Romans 15:5-14 - God's Salvation is for all peoples

Our reading today is from Romans 15, verses 5-3, on page 1141 of the Church Bibles.

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So that with one mind and one voice, 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,

so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed,

and moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.

As it is written,

Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles.

I will sing the praises of your name.

Again it says,

Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.

And again,

Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles.

Let all the peoples extol him.

And again Isaiah says,

The root of Jesse will spring up,

one who will arise to rule over the nations.

In him the Gentiles will hope.

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.

Great, let's pray.

As we come to God's word, let's pray.

Father, we do thank you so much for your love and kindness to us.

And thank you that whoever we are and wherever we are from,

we find that in your word, by your spirit, you speak to us.

And so we pray that might be our experience this morning.

How we ask, Lord, that you might cut through the noise and the distractions in our hearts,

and that you might speak to us clearly.

That you might encourage us and challenge us and rebuke us.

Whether you might bring us life and hope in the Lord Jesus.

As we pray in his name.

Amen.

I think it's probably quite easy towards the end of a letter like Romans

to imagine maybe that we've covered all the important stuff.

So we've done things like sin and judgment and justification and sanctification

and all those kind of things.

And you might think, well, okay, surely now we're like just finishing off the last little bits.

Perhaps this is like school, you know, in June.

What are you actually doing in school in June?

You know, you're just watching DVDs by now.

All the main stuff has been covered.

And, you know, the teacher's just thinking about their holidays.

And you're just kind of winding up.

Well, listen, it's not like that in Romans, okay?

In Romans, it keeps going right to the very end.

And I think what we've got in these last few chapters are some really, really important implications,

especially for us in the place that we find ourselves as a church this morning.

Paul is going to tell us here that because Christ is for all people,

so therefore our church should be for all people.

You could put it another way, that the way Christ saves should shape the way that church behaves.

Paul's sentence in verse 7 is this, that Christ accepts the nations,

and so the church should accept the nations as well.

Now, I know this week that welcoming or accepting the nations has come under great scrutiny.

We've had riots, haven't we, in Northern Ireland this week on this issue.

But Paul is not making a political statement here about how open or closed the borders of a nation should be.

That's really outside the scope of what Romans 15 is about.

His concern is not so much for a nation.

His concern really is for the church.

And his point is that the church should have open borders to the nations,

for the very reason that Christ has open borders to the nations.

So that for us this morning, regardless of who we are or where we're from,

we're all welcome in the church of Jesus Christ.

Now, what I want to do with our time is to spend it in this passage

and to split it into essentially three slightly unequal parts.

The first part is just to think some more about what it means for Christ to accept all kinds of people

and how that works out in church life,

and then to think of some of the implications of that,

both for the glory of the Lord Jesus and for our good and our joy.

So let's start with Christ for all people means church for all people.

Christ for all people means church for all people.

Really, this is the center of the passage.

So let's have a look at verse 7.

Let me read it to you again.

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,

so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed,

and moreover that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.

Now, the language here, you might notice, is very similar to last week's passage.

Last week's passage, we were told to accept one another weak and strong

because God accepts us weak and strong.

But here the scope is wider, right?

The scope here is to our national identities,

specifically here, the nation of the Jews,

literally the circumcision in the passage,

and the Gentiles, literally the nations,

taethne, the uncircumcised.

And notice how Paul explains this.

Keep your eyes on the passage.

Christ's acceptance of the Jews,

how was that?

What was that like?

Well, it was by becoming a servant of them

on behalf of God's truth

to keep the promises made to the patriarchs.

In other words, Christ accepts or welcomes the Jews

by serving them according to God's ancient plan and promise.

A promise that was made generations before.

So Paul is not here so much interested in the nation of Israel

as we might think of it today.

He's rather thinking about the Old Testament Israel,

the people of the Old Testament promises,

the circumcision.

And his point is that Jesus came to serve those

who had faith in the Old Testament promises,

by fulfilling Old Testament promises.

So that the Jewish believer is to look at Christ and go,

he's exactly what I was waiting for.

He is the one I was looking for.

