Christ the Hope of Jews and Gentiles

Intro

How did you get here?

I don’t mean what road you took or what you drove in. But how did you get here?

To where your sitting in church, voluntarily even.

To where you’re singing songs about the Lord Jesus, and what he’s done for you?

How did you get here?

Many of us have stories about how the Gospel of Jesus Christ got to us.

And we will no doubt hear a few of those stories tonight at our Baptism Service at the Joiners.

But if you really stop and think about how the Gospel got to you, I’ll tell you it can get a little scary.

I mean it could have so easily not gotten to you.

We are 2000 years removed from the events that serve as the foundation of the Gospel,

and from where we are sitting we are 9,189 km from where the Gospel was first preached.

That’s a lot of time and a lot of space.

When you think about it, you can kind of feel small like when you look at the starts or think about the universe.

We tend not to think about just how miraculous it is that the Gospel has gotten to us, do we?

Which leads me to our passage this morning.

Romans 15:1-22

Romans 15:1–22 ESV

We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.” And again it is said, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.” And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.” May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.” This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you.

Exposition

Pleasing our Neighbour (vv. 1-3)

Our passage this morning begins with instructions in how we are to treat our brothers and sisters in Christ.

It says in vv. 1-3 of our passage,

Romans 15:1–3 ESV

We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”

Now much of this first section of our passage echo’s what Pastor Harry preached last week when he took us through c. 14.

That as Christians, who have been saved by grace, our relationships with each other ought to be marked by grace.

In v. 1 of our passage, Paul tells those who are strong to bear with the failings of the week.

Paul is using the word “Strong” to refer to those who are confident in their liberty in Christ.

And he is using the term “weak” to refer to those who’s consciences will not allow them to enjoy some of the same liberties as those who are strong.

Just as a reminder, and Pastor Harry explained this last week, there were both Jews and Gentiles in the church that Paul is writing to here. Gentiles is simply the term for anyone who is not Jewish.

And many Jews, who had believed in Jesus for their salvation, struggled with some of the liberties that they now had as those who had been redeemed by Christ.

They were no longer required to keep the dietary or clothing laws that were given to separate Israel from the nations surrounding them.

These laws, including laws about Jewish feast days, as well as other ceremonial laws had been fulfilled in Christ.

In Acts 10 God had even shown the Apostle Peter in a vision that all animals had been declared clean.

It says that Peter,

Acts 10:11–15 (ESV)

saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.”

This happened three times.

You can hear it in Peter’s response; as a good, obedient Jew he did not eat anything considered unclean by the law.

But the purpose of that law had been fulfilled in Christ.

And so God’s response to Peter is, “What God has made clean, do not call common, or unclean.”

But this could often be a very difficult thing to do for many believing Jews.

So Paul n our passage tells both Gentile believers who never had these dietary laws,

and Jews who had matured in their faith to the point that they could enjoy these new liberties in Christ,

to bear with their brothers and sisters who’s consciences did not allow them the same liberty.

Not to please themselves but to please their neighbour, just as Christ did.

This is not to say that nobody could enjoy their liberties in Christ,

but it means that these liberties shouldn’t be flaunted or waved in the face of the weaker brother.

A few modern examples of this principle in action might be:

not serving pork to a new believer who has recently come out of Judaism or Islam.

They might be excited to try bacon, but it may also be difficult for them.

Another example would be serving leg of lamb when you have a vegan over for dinner.

Or drinking alcohol in the presence of someone who may struggle with it either as a matter of conscience, or if they have struggled with alcoholism.

As 1 Corinthians 8:9 says, “Take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.”

Living in Harmony (vv. 4-7)

This instruction that Paul gives was to encourage unity among individual believers.

This is as true now as it was then.

But in Paul’s own day, this instruction also served a particular purpose: to encourage and promote unity between Jewish and Gentile believers in the 1st century church.

We will see this purpose demonstrated throughout the remainder of our passage.

Our passage says in Romans 15:4,

Romans 15:4 ESV

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

God gives us his word to instruct us, and encourage us in how we ought to live as Christians.

We have been speaking about living out the Christian faith in our lives since we looked at Romans 12 a few weeks ago.

And we have also seen that the scriptures, old testament and new, instruct and encourage us for livng out this faith.

But I love what Paul says here starting in v. 5.

Romans 15:5–7 ESV

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Now this is absolutely applicable on an individual level.

Our goal as those who belong to one Lord, who have received one faith, and one baptism as Ephesians 4 says,

our goal is unity within the body of believers. Through Christ we have unity that we need to maintain.

It’s amazing how many times I’ve met brothers and sisters in Christ from far off places and very different cultures; and how, in spite of our differences, we have this incredible bond. A bond even closer than I have experienced with my unbelieving friends and family members.

