Romans 15 (2017) As our study of Romans winds down, we re finishing Paul s next-to-last issue of sanctification today and beginning his final topic

Transcription

1 Rmans 15 (2017) As ur study f Rmans winds dwn, we re finishing Paul s next-t-last issue f sanctificatin tday and beginning his final tpic Paul s issue in chapter 14 is liberalism Liberalism is the errr f encuraging ther believers t participate in certain freedms cntrary t their cnvictins Paul uses the term weak t describe the faith f believers wh feel cnvicted t restrict their wn liberty t please the Lrd Frm the stand pint f scripture, their self-impsed restrictins are unnecessary Nevertheless, Paul taught that frm the stand pint f righteusness, these weak believers are sinning when they g against their cnvictins Mrever, we sin when we encurage liberalism rather than respecting the cnvictins f ther believers Tday we finish Paul s teaching n liberalism with his exhrtatin t all believers, especially the strng f faith t nt judge anther s liberty Rm. 14:13 Therefre let us nt judge ne anther anymre, but rather determine this nt t put an bstacle r a stumbling blck in a brther s way. Rm. 14:14 I knw and am cnvinced in the Lrd Jesus that nthing is unclean in itself; but t him wh thinks anything t be unclean, t him it is unclean. Rm. 14:15 Fr if because f fd yur brther is hurt, yu are n lnger walking accrding t lve. D nt destry with yur fd him fr whm Christ died. Rm. 14:16 Therefre d nt let what is fr yu a gd thing be spken f as evil; Rm. 14:17 fr the kingdm f Gd is nt eating and drinking, but righteusness and peace and jy in the Hly Spirit. Rm. 14:18 Fr he wh in this way serves Christ is acceptable t Gd and apprved by men. Rm. 14:19 S then we pursue the things which make fr peace and the building up f ne anther. Rm. 14:20 D nt tear dwn the wrk f Gd fr the sake f fd. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil fr the man wh eats and gives ffense. Rm. 14:21 It is gd nt t eat meat r t drink wine, r t d anything by which yur brther stumbles Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Rmans 15 2! f! 19 Paul says we must sure we keep the right gal in ur fellwship Our gal is nt btaining thers agreement with ur cnvictins r cnfrmity amng the bdy in matters f liberty Rather ur gal shuld be t d nthing that might harm anther believer s pursuit f bedience t Christ Let s lk fr ways t make it easier fr peple t receive a gd reward at their judgment mment We can accmplish ur gal by wrking t remve bstacles t anther's bedience, nt by placing new bstacles in their path Paul refers t ur hindering ther believers bedience as being a stumbling blck The Bible makes frequent use f the metaphr f stumbling t represent falling int sin It appears 99 times in the NASB In literal terms, a stumbling blck is an bject that a persn walking des nt see r recgnize prperly As a result, the persn s ft catches n the bject, leading him t lse his balance and fall We ve all dne this mre than a few times, and it s a scary mment It ften leads t injury r at least embarrassment This metaphr pwerfully illustrates the nature f the prblem Spiritually speaking, every believer is endeavring t walk with Christ T walk with Christ pictures beying Christ, fllwing His lead as He directs us tward righteusness When we listen t His instructins and fllwing His guidance, we are walking clsely with Him When we veer away after ur flesh r temptatins f ne kind r anther, we cease walking with Him at least fr a time As we walk, the Spirit pints ut dangers in ur path, helping us avid stumbling 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Rmans 15 3! f! 19 But when we press thers t act against their cnvictins, we interfere with the Spirit, making urselves a stumbling stne We break their stride, leading them t fall We cntradict the Spirit s instructins, keeping the persn frm fllwing Christ Just as the persn walking didn t recgnize the stne befre they tripped, ur fellw believers wn t realize we re leading them astray They wn t recgnize we were truly their adversary, at least in that mment Our advice may have been well-meaning, but it led them int sin That s the chief danger with liberalism it s spiritual pisn ffered delivered by the hands f friends And that s why Paul puts the burden n thse wh wuld ffer the advice Ntice he desn t ask the weak t becme strnger, t becme mre discerning in what advice they take Remember, they are the weak nes, like a tddler We can t expect them t take respnsibility in this situatin Instead, Paul places the burden n the strnger in the bdy expecting them t prtect the interests f the weaker Which is why Paul directs the church t set a gal f nt putting an bstacle in a brther s path Meaning we must nt advcate fr greater liberty than smene feels cmfrtable assuming But als nt acting in ways