Joyful, Peaceful, Hopeful Unity

How do we unify in a chaotic world full of hate, anger, bitterness, and confusion? How does the church unify with so many opinions, different maturity levels, backgrounds, cultures, languages?

The short answer is in Christ. The world is in chaos, but this is not new. The world has been in chaos since the moment Adam and Eve ate of the fruit and it will be in chaos until Christ redeems all creation. For the believer, we should not be surprised when things seem dark, the Bible has warned us about this.

John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

For the unbeliever, trapped in darkness and sin, there is no hope. They wander blindly in land that has removed boundaries on marriage, the family, gender, and truth.

Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”

For the believer, who has been brought to life by the atoning work of Christ on the cross and filled with the Holy Spirit they seek to unify as a church body. Yet even they struggle because we are of different ages, backgrounds, generations, etc. Yet, even among all the differences our identity in Christ unites us as one. It gives us joy, peace, and hope.

As we continue in Romans we will see Paul’s instruction to the church in Rome amongst their struggles of unification. Which should give us direction today in how we as a church are to operate.

BACKGROUND:

The church in Rome was mostly like started by Roman Jews who were converted on Pentecost in Acts 2. They returned home and the church began. Remember these were Jewish people who were rooted and grew up with the law.

Claudius expelled the Jewish Christians around AD 41 to 49. Remember Aquila and Priscilla who were in Corinth.

When the Jewish Christians left, the gentile Christians would have become the majority in the Roman Church. This means the Christian community there would have moved away from Jewish origins of the law.

Needless to say after Claudius died the Jewish Christians returned and there was division between these two groups because of backgrounds. The Jewish Christians had followed the law and its requirements and struggled to adapt to the freedom in the new covenant. The Gentile Christians came out of paganism and were able to adapt to freedom of grace much easier. So when we read in about stronger believers and weaker believers keep this in mind. Remember in Romans 14 the struggles some where having with food. All food is ok to eat, yet the Jewish Christians struggled because of their background and upbring where the Gentile Christians did not.

This is why in Romans there is so much talk of unity and Paul spends so much time trying to bridge the gaps.

With that in mind lets read.

Romans 15:1–13

Unity Through Service (v. 1-3)

The mature in faith serve the young in faith. The more free in the faith serve the more hindered in the faith.

We do this for the other persons benefit, we lift them up, build them up. This is not for ourselves.

1 Corinthians 10:24 “Let no one seek his own good, but that of the other person.”

1 Corinthians 10:33 “just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved.”

This is the very essence of loving our neighbor as ourselves.

The strong bear the weak, why, because Christ bore for us.

2. Unity Through Scripture (v.4)

Scripture brings unity because the message and the standard are always the same, the plan of redemption has always been the same.

In changing times where good is made evil and evil good, with all the changing standards about right and wrong, Scripture brings us unity because it never changes. It is the same message from 40 authors over 2,000 years and 3 continents. The Bible internally references itself over 63,000 times! Think about it, 40 different authors over 2,000 years referencing each other over 63,000 times. God did this, for you and me so we could be unified in Him.

3. Unity Through Acceptance (v.5-7)

We are told to be of one mind unified around Christ. This is the standard for our acceptance of one another. Christ. This is where we start when we come out of sin and into new life. Christ. This is where grow our faith with. Christ.

Acceptance does not come through background, gender, power, culture, or anything else.

How do we know someone is good enough, Christ. How do we know they can change and grow and serve. Christ. We also know where to begin our studies of the Scripture we just mentioned that serve as an encouragement for us. Christ.

We are made one in Christ and because of that we are to accept one another in Christ as he accepted us to God.

Since Christ makes us one, our acceptance is based on HIS righteousness, we can look at other believers, new or old, weak or strong as one with us.

1 Corinthians 1:30 “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,”

1 Corinthians 6:11 “And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Do you see? Paul wanted the church in Rome regardless of background and how they grew up to be united in Jesus. It is the same for us today. The struggles our country has today, our world has, is because people need to know Christ. That is the only way. Are you seeing yet why it is so important that we are sharing Christ, discipling ourselves and our families? We have the hope of the world. Its always been that plan.

4. Unity Through God’ Plan (v.8-12)

Paul makes this statement saying “I say”. Then he gives a declaration, that he supports with Scripture like any good Christian should, saying that God has fulfilled the promise of the Abrahamic covenant by bringing in gentiles into the people of God through the Gospel.

Chiastic Pattern: you see it a lot in the Old Testament.

Ps 18:49 (v 9b) is referring to promises to David.

Deut. 32:43 (v. 10) call on Gentiles to praise God.

Christ has become a servant. (V.8)

Ps. 117:1 (v. 11) call on Gentiles to praise God.

Isa 11:10 (v. 12) is referring to promises to David.

You see this almost sandwich pattern where the Gentiles are included in the Jews and all of it is centered on vs.8

Romans 15:8 “For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers,”

For the Roman Christians this statement is telling them to come together as one. The barrier between Jewish Christian and Gentile Christian has been dismantled. God did not leave any out. God kept his promise to the Jews and his promise of including the gentiles in glorifying God. The Jewish believer cannot reject the gentile believers because they have been grafted in and the gentile Christians cannot reject the Jewish believers because they are who God grafted them into. Not Jews, but Christ, not gentiles, but Christ.

5. Unity Through Believing (v.13)

Paul is praying here that the differences and division in the Roman Church would be brought together with joy of what God has done for all believers regardless of background and that peace would permeate all believers regardless of difference so that they could be unified in the hope that is Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

This is the way. That is the great answer to all the worlds problems and struggles. That is the great answer to your own internal struggles. For believers its never us vs them. We may disagree on an issue, but we are unified in Christ, but that has to be kept central. For the unbeliever, there will always be chaos and confusion because they are outside of Christ, outside of the joy and the peace he brings. Because they do not have God in the Holy Spirit residing in them.

Application:

So what do we do with this?

The weak and the strong should be able to recognize the difference between matters required by the gospel and those that are not.

We are not to condemn the weak or the strong. Each of us must recognize that we have been “received” by Christ, as a matter of pure grace; that grace has reached out and taken people from every nation, tribe, and tongue.

We have compassion on the unbelievers, who are dead in their sins and need saving by Jesus. We take the Gospel to them and please with them to hear the life changing message.

We as believer, hold fast to the hope that God has carried out and will continue to carry out his great plan of redemption.

Isaiah 40:28–31

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, Yahweh, the Creator of the ends of the earth, Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weary, And to him who lacks vigor He increases might. Though youths grow weary and tired, And choice young men stumble badly, Yet those who hope in Yahweh Will gain new power; They will mount up with wings like eagles; They will run and not get tired; They will walk and not become weary.”