He is the fulfillment of all that was promised to us.

In other words, Jesus has not come to bring

some sort of distinct salvation for the Jews

and then a different distinct salvation for the Gentiles.

No, he's brought the salvation that was promised to Abraham,

Moses and David.

First for the Jews and then for the Gentiles,

as Paul put it in chapter one.

Perhaps you're one of those people who,

when you're waiting for a train or maybe you're flying somewhere,

that you perpetually check that you're on the right platform

or at the right gate.

You like that?

You're kind of worried,

am I really in the right place?

Am I going to get on the wrong train

and end up in the wrong place?

Is this my stop?

Is this my gate?

And in a sense,

that's Paul's kind of sense here

for the Jewish nation,

for the circumcision.

He's saying,

listen,

on platform,

Jesus,

you're in the right place.

This is going to the destination

that you were promised.

He is the one that you've been waiting for.

You don't need to wait for anybody else.

Climb aboard Jesus.

You'll end up exactly where Abraham said you would.

But,

and this is the key to all this,

it's not the destination of just the circumcision

or the Jewish destination.

The destination is not the nation of Israel

because verse nine,

look down at it,

these Old Testament promises given to Abraham

were not just so that the circumcision

might glorify God for his mercy,

but so that the nations

might also glorify God for his mercy.

Now,

to you and I,

that might not sound that radical,

right?

We're perhaps used to hearing it.

Okay.

What I think you're saying,

Steve,

really basically is that Jesus came

to save Jews and Gentiles.

Are you going to tell me something

I don't know yet?

Right?

You might think that's just

fairly common knowledge.

But in Paul's day,

this needed saying over and over again,

there were people contradicting this

all the time.

There are still people who contradict it.

But the truth is,

God does not have one plan for the Jews

and another plan for everyone else.

No,

there's one plan,

there's one saviour,

there's one promise,

there's one destination

all the way through the Bible.

And that destination is all nations

praising God through Jesus Christ.

Now,

that is so important to Paul

that he underlines it

with four Old Testament passages.

So,

he quotes David in Psalm 18,

I will praise you among the nations.

He quotes Moses from Deuteronomy,

rejoice you Gentiles with his people.

He quotes the psalmist in Psalm 117,

praise the Lord all you Gentiles.

Finally,

he quotes Isaiah in verse 12,

the root of Jesse will spring up,

the one who will arise to rule over the nations.

In him,

the nations,

the Gentiles will hope.

Now,

all that emphasis is really,

really important.

because it means,

doesn't it,

that I can look each of you

in the eye this morning

and say to you,

without any kind of qualification,

without having to kind of

make any sort of nuance

or sort of

make an exception in any way,

I can say to you,

listen,

this morning,

Jesus is your saviour.

He came for you.

Wherever you're from,

however you got here,

whatever your religious

or national background,

whether you've been to Jerusalem

or whether you grew up in Watford,

Jesus is the saviour for you.

In fact,

there is no other saviour

other than Jesus Christ.

And what you need to know

is that Jesus has no national preferences.

Yes,

he came in fulfilment

to the ancient promises

of the Jewish nation,

but he came to them

for the nations

that we might all praise him.

So again,

let me try and say it to you

as clearly as I can,

whoever you are this morning,

whether you feel like

you belong here or not,

what you must know

is that Jesus Christ

this morning

is calling out to you.

And he says,

come,

follow me.

I came for you.

Your problem,

he says,

the problem common

to all humanity,

my problem,

is not a political problem,

it's not a financial problem,

it's not even a geographical problem

that I might be

in the wrong place.

My problem instead

is a moral

and a spiritual problem

that you and I,

regardless of who we are,

stand before the holy God

who made us

in exactly the same way.

Sin

and condemned for us

because we've not lived

for him

or worshipped him.

And Jesus says,

listen,

I am the only one

who can deal

with that problem.

I am the only one

who can deal

with that problem.

And I came

not just for the Jews,

not just for the Brits

or the Jamaicans

or the West Africans

or the Brazilians.

I came for anyone.