that make anther believer uncmfrtable in light f their cnvictins S it s bth being careful in what we advcate by ur wrds and what we endrse by ur actins Here again, Paul s nt advcating fr us adpting the weakness f ther brthers nr endrsing their thelgical shrtcmings Ntice in v.14 Paul makes clear that there is n need t abstain frm any fd fr the sake f righteusness 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Rmans 15 4! f! 19 We are righteus by faith alne in Jesus Christ, and His wrk n ur behalf has put t rest any need t bserve ritual cleanliness Simply put, the rituals f the Law, including ritual cleanliness, are nt lnger in effect fr the believer And therefre, fd means nthing in the matter f ur persnal hliness S all the mre, we shuld nt use fd t diminish anther s hliness, Paul says in v.15 We are walking withut lve urselves if we divide ver fd Which means, we can t press thers t eat what they d nt feel cmfrtable eating Nr shuld we cause them t separate themselves frm us because we cntinued eating things that ffended them In bth cases, we ve chsen fd ver lving ur brthers This chapter began discussing weaker brthers eating nly vegetables in the fellwship gatherings This likely happened because Jewish believers avided eating with Gentiles due t their unclean dietary habits While the Gentiles hadn t persuaded the Jews t relax their cnvictins, they did ffend their Jewish brthers by their actins They persisted in their wn eating habits despite knwing it ffended their Jewish brthers and sisters Remember this letter was written t a mstly Gentile church in Rme that was prbably funded by Jews frm Pentecst Therefre, based n Paul s cmments we assume that a divisin had develped in this church bdy between the tw grups ver Jewish cnvictins Jews keeping the dietary laws were at dds with Gentiles and maybe sme mre mature Jews wh didn t S when fd was served, these weaker Jews adpted vegetarianism rather than sharing in the meat f the meal 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Rmans 15 5! f! 19 Sunds like a very awkward, unlving cmmunity Which leads Paul in v.16 t advise that we nt take ur liberty and weapnize it against ur brthers Liberty is a great thing in the bdy f Christ Hw much happier are we living under liberty than we wuld have been living under the burdens f the law? Gentiles take this privilege fr granted, since we were never under the law But imagine what it wuld mean fr us if we had t adpt the Law as part f ur pursuit f Christ? What if Christ hadn t perfrmed all the Law fr us? What if He had left sme f the Law unfulfilled s that we wuld have t perfrm it fr urselves That wuld have eliminated ur liberty and left us burdened with specific rules we culd never break r else we wuld lse ur salvatin Instead, Christ wn the prize f liberty fr us, which is a gd thing certainly S we shuld prtect ur liberty We prtect it first by nt allwing ur liberty t be thught f as as evil, a surce f sin And that s anther way t define liberalism making liberty a surce fr sin The life f the church shuld use ur liberty t advance eternal causes, eternal utcmes Paul says the kingdm is nt eating and drinking The missin f the Kingdm is nt fund in the pleasures we have n earth We aren t advancing the causes f the Kingdm when we encurage certain dietary habits 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Rmans 15 6! f! 19 Nr are we experiencing the fullness f the Kingdm when we enjy a particular fd f drink here At best, these things bring cmfrt t the bdy, which is a dying thing destined t be shed befre the Kingdm cmes t us S regardless f hw nble ur mtives, we cannt make the adpting f a certain lifestyle the aim f ur wrk fr Christ We are ambassadrs fr Christ, assigned t wrk fr the expansin and the Kingdm We further that missin by sul wrk, nt by bdy wrk Being absrbed in eating and drinking cncerns is bdy wrk, nt sul wrk Paul says Instead, ur missin is t pursue righteusness, peace and jy in the Hly Spirit Pursing righteusness refers t wrking t advance the Gspel, bth in wrds and in ur actins Obviusly, we share the Gspel with thers But we are als t pursue righteusness in ur persn thrugh a walk f sanctificatin Restraining ur wn liberty will be necessary part f that prcess at times Pursuing peace refers t seeking unity in the bdy, being at peace with ne anther and in ur wn cnvictins When we truble each ther with ur persnal cnvictins, we rb ne anther f peace That s the ppsite f sul wrk And even mre, we undermine unity in the bdy by making ur differences in persnal cnvictin appear t be prblems that must be slved Instead, we shuld guard each ther s liberty t maintain different cnvictins, and in s ding encurage unity in peace Finally, pursuing jy in the Hly Spirit means ensuring everyne knws the jy pleasing Christ by ur bedience 