The Example of Christ
Notes
Transcript
Last week we made our way thru Romans 15: 1-7
And what we saw was that HOPE is what sustains us in pursuing to become a MORE welcoming people...
We saw that...
1. Strong faith blesses weak faith...in hope
1. Strong faith blesses weak faith...in hope
The HOPE that we have in what's to come, builds endurance
And that endurance helps us SEEK to build up others....and not please ourselves...
We've seen...
2. Hope is found in Jesus Christ, our example
2. Hope is found in Jesus Christ, our example
We read that Christ IS our Hope
We look to His sin-bearing sacrifice as our EXAMPLE...
...that we would embrace the Calvary Road of suffering...like He did for the joy set before Him....
His victory over the grave becomes our HOPE...
His life and death becomes our HOPE...
3. Hope is founded on and springs forth from Scripture
3. Hope is founded on and springs forth from Scripture
The Bible was written for our instruction...
To build this HOPE that will sustain us...
To encourage us
And we saw that the whole point of this is...
4. God's aim in our hope - His glory
4. God's aim in our hope - His glory
The purpose of our HOPE is that God be glorified...
He is the only being in the universe for whom SELF-Exaltation is LOVE....
If we are going to look to Christ, God must incline our hearts to look to Christ and open our eyes to see his glory (2 Thessalonians 3:5).
If we are going to meditate on his word, God must incline our hearts to his word (Psalm 119:36).
If we are going to endure and be encouraged, God must give us the endurance and encouragement through his word (2 Thessalonians 2:16).
If we are going to have hope that sustains our love, God must make it abound through the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).
All of these things flowing FROM God - -> FOR God...and His glory...
And so with ALL of this being true...Paul said in verse 7:
7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
Today, Paul again is going to take us to Christ - to show us how HE is our EXAMPLE...
7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
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 says, “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.
So here’s the premise that I’d like to put forth to you today...
And then we’ll march through the text to see if we see it.
I’d like us to consider this:
SLIDE:
Our embrace and love for each other, within the fellowship of Christ, is in itself an evangelistic tool God uses to draw the lost to Himself.
I believe this is what we see in our text today… as an extension of its truth!
Let’s circle back...
7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. 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.”
There’s a lot here...
But I want to break this down the best I can...to help us understand.
First thing I want us to see in the text is this...[highlight “Christ became a servant to the circumcised”]
7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. 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.”
We see in scripture, over and over again, that Christ CAME to Israel… FOR Israel...initially
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
NOW - does this mean that Jesus was TRIBAL?
We will see the answer is - NO - to that question...
To understand why Jesus emphasized this, it is helpful to look at the broader context of His ministry:
**The Commission to the Disciples:** Earlier in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus gave specific instructions to His twelve disciples that mirrored this focus.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans,
6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Why? - Why say this?
We also see it in this book of Romans...
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.
“To the Jew first - and ALSO the Greek”
Again - WHY?
Our text tells us...
8 For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness...
First thing...
SLIDE: Jesus Served His People: To Show God’s Truthfulness
Jesus Served His People
Jesus Served His People
Jesus came to SERVE Israel - The Jewish PEOPLE…
to SHOW God’s Truthfulness - - it STARTS here!
What does that mean?
The rest of the verse explains what that means...
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,
SLIDE: Jesus Served His People: Confirming God’s Promises of Old
Jesus Served His People
Jesus Served His People
Jesus came as a servant to the Jewish Nation - To show God’s truthfulness - IN ORDER to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs!!
How did JESUS confirm the promises made to the patriarchs of OLD?
It’s wild - but the Bible tells us this very thing!!
Let’s look at the Covenant that God made with Abraham...
6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.
7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”
Ok, so God here - speaking to who?
Abraham...
What does He say?
Who is this covenant made between?
Between God - and Abraham...and.......v7
And… Abraham’s - offspring
Who’s that?
Hold that thought!
16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring...
16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.
SO HERE - we see that the Covenantal promises (PLURAL) to Abraham - from GOD...
Were made - To Abraham - and to (NOT WHO WE THOUGHT) - but to Jesus Christ!
NOW - SHOULD WE have known what God meant when He said - Abraham’s OFFSPRING?
NO - we shouldn’t have known that.
How do I KNOW that we shouldn’t have KNOWN that...?
Because PAUL tells us what those words SPOKEN to Abraham - MEANT...
What those words - spoken some 2100 years earlier… MEANT -
It’s CHRIST that is the ultimate fulfillment of God’s PROMISES!
How many of them?
20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.
And so - THAT has meaning to it....
And so God makes a COVENANT with Abraham… and it’s this VERY CONNECTION - IN THAT covenant - Between God, Abraham, and Christ...
That’s gonna BRING US BACK to our text today...
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,
OK, - now this statement here in v8 makes sense!!
