Christ Is Our Hope

I invite you to take your copy of God’s word and turn with me to Romans 15.

We will consider verses 8-13 today.

It has been quite a while since we have considered the verse in Romans that is the theme verse for the entire book, so I think doing that will help us wrap our minds around our passage today.

Romans 1:16 ESV

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

By way of reminder, the Jewish people were the chosen nation of the Old Testament to carry the promise of the Savior who would come.

And, just as was promised, Jesus was born of a Jewish mother so was himself Jewish.

Yet, while God sovereignly chose the Jewish people as a conduit of blessing and preserved the line that brought the Savior into the world, it was never God’s plan to only love and save Jews.

God’s plan from the very beginning was to send His son to be the Savior of the world and a blessing to all the nations of the world.

And think about this, the New Testament church in Rome was one of the first churches in history that was going to learn how to be a one family of faith made up of people from very different religious, cultural, ethnic, and spiritual backgrounds.

It is one thing to say that the gospel of Jesus Christ is for all people, it is another thing altogether to flesh out that reality in the life of a local church.

I’ve mentioned to you quite a few times that early on in the life of this church, the Roman emperor kicked out all of the Jews from the land, then later let them come back.

And when they came back, for the first time in their history, they came back to a church that was now led by people that had no traditional religious background, and were a different culture and ethnicity.

Do you think they didn’t have some difficult dynamics that they had to work through as a local church?

Is it any wonder that Paul wrote to this church the longest and most thorough explanation of the gospel of Jesus Christ that we find anywhere in Scripture?

Is it any wonder that Paul makes sure to include just how sinful and condemned we all are in our sin,

just how freely in love God offers us His righteousness through faith in Christ,

just how real the struggle is in this life between our flesh and our spirit?

And just how glorious of an eternal future God has secured for those who love Him?

Is it then any wonder why Paul spends three chapters showing How his promises for the Jews have not failed, yet his glorious plan has grafted in Gentiles to His plan thus making a way of salvation for all peoples, nations, and languages - for anyone who would confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in their heart that God raised him from the dead?

And in light of the great gospel of Jesus Christ and the mercies of God, we are called to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God.

And the greatest way we offer ourselves as living sacrifices is by serving God and loving others.

Now, in the midst of a people from different religious, cultural, ethnic, and spiritual backgrounds, they were going to have to apply the gospel of Jesus Christ to their relationships in order to continuously welcome one another and follow Jesus together over the long haul of the Christian life.

And for the past few weeks, we have been exploring how Paul teaches that this diverse group of people from differing backgrounds were going to have differing opinions about many matters of conscience and opinion.

And, in our flesh, we would be tempted to judge and despise one another for these things.

But, by the power of the Spirit of God working through the truth of the gospel of God that gives us endurance and encouragement so that we can bear with one another’s weaknesses as we live in harmony and welcome one another.

So, verse 7, therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Romans 15:8–13 ESV

8 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, 9 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.” 10 And again it is said, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” 11 And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.” 12 And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.” 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

1. Welcome One Another To The Glory Of God

Once we have unpacked the circumstances of this passage like I did in the introduction, it is not difficult to see how directly applicable this text is to us as a local church family.

No doubt we all have struggles, weaknesses, and blindspots in our faith as we follow Jesus.

And when we get to know one another well enough to start seeing those things, we are tempted to judge, despise, and pull away from one another.

Yet, it is the truth that Jesus was judged, despised, and even separated from the joy of His Father by taking on our sin and shame that we are empowered to love one another and bear with one another’s weaknesses as Jesus did for us.

So, when we come together, it is not for judgment disharmony, but it is that we might encourage and build one another up in the faith!

Hebrews tells us instead what our goal is when we come together.

Hebrews 10:24–25 ESV

24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

So, may we stay focused on why we gather,

it is not to gossip or compare ourselves or to network for our business or social circle,

it is not to make sure we all look a certain way or act a certain way,

it is not to convince God or others that you are a good person by attending a church service,

it is not to make sure to smile and convince everyone you have it all together,

we gather to glorify God, and welcome one another, in order to stir one another up to love and good works, and encourage one another to press on in following Jesus until He returns.

We can do that no matter how you dress, where you are from, what cultural, ethnic, or religious background you have.

That is why you can go to Scotland, or Cuba, or Central Asia, or India, and when you get there the people look different, talk different, do things different, and even smell different, and when you gather as the church, their service might look different, but you know what is the same?