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Rmans 15 7! f! 19 There is simply n greater jy t be fund in the bdy f Christ than a quiet cnfidence we are beying Christ by ur cnvictins A believer never knws greater jy than beying Christ, turning frm temptatins t sin and maintaining a clse walk with Him And we will never knw mre truble than when we are ut f step with Christ, ignring ur cnvictins Our missin as a bdy must be t encurage every believer t find that place in their walk with Christ Knwing His will s they can live in harmny with it, seeking t please Him by bedience Having peace in the certainty f ur cnvictins and the jy f keeping them befre Christ As Paul says in vs.18-19, thse believers wh set their mind n serving Christ will be apprved bth by Gd and their fellw man S let s nt seek fr thers t apprve yur cnvictins by jining us in them that s nt lve, that s eg Pursue thse things that make fr peace and fr the building up f ne anther Give way t thers cnvictins withut adpting them yurself Affirm thers in their determinatin t be bedient, withut making them feel smaller fr having restrained their liberty A believer wh wn t eat a certain fd is nt smene t be mcked r fixed They are a weaker brther r sister whse cnscience must be prtected and whse cnvictins must be respected Yet nce mre, fr the sake f emphasis, Paul reminds us in v.20 nt t adpt the weaker brther s restrictive lifestyle We can avid tearing them dwn withut jining them in their weakness We want t walk that line between tw evils On the ne hand, dn t undermine their cnvictins 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Rmans 15 8! f! 19 As Paul says in v.21, it is a gd thing that we restrict ur lifestyle t help weaker members On the ther hand, we dn t want t give reasn fr believers t agree with the weaker viewpint We dn t want t undermine a believer s cnfidence in their liberty We are just giving rm fr weaker brthers t catch up in their spiritual maturity Paul summary s his argument in vs with three rules fr dealing with liberalism Rm. 14:22 The faith which yu have, have as yur wn cnvictin befre Gd. Happy is he wh des nt cndemn himself in what he apprves. Rm. 14:23 But he wh dubts is cndemned if he eats, because his eating is nt frm faith; and whatever is nt frm faith is sin. Rule #1: Hld t the faith yu have n matters f liberty as a matter f cnvictin befre Gd Each believer is likely t have differences in their liberty accrding t hw the Lrd cnvicts each f us S fllw yur cnvictins as a matter f faith and bedience Remember, yu seek t please Gd alne, nt ther believers And yu are accuntable t Gd alne, nt ther believers S knwing this, dn t let liberalism cmprmise yur cnvictins Rule #2: Dn t cndemn yurself by what yu apprve Dn t becme an advcate fr meaningless things like eating r drinking Fr in ding s, yu run the risk f leading ther members f the bdy int sin, causing them t stumble, and bringing yurself under cndemnatin Instead, be an advcate fr the Kingdm, fr eternal utcmes f righteusness, peace and jy 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Rmans 15 9! f! 19 Happy is the ne wh desn t cndemn himself by what he apprves Finally Rule #3: When we are persuaded t g against ur cnvictins, we sin even in matters that are nt themselves sin Our cnvictins are a radmap fr sanctificatin given t us by the Hly Spirit Our jurney will lk different than ther believers The Spirit will grant us freedms He may nt grant t ther believers, r that thers have nt traveled far enugh yet t experience Dn t secnd-guess yur cnvictin merely because thers have freedm yu dn t Respect the Spirit s directin, trusting that He knws better why yu need these restrictins when thers may nt T act cntrary t yur cnvictins is sin Nw Paul is ready t flip this cin ver In chapter 14, we just studied the situatin f strnger believers wh enjyed mre freedm impsing their liberty n weaker members In Rme, the situatin came in the cntext f Jewish and Gentile believers cntending ver fd Strnger Gentile believers wanted t impse their freedm n weaker, Jewish believers This was liberalism, and it was wrng Nw in the first half f chapter 15, Paul mves t cnsidering the ppsite prblem Nw the prblem is ne f weaker believers seeking t impse their mre restrictive lifestyles n mre liberal bthers and and sisters Again in Rme, the cncern was Jewish believers wh wanted Gentile believers t becme mre like Jews t secure unity 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Rmans 15 10! f! 19 Fr these Jewish believers, unity in the bdy required that Gentiles adpt Jewish dietary laws, Sabbath restrictins, r even take circumcisin This is the ppsite f liberalism it s legalism S just as liberalism is an abuse f liberty, legalism is an abuse f persnal cnvictin It s making yur persnal cnvictins law fr everyne That s we call it legalism it