THOUGHTS FROM ROMANS 15 AND 16

THOUGHTS FROM ROMANS 15 AND 16

“We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please Himself but, as it is written: ‘The insults of those who insult You have fallen on Me.’ (Ref: Psalm 69:9 NIV) For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May The God Who gives endurance and encouragement give you a Spirit of Unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. For I tell you that Christ has become a Servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s Truth, to confirm the Promises made to the patriarchs so that the Gentiles may glorify God for His Mercy, as it is written: ‘Therefore I will praise You among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to Your Name.’ Again, it says, ‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.’ And again, ‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and sing praises to Him, all you peoples.’ And again, Isaiah says, ‘The Root of Jesse will spring up, One Who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in Him.’ May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the Power of the Holy Spirit. I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another. I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the Grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the Gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done by the Power of signs and miracles, through the Power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the Gospel of Christ. It has always been my ambition to preach the Gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. Rather, as it is written: ‘Those who were not told about Him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.’ “Romans 15: 1-21 NIV

“Now to Him Who is able to establish you by my Gospel and Proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the Revelation of Mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the Prophetic Writings by the Command of the Eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey Him—to the Only Wise God be Glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.” Romans 16: 25-27 NIV

In the final two chapters of Romans, Paul exultantly proclaims that the Gentiles have been included among the redeemed, and that he himself has been chosen to take part in the Revelation and has been empowered by the Holy Spirit to reveal the Mystery of Jesus Christ to them by God’s Command, so that now ALL nations “might believe and obey Him.” He says this with a sense of awe, that even after all these years of preaching, as a Jew he still almost cannot fathom the truth that God has now opened wide the gates of heaven for Gentiles to “become an offering acceptable to God,” through the Holy Spirit’s Power. Indeed, Paul says that Christ Himself has become “a Servant of the Jews” by empowering Paul with His Holy Spirit “to preach the Gospel where Christ was not known.” Although God chose the Jews to be His witnesses to the Gentile nations around them, it has been true throughout the Bible that it is always God Who accomplishes what His servants are both unwilling and unable to do by themselves. Jonah was first swallowed by a whale and Paul was struck blind before they would begin to obey their Lord’s Will for their lives. Which of us has ever by our own nature willingly done the Will of God in our lives? Paul strikes at the heart of the matter when he says that we are to bear with our neighbor’s failings, not for our OWN good and not to please OUR selves, but “for our NEIGHBOR’S good, to build HIM up.” When we seek to please ourselves, and ignore or fail to encourage our neighbors, Christ takes it as a personal insult against Him and His Church. “For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.” Matthew 25: 42-43 NIV. Paul references David’s suffering the insults which are intended for God, but which also fall on him and on Christ and all believers who share in the fellowship of His sufferings. Christ identifies with His servants whose sufferings are compared with Christ’s Own condemnation by those whose insults continue to harm His Church, reminiscent of the priest and Levite who couldn’t be bothered to come to the aid of a fellow Jew who had fallen among thieves. Christ asked “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers? The expert in the law replied, ‘The one who had mercy on him.’ Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise.’ Luke 10: 25-37 NIV. And why should we bear with the failings of the weak and show mercy to our fellow believers? Because Christ has shown US mercy! We are told to accept each other and bring encouragement and hope to one another, just as Christ accepted us as Gentile believers, “grafted us in” and included us along with Abraham’s children of the promise, in order to bring praise to God and to glorify Him for the Mercy He Has shown to us. So for what reason would we continue to be impatient, unloving, judgmental, unforgiving, envious of and boastful towards each other? How have we DESERVED God’s Mercy? Since Christ is a servant to us, shows us great mercy and welcomes us into His banquet hall, dare we ignore, discourage or exclude each other? We are to be servants to each other, just as our Lord is a servant to us, and by doing so we show that we are servants of Christ. Remember that Christ said that the world would recognize us as His servants if we have love for one another. Evidently this is not the usual way of the world, or this love Christ speaks of would not be noticed by the world around us. How are we able to be the kind of believers that God requires? Paul says that we are encouraged by the Scriptures and that God gives endurance, encouragement and a Spirit of Unity as we follow Christ Jesus. May we then “overflow with hope by the Power of the Holy Spirit!”

Mark Overt Skilbred