Good morning to everyone. Join me in your copy of God's Word in the book of Romans.
We're getting closer and closer to finishing this wonderful book we've been working through
! Today we'll be in Romans chapter 15, starting in verse 7.
But as I usually like to do a really quick recap.
But throughout most of Paul's letter, he's been establishing the strong biblical and doctrinal
foundations of our salvation and our redemption in Christ.
And very important, like if you ever want like a legal argument for our salvation, it is the book of Romans.
That's like what you want to take in your heart and in your soul to God's court one day.
It is a wonderful, wonderful arguments for our salvation all from the Word of God.
And so in these latter chapters, chapter 12 all the way up to chapter 15 here,
Paul is working out the practical gospel implications of everyday living.
Like what does saving grace look like in the life of believers in light of all that God has done for us?
Namely, what he's written about up until this point.
All these wonderful things about salvation, redemption, justification, reconciliation,
all these wonderful things that Christ has brought to us.
Therefore, live this way.
And in fact, what I would argue is these are just as important chapters as the ones who have gone before.
They're linked because your ability to and desire to live out these things kind of display what you actually believe about the first few chapters.
So in light of these things, we live a certain way to glorify God.
And last week we talked about verses chapter 15, 1 through 6,
which Paul calls the strong believers, the mature believers,
those who are further along in their relationship with Christ,
to bear with the failings of the weak believers.
We talked about that at length last week.
To seek to please your brethren as Christ did.
And with the help of God, the scripture, be patient so that you will with one mind and mouth glorify God.
That was sort of where we were last week.
And where we're going today in verses 18 through 13,
Paul gives us more reasons for accepting one another
by showing mutual acceptance, not just between the strong and the weak, but Jew and Gentile.
I know it may feel like Paul has beaten this to death in Romans,
but he continues to, and there's a reason why he does.
To show mutual acceptance between Jews and Gentiles
is an essential outworking of God's great plan of salvation throughout history.
One commentator wrote,
Paul sets the local conflict in Rome against the panorama of salvation and history
in order to stimulate them to obedience.
So Paul is holding up these Jews and Gentiles in Rome
who are in danger of falling out of fellowship with one another because of differences.
And he brings them together, pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ and what he has accomplished.
So let's read our text today.
Romans 15, starting in verse 7.
Connecting it to last week.
Therefore, welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you for the glory of God.
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
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.
And again, it said,
Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.
And again, praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let the peoples extol him.
And again, it says,
The root of Jesse will come,
even one who arises to rule the Gentiles.
In him would 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.
Let's pray with me.
Lord, so much in your word for us to treasure.
I pray that your word would be applied to my heart and the hearts of all who are here,
that you would have your desired effect,
that your word would pierce,
your word would convict and challenge and encourage and build up,
exhort,
that you would just have your way during this time.
In Christ's name, amen.
So we're going to walk through this with four points.
Didn't have five for you.
Just four.
So point number one,
how we can walk through this text together,
is receive one another in Christ.
It's verse 7.
Therefore, welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you for the glory of God.
And Paul understands,
just like we see today,
that division in the church is a stain on the gospel.
Like true division in the church,
fighting among true believers.
And so this verse is the summary verse of the ones that he just talked about before.
So welcome means to accept,
to receive with the utmost special concern.
It's used in Acts 28 when Paul was shipwrecked off the coast of Malta.
And it says that the native people showed us unusual,
extraordinary kindness,
for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all,
because it had begun to rain and was cold.
So show one another this extraordinary,
unusual kindness that goes beyond what normally is expected.
Paul calling all believers to live in unity with not just the strong,
the weak,
the immature,
the mature,
the Jew,
the Gentile.
He's calling all of them to love and welcome,
to receive one another with the utmost concern.
So why are we to do this?
It's far easier,
even as believers sometimes,
just to ignore those people that get on our nerves,
or ignore people that we have minor differences with,
just to disassociate from believers that we have those disagreements with.
But why are we to have the utmost concern for our fellow believers?
Paul gives us the answer,
because of all that God has done for us in Christ.