s requiring thers t live accrding t a law that desn t actually exist We re nt talking abut enfrcing actual biblical cmmands that s a necessary discipline f ensuring the bdy meets Gd s standards Rather, legalism is making urselves anther s judge cnvicting them fr failing t meet ur standards Paul spends less time n legalism than he did n liberalism fr several reasns First, many f the pints in the earlier chapter wuld apply here Pauls already tld us t respect each ther s cnvictins, which they are mre liberal r mre restrictive than ur wn And he said we cannt impse ur cnvictins n anther Nr can we judge thers fr having different cnvictins These truths carry ver t the tpic f legalism Secndly, Paul addressed the relatinship f the believer t the law in previus chapters f this letter Therefre, Paul desn t spend time cvering the errr f impsing law n thers He s already explained we are under grace and therefre, the law hlds n pwer ver us Finally, the prblem f weaker believers impsing a legal lifestyle n strnger believers is a far less wrrisme prspect than strnger believers crrupting the weak Fr all ur fear f legalism, the frequency and pwer f 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 Rmans 15 11! f 19! While there were certainly Judiazers perating in many places, their influence was dmed t die ut The church was becming increasingly Gentile even in Paul s day S Paul understd that the future curse f the church wuld be amng Gentiles, nt Jews And since Gentiles fr the mst part have little interest in adpting the law f Mses, the threat f legalism frm Jews was destined t die dwn Therefre, Paul s fcus in chapter 15 is nly tangentially abut Jews impsing legalism n Gentiles Paul des address the issue specifically it in vs.8-12 But befre that, Paul writes mre generally abut accepting ne anther in the bdy His teaching n shwing acceptance bridges his teachings against liberalism and legalism Rm. 15:1 Nw we wh are strng ught t bear the weaknesses f thse withut strength and nt just please urselves. Rm. 15:2 Each f us is t please his neighbr fr his gd, t his edificatin. Rm. 15:3 Fr even Christ did nt please Himself; but as it is written, The repraches f thse wh reprached Yu fell n Me. Rm. 15:4 Fr whatever was written in earlier times was written fr ur instructin, s that thrugh perseverance and the encuragement f the Scriptures we might have hpe. Rm. 15:5 Nw may the Gd wh gives perseverance and encuragement grant yu t be f the same mind with ne anther accrding t Christ Jesus, Rm. 15:6 s that with ne accrd yu may with ne vice glrify the Gd and Father f ur Lrd Jesus Christ. Paul s pening statement in v.1 is a cncise summary f the previus chapter It mirrr his pening verse in v.14 In chapter 14, Paul said accept the weak but nt fr passing judgment Here he says yu strng bear the weaknesses f thse withut strength but nt t please urselves 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 Rmans 15 12! f! 19 He s saying smething similar, thugh nt exactly the same In chapter 14, Paul asks fr the strng t except the weak in unity Here Paul is asking the strng t bear thse weaknesses S in the first case, Paul expected the weaker t be included in the bdy withut demands they drp their cnvictins first And nw Paul is reminding the bdy nt t lse patience with the weaker s cnvictins after jining S we bring weaker in and we cntinue t seek t please them fr their edificatin This is hw the strnger deal with the legalism f weaker brthers Just as it was wrng t frce liberal thinking n them, we must als bear up under their desires t share their legalism with us Ntice again wh bears the respnsibility fr dealing with the prblem? Yu might have expected Paul t put the burden fr dealing with legalism n the perpetratrs, the weaker brthers and sisters Instead, Paul cntinues t ask the strnger brthers and sisters t take wnership fr slving the prblem The strnger bear up under the assault f these weaker wh insist we adpt their legalistic restrictins We dn t try t stp their cnvictins, nr d we make them feel bad fr pressing their legalism against us We bear all this, seeking t please them within limits, fr their edificatin And f curse the best example f us in this regard is Christ Himself He bre the repraches f rejectins, beatings, scurging and ultimately the crss These were things Christ didn t deserve t experience, and they were placed upn Him by thse wh didn t knw what they were ding 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

