of the ministry by God. God equips those whom He sends to preach for the
task which they are given. No man by nature is fit to preach the Gospel. All are
sinners, all have gone astray, all are weak in the flesh. Yet those whom
God sends to preach are those whom He has elected and called from eternity
past, those whom He has saved from their sins, those whom He has justified
by the work of Christ at the cross, those whom He has quickened unto
eternal life by His Spirit, those whom He has given faith to live by,
those whom He has “led forth by the right way”, those whom He has
revealed His Son unto, those whom He has granted grace to, those whom He
has tried in the furnace and brought through many afflictions and trials
for Christ’s sake. Such are those whom God calls and sends forth with His
word. Why? So that it might be seen that their fitness for
the work is not found in themselves, in their own might, or in their own
strength, but in God. God prepares such men for the ministry so that all
the glory might be given to God and not to man. The flesh is mortified and
the work of God is magnified. The preaching of the cross in men’s eyes is
foolishness, and those whom God sends to preach it are counted as fools by
the wisdom of this world. As Paul states in 1 Corinthians 1:25-31… “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and
the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many
wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But
God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and
God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which
are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised,
hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things
that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made
unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the
Lord.” God calls those who are ‘nothing’ in
both the eyes of the world, and in their own eyes, to preach His Gospel.
And having called such men He prepares them for the task – for the work is
all of God – to this end: that “him that glorieth, let him
glory in the Lord”.
We can see this in Moses for example. When God called
him to His work Moses protested “O my Lord, I am not
eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but
I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue”. But God’s answer was “Who
hath made man’s mouth? Or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the
blind? Have not I the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and
teach thee what thou shalt say.” Exodus 4:10-12.
Likewise with Jeremiah, as we have already seen, he
protested that he was a child, unfit for the work. But God said that He
would be with him to deliver him, and He would put His words in his mouth.
God prepared and fitted both Moses and Jeremiah for His work. All their
sufficiency and strength was to be found in Him and in Him alone. In
themselves they were nothing. But what of the apostle Paul? Surely he had much
ability in the flesh for the task of preaching the Gospel? As he wrote in
Philippians 3:4-6… “Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If
any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I
more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of
Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which
is in the law, blameless.”
Paul had much to boast of naturally. He was very
bright, well taught, well versed in the Old Testament scriptures; surely
an excellent man for God to send to his brethren in the flesh, the Jews,
to preach the Gospel to them, as he was a ‘Hebrew of the Hebrews’? Yet,
man’s ways are not God’s ways and God’s ways are not man’s ways. God
called Paul to be the apostle to the Gentiles, not
the Jews. Many would have accused him of wasting his prior ‘training’, but
Paul had to submit to the calling of God, whatever man might think. To the
Gentiles he went, and how powerfully GOD used him! What did Paul himself think of his own natural
abilities? “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss
for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the
excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have
suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may
win Christ” Paul counted all his abilities in the flesh, as not
an aid, but a positive hindrance to the work of God! ALL the work must be of God,
not man, and so it was. It was God who prepared Paul for the ministry, not
man, neither the “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my
mother's womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I
might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh
and blood: Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles
before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. Then
after three years I went up to Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before
God, I lie not. Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia;
And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ:
But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now
preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. And they glorified God in
me.” In the cases of Moses, Jeremiah and Paul, God
prepared each one to preach His word. They were men who knew their God,
men who knew the Gospel, men who knew God’s grace and salvation, and men
who knew what it is to walk with God. They were taught the Gospel, they
were taught in the School of Christ, they were men prepared of God to
preach that Gospel by being brought through fires, through afflictions,
through trials and persecutions, and yet withal, standing fast in the
strength of their God, and they thought nothing of themselves but all of
Christ whom they sought to glorify, for…
You must know Christ to preach Christ,
You must experience grace to preach grace,
You must be saved by the Gospel to preach the Gospel, You must
be brought low to lift Christ high, and,
You must experience the pathway to comfort those on the pathway.
Yes, God sends His servants to preach the Gospel, God
teaches them the Gospel, and God prepares them for the ministry of that
Gospel. For the work is ALL of God. It is the Gospel of Christ which God
sends forth as it is uttered by the One who speaks from heaven, whose
speech is carried forth by the Holy Spirit and is put upon the lips of
those whom God sends to preach His word, that sinners might hear that
word, that faith might come by hearing that word, and that all those for
whom Christ died might hear and call upon the name of the Lord that they
might be saved. As it is written… “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved. 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 preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good
things!”
Oh! That the Lord would be pleased to raise up men in
our day - men set apart for His service, called and sent forth to preach
the everlasting gospel of peace; men called of God, sent of God, taught of
God and prepared of God; men of faith who like Paul are not ashamed of the
gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation; men who are
prepared to spend and be spent for Christ’s sake and His glory alone! For how shall they preach except they
be sent?
Amen. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” Romans 1:16-17
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