Chapter # 10 Paragraph # 3 Study # 4
May 26, 2009
Lincolnton, N.C.
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<500> Thesis:   The "problem" does not consist in the lack of hearing. Introduction:   In our last few studies we have been looking at the divine process involved in the sharing of the Life of God. We have seen that Paul has worked backwards from a key "result" to a prior key "activity". But, if we reverse his order, what we see is that the Life of God is shared by Him with men through a process from "beautiful feet" to "beautiful feet". The "beautiful feet" thesis is that, when there is a sufficiently significant perception of difficulty, and there is a timely arrival of one who announces what God has done/will do to address that difficulty, those who "hear" the good news consider the arrival of the announcer to be "beautiful" in its timeliness. In the "Life-sharing" of God, the process involves multiple stages: the first is an intiation by God in an external-to-the-needy setting wherein He addresses the problem; then there is a "sending" of a proclaimer who, being sent, arrives and announces what God has done/will do; then there is the actual "hearing" by those in the need; then there is their reaction of "faith" in the heart; then the response of the mouth in calling upon the Lord of the Solution; then the response of God in an actual deliverance from the need; and then the inclusion by God of the "saved" into the process that begins all over again so that he/she gets actively involved in either the "sending" or the "proclaiming" so that others may obtain the "Life". This evening we are going to look into the question that Paul raises in 10:18: Is the "problem" of participation in the Life one that exists at the "non-proclamation" point? Do men fail to get into the Life because they have not heard because there was a failure of the provision of a proclaimer? Paul's answer is emphatic: No.