13 Rmans 15 13! f! 19 Nevertheless, Christ in His strength accept them, bearing them beautifully fr the edificatin f all thse wh receive His grace That s ur mdel bear the indignities f thers legalistic cnvictins when arund them fr the sake f unity and edificatin Making them feel pleased that thers are respecting their cnvictins Ding s withut cndemnatin r judgment Remembering Christ did wrse fr ur sake And then in v.4 Paul says there is a silver lining in this clud Referring t the Old Testament scripture and specifically f the Law itself Paul reminds us that these things were written t instruct us Paul says that many believers ver the centuries have fund perseverance and encuragement in these scriptures While we may nt be under the letter f the Law, a believers can still be instructed frm the Old Testament And in this case, strnger believer can be instructed by the Law as they learn hw t bear up under the legalism f weak believers Remember what we learned last week in time thrugh instructin in the wrd these weak believers will eventually gain strength And by their strength, they will mve beynd these restrictins by themselves, learning t enjy liberty And when they d, they will lk back fndly n yur respect fr their cnvictins and yur willingness t lve them in that way S let s nt diminish the Law in the eyes f thse wh have an excessive dependence n them In that way, even the Law may becme a cause fr edificatin in weak believers wh use it as a crutch By bearing this weakness, we further unity in the bdy which is the way we all grw in maturity We all need the rest f the bdy t gain strength 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

14 Rmans 15 14! f! 19 Cnsider hw spiritually mature, strng believers will be made t grw further? Will it be in great bk study? Self-admiratin scieties? Isn t ging t be by learning t bear up under the incnveniences and weakness f the spiritually immature? By baring the legalism f weak brthers and sisters, we give pprtunity fr the Lrd t strength us and test us D we care mre abut thers than urselves? Are we ready t make mre sacrifices fr the weakest amng us? Or will we divide the bdy ver meaningless things like fd r drink? In v.5 Paul prays that the Lrd might give the strnger in the church the perseverance and encuragement t pursue unity amng the weak T be f the same mind f Christ, Wh sught unity with sinners Talk abut a unin f unequals Jesus united with the likes f us And He did s, at great persnal cst, s that He culd present us t Himself a sptless Bride, Scripture says If yu are ne mind with Christ in that gal, then yu re stp caring abut whether thers cnvictins are incnvenient r unnecessary Yu ll nly care abut what s best fr them And in exercise that cncern, yu grw t And in the end, we will glrify Christ with ne vice S the pen teaching f chapter 15 establishes tw main ideas: Even thugh weaker believers are respnsible fr prmting legalism, nevertheless the respnsibility fr slving the prblem falls t strnger believers Just as with liberalism, Paul expects thse with senirity in the faith t assume the respnsibility fr making things better Unity in the bdy is all imprtant, and the spiritually strng believers (thse with a mature understanding f liberty) will be held accuntable fr hw we handled these situatins 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

15 Rmans 15 15! f! 19 Just like a parent is respnsible fr a misbehaving child, s ur the spiritual strng respnsible fr helping the spiritually immature Secndly, the slutin fr legalism is fund in bearing the weaknesses rather than pleasing urselves Once again, we aren t endrsing legalism r even adpting these lifestyle chices in general But we dn t cndemn thers fr having them, we accmmdate them And at times we adpt certain restrictins t please thse wh hld t them s that unity is maintained His teaching is summarized in v.7 Rm. 15:7 Therefre, accept ne anther, just as Christ als accepted us t the glry f Gd. Paul says accept ne anther in the bdy, eching his earlier cmmand in chapter 14 S if we might ask hw accepting shuld we be, here s ur answer Fr example, are there sme circumstances where we can t accept a believer s weaknesses? Where we must reject them until they vercme their prblems? Then after they shed sme f these legalistic tendencies, we can find pprtunity fr fellwship Take a lk at Paul s standard fr hw we are t accept ne anther Paul says we must accept ne anther t the same degree that Christ accepted us S let s ask, n what terms did Christ accept us int His bdy? Grace alne Hw burdensme were yur sins upn Christ? Hw unnecessary was His gift f grace? Very Hw unlike Christ were we when He accepted us int His bdy by faith? We were cmpletely unlike Him 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

