Romans 15:5-13 - Hope in Christ

Pray

Father, thank you for your Word.

Thank you for speaking to us, for revealing yourself to us.

I pray that you would show us more of who you are as we hear your Word proclaimed.

Lord, speak through me, now.

I am unable to do this without you.

Use me now to show us all the glories of Christ and change us into his likeness.

We ask all of this in his name. Amen.

Intro

We are beginning our advent series.

Over the next four weeks we are going to consider how we have hope, peace, joy, and love in Christ…

Because he came from heaven to earth, because he emptied himself of his glory, because he added frail humanity to his infinite divinity.

We have all of these things because of his first advent, and we can look forward to his second advent where all of these things will be perfected or fulfilled.

Today, we are going to focus on our hope in Christ.

Now, hope is an interesting concept because there are really four different kinds of hope.

I put them in a chart for you to see on the screen here.

So, you can see that the four different kinds of hope are based on the likelihood and the significance of whatever you are putting your hope in.

We’ll start on the bottom row.

Low likelihood and low significance is like “I hope I win the lottery.”

It’s very unlikely that you will win, especially if you use your money wisely and don’t waste it on buying lottery tickets.

It’s also very insignificant because winning a bunch of money might alleviate some financial pressure in the moment, but ultimately it’s not going to solve any of your problems.

Low likelihood and high significance is like “I hope we can have world peace.”

It’s very unlikely that we will have world peace before Jesus comes back because we are all sinners bent on loving ourselves rather than loving each other.

But it’s very high significance because we were not created by God to fight each other, we were created to be at peace and worship him together.

Now let’s look at the top row.

High likelihood and low significance is like “I hope it rains tomorrow.”

It’s pretty likely, especially living in Eureka, and especially if all the weather signs point to rain.

But it’s pretty low significance whether it rains or not here… life will still go on, it just changes whether we wear a rain coat or not.

Now high likelihood and high significance is biblical hope, the hope we have in Christ.

It’s 100% likely that Jesus will come again.

And it’s infinitely significant because when he comes he will make all things new and bring us to live in his infinitely loving presence forever.

So, what kind of hope do you have?

What kind of hope gets you out of bed in the morning?

To the nation of Israel, the Jews of the Old Testament…

Their hope was in the coming Messiah, God’s promised deliverer, his anointed one, The Holy One of Israel.

All of their problems would be solved by the coming Messiah, and they waited with 100% certainty that the Messiah would come.

And Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ.

And when he was born into the world, the hope of Israel was realized.

Now when Jesus was born he did not solve all of the problems of the Jews.

But his advent signified that their deliverance at his hand was soon to come.

They thought he would deliver them from oppression by Rome and the other nations, but his deliverance was much more significant.

Maybe you also have a hope in Christ like this that falls a bit short of the actual significance.

Maybe you think Jesus will solve all of your problems in this life.

Maybe your hope is that Jesus will free you from poverty, or that he will fix your spouse, or that he will make your kids obey you.

While Jesus can do those things, our hope is not in Jesus fixing our present lives, but that he has granted us forgiveness from our sins and eternal life with him forever.

To us after Jesus, the Messiah has already come once and died and rose again…

Our hope is that he will come back.

And when he comes back he will right all of the wrongs, he will wipe every tear from our eyes, he will make all things new, and we will be able to live with him in his loving presence forever.

And he will 100% come back because God has told us that he will and God cannot lie.

This is what should get you out of bed in the morning.

Hope in Christ.

The passage I want to look at is Romans 15:5-13 to see our hope in Christ and how that hope compares with the hope Israel had in their coming Messiah.

So, let’s read Romans 15:5-13.

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.

Romans 15:8–9 ESV

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.”

Romans 15:10–13 ESV

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.

So, this is Paul’s argument that Christ is all of our hope.

It doesn’t matter whether we are Jews or Gentiles (non-Jews) because Christ is the hope of both Jews and Gentiles.

I’m going to trace Paul’s argument as he gives us the petition, proposition, proof, and purpose of our hope in Christ.

First, Paul shows us…

The Petition of Hope in Christ (5-7)

Paul had just explained how God through his Word encourages us and gives us endurance to do hard things, specifically the strong helping the weak rather than just pleasing themselves.

And this is why in verse 5 he expresses his desire that the God of endurance and encouragement would grant us to live in harmony with each other.

We need God’s encouragement and endurance to do this.

And we have his encouragement and endurance as we meditate on his Word.

