We are called to accept one another, because Christ has accepted us. He accepted the Jews by confirming the promises given to the fathers. He accepted the Gentiles by bestowing saving mercy upon them. And He did it all that they (and we) may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit!
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In Him Shall The Gentiles Hope
Romans 15:8-13
The apostle Paul has been discussing how the church can dwell together in peace, even though the members share very different convictions. It appears that the differing convictions were brought about by the existence of both Jews and Gentiles in the body of Christ. The Jews would naturally have strong convictions against eating meat sacrificed to idols, or eating non-kosher meat, that was not allowed in the Law. The Gentiles would likely have no problem with this issue. The Jews would also probably have convictions that they must take Saturday as a day of rest and worship, treating it above the other six days. The Gentiles, likely, would not have that same perspective. How, in the world then, could these two groups of believers in Jesus Christ, dwell together in peace, without despising or judging one another?
Paul gives the answer in Romans 15:7, “Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.” Whom did Christ accept? Believing Jews and Gentiles, the weak and the strong alike. And, since Jesus accepted all who believed on Him, His church must do the same. Jesus is the great Example for all His followers.
Now, accepting one another, does not mean that we must agree with one another on secondary issues. It does not mean that if you believe you have liberty to drink a cup of wine with your meal, and your brother believes that Christians should never drink alcohol, that you must change your mind to conform to your brother’s opinion. No, to accept one another, is to accept them, not their convictions. It means, that if Christ has accepted them into His kingdom and family and church, then you must warmly welcome them into your heart and life and let nothing stop you from fellowshipping with them.
And notice that Christ accepted us to the glory of God. This is important, because Paul is going to teach us how it is that Christ accepted the Jews to the glory of God, and then how He accepted the Gentiles to the glory of God. Romans 15:7 is the thesis statement. It is the acorn, from which Romans 15:8-13 have grown. Paul really says in summary form in verse 7, everything He is going to unpack in verses 8-13.
Notice how verse 8 begins – “For”. This clues us in to the fact that verse 8 and following is going to explain what Paul just said about Christ accepting us to the glory of God. Paul is going to show us how He accepted the Jews in verse 8, and then how he accepted the Gentiles in verses 9-12, and then conclude with a prayer in verse 13.
1. How Christ Accepted The Jews
He Served Them By Confirming The Promises Given To The Fathers. The way Jesus served the Jews (circumcision), and brought them into His kingdom, family and church, was to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs of Israel. You see, a Jew needed to know that Jesus had actually come and fulfilled the Messianic promises, if they were going to trust Him for salvation. The Jews knew that God had made many wonderful promises of a Messiah to come. Well, they would never follow Jesus unless they became convinced that He was the fulfillment of those promises.
What Promises Was Paul Thinking About? We don’t know for sure, but I think the following promises are very likely.
Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.” God is speaking to the serpent, who represents Satan. God declares that Satan would bruise the woman’s seed on the heel, but the Seed would bruise Satan’s head. Now, the word for “bruise” can also be translated as “crush.” Satan would crush the Messiah’s heel, but the Messiah would crush the head of Satan. In other words, Satan would be able to inflict a temporary painful would on Christ, but in that very act, Jesus would destroy Satan. This is the way the NIV translates it, “He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Now, remember that God is speaking to the serpent. The imagery is fitting. A serpent would strike something low to the ground, like someone’s heel. And, even if you were to cut off a serpent’s tail, it might still survive. But, if you were to crush the snake’s head, there is no way it can survive. The promise is that the Messiah would not just inflict a temporary wound on Satan, but would destroy Him and His works.
Genesis 22:18, “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” We know that this promise is referring to Jesus, because Peter quotes it in Acts 3:25-26 when he says, “It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ For you first, God raised up His Servant, and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.” God promised that Abraham’s Seed would bless all the nations of the earth. Wow, what a promise! And Peter says that the way Jesus blesses all the nations of the earth is by turning sinners from their wicked ways. Jesus literally blesses all the nations of the earth, because Revelation 5:9 says, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.”
Deuteronomy 18:18-19, “I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him.” Interestingly in that very same sermon that Peter gave in Acts 3, he quotes this passage in Deuteronomy and applies it to Jesus Christ (Acts 3:22-23). Jesus is the Prophet that God had promised to the fathers. When He came into the world, He spoke the very words of God.
Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” What a wonderful promise! God fulfilled that promise in Jesus Christ, who was born of the virgin Mary, and was called Jesus, which means “Jehovah is salvation.” Truly, He was Immanuel – God with us!
Isaiah 9:6-7, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.” Again, Jesus fulfilled this Old Testament promise to the fathers. He is the King of the kingdom of God. He is the son of David, and rules with justice and righteousness, and will rule forever.
Well, I think that is a good enough sampling to show you how Jesus served the circumcision, by confirming the promises given to the fathers.
How Did Jesus Accept The Jews To The Glory Of God? He glorified God’s truthfulness. Our text says that He became a servant to the circumcision “on behalf of the truth of God.” When Jesus confirmed promise after promise after promise, He was glorifying God’s truthfulness. God makes promises and keeps them. Jesus, as God’s Son, does the same.
2. How Christ Accepted The Gentiles
He Served Them By Bestowing Mercy Upon Them. “And for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy…” When Jesus became a servant to the Jews by confirming the promises given to the fathers, He glorified God’s truth. When Jesus became a servant to the Gentiles, by bestowing mercy on them, He glorified God’s mercy.
4 Old Testament Texts Showing The Gentiles Would Receive Mercy.
2 Samuel 22:50, “Therefore I will give praise to You among the Gentiles, and I will sing to Your Name.” This text is a song of David. David pictures a day in which Jews and Gentiles lift up their voices together as one and give praise to God and sing to His name. If the Gentiles are singing God’s praise along with their Jewish brethren, they must have received God’s mercy.