The coming of CHRIST to the CIRCUMCISED - the Jewish Nation...
to confirm the PROMISES given to - Abraham...
WHICH - PROVED God’s truthfulness!
See the order of things in v8?
[show on screen] - The CONFIRMATION of the promises - was based on the TRUTHFULNESS of God - WHICH was proven based on Christ coming as a servant to the CIRCUMCISED!
SO...
Christ came as a servant to the circumcised TO SHOW God’s TRUTHFULNESS...
in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs!
AND… 2....
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.”
Understand what this is saying...
Let’s look at it all together...
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.”
There are 2 - “IN ORDERS” in this passage yes?
2 OUTCOMES of Christ coming to the Jewish Nation.
What’s the 2nd outcome?
SLIDE: Jesus Served His People: So the Gentiles Would Glorify God
Jesus Served His People
Jesus Served His People
Back to the text...
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.”
Isn’t it interesting that - Christ coming as a servant to the Jewish Nation… HAPPENED - so that the Gentiles would glorify God for His mercy!
Remember that verse in Gal 3 where Paul told us - What God MEANT when His promise was designated to Abraham and Abraham’s OFFSPRING?
And we find out that OFFSPRING meant - Jesus?
Ok, - let’s go back to that same passage - and NOW see how the Gentiles fit into this...
And let’s just read it all so we can SEE the story!
NOW I’m gonna HIGHLIGHT important stuff as we go - SO WE SEE IT.
13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
15 To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. 16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.
17 This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. 18 For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.
19 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. 20 Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.
21 Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. 22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.
25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 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. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
Do you SEE NOW - how Jesus coming as a SERVANT to the Jewish Nation… lead to the Gentiles glorifying God due to His mercy?
Maybe you’re asking - OK - but STILL - what does it mean that Jesus came as a SERVANT to the Jewish Nation?
Here’s what I think part of that meant - and the reason for it!
I’ve mentioned it before - Jesus came to humanity - AS A JEW...specifically...
So that He could be BORN UNDER the law.
Why?
So He could be judged BY IT! Yes?
He needed to be judged BY the LAW...
So that He would be found - INNOCENT of it’s judgment.
NOW - what else came with Jesus becoming a SERVANT to the Jewish Nation?
According to Jewish law...
22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
Part of that LAW that Jesus fulfilled - was THIS PART!
SLIDE:
Jesus SERVED the Jewish nation by not only fulfilling the Law’s demands, but by also taking the place of those who could never fulfill it’s demands!
And so - His SACRIFICE - served the nation and its law...
He LOVED His people - the ones He set apart on this earth - so much - that He SERVED them...
He literally poured out his life for them...
AND THAT life - ended up bringing MERCY to those OUTSIDE of the nation!
How?
The text told us...
25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,
26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
BECAUSE of Jesus - ALL people - all nations - NOW have access to God’s MERCY...
ONLY FOUND - through FAITH in Jesus Christ!!
Remember the verse we read from Matthew - earlier today where Jesus said this...
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Do you know the context of that passage?
A Canaanite woman comes to Jesus asking for healing for her daughter.
23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.”
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.”
26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
In this same passage where Jesus declares - I WAS ONLY SENT to the lost sheep of the House of Israel...
Jesus ends up HEALING a gentile.
And HOW did Jesus describe her?
v28 - GREAT is YOUR - - FAITH!
We see the connection here! right?
NOW - let’s go back to our theme for today… remember?
Our embrace and love for each other, within the fellowship of Christ, is in itself an evangelistic tool God uses to draw the lost to Himself.
Jesus came to HIS OWN - and SERVED THEM...
THAT LEAD to the outsiders worshipping God for His mercy!!
Do you see how THIS HERE (screen) is a truth for US NOW?
Remember what Paul has been telling us - OVER and OVER?
WELCOME each other!!
WELCOME each other!!
How we handle each other - how we deal with offenses - grievances...
ALL of it - How we deal with those things IN HERE...
WITHIN the church at large...
IS in and of itself - a TOOL God uses to make it so that those OUTSIDE these walls...
will GLORIFY God...
JUST like those OUTSIDE the Jewish Nation CAME to glorify God...!
Does the Bible speak specifically to this?
YES -
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Do you see how - THIS IN HERE - can EVANGELIZE - ALL PEOPLE out there? (in the text)?
As Paul has been telling us...
Seek to outdo one another in showing honor.
That wasn’t just a “Christian thing to say” and KNOW in our heads.
The call has gone out!
Paul has been telling us - Consider others as MORE important than self!
What’s at stake?
Their FAITH!!
What have we seen?
SLIDE:
Jesus Served His People
To Show God’s Truthfulness
Confirming God’s Promises of Old
So the Gentiles Would Glorify God
Let’s Pray