And he does that

by taking on our guilt,

satisfying justice

in his death on the cross,

making us new

by the Spirit

and bringing life

and reconciliation

with the God

who made all of us.

And Jesus says this morning,

whoever you are,

wherever you're from,

come to me.

Come and hear

this ancient word of grace.

You know,

I previewed that

with Adam

just in a few words.

I told him

that one would come

who would crush

the serpent's head.

That was me.

It was promised

to Abraham

who was given

circumcision as a sign.

It was then explained

to Moses in more detail

as he was given

the law and the temple.

We shadowed it in David

who was the king

and the champion.

But now,

says Jesus,

I have come.

I fulfilled all of that.

I am the new Adam.

I am the circumciser

of hearts.

I am the new temple,

the new place

that you come

to meet with God,

the place the old temple

was pointing to.

I am the final king,

the champion.

So all that searching

that you've been doing

ends with Jesus Christ.

Christ is for all peoples.

That means,

next step,

so church should be

for all people.

Because we're told,

aren't we here,

that we are to accept

one another

in exactly the same way

as Christ accepts us.

Now notice it really carefully.

Verse 7 does not say,

make sure the church

is for all kinds of people

as if the diversity

of nations in the church

is something that we are doing.

Essentially,

the instruction is not that.

Essentially,

the instruction is,

don't stop this.

Don't resist this.

Don't stand in the way

of what Christ is doing.

Don't let your sinful tendency

to be unfriendly

and unwelcoming,

to be ungenerous

to those unlike you.

Don't let that stop the church

from being what Christ

has always made it to be.

Instead,

take that acceptance

that you have from Christ,

that acceptance

that took you

from wherever

and whenever you were

and brought you

into God's family

by his grace

and his mercy

and turn that around

and use that for others,

accepting them

in fellowship

in just the same way.

Maybe I can say to you

this morning

if you're not a Christian

and someone's brought you

to church this morning

and you wonder,

why is it

that the friendship

that they extend to you

seems so much richer

and deeper

and better

and more loyal

than anything else

you've experienced?

Let me say that

is because

what you are experiencing

is the welcome

of the Lord Jesus Christ

through there.

That's what he's saying here.

So we become conduits

for Christ's love

of the nations,

which the end of verse 7

brings praise to God

because really

it's his welcome

on display.

Now before

we think about

the implications of this

let's just

think about

the power

of what Paul

is saying here

for a moment.

Notice that Paul

is assuming

that it is possible

for a local church,

for the church in Rome

that he was writing to

or our church

now today,

it is possible

for us to contradict

the work of Jesus Christ.

I mean there are

a number of ways

of us doing that, right?

We could contradict

the work of Jesus Christ

by saying something like

Jesus wasn't really divine.

That would contradict

the gospel, wouldn't it?

Or we could say

Jesus didn't rise

from the dead.

That would also

contradict the gospel.

If you go to churches

and they say those things

they're not telling you

the truth.

Jesus is divine,

he did rise from the dead.

But what Paul

is writing to

church in Rome

and saying to us

this morning

is he's saying

no, there's another way

of contradicting

the gospel of Jesus Christ

and that is by being

unwelcoming

to people who are

not like you.

You can tell a church

that loves Jesus

where Jesus is at work,

where Christ is present

by his spirit,

not so much because

the music sounds

a certain way,

you know,

oh yeah,

those are the chords

that Jesus plays.

It's not that, is it?

Not because they dress

a certain way,

that's not proof.

Not because they all

look the same

or look like they're

from the same place.

No, rather you can tell

that Christ is present

in a church

because the person

next to you

who looks nothing like you,

who sounds nothing like you,

who looks like they're

from a completely

different background to you,

turns to you and says,

hello,

welcome.

It's really lovely

to see you this morning.

So pleased you're here.

And it's as we extend

that welcome

towards one another

that we pass on

the acceptance

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It means, doesn't it,

if you're in a place

where people just hang around

with people who are

exactly the same as them,

where people only really

talk to people

who are the same age

or the same background,

you're not really

in a church.

And the message here

isn't, you know,

oh, what you really need

to do is try harder

and dig deeper.