So, a question for us.
What does your willingness to accept and be patient with other true Christians
reveal about your own faith in Christ,
and your understanding of the Gospel?
What does your willingness to accept and love one another reveal
about your understanding of the Gospel,
or lack thereof?
We have to be reminded of this.
Paul constantly is reminding us,
don't forget where you once were,
and where Christ has brought you from.
I have just one place for you to turn today,
outside of our main text,
but keep your hand in Romans,
and look at Titus chapter 3.
Titus chapter 3.
One of those great Gospel passages.
Titus chapter 3, verse 3.
Paul wrote,
So, do not forget that.
That's where we all once were.
Even if you quote,
were a good person before you became a Christian.
The book of Romans has thoroughly proven that no one is good.
We all lived this way.
This is once who we were.
Separator from God.
And then verse 4.
That great word.
But, when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,
He saved us,
not because of works done by us in righteousness,
but according to His own mercy,
by the washing of regeneration, renewal of the Holy Spirit.
So, never forget where you come from,
that we all have our common origin in sin.
That's what brings us together in one way.
And the other way is to remember that we have been brought out of that together
by the mercy of God.
His mercy alone.
We're never to let that grow old in our minds.
So, we're to welcome one another,
to accept,
to show the utmost concern for our fellow believers.
Your willingness and mind to accept others in the body
correlates directly to your understanding and faith
of how God has graciously accepted you in Christ.
Do you see that?
It's connected.
If you aren't able and unwilling to love and accept others,
especially the ones that are hard to deal with sometimes,
Christ says it's easy to love those who love you.
So, that idea,
if you fail to do that,
that shows you,
it reveals that your understanding of the Gospel is weak.
Right?
That's what this reveals.
So, welcome one another in Christ.
Spurgeon wrote about this passage,
Christ did not receive us because we were perfect,
or because He could see no fault in us,
or because He hoped to gain something from us,
not at all.
But, in loving condescension,
He covered our faults and sought our good.
He welcomed us into relationship with Him.
So, in the same way,
and with the same purpose,
we as Christians must receive one another.
So, does your willingness to love and receive others in the church
reflect the faith of the One who has welcomed us unto Himself?
That's what is important to remember.
So, failure to accept or welcome one another in love and compassion
is an affront to the Savior who has welcomed us.
I hope you can see that.
At the very least, this indicates our immaturity,
if we're unwilling to do that.
Maybe we're the weak that Paul just spoke of.
And at the very most,
it might lead us to question our own standing with God
if we have no regard for our fellow believers.
So, in conclusion,
the strong, the weak,
the Jew, the Gentile,
are exhorted to accept one another,
for they have been graciously accepted by God in Christ.
Even though we were sinners,
even though we were separated,
He's welcomed us.
And such mutual acceptance brings,
look at the end of that verse,
great glory to God.
Look, nothing else matters, alright?
Nothing else matters.
Like, if you fail to grasp the concept of God's glory,
then you're lost.
You are lost.
You will never understand the Word of God
and what the purpose of history is.
My glory fades.
Yours fades.
And a few generations will probably all be forgotten.
There's many people, being a history guy,
I can name a whole list of names,
and most of you would have no idea who they are.
Most people.
And they did great things in their time.
Our glory is fading like the flower of the field.
And this life is brief,
but the glory of God remains forever.
Nothing else matters.
And so he's saying,
your unity,
your ability to love and accept one another,
is one of these ways that brings great glory to God.
point number two.
Point two.
Christ has fulfilled God's promises to save the nations.
Verse eight.
It goes on.
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.
So there's one of those startling phrases.
A phrase that confused many people in his own time.
Christ came as a servant.
He was the suffering servant that Isaiah spoke of
700 years before Christ came on the scene.
He was the servant who would act wisely and be exalted.
Jesus,
when he was with his disciples,
he said,
even the son of man came not to be served,
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Mark 10,
45.
So who did he come to serve?
In one regard,
all of us.
Yes.
But what is Paul referring to in this instance?
To whom?
Christ came to serve,
came as a Jew to serve the circumcised.