Then in verse 6 he says that living in harmony with each other means glorifying God with one voice rather than many different voices.

Anyone ever sung in a choir, or at least heard a choir sing?

Some of my fondest memories are of singing in a choir, especially around Christmas time.

There are times when everyone sings in unison and it sounds like one voice, but there are other times when there are different notes sung by different people.

But a good choir, even while singing different notes, will still sound like one voice because they are all working together for the same goal and following the same director.

Our hope in Christ is the direction we should all be looking because he’s our director.

Well, the first step to living in harmony with each other is welcoming each other like Jesus has welcomed all of us as Paul says in verse 7.

This is the only command Paul gives us in this entire passage.

Welcome, or receive each other like Christ has welcomed you, to the glory of God.

So, how has Christ welcomed you?

Christ has welcomed you just as you are.

You didn’t need to clean yourself up before coming to Christ.

He met you in the midst of your sin, and he welcomed you into hope in him.

And when you came to him, he was the one who cleaned you up… after he welcomed you into his hope.

The temptation is to see others in their sin and refuse to welcome them into hope in Christ.

Think about it…

If you see a woman on the street strung out on drugs, what’s your first thought?

Steer clear of her because she’s unclean.

If you hear your neighbor shouting at his wife and calling her all kinds of awful names, what’s your first thought?

Maybe call the cops and stay out of it in case the situation becomes unsafe.

If you are the victim of gossip and slander, what’s your first thought?

Turn the narrative back on them, kick them out of the church, punish them for their sin!

None of these responses are welcoming.

Granted some of these situations need to be dealt with very carefully.

But the gospel ought to compel us to extend hope in Christ to everyone regardless of their sin or their situation.

Because Christ welcomed us when we were unclean, unsafe, and steeped in sin worthy of the ultimate punishment.

That’s why Paul commands us, petitions us, to welcome each other like Christ has welcomed us.

Now, Jews and Gentiles have been welcomed into hope in Christ in slightly different ways.

But all kinds of people have been welcomed by him into his hope.

This is Paul’s petition to us.

His petition of hope in Christ.

He asks, he even commands, all of us to welcome or receive everyone into hope in Christ because of our common hope in Christ.

Next Paul gives the basis for his argument.

He petitioned us to welcome each other as Christ has welcomed us.

And now the basis for that petition is how exactly Christ has welcomed each of us.

Here Paul shows us…

The Proposition of Hope in Christ (8-9a)

The first group of people Paul addresses is the Jews in verse 8.

Christ has welcomed the Jews as a fulfillment of God’s promises to the patriarchs, to prove God’s truthfulness, his faithfulness to do what he said he would do.

Before Jesus was born, the Jews were looking forward to the coming of the Messiah because God had promised them that he would come.

The first time this was promised was to Satan as God was explaining the consequences of tempting Adam and Eve to sin in Genesis 3:15 “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

God’s special deliverer would save humanity from Satan.

The next time God would promise his special deliverer it would be to Abraham in Genesis 22:17 “I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies,”

God’s special deliverer would overcome his enemies.

And after Abraham died, this same promise was given to his son, Isaac in Genesis 26:3 “Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.”

This promise of a special deliverer was given to the patriarchs, Abraham and Isaac.

And Isaac’s son, Jacob would later be renamed Israel.

And Israel’s 12 sons would become 12 tribes of an entire nation called Israel.

And that entire nation would remember the promise God gave to Abraham…

That God would bless them and deliver them from their enemies through one of Abraham’s offspring.

And even though the nation of Israel has largely rejected God and turned to idols throughout the centuries between his promise and the fulfillment of that promise in Jesus…

He still offers them hope if they will only turn back to him.

And even though the nation of Israel largely rejected their deliverer when he came the first time…

He still offers them hope if they will recognize him as the true Messiah.

And even though they continue in their rejection, still looking for their deliverer even to this day…

He still offers them hope if they will repent and believe in Jesus as the Messiah.

And all of this is to prove God’s truthfulness to Israel, to do what he said he would do.

The second group of people Paul addresses is the Gentiles in the first part of verse 9.

And I’ll save a lot of the explanation of what Paul says here for the next section because Paul explains it himself.

Basically, the hope that Jesus brings is not only as God’s promised deliverer for the Jews, but also as the savior of non-Jewish Gentiles as well.

The promise that God gave to Abraham and Isaac also included a blessing for all the nations of the earth in Genesis 26:4 “I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,”

God’s promised deliverer would also bless all the other nations of the world!

His deliverance would be extended to the Gentiles as well!

