{"id":14404,"date":"2026-07-27T08:05:55","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T12:05:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/?post_type=oyb&p=14404"},"modified":"2026-07-27T08:07:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T12:07:15","slug":"how-many-have-never-heard","status":"publish","type":"oyb","link":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/oyb\/how-many-have-never-heard","title":{"rendered":"HOW MANY HAVE NEVER HEARD?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u201cAnd how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?\u201d (Romans 10:14 ESV).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Paul wrote to the believers in Rome explaining that saving faith was not faith in a vague deity or general religious truth. It was faith in the crucified and risen Jesus revealed through the gospel. Paul\u2019s wording may have carried an even deeper meaning. He did not use the normal expression for merely hearing about someone. Many interpreters therefore understand him to mean that people heard Christ Himself speaking through the gospel messenger. When a faithful preacher proclaimed the Word, the hearer was not merely receiving information about Jesus. Christ confronted and called the hearer through the message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This made preaching both profoundly human and profoundly divine. A human messenger spoke, but through the faithful proclamation of Scripture, Christ made His own appeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul\u2019s question still carries tremendous weight. We cannot know exactly how many people have never heard the gospel at all. Yet missions researchers estimate that approximately 2.2 billion people lack meaningful gospel access, while about 3.4 billion live among people groups where access remains severely limited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I still remember meeting a young man named Made while visiting Bali, Indonesia. His sister, Desak, was with him in their small home. After giving Made a Bible in his language, I asked him to read John 3:16. When I asked what he thought, he looked up with wide eyes and said, \u201cI have never heard this before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We encouraged Made and Desak to trust in Jesus and left each of them with a Bible. But we do not have to travel to Indonesia to meet someone who has never clearly heard the gospel. Even in America, many people say after coming to Christ, \u201cI never heard it explained like this before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We must not assume that everyone around us understands the gospel. People may know the name of Jesus without knowing who He is or what He has done. We have been sent to speak clearly, lovingly, and faithfully so others may hear Christ calling them through His Word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The question is not only, \u201cHow many have never heard?\u201d It is also, \u201cWho has never heard because we have never told them?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PRAYER<\/strong>: Dear Father, give us compassion for those who have never heard the good news. Make us faithful messengers who clearly proclaim Christ crucified and risen. Open doors for the gospel and give us courage to speak. In Jesus\u2019 name, amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cAnd how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?\u201d (Romans 10:14 ESV). Paul wrote to the believers in Rome explaining that saving faith was not faith in a vague deity or general religious truth. It was faith in the crucified and risen Jesus revealed through the gospel. Paul\u2019s wording may […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"audio":"https:\/\/garycombsorg.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Jul-27-2026-at-8_00_21AM-esv2-50p-bg-10p-music-10p.mp3"},"categories":[],"tags":[],"scripture-book":[1312],"scripture-chapter":[1343],"oyb_day":[1735],"class_list":["post-14404","oyb","type-oyb","status-publish","hentry","scripture-book-romans","scripture-chapter-1343","oyb_day-july-27"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oyb\/14404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oyb"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/oyb"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14404"},{"taxonomy":"scripture-book","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/scripture-book?post=14404"},{"taxonomy":"scripture-chapter","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/scripture-chapter?post=14404"},{"taxonomy":"oyb_day","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oyb_day?post=14404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}