God is Trustworthy (Rom 15.7.13)

Open: Consider the promises of almost all candidates for political office, regardless of party. Many such promises begin with, “and when I am elected I will: lower taxes, deal with the immigration issue, stop the flow of illegal drugs, pass laws that will lead to a decrease in violent crime, etc,”

Transition: Sadly, almost all politicians fail to deliver on campaign promises. The hope of the voters is very often turned to dismay or disgust when the trust is broken. The widespread pattern of failure leads many to question if anyone is worthy of trust.

I am declaring to you today that God is worthy of your trust! He is the essence of what it means to be trustworthy, and He will never disappoint.

The Apostle Paul delivered this same message to the members of the congregation at Rome almost 2,000 years ago, and it remains true today - God is trustworthy!

Let’s look at our text this morning to explore how the ministry of Jesus was and is a witness to God’s truthfulness.

READ the Text: Romans 15:7-13

The Ministry of Jesus is God’s Truthfulness on Display

Explanation: Paul begins a new thought when he declares, “Now I say ...” This thought revolves around the life and ministry of Jesus and His significance. Paul is telling the believers that Jesus was a servant for the purpose of revealing the truth of God. Paul shares how Jesus’ life does this through two (2) main avenues:

Jesus’ ministry confirms the promises God made to the Fathers and Jesus is the One who gives Hope to the Gentiles. Let’s look at each of these in more depth.

The Ministry of Jesus confirms the promises God made to the Patriarchs (Rom 15:8)

Paul is writing to a congregation that has many members of Jewish heritage so he doesn’t give much support for this part of his presentation. There is, however, a vast amount of OT Scripture that supports Jesus being the fulfillment of promises that God made to the Patriarchs. We are going to look at just 2 of them.

The Promise of Blessing to Abraham (Genesis 12:2-3) and the Promise of a Ruler to David (2 Sam 7:11-13)

Jesus IS the promised Messiah. He is the One in whom all the families of the earth are blessed and He is the King who IS ruling in heaven now.

The Ministry of the Jesus gives hope to the Gentiles (Romans 15:9-12)

Paul gives much more direct support from the OT when he shows how the life and ministry of Christ is the basis for Gentiles to be able to glorify God for His mercy (v. 9). Paul gives four OT references that show how God’s plan has always made provision for the Gentiles. That is good news for any of us in the room who aren’t of ethnic Israel!

The passages are from different sections of the OT (the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets) which underscores the fulness of the inclusion of the Gentiles - it is not just one casual mention in some obscure writing.

These passages describe how the Gentiles are to respond to the Good news that Jesus is the Universal Savior. The responses are praise, rejoicing and, especially hope.

Ephesians 2:11–13 KJV 1900

Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

We are far removed from the Jew / Gentile divide of the first century and this passage may not impact us as much as the original hearers. But it should. No matter the time period, people are without hope apart from Christ! We who are IN CHRIST should be glorifying and praising God for His mercy because not a one of one is worthy of such a sacrifice!

Paul adds another prayer for the congregation at this point (v. 13) which is similar to his prayer for them in verse 5. The focus of the earlier prayer was for them to be in unity of purpose; the focus of this prayer is to ask the God of Hope fill the believers with the power of the Holy Spirit that they may abound in hope.

We most definitely are in need of hope in this present walk of life. We experience events on a regular basis that can strip us of our hope. Our spouse is dealing with sickness; an adult child is in rebellion to the faith; a loved one dies in a traffic accident or a mass shooting event - these events can and do touch our lives. We live in a fallen world and we all need the hope of Jesus!

Note that this isn’t something we work up in ourselves. We abound in hope as we trust in Christ, thanking God for His mercy, and relying upon the power of the Holy Spirit. It is through the work of the Trinity that we are able to have this type of confident hope.

Before we move to the Lord’s Table I want to give each of you a time to reflect on where your Hope is located. The Table of the Lord is a reminder of His Perfect Sacrifice, but it also points to our Blessed Hope (Titus 2:13-14)

Is Jesus your Hope this day? Is Christ the Anchor of your life? - the One you cling to when the storms of life come at you hard? Our text for today dealt with praising, rejoicing, and peace that are to be present in our lives through Jesus. How are you doing in these areas?

Is God the focus of our life together as the family of faith here at Smyrna? The Table displays togetherness - another name for this ordinance is Communion, a word that speaks to the community aspect of worship.