But sometimes when your living life in close proximity to other believers, it takes work to maintain this unity.

Whatever our backgrounds, whatever our traditions, whatever our disagreements on secondary or tertiary issues; we ought to be, “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:3)

That is a faithful interpretation of this passage for our own time.

But the context in which this passage was written points more to a more specific interpretation, an urgent matter in the Roman church in Paul’s day.

In nearly every church in Pauls day.

And that is the unity of Jewish and Gentile believers in Jesus Christ.

That Jewish believers and Gentile believers, by God’s grace bestowed on them and lived out among them,

would, “live in such harmony with the other, that together they may with one voice glorify God.”

This is why he exhorts them to welcome one another as Christ had welcomed them.

Christ Served both Jews and Gentiles (vv. 8-9a)

Paul goes on in vv. 8-9 to remind them just how Christ had welcomed them.

Romans 15:8–9 (ESV)

For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised [that is the Jews] to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.

Jesus’ ministry was for the salvation of the Jews and the Gentiles.

He fulfilled the Old Testament scriptures as the Jewish messiah, but by the mercies of God he did not limit his salvation to that particular people,

through his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, Jesus is the saviour of all humanity.

Jesus and the Gentiles

Jesus actually prophesied that the Gentiles would be brought into fellowship with the people of God

When the Roman centurion came to Jesus to ask him to heal his servant in Matthew 8, and that Gentile Roman demonstrated great faith, Jesus said in Matthew 8:11 “I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,”

It was for this purpose that Jesus said to his disciples in Acts 1,

Acts 1:8 ESV

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Peter and the Gentiles

This is why, after Christ’s ascension. When the Holy Spirit had come, and when the Gospel was being spread through Jerusalem, then Judea, then Samaria.

All of a sudden, the Gentiles began to come to faith in Christ.

This was actually the greater meaning of Peter’s vision of the sheet with the animals, that we saw earlier.

After having that vision, Peter was brought to the house of a Gentile Centurion named Cornelius in Acts 10.

And Peter says to him in v. 28, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.”

Peter then shared the Gospel with Cornelius and those who were with him.

The Holy Spirit then fell on all who heard Peter at that moment, and they believed and were baptized.

All the Jewish believers who heard about this were amazed that the Gentiles had been saved and Acts 11:18 tells us, “When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.””

The fact that salvation had been given to the gentiles was unbelievable!

A Mystery we Take for Granted

See, this is something that so many of us take for granted. That Salvation has come to the Gentiles.

It’s kind of like the outcome of World War II.

From our vantage point almost 80 years later, and being on the side that won the war,

we almost treat it as if it was inevitable that the allies would win.

But for the first few years of the war there was no guarantee that victory was certain.

It’s the same way for the Gentiles coming to faith in Christ.

With so many of us having come to Christ, and for so long, we can almost treat it like it was inevitable that people from all over the world would come to Christ.

No, this was a miracle. A direct act of God.

That YHWH, the God of Israel, would be worshipped beyond Israel’s borders.

That Jesus, Israel’s messiah, would be declared Lord by a people not his own.

We ought not take this for granted.

This could only happen by a powerful movement of the Holy Spirit; over the course of history, and over the breadth of Geography.

The fact that you and I, so far away from Judea, and so far removed from the first century, have received the same faith and salvation that was given to the disciples, this is a fantastic miracle.

And were all witness to it.

Paul calls it a mystery in Ephesians 1 and 3.

A mystery is something that is hidden.

But this hidden thing began to be revealed when salvation started to spread to the Gentiles.

Paul writes in Ephesians 3:6.

Ephesians 3:6 ESV

This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Lets not take this mystery, this miracle, for granted!

There is no way we could ever thank God enough for this.

His mercy is beyond measure!

Praise God for his mercy to the Gentiles!

Grafting in the Gentiles was the Plan From the Beginning (vv. 9-12)

Bringing in the Gentiles Always the Plan (Romans 15:9-12)

And this was God’s plan from the Beginning!

Paul shows us this in our passage by quoting from four old testament passages in vv. 9-12.

Romans 15:9–12 (ESV)

As it is written,

“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,

and sing to your name.” [We see this passage twice: in 2 Samuel 22:50, and Psalm 18:49]

And again it is said,

“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” [from Deuteronomy 32]

And again,

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,

and let all the peoples extol him.” [from Psalm 117]

And again Isaiah says,

“The root of Jesse will come,

even he who arises to rule the Gentiles;

in him will the Gentiles hope.” [From Isaiah 11]

Even from the call of Abraham, it was always the plan.

God told Abraham in Genesis 12:1–3

Genesis 12:1–3 (ESV)

“Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

And he took him outside and told him to number the stars if he could, and said “so shall your offspring be.”

Through Christ, the descendant of Abraham, all of the families of the earth shall be blessed.