And he's just referring to the Jewish people there.
Thus demonstrating God's truthfulness.
That word means faithfulness,
trustworthiness.
He's demonstrating that
and keeping his promises of redemption
that he had made to the patriarchs,
to Abraham,
to Isaac,
to Jacob.
He had promised them.
And in displaying this immense faith
by showing his willingness to obey God,
even to the point of sacrificing his own son, Isaac,
after that happened,
God said to Abraham in Genesis 22,
it's one of those verses you've got to like,
it's one of those verses that you use
to read the rest of the Scripture a lot of the time.
You see like God fulfilling this promise.
Genesis 22,
verse 17,
God said to Abraham,
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.
Your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies.
And in your offspring
shall all the nations of the earth be blessed
because you have obeyed my voice.
So this promise was reiterated multiple times.
It continued to Isaac in Genesis 26
and it continued to his son Jacob in Genesis 28.
So in fulfilling God's saving promises to them,
God's truthfulness,
His faithfulness has been upheld.
It's been established for all time.
God's track record in keeping His Word is flawless.
And I hope that comforts you in our troubling days.
He is a perfect promise keeper.
It may not seem like it comes when you want it to,
or when we think it should come.
It comes when it's supposed to,
in God's perfect ordained time.
And so, in fulfillment of God's promise,
many, many Jews,
not all, but many,
would come to repent of the sin,
believe in Christ as the Messiah,
and as the days go by,
eventually even more and more will do that.
But this was a reminder for the Gentiles
to be humbly reminded
that even their faith
came in a way through the Jewish people.
And so they are to welcome
their Jewish believers in Rome,
where they are.
So it was a reminder to them.
So, it came through the patriarchs.
God fulfilled His Word.
Point number three.
Christ brought praise and glory to God
for His mercy.
Verses 9-12.
Christ brought praise and glory to God
for His mercy.
Look at verse 9.
In an order,
so that, right,
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.
And again, it is said,
rejoice, O Gentiles,
with His people again 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,
and Him will the Gentiles hope.
So, furthermore, right,
Christ came as a servant
to the Jews,
but furthermore,
for the purpose of bringing
blessing and salvation
to the Gentiles.
what Paul described in chapter 11,
verse 11.
As Jewish Christians in Rome heard this,
they were being reminded
to remember this,
to accept and fully welcome
their Gentile brothers and sisters
who were in Rome,
which might be hard for them.
Think about that,
them,
and subdued them.
Now,
they're in Rome,
and they're being told,
hey,
don't look on Him
as that person.
Look at Him
as a brother
in Christ.
Look at them
with love
and compassion,
like you belong
to the same family
now.
And it was foretold
of old,
as you see here,
the Gentiles
might glorify God
for His mercy.
So,
great words
spoken by,
you know,
the ancient prophet.
Even those words
that ring true
even for us today
who are sitting here.
1 Peter 2, 10.
Once you were not a people,
but now you are God's people.
Once you had not received mercy,
but now you have received mercy.
If you're a Gentile today,
which I'm just going to assume
is most of us,
the majority of us,
if you recognize
that God's showing you mercy
was for the purpose
of being glorified,
to bring glory
to His great name,
to live for Him daily,
and to make everyday choices
that reflect
His greatness.
And so,
as usual,
this is testified
in the Scripture,
and man,
this is one of those times
where Paul just like
lays it on thick.
I remember
I like
killed a baby copperhead
with a huge load
of my shotgun.
It wasn't there anymore
once I shot it.
It was just gone.
This is kind of what
Paul desires to do here.
He's like,
in case you have any doubt,
I'm going to lay it on thick
to prove to you
that this is what God
was doing all along.
And I'm going to give you four,
not just one,
but four Old Testament passages.
And how about this?
How about one from each part
of the writings too?
Like each section
of the Old Testament.
Taking one quotation
from each of his part
and just lay it on thick.
Like,
here's one of your
Bible study tools.
Look at this.
As it is written,
and then you go a little further,
he says,
and again.
And then he says it again.
And again.