I mean, it does involve

our effort,

but really this is

the power of the Lord.

This is his acceptance

working into our acceptance.

And so we're not

to resist it.

Don't resist the spirit.

Don't resist what he's doing.

You know, contrast that

with what's been happening

in our nation this week.

Or you could put it like this,

the mood of our nation

at the moment.

You know, the riots

and the trouble this week

are basically because

people are worried,

aren't we,

that we can't afford

to welcome people.

You know, if we open

our borders,

it means less to go around.

And like I'm saying,

Paul is not commenting

on that directly.

He really is not interested

in the nations of this world.

He's interested in the kingdom

of God, the church.

And he's very clear,

isn't he?

We can open the borders

of church just like

Jesus Christ has

because the resources

for welcome are unlimited.

That's why.

God is not limited

in his resources

to welcome people.

He has endless resources

of forgiveness and mercy

for all who would come.

And so we best make sure

whatever we do

that we don't with our attitudes

or our words to others

close them down

and block the pipeway.

So if you're a Christian

this morning,

this is your home

and you're welcome here.

If you've come through

the door of Jesus Christ,

he stands wide open

to all people

of all backgrounds

saying welcome home.

Welcome.

Now the implications of this

are around verses 7 to 12.

You may have noticed

if you're very, very observant

as the Bible was read

by Natasha earlier

that verses 5 and 6

and verse 13

are very similar.

They kind of like

sandwich our passage

between them.

So verse 5 and verse 13

start in the same way.

May the God.

And then they both have a

so that following them.

And really if you like

these are sort of like

prayerful blessings

from Paul to the people.

He's saying this

I am praying this to God

I'm asking God for this

but I also want everyone

to hear so that you

know what I'm asking for.

So let's deal with

each of them in turn.

The first one is to do

with God's glory.

God's glory.

Look at verse 5

let me read it to you again.

May the God

who gives endurance

and encouragement

give you the same

attitude of mind

toward each other

that Christ Jesus had

so that with one mind

and one voice

you may glorify

the God and Father

of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now the first give

in that sentence

in verse 5

is not actually there

in the Greek.

It's literally

may the God of endurance

and encouragement.

Just like verse 13

is the God of hope

and we'll look at that

in a moment.

So here it is

God who possesses

the endurance

and the encouragement

and yes he gives it to us

in passing it on

to his people

the attitude of Christ

so that through

the endurance

and encouragement of God

we might think

of one another

in the same way

as Christ thinks of others.

Now that's exactly

what we've been seeing

isn't it?

Christ accepts us

so we've been given

this mind towards others

so we also accept

one another

on the same terms.

His acceptance

flows through us

and we do that

don't we?

So that

verse 6

in a wonderful unity

of mind and voice

we might glorify God

and Father of our Lord

Jesus Christ

one voice

proclaiming his glory.

Perhaps we could put it

this way

gospel culture

if you like

gospel culture

is both massively broad

and also incredibly narrow

at the same time.

Right so gospel culture

the culture of the kingdom

of God

is so broad

you cannot possibly express

the culture

of the kingdom

of God

with just one

national culture.

You have to

in order to represent

gospel culture

it has to be

all nations.

We saw that didn't we

and we're going to see it again

in Revelation 7

in a few moments.

So yes

the sinful parts

of those national cultures

they will be

outside of gospel culture.

It is

it's broad

but it's not so broad

to scoop up

the sinful parts

of different people's cultures.

cultures

but it's bigger

than any one subculture.

But it's also really narrow

because gospel culture

is centered

unified

one voice

on Jesus Christ

is united in him.

Not in such a way

that obliterates

national identities

making one

national identity

and language

but by

holding the breadth

of everybody together

in one voice

in Jesus Christ.

And that's Revelation 7

isn't it

that we were looking at

with the children.

After this I looked

and there before me

was a great multitude

that no one could count

from every nation

tribe

people

and language

standing before

the throne

and the Lamb

wearing white robes

and holding palm branches

in their hands

and they cried out

in a loud voice

salvation belongs

to our God

who sits on the throne

and to the Lamb.