16 Rmans 15 16! f! 19 But what allwed us t becme mre like Him? It began with Christ accepting us int the bdy S Christ is ur standard fr hw we accept weaker believers in ur gathering We accept them by grace We accept them n matter hw burdensme r unnecessary their cnvictins We accept them thugh they may place demands n the bdy very unlike ur standards r chices s that we may please them And we d this because nly by accepting them int the bdy first may they mature and grw t smething better Ding these things will be t the glry f the Father The Father was glrified when Jesus accepted us And the Father is glrified when we accept ne anther Mving n, Paul nw tuches n the specific issue f Jew and Gentile in the Rman church This next passage represents the last majr teaching sectin f the letter Rm. 15:8 Fr I say that Christ has becme a servant t the circumcisin n behalf f the truth f Gd t cnfirm the prmises given t the fathers, Rm. 15:9 and fr the Gentiles t glrify Gd fr His mercy; as it is written, Therefre I will give praise t Yu amng the Gentiles, And I will sing t Yur name. Rm. 15:10 Again he says, Rejice, O Gentiles, with His peple. Rm. 15:11 And again, Praise the Lrd all yu Gentiles, And let all the peples praise Him. Rm. 15:12 Again Isaiah says, There shall cme the rt f Jesse, And He wh arises t rule ver the Gentiles, in Him shall the Gentiles hpe Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

17 Rmans 15 17! f! 19 Paul reminds the Jews within the church that Christ came as a servant t the circumcisin, meaning t the Jewish natin Jesus was fulfilling the prmises the Lrd made t Israel Thse prmises, given t the fathers f Israel, included the prmise t Abraham t bless all natins thrugh his seed Of curse, Paul s pint t the Jewish believer was dn t frget that yur Messiah came t fulfill all the prmises f Gd Including the prmise t bless (save) Gentiles Nthing serves t make the pint t a Jewish reader better than scripture S Paul qutes Psalm 18 in v.9 and Deuternmy 32 in v.10 and Psalm 117 in v.11 and Isaiah 11 in v.12 t make his pint All these passages reaffirm that Gd intended t bring Gentiles int His assembly alngside Israel Therefre Gentiles must be accepted int the bdy t, despite their lifestyle differences with Jews After all, if the Lrd accepted Gentiles than wh were Jews t reject them It was simply a matter f submitting t the will f Gd Paul s teaching ends with a benedictin f srts Rm. 15:13 Nw may the Gd f hpe fill yu with all jy and peace in believing, s that yu will abund in hpe by the pwer f the Hly Spirit. Paul wished fr the Lrd t fill the church in Rme with all the jy and peace that cmes with believing The fact that Paul expresses this as a wish r request strngly suggests that experiencing jy and peace is ptinal fr a Christian Make n mistake every Christian has access t jy and peace And by Gd s grace, we will all knw jy and peace in eternity 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

18 Rmans 15 18! f! 19 But Paul was speaking abut the experience f his readers in this age, while we serve Christ in this bdy During this time, we may knw jy and peace r we may nt We have all met miserable Christians And we e all prbably been that persn at ne time r anther S what determines whether we experience jy and peace as believers? It s fund in the phrase in believing The phrase in Greek describes an actin that is n-ging It s a euphemism fr ur walking with Christ, fr pursuing sanctificatin, fr living ur ur righteusness That s been the tpic f chapters 12 nward S Paul is saying that fr thse wh fllw the prescriptin fund in these chapters, thse wh live ut their faith bediently, yu will knw jy and peace Yu will likely als knw trials, tribulatin, persecutin, disappintments, etc But thse things will nt define yu They will nt rb yu f yur spiritual jy And they will nt disturb yur spiritual peace Because thse things will be based nt in circumstances r feelings Our jy will be a supernatural respnse t wrking hand-in-hand with Christ, recgnizing His righteusness taking hld in ur hearts And ur peace will be unshakable as we grw in ur maturity and understanding f what s cming fr us in eternity These are the fruits f living in the Spirit Paul says at the end f v.13 that if yu btain these things, yu will abund in hpe by the pwer f the Hly Spirit in yu This hpe is an eternal hpe Nt a hpe fr earthly things but fr heavenly things 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

19 Rmans 15 19! f! 19 Yu will set yu mind n things abve And as yu d, the things f this wrld fade in imprtance If yu aren t feeling that fruit nw r haven t felt in a while r have never knwn it, then check yur walk with Christ Are yu hand-in-hand with Him r are yu watching Him frm a distance? If He feels distant then run back t Him Return t listening t Him, t serving Him, t craving the experience f becming mre like Him And by the pwer f the Spirit, He will change yu frm the inside ut Next time, ur final lessn will cver the secnd half f 15 and the persnal details f chapter 16 It s a teaching f histry mre than dctrine Which seems an apprpriate way t finish a bk s heavy in weighty matters 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.