That's how he begins
like each verse.
He's like,
alright,
I'm going to lay it on thick.
Don't miss this.
So look how many times
he's saying that God foretold.
This has always been his plan.
That the Gentiles
would glorify him
and praise him
for his great salvation
over and over and over again.
That's what Paul
is trying to say.
This should be no surprise to you.
And this should make you marvel.
In verse 9,
he takes one from
the former prophets,
the older prophets.
From 2 Samuel 22.50.
Therefore,
I will praise you
among the Gentiles
and sing to your name.
So God's great salvation
would lead the Gentiles
to nations
singing songs
of deliverance
and great praise to God.
Describe the greatness
due his name.
Right?
Verse 10.
Now he takes one
from the law.
The Torah.
He's like,
well, okay,
how about this part
of our scripture?
And he goes to
Deuteronomy 32.43.
Rejoice,
O Gentiles,
and don't miss this,
with his people.
So,
such a great redemption
from sin,
darkness,
and hell
leads to
the Gentiles
rejoicing
and celebrating
on behalf
of God's saving mercy.
And then it says,
with
his people.
So do this
with the Jews.
You see that?
Like he's adding this in,
like,
with the salvation
that the Jews
can already have,
the Gentiles
will come alongside
them as one people.
One united people
redeemed.
And that
they will
rejoice.
Great celebration
over God's
saving mercy
along with those
who are Jews.
Verse 11.
He takes this
from
the poetry,
the writings.
Psalm 117,
which I found out
interestingly
is supposed to be
like the very middle
verse of your entire
Bible.
That's kind of
interesting.
I don't think Paul
was thinking about that,
but,
like,
that's the middle
of the whole Bible.
This is one verse.
If you,
like,
cut it all up
and all that.
But Psalm 117,
it says,
Praise the Lord,
all you Gentiles,
and let the peoples
extol Him.
So all the nations,
everybody together now,
bless the Lord,
bless His grace,
extol Him,
give Him law,
right?
And then,
like,
in the Old Testament.
So,
like,
in case you've lost this,
like,
I'm going to,
like,
pick one right out
of Isaiah for you,
right?
And he says,
this is from Isaiah 11,
verse 10,
The root of Jesse
will come,
even he who arises
to rule the Gentiles,
and him will the Gentiles
hope.
And,
right before that,
just by way of reminder,
in verse 9,
previously,
he says,
For the earth shall be full
of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
That's what Isaiah foretold.
So that promise,
the root of Jesse,
Jesse was David's father,
through David,
right?
Would be the one
to whom all the nations
would gather,
and He would rule them
in strength,
in justice,
in faithfulness,
in love,
in truth.
The Messiah's resting place
will be glorious.
And all Gentiles,
as Paul's addressing this,
should humbly be reminded
that their own salvation
stems from that Jewish root.
That's 1118.
These are the right
and proper responses
to what God has done
by redeeming us
and saving us.
But do you realize,
you have to think about this daily.
I try to and fail to,
but there was a time
that you were cut off
from God,
separated
because of your sin.
Think about Romans 5.
Do you see that you once
were on the outside
of that saving knowledge
that Israel possessed?
That doesn't mean
all Israel was saved,
but it means that Israel
possessed
at least the ability
and the knowledge
to know God
because God had manifested
Himself to them.
Think of Jesus speaking
to the Samaritan woman
at the well.
He said,
you Samaritans worship
whom you do not know.
We Jews worship
who we do know
because salvation
is from the Jews.
That's what he's trying to say.
Like,
God showed us
who He was
and we were to be a witness
to the rest of the world.
Like,
He's reminding
these Gentiles
that they are connected
to them.
And so,
we once were not a people.
We were cut off
of that knowledge,
but now,
do you realize
that salvation
has come to the nations?
What does that do
to your soul
this morning?
Ephesians 2
reads this.
Paul is reminding them,
remember that you once
at one time
were separated
from Christ.
Like,
there's only darkness
and death
and agony
away from Christ.
And he says,
alienated
or estranged
from the commonwealth
of Israel.
You see that?