In Christ, the descendant of Abraham, we are all offspring by faith.

As Galatians 3:26-29 says,

Galatians 3:26–29 ESV

for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

This is why Paul urges the Jewish and Gentile believers to live in a way that promotes unity. Because their shared faith is a testament to the promises of God.

Their unity as they lived their lives in fellowship with one another, was a testament that the Faith of Abraham had spread, and would spread, to the ends of the earth.

As we saw weeks ago in Romans 11, God had grafted the Gentiles into the olive tree.

And this olive tree would grow, as more and more tribes, peoples and nations heard the Gospel and came to faith in Jesus Christ.

The Picture in Revelation (Revelation 7)

This is the picture that Revelation 7 gives us.

In that passage the Apostle John tells us in v. 4,

Revelation 7:4 ESV

And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

This is symbolic of the fullness of the Jews being sealed for salvation.

He hears that number, 144,000.

Thats 12,000 from every one of the 12 tribes of Israel.

He hears that number.

But then he looks and he sees something even more incredible.

It says in Revelation 7:9-10,

Revelation 7:9–10 ESV

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

This is what the Gospel going to the nations would lead to.

The Purpose of Paul’s Ministry (vv. 14-22)

This ministry to the gentiles was the great mission that Paul had been sent on.

This is why when you look at a map of Paul’s missionary journeys, you see all his expeditions into gentile lands.

Paul talks about his ministry to the gentiles and why he has written to the church in Rome in vv. 14-16 of our passage. He says:

Romans 15:14–16 ESV

I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

Though Paul did not start the church in Rome, and had not yet even visited it, he feels a responsibility to it.

His charge as an Apostle to the Gentiles, did not stop him from witnessing to his fellow Jews.

His first stop when he entered a new city was to the local synagogue, to preach the Gospel to Jews first as he was burdened for their salvation.

But we see here that Paul is also burdened with the salvation of the gentiles.

As he says in v.16, he is “a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”

This is why Paul preached the Gospel not just to the Jews in the synagogue but also to the gentiles in the public square.

Through his proclamation of the Gospel, his hope was that the Gentiles would be saved.

And through his instruction through his letters like the Book of Romans, his hope was that the Gentiles would be brought to obedience to Christ.

We’ve seen those two desires of Paul demonstrated throughout our study of the book of Romans.

And we see these two desires demonstrated in the closing verses of our passage in vv. 17-22. Paul writes,

Romans 15:17–22 ESV

In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.” This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you.

Though Paul had desired to visit the Romans, as he had already written in c. 1,

it had been his mission to preach where the Gospel had not yet been taken.

This was what was delaying his visiting Rome.

In Rome there was already a thriving church, and Paul was needed elsewhere to plant churches.

God had empowered Paul throughout his missionary journeys, he witnessed great things and experienced great hardship.

He had a front row seat to the power of God, because he was obedient to his leading.

This obedience eventually led him to Rome at least once.

Rome would ultimately be where his earthly life would end, a martyr of the persecutions of the Emperor Nero.

When we first meet Paul in the scriptures he was an enemy of Christ and his people.

But through the power of God, he became probably the greatest preacher of the Gospel in history.

A man burdened for the salvation, not just of his people, but of the entire world.

Application & Conclusion

There are three very simple things I want you to take away from this message this morning.

The first is that since we have received this salvation through faith in the Gospel, let’s live it out.

Thats what this whole section from Romans 12 until our passage this morning has been about. Living out the Christian faith through the Body.

Part of how we do that is having relationships marked by grace.

Bearing with each other, and serving one another.

Living in harmony with one another for the sake of Christ.

Make every effort to promote unity in our church and with believers everywhere, live out the faith.

2. The second is this: take time to give thanks to God for the message of the Gospel getting to you.

Ill tell you Paul’s life, and this passage in particular, has been a great reminder that it was the power of God that brought the Gospel to me.

The fact that God in his mercy extended salvation beyond the Jews, the fact that God would offer his salvation to anyone for that matter, is something that should humble us and fill us with deep gratitude.

The fact that God chose faithful servants to carry the Gospel over land and sea geographically, and to pass it down generation after generation historically, should compel us to praise God for his providence and his plan.

Lets get in the practice of regularly give thanks to God that the Gospel has reached us!

3. And finally, lets be inspired by Paul and his heart for the lost.

Lets be bold in proclaiming the Gospel to all nations, especially our own.

Lets pray that we might be obedient to the leading of God so that we can see him doing great works in our midst.

Lets pray that we would have opportunities to share the Gospel, and that we would be bold enough to take them, so that we can continue the mission of reaching the nations with the Gospel of Jesus Christ the saviour of the World.

Let’s live out the faith, praise God for his Gospel, and proclaim it to the world.