Now notice

you can still see

in Revelation 7

the different

national

and cultural differences.

It's not

one language

or one identity

rather God

is glorified

by the unity

of the diversity

who are worshipping him.

It's as they come

with all their

different languages

a great multitude

that no one can number

but they are singing

praises to Jesus.

When I was a child

my parents used to

take me to a

Christian conference

in Wales

in Aberystwyth.

It was amazing

I went every year

I think between

the age of zero

and the age of 18.

It used to meet

in packed out

old churches

and they would sing

old hymns

and I listened to

some really amazing

preachers down the years

and that was mostly

because I was banned

from the children's ministry

which is a totally

different story

and you can ask me

that later

if you'd like to.

But from time to time

one of these

great Welsh preachers

would say something

like this

they'd say

do you know what

this hymn is so much

better in Welsh.

In heaven

we'll all be singing

in Welsh.

And I'd sit there

as a kid going

I can't even read

the road signs

in Wales.

Am I not going to be

allowed to sing

in heaven?

And the truth is

isn't it

Revelation 7

that says

really

Welsh is the language

of heaven

but

so is English

so is Lingala

so is French

so is Patois

so is German

so is Spanish

they're all the languages

of heaven

and we will sing

together

not in confusion

but in unity

of the glory

of Jesus

salvation belongs

to him

he saved me

what's that?