The connections here?
And the strangers
to the covenants
of the promise,
having no hope
and without God
in the world.
But now,
in Christ Jesus,
you who are once
far off
have been brought near
by the blood
of Christ.
So rejoice.
If you are a Gentile,
you should never forget
that God has chosen
by His mercy
to include us
in His great salvation.
And this would result
in the praise
of His great name.
So in summary,
these passages
prove that the whole
of Scripture
testifies to the inclusion
of the Gentiles
into God's
uniting,
saving purposes
to bring one nation
under Him.
Every kind of person,
every kind of nation
and tongue
under His sovereign rule
for the purpose
of bringing great glory
to His name.
So if the believers
in Rome,
or if even we
today truly understand this,
what God is doing
throughout redemptive history,
this will make
those little minor,
puny,
pathetic disagreements
we have in the church
just pale in comparison.
We have so much
more in common.
If you truly are
in Christ,
you have more
in common
with anybody.
Even if they might
share a different
political view,
if they share
a different skin color,
this is what
unites us all.
That Scripture
right out of Galatians 3,
28 is what Paul
is trying to say.
Look,
there's neither Jew
or Greek.
There's neither slave
nor free.
There is no male
and female,
for you are all one
in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3,
28.
It's that you have
all things in common
if you are in Christ
with your fellow believer.
And you should dwell
on those things.
Recognize what God
is trying to do here.
Look at what Jews
and Gentiles
hated each other.
Do you understand that?
Like the animosity
was there?
Like you think
that we have
differences today?
Not much in comparison
to how they felt
back then.
But God's desire
is to reach
the nations
for His glory.
And recently,
I was just
reading some
from Voice of the Martyrs
and ran across
this story
from a man
named Waleed.
And he's from India.
and he grew up
in the Muslim part
of India
and was recognized
very early
as this guy's smart,
this guy's gifted.
We're going to
get him to be
an Islamic scholar.
So they sent him
away to Mecca
to study the Quran.
He became just
a great teacher.
He was there
for four years,
fully paid for,
and he became
a sheikh.
He was an Islamic
teacher that taught
at one of the mosques.
And he wore
the white robe
and had great dignity
and respect
of the culture.
He said,
at that time,
I was very proud
and I thought
that I was just
like the best person
ever.
And here's
what's interesting.
Because he was
a scholar,
he was reading
the Quran
and he got to
the part of the Quran
that talks about
Jesus.
And he recognized
there was just
something tremendously
different about
Jesus that just
struck him,
the details.
It talks about
how the man
who does these
things that Jesus
is being spoken of,
he is incomparable.
This is from the Quran.
He is incomparable
because no other
prophet written
about in the Quran
is doing those
things.
So he was just
mind blown by
Surah 19.33.
You can look that up.
But he dealt
deeper into the Quran
and just trying to
figure out
who Jesus was.
And he started
asking his fellow
sheiks like,
we should probably
pay more attention
to this.
What does this
actually mean
about Jesus?
As someone who
does the things
that he does
is supposed
to be incomparable.
Like,
what about him?
So they began
kind of blowing
off his questions
and eventually
got to be
kind of hostile
towards him.
They didn't have
any good answers
and eventually
they started
turning away
from him
and he said,
they started
to hate me
and at one
point they
ambushed him
and attacked him
and threw stones
at him
and the shrieper
just inquiring
more about
Jesus.
But he says,
this served
only to drive
me closer
to Christ.
After the attack,
I prayed
to Jesus
for the first
time.
His prayer
was just simply,
Jesus,
if you are above
and you see
how I am,
please help me.
And eventually
he was kicked
out and rejected
and he kind of
fled his community
and he sought
Christians.
He's like,
I've got to find
Christians to tell
me about Jesus
and oddly enough
he fled to
Ethiopia
and wasn't able
to find many
people even there
to tell him
who Jesus was
and answer
the questions
he had.
But eventually
he began to
read the Bible
and he says
that the Bible
greatly increased
his knowledge
of salvation
and he kind of
wrote something
he said,
I know everything
on earth
shall pass away
but God's word
will never
pass away.