This is Paul’s proposition of hope in Christ.

Christ has welcomed both Jews and Gentiles, so we should do likewise.

He welcomed the Jews into his hope by fulfilling the promises God made to the patriarchs.

And he welcomed the Gentiles into his hope by extending his mercy to us also.

Next Paul gives the proof from Scripture that substantiates his argument.

He petitioned us to welcome each other as Christ has welcomed us.

The he gave us his proposition which is the basis for his petition, that Christ has welcomed both Jews and Gentiles into his hope.

And now he quotes God’s Word to substantiate his proposition.

Here, Paul shows us…

The Proof of Hope in Christ (9b-12)

The first scripture that Paul quotes to prove his argument is 2 Samuel 22:50.

King David had been delivered from his enemies in battle multiple times by the Lord.

And in 2 Samuel 22 he sings to the Lord about all of it, and this song was also added into the book of Psalms as Psalm 18.

One of the amazing things about this song is in verses 21-25.

2 Samuel 22:21–25 “The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his rules were before me, and from his statutes I did not turn aside. I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from guilt. And the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight.”

But let me tell you, David did not keep himself from sin against the Lord, he was not perfectly righteous, he was not clean before the Lord.

He sinned terribly in 2 Samuel 11 where he committed adultery with Bathsheba, and then he tried to cover it up and ended up having her husband, Uriah, murdered so that he wouldn’t get caught and still get what he wanted.

And in 2 Samuel 12 the prophet Nathan confronted him, and he confessed his sin to God, and God forgave him.

So the way David kept himself from guilt, the way he kept himself righteous, the way he kept himself clean before the Lord…

Was through repentance and the forgiveness of God!

And Paul brings up this song as proof that hope in Christ is extended to the Gentiles as well as the Jews because hope in Christ is only through repentance and the forgiveness of God.

And David says in verse 50 of his song that he will praise God among the nations for his deliverance through repentance.

The nations, the Gentiles have just as much reason to hope in God’s deliverance as David does because all who repent and turn back to God will find forgiveness.

The next scripture that Paul quotes to prove his argument is from Deuteronomy 32:43.

Moses had led God’s people out of bondage in Egypt, and they were about to cross over into the promised land after wandering in the wilderness for an entire generation.

In this song Moses reminded the fledgling nation of Israel that they belonged to God despite their tendency to abandon God for idols.

And in verse 43 he says, “Rejoice with him, O heavens”

Now this is very different from what Paul quotes in Romans 15:10 “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”

The reason for the difference is that the text we have in Deuteronomy is what’s found in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Septuagint, but Paul is quoting from the Masoretic Text which reads, “Rejoice with his people, O nations.”

This is again a song about the forgiveness of God and an invitation for the nations, the Gentiles to rejoice about God’s forgiveness, assuming that his forgiveness is extended to the nations as well if they repent and turn to God.

Again, the nations, the Gentiles have just as much reason to hope in God’s forgiveness as Moses does if they will also repent and turn away from idols to serve the living God.

Next, Paul quotes from one of the Psalms, actually the shortest of all of the Psalms, Psalm 117.

I’ll read the whole thing for you… ready?

“Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!”

That’s it.

That’s the whole Psalm.

And this Psalm is one of many that are not attributed to a particular author.

This Psalm calls all nations, all peoples, to praise the Lord.

And look at why we are to praise the Lord.

For great is his steadfast love toward us, and his faithfulness endures forever.

Great is his steadfast love toward who?

Toward us, toward Israel AND all of the nations.

God’s steadfast love and faithfulness are not only reserved for Israel, for the Jews.

His steadfast love is great toward all of us.

The nations, the Gentiles, have just as much reason to hope in God’s steadfast love and faithfulness as the nation of Israel does because God loves the whole world.

That’s why he sent his Son, the Messiah, in the first place.

John 3:16 ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Now the last scripture that Paul quotes as proof of hope in Christ to the Gentiles is Isaiah 11:10 “In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.”

In this section Isaiah refers to the coming Messiah as the root of Jesse.

David’s father was named Jesse, so this is a reference to the Messiah being a descendant of the kingly line of David.

But here in Isaiah 11:10 this root of Jesse does not rule only over Israel like David did.

The Messiah, the root of Jesse will rule over all the nations.

That’s what it means that he stands as a signal for the peoples.

Earlier in Isaiah 11 this root of Jesse is described as perfectly righteous and just, and under his rule there will be gloriously perfect peace and rest depicted by predatory animals peacefully laying down with the prey the once pursued and killed on instinct.