And so here's the thing

for us as a church

God is glorified

by us

not by us enforcing

a single strong culture

expecting everyone

to look the same

and sound the same

and dress the same

we glorify God

not by aiming

for young adults

or for families

or for people like this

or people like that

we glorify God

by the differences

between us

united in Jesus Christ

and so the message

really is

come as you are

come as you are

you know

if you've got

a great Scottish accent

like Louise

praise God

in that language

in that accent

we'd love to hear it

if you want to

if you want to come

in a suit and a tie

you come in a suit and tie

that's great

you're very welcome

if you want to come

to church

in a track suit

like a road man

you come to church

in a track suit

you're very welcome

we'd love to have you

if you want to wear

your national dress

wear it

you're welcome

if you want to clap

you clap

not now

but if you want to clap

you can clap

if you feel a bit

uncomfortable clapping

because you've got

the same issue

that I've got

which is a lack

of rhythm altogether

and it just makes

it sound terrible

then that's fine

you just stand there

with your hands

in your pockets

because we don't

want to rob God

of the glory

that belongs to him

and the glory

that belongs to him

is that we're all

different

but we're saved

in the same way

through Jesus Christ

now that doesn't mean

that church is chaos

and it doesn't mean

either that church

is a platform

for showing off

who you are

rather church

is a platform

for Jesus Christ

to show off

how great he is

and so we focus

on him

the second implication

here in verse 13

is slightly different

we've gone from

God's glory now

to look at our good

and let's think

about our joyful hope

our joyful hope

let me read verse 13

to you again

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

notice here again

God is the possessor

of hope

he is the God

of hope

in fact as you look

back at verse 12

you can see that

in a sense

God is our hope

our hope

is to be with God

in him

the Gentiles

the nations

will hope

our hope then

is to be

with God

and notice

that this God

of hope

fills us

with joy

and peace

as we hope

in him

so that we are

overflowing

with hope

or really

overflowing

with him

as he fills us

with the spirits

it's amazing really

isn't it

Paul wants us

to remember

that as hard

as we're working

now

as much

as we want

our church life

to be brilliant

as much

as we want

to welcome

and accept

one another

whoever we are

wherever we're from

still the gospel

is not just about

now

it's about

the future

gospel is about

hope

the church

is about

something bigger

and better

and more glorious

than just local church

our hope

is not to be

here

but is to be

with God

with him

eternally

in him

we want to be

in the Revelation 7

crowd

don't we

that we've been

thinking about

praising him

and being with him

and notice

that

it's that

future hope

it's the hope

of being there

that brings us

in the present

joy

and peace

because for all

the wonders

of local church

right now

and for all

of the great

things that we

enjoy in

Christian fellowship

with one another

it is still

not quite

home

and even if

we do a really

brilliant job

we will always

sense deep

in our hearts

somewhere

this is

this is just

not quite

the right

place

not quite

home yet

Andrew Barnett

and I went

to some

lectures this

week at my

old seminary

in North

London

and we

sat in the

very same

lecture theatre

that I'd sat

in nearly 25

years ago

to listen to

my lectures

and as we

were walking

out Andrew

said to me

this must feel

really good

for you

it must feel

like you're

coming back

home in a

way

I explained

no it

didn't feel

like that

at all

I remember

being there

as a student

who couldn't

afford the

fees

so basically

I was allowed

to sit in

on the

lectures

as long

as I didn't

try and answer

any of the

questions

and you know

the lecturers

were very

kind to me

and so were

the other

students

but I never

really felt

like I

should be

there

and it

was funny

just going

back to it

so many

years later

and still

having that

same

feeling

I don't

really

really belong

here

I don't

really fit

in

and we get

that don't

we in lots

of different

places

maybe you've

experienced

it this

week

we're

complicated

people

and any

sense of

feeling at

home

is really

elusive

this side

of glory

we are

all of us

aren't we

deeply

insecure

and really

what Paul is

saying here

is that actually

that is not

really an issue

of geography

there is no

place that you

could travel to

that you would

feel perfectly

at home

as a Christian

and the problem

isn't just

imposter syndrome

that you are

sat in that

lecture theatre

full of all

these really bright

people and you

know that you're

not there on the

same terms as

them like I

felt

as if

oh if only

you had a bit

more self-confidence

Steve then

you'd feel at

home

it's not that

is it

no those

things are

really just

symptoms of

a deeper

problem

you know

if you feel

a little bit

sort of

I'm not quite

sure where I

fit in at

church

actually there's

a sense

in which you

couldn't really

move to

another local

church and

find it much

better

if you're

sitting there

think well

if only there

were more

people my

age I'd

feel a bit

more at

home

these are

all symptoms

aren't they

the deeper

problem is

that all of

us live

our lives

in this

world away

from God

that despite

his presence

being with

us by the

spirit we

are still

yet to be

fully with

him as we

will be in

glory and

while church

is meant to

be the best

of it this

side of glory

the gospel

says that

home is not

the local

church but

home is with

the Lord

that's our

home

because we're

not getting

there in

our lives

rather Christ

is taking us

home and

that brings us

peace in the

present you

know we said

earlier didn't we

about that feeling

of anxiety of

wondering am I

really on the

right platform is

this really going

to be my bus am

I going to end

up in the right

place is this the

right plane am

at the right

gate and that

Jesus is saying

to the Jewish

I am your

savior I will

take you to the

right place well

really what Paul

is saying here

is this and in

Jesus Christ you

know you're on

the bus and he

will take you

home you will

be there and

however lumpy and

bumpy the journey

is you will be

home so every

cultural gaffe we

make every

accidental offense

that we cause

will be one more

little reminder

do you know

what your net

you're not yet

home but you

will be one day

and there we'll

receive this

glorious welcome

from the king

who died for us

who says I've

been waiting for

you welcome

home welcome

home let me

pray as I

close

heavenly father we

want to praise you

and thank you

that the lord

jesus christ is a

savior for all

kinds of people

that whoever we

are this morning

wherever we're

from whatever our

backgrounds however

good or bad or

otherwise we feel

like we've been

jesus is just the

savior that we

need and thank

you that he is a

savior who promises

to bring us home

to be with you

eternally and

lord we want to

ask that this side

of being home

that our local

church would feel

like a kind of a

mini oasis along

the way a resting

place a place of

peace and joy and

welcome and

acceptance and we

thank you that

because of where we

live and the time

that we live in there

are so many different

people in this room

and we thank you and

praise you for each

one of them we

thank you for all the

different stories in

the room of your

goodness and your

love and your

kindness and your

mercy and we pray

that you would be

honored and glorified

as with all of our

differences with

united voice we

praise jesus and as

we point to his

glory and his

majesty in his

name we pray

amen