Deuteronomy 32:43, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.” Again, the same truth is communicated. Both Jews and Gentiles are rejoicing together, implying that the Gentiles have been granted the same mercy as the Jews.
Psalm 117:1, “Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise Him.” Again, Paul quotes an Old Testament text which pictures the Gentiles praising the God of Israel.
Isaiah 11:10, “There shall come the root of Jesse, and He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, in Him shall the Gentiles hope.” Isaiah tells us that the Messiah is not only the Son of David, but the Root of Jesse. In other words, He is the son of David, and the Lord of David. He is David’s son, and David’s God. And this One will arise to rule over the Gentiles, not just the Jews. This implies the Gentiles will receive mercy, just as the Jews have. And finally, we are told that in this One, the Gentiles will hope.
So, what is true about these Gentiles that are among the Jews? They are praising the Lord, rejoicing in the Lord, ruled by the Lord, and hoping in the Lord.
Hope Is The Primary Thrust Of This Passage. Why do I say that?
Romans 15:4, “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” The purpose of the Scriptures is to provide us with hope.
Romans 15:9-12. Then Paul quotes four Old Testament Scriptures, the purpose of which is to give hope.
Romans 15:12, “In Him shall the Gentiles hope.” Paul is very specific and direct here. He tells us that these Gentiles, who have been admitted into the body of Christ along with the Jews, will hope in Christ.
Romans 15:13, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
So, it is plain that hope is a very dominant idea in Paul’s mind as the Spirit inspires this passage in Romans. What is hope? It is a confident and eager expectation of something good to come. Well, what hope is in view here? What is the good that is to come? We should just back up and see what Paul has already taught us about hope in this book.
Romans 5:2, “and we exult in hope of the glory of God.” To exult, is to rejoice greatly. So, what do believes exult in? The hope of the glory of God. What does that mean? I think it means that they greatly rejoice that they will experience in an ever deeper measure the glory, and beauty, and excellence of God, throughout eternity. We will see and understand and delight in God’s matchless glory, more and more deeply. And that is our great hope. Do you exult in the hope of the glory of God?
Romans 8:19-21, “For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” What do we hope for? We hope for the day when this present, fallen creation will be set free from its slavery to corruption, in order to reflect the freedom of the glory of the children of God. In other words, we hope for the day when God will transform this present earth into the New Earth, in which righteousness dwells, and the lion will lay down with the lamb, and nothing will hurt or destroy in all God’s holy mountain, and where there will be no sickness, or suffering, or crying, or death.
Romans 8:23-24, “And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved.” What else do we hope for? The redemption of our body! We long for the day when our bodies will be glorified like Christ’s. We long for the day when we will be free from sinning. We long for the day when these bodies will not grow sick, and weak, and frail, and age, and die.
What do we hope for? We hope for a greater experience of the glory of God. We hope for the New Heavens and the New Earth. We hope for the redemption and glorification of our bodies.
And in Him shall the Gentiles hope. The Gentiles that have come to Christ and have been saved by His grace, now find themselves hoping, along with their Jewish brothers and sisters, for the glory of God, the New Earth, and redeemed bodies. And all of those magnificent blessings are in Him!
3. How We Are To Abound In Hope
Paul brings this discussion to a close with a prayer for the believers in Rome. He has been expounding on the hope of the Gentiles, and so now he prays that it would be a reality in their lives.
Hope Comes From God. He is called “the God of hope.” Paul could have referred to God as the God of peace, or the God of glory. However, he wants to emphasize to us that this hope originates with God, and He grants it to us. This Biblical hope in Christ for the glory of God, does not originate in our unaided human wills. It originates in God, and He bestows it upon us.
Hope Is Accompanied By Joy And Peace. Joy and peace are the fruit of faith (joy and peace in believing). And hope is the fruit of joy and peace. Joy and peace are the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace…” The greater the joy and peace of the Lord are experienced in our lives, the greater our hope will be. The stronger the fruit of the Holy Spirit is in us, the stronger will be our hope that we will share in God’s future blessings.
Hope Abounds by the Power of the Holy Spirit. God’s will is not just we have a meager little hope in our lives. No, He desires that we abound in hope! And to make this abounding hope a reality requires the power of the Holy Spirit. We often think of the power of the Holy Spirit being necessary to heal the sick, cast out demons, and raise the dead. However, the power of the Spirit is equally necessary to cause you and I to abound in hope, or to produce the fruits of joy and peace. Jesus came that we might have life and have it abundantly. Well, the Holy Spirit now comes that we may have hope and have it abundantly!
Conclusion
Folks, are you a Jew or a Gentile? I dare say that every person in this room is a Gentile. Well then, let’s think about how Christ has accepted us. He has become a servant to us. How did He serve us? He bestowed mercy on us. We were guilty and undone. We couldn’t plead for justice. Our only option was to sue for mercy. And He gracious granted it. Christ died and rose again on our behalf. His atoning death purchased the saving mercy we desperately needed. He made known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles. And, now that we have received that mercy, how have our lives changed?
1) Praise to God! Before, we praised ourselves, our accomplishments, food, music, drugs, fast cards, women. Now, we delight in praising God!
2) Rejoicing in God! To know that there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus is to rejoice.
3) Hoping in God! You know when someone has been born again, when they stop hoping in money, or fame, or power, or lusts and pleasures, or any other earthly treasures. When they put their hope in God, and all He has for them, that is a wonderful evidence that they have received His mercy.
Brothers and sisters, hope in Christ. Feed the longing of your soul with an eager and confident expectation of greater things to come. Look forward to Christ’s return, and all He will grant us at that time. In Him shall the Gentiles hope! Let’s pray.
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