I am learning
more and I
love to learn.
And as he
became a believer
and he got
connected to
the church
and began to
see where he
had come from,
he says,
when I came
to Christ,
I lost my
position,
my health,
my job,
my community
and my family
but God
gave me
double now
I am so
blessed.
So meaning
it sounds like
what Jesus
told his
disciples
like when
they're like
we've sacrificed
so much
to follow you
and he goes
no one
has sacrificed
to follow me
they will not
be repaid
right?
And so
now
he has shifted
his focus
to reaching
young Muslims
with the gospel
and this is
what he said
and this ties
into what
we're reading
about in
Romans
I believe
I have a
responsibility
I remember
the reason
I am saved
is to be
his witness
I live
for his
glory
to witness
his glory
to the
unreached
people
that's what
he said
so even
today
this is being
carried out
and I hope
that that
challenges
you
in
the busy
but often
comfortable
and easy
life
that we
can have
he says
I'm here
I'm saved
to be a
witness
to bear
witness
to the
glory
of God
especially
to the
unreached
peoples
in conclusion
our last
and fourth
point
Paul gives
us a
benedictory
prayer of
intercession
in verse
13
he goes
back to
prayer
and he
says
may
the God
of hope
fill you
with all
joy and
peace
and believing
so that
by the
power of
the Holy
Spirit
you may
abound
in love
and so
back to
prayer
he's praying
to the
God
of hope
so
hope
here
is the
link
word
to verse
12
if you
can see
that
in the
passage
as we
just saw
that before
Christ
he says
remembered
that you
were
separated
alienated
we just
read that
in Ephesians
having no
hope in
the world
and without
God
that's what
we just
read in
Ephesians
2
but praise
the Lord
he is
both
the
source
of
hope
right
and the
supplier
of hope
it comes
from him
Paul is
trying to
say
something
about
the
character
of
God
not
just
that
God
has
some
hope
in
his
pocket
like
money
and
he
just
goes
like
that
he's
saying
that
he
really
is
he
in
himself
is
hope
and
then
if
we
flee
to
him
we
will
have
that
hope
biblical
hope
is
this
joyful
confident
expectation
!
God
will
bring
about
it's
not
wishful
thinking
and
just
hoping
that
things
turn
out
well
it
is
a
grounded
act
of
faith
for us
to
hope
in
God
so
then
he
asks
because
we're
weak
Paul
asks
you
look
at
the
verse
the
power
of
the
Holy
Spirit
to
pour
out
to
graciously
feel
right
his
people
with
this
divine
hope
joy
and
peace
he
expresses
his
deep
desire
for
all
believers
to
have
complete
satisfaction
in
our
beloved
savior
who
makes
us
all
one
people
so
in
conclusion
we
are
to
welcome
to
accept
to
show
the
utmost
special
concern
for
our
fellow
believers
that
stands
out
from
a
world
of
sin
and
selfishness
and
in
light
of
that
magnificent
providential
plan
of
God
Jews
can
have
no
grudge
against
Gentiles
because
their
calling
was
to
reach
the
Gentiles
for
the
salvation
and
glory
of
the
Lord
and
on
the
other
hand
Gentiles
can
have
no
grudge
against
Jews
because
again
it
was
through
the
Jews
that
God
had
brought
that
salvation
so he
concludes
right
going back
to where
he
began
therefore
welcome
one
another
as
Christ
is
welcome
to
you
for
the
glory
of
God
so I
want
you
to
think
about
how
this
has
a
bearing
on
your
soul
this
reflects
what
you
truly
believe
about
the
gospel
if
we
very
least
is
just
very
weak
our
understanding
of what
Christ
has
done
is
weak
so I
pray
this
morning
that
we
will
grow
in our
understanding
and knowledge
of what
Christ
has done
for us
like man
he has
given
us
everything
I
pray
that
would
fuel
you
and
give
me
the
strength
to
love
those
who
are
around
us
particularly
those
who
are
difficult
like
myself
to
love
sometimes
so
let's
pray
!