This is an incredible hope that the nations, the Gentiles will inquire about.

This is the hope that the Gentiles have as well if they join in submitting to the rule of the Messiah.

This is the proof of hope in Christ to substantiate Paul’s proposition.

Through four different human authors, God has clearly revealed his intention to include the Gentiles in his deliverance, forgiveness, love, and righteous rule; in short, his mercy.

King David understood this, Moses understood this, the Psalmist understood this, and Isaiah understood this.

Without a doubt, God has always intended for hope in Christ to be extended to us Gentiles as well.

Next Paul gives a concluding purpose statement for his argument.

He petitioned us to welcome each other as Christ has welcomed us into his hope.

Then he gave us his proposition which is the basis for his petition, that Christ has welcomed both Jews and Gentiles into his hope.

Then he quoted God’s Word to substantiate his proposition, that hope in Christ was always intended to be extended to the Gentiles.

And finally he gives us his purpose statement for his whole argument by way of a benediction.

Here Paul shows us…

The Purpose of Hope in Christ (13)

I’ll read this benediction for us again.

Romans 15:13 “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.”

The goal, the purpose of Paul’s whole argument is to get us, his readers, to hope in Christ.

But that hope is dependent on God granting it to us because of who he is.

He is the God of hope.

His very identity is the source of our hope.

That means that when you look for hope, don’t look to your circumstances, or your own abilities or opportunities.

Look to God’s identity.

Read about who he is in his Word.

Paul just got done quoting four different passages where God’s identity gave hope to Israel and all of the nations.

He’s forgiving and just, he’s righteous and loving, he’s faithful and merciful.

And from God’s identity as the source of our hope, he grants us joy and peace as we believe in him, as we believe in his Son, Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, his promised deliverer.

As we believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins, God gives us a supernatural joy and peace.

Joy because we have been given a gift that’s greater than we could ever imagine.

We’ve been forgiven and adopted into God’s family to live with him forever.

And peace because we aren’t at odds with God anymore.

We’ve returned to what we were created to be and do… life as it was meant to be.

And all of this comes through the Holy Spirit.

It’s only in his power that we can even have spiritual life, spiritual sight to see the glory of Christ and believe.

It’s only in his power that our faith results in joy and peace.

And it’s only in his power that all of this ultimately results in hope.

Abundant hope in Christ.

Conclusion

Paul has clearly laid out his argument for us.

His petition of hope in Christ is that we all welcome each other into hope in Christ.

His proposition of hope in Christ is that Christ himself has welcomed all of us, both Jew and Gentile.

His proof of hope in Christ is that the Scriptures show us that it was always God’s intention to extend this hope to both Jews and Gentiles.

And His purpose of hope in Christ is that our salvation through faith in Jesus Christ reaches the goal of hope through the identity of the God of hope and the power of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.

So, as we enter into the Christmas season, remember the hope we have in Christ and extend that hope to everyone regardless of your outlook on them.

Remember how Christ has welcomed you into his hope, and do the same for everyone.

Don’t withhold hope in Christ from anyone for any reason.

Because God has always intended for hope in Christ to be extended to all people.

And remember the joy and peace God has given you in believing, and abound in hope.

Jesus is coming back, and when he does he will make all things right and new and glorious.

His kingdom and the hope we have in him is what ought to get you out of bed in the morning.

Now, if you haven’t put your faith in Jesus yet, then what are you waiting for?

He’s God’s promised deliverer.

He is God.

He came down to earth and became human and died for your sins so that you could be forgiven, and he rose from the dead three days later so that you could live with him forever.

This is the hope you can have in him if you will believe in him and turn from your sin.

So, please, turn and believe in Jesus so that you can be forgiven instead of taking the eternal punishment for your own sin.

Your situation in your sin as an enemy of God is… hopeless in your own effort.

You can’t be good enough to get out of your punishment.

Only through faith in Jesus can your hopeless situation be turned around to abound in hope.

Pray

Father, thank you for giving us such abundant hope in your Son, Jesus.

I pray that you would remind us of our hope in him every day, every moment.

Please help us to extend hope in Jesus to everyone.

Lord, demolish our prejudice, our pride, and our fear of man.

Whatever may hinder us from extending your hope to others.

And Father, if there are any here who have not put their faith in your Son, Jesus…

I pray that you would save them.

I pray that you would give them spiritual life and spiritual sight to see and love your Son for who he is and what he’s done.

I pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.