Jesus is Lord, the gospel is believed on for salvation, and the people have gathered to glorify God by welcoming one another in order to encourage one another to press on in their faith.

Now, our membership covenant helps summarize for us who God has made us through the gospel and what He has called us to do by his grace.

We are a baptized regenerate community that makes disciples.

We are to worship together regularly around the Scriptures and the Lord’s Supper.

We are to disciple and care for one another.

We are to submit to the leadership of the church as outlined in Scripture.

We are to steward our time, talents, and treasure for the Kingdom of God.

We are to display God’s glory through unity and discipline.

We are to pursue Christian growth in becoming more like Christ by His grace.

And we are to pursue having gospel-centered families to the glory of God.

Those realities work no matter your background or culture, no matter your weaknesses or socio economic standing.

These are the realities of the gospel.

This is how we welcome one another.

Did you know the membership covenant is just as helpful and important for what it does not say as for what it says?

What I mean is: if the covenant helps summarize the New Testament for who we are and what we pursue together, it also helps us understand what things we are not and what we don’t have to always agree upon or pursue together.

You say, Pastor Jason, we haven’t even gotten to verse 8 yet.

Point taken, but I promise, this passage just flows so easily once you grasp the context to welcome one another for the glory of God.

That’s why verse 8 begins with the word “for.”

2. Jesus Christ Is The Only Hope For Us All

Let me show you.

Verse 8: 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,

No doubt, Jesus humbled himself and came to earth in the form of a servant for the circumcised, which is another way to say - the Jews.

And Jesus coming as a Jew in order to serve the lost sheep of the house of Israel - the Jews - is how he had to come in order to be true to the promises given to the patriarchs of the Jews, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

It was always God’s plan for Jesus to come and fulfill God’s Old Testament promises to the Jews.

But, it was never God’s plan that in sending Jesus to serve the Jews would his mission only serve the Jews alone.

Instead, it was always God’s plan to prove his truthfulness to the Jews while at the same time displaying His great mercy to all the peoples of the earth.

Look at verse 9: and in order that Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.

How did God’s relationship with the Jewish people demonstrate to all the nations of the world His great mercy?

Throughout their Old Testament history, the Jews were so oftentimes a stubborn people, a faithless people, and an insignificant people in the world’s eyes.

Even the greatest of their leaders committed horrible sins, yet God continued to preserve their line and brought through them the Lord Jesus.

And it was the Jews who most strongly turned on Jesus and demanded he be crucified on a Roman cross.

Before Paul was converted, he was the worst of the Jews crying out for persecution against the early followers of Jesus.

Yet, Paul later wrote:

1 Timothy 1:16 ESV

16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.

It is in the way that God bore with the weaknesses of the Jews over so many centuries, and sent His son Jesus as a Jew and a servant to the Jews, becoming a servant even to the point of death on a cross, in order to redeem those who crucified him

It is in the great mercy God displayed to the Jews that displays his great mercy to the world and to all people!

This was always God’s plan.

And in our passage, Paul is now going to quote four different Old Testament texts that show that God’s plan was always to use his relationship with the Jewish people to bring all peoples to himself.

His plan was to always bring all peoples from all different backgrounds into one church to magnify His glory, to magnify the truth and power of His gospel, and to magnify His plan by bringing a group of people to reconciliation and unity who would never get there any other way.

Back to verse 9: As it is written, “Therefore, I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.”

This verse comes from the book of 2 Samuel as David praises God as he subdues Gentile nations under his rule.

Now, at first glance, how does David defeating Gentile nations help the Gentiles praise God for His mercy?

We have to always remember that the Old Testament Scriptures always point us forward to Christ, who would subdue nations not by His sword, but by taking the sword of punishment for our sin on himself, that the Gentiles too would repent of sin and praise God among the Jews and the Jews praise God among the Gentiles all under the authority and reign of our Savior and Lord Jesus.

It was always God’s plan for Jew and Gentile to worship the Lord Jesus together.

Verse 10: And again it is said, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”

Verse 11: And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the people extol him.”

Verse 12: And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.”

The Jews understood the Old Testament to be broken up into the law, the writings or the wisdom writings, and the prophets.

So, it makes sense that Paul makes sure to quote verses from all three parts of the Old Testament in order to affirm what Revelation 7 affirms when it says:

Revelation 7:9–10 ESV

9 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, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

3. Pray We Would All Abound In Hope