Romans 15:8-13

I really appreciate the privilege of being able to talk about this wonderful topic today.

! Why don't you turn with me to Romans chapter 15.

Romans 15 · chapter mention

! I'm going to be reading from verses 8-13.

Romans 15, 8-13.

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

and 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.

And again, praise the Lord, all you Gentiles.

For the serious reader of the Bible, there should be no question

that hope is a foundational part of the gospel message.

And as such, it's a foundational part of the Advent season.

The genesis of hope is first observed in the Garden of Eden.

There God promised our first parents that they could expect Him to remedy their fallen condition.

Eve's seed would one day crush the serpent's head.

Later, as the Israelite nation and religion and culture developed,

hope was reaffirmed and strengthened through the many prophetic oracles.

And that hope reached its peak in the period between the Testaments

and was focused on the coming or Advent of the Messiah of Israel.

But the question for us this morning is not whether hope has a role in the Advent message,

in the gospel.

The question for us this morning is,

how much does hope affect our ongoing experience of the gospel?

How much does Advent hope form our values?

How much does it impact our daily decisions?

And how much does it shape our life and the life of the church?

There appears in Scripture to be something about the experience of hope

that God intended as a means to aid Christian growth and unity.

It was God who built hope into the Israelite faith.

And it is God who continues to inspire hope in us now.

During the Advent season, we remind ourselves about the coming of Christ.

It certainly is a time to reflect on the baby in the manger.

But it's also a time to rekindle hope in His second Advent.

And it needs to be rekindled.

In our advanced and comfortable and pleasure-filled world,

it's easy to lose sight of our hope.

So if our anticipation has waned,

if our hope has dimmed,

our growth and witness will be stunted.

But I don't believe God just wants us to regain a dimmed hope.

I believe this morning He wants it to abound in us.

And that is the message of today's passage.

Romans 15 is a chapter that gives a glimpse of God's intent for hope.

It shows us

that God wants you and I to experience a life that abounds in hope.

A life that abounds in Advent hope.

I think that's something quite different from the simple assumption

that someday Jesus is coming back and heaven's going to be a great place.

Instead, it is a vital, living, purifying, worship-inspiring hope

that shapes all of our life

while we eagerly anticipate and wait for Christ to return.

From verses 8 through 13,

I'd like to point out three aspects that we can glean

regarding Advent hope

and what it means for our lives today.

First of all,

Advent hope means

that you can trust God

to keep His promises.

You can trust God

to keep His promises.

Really, this is the basis,

the foundation

for everything else.

Look at verse 8 again.

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 here we see one of the many reasons

why Jesus came.

It's highlighted here in this verse.

His coming

simply demonstrates

God's truthfulness.

God can be trusted

in what He says.

He spoke to the fathers

of the Israelite nation

promising them

that He would bring salvation to the world

through them.

The birth,

the life,

the death,

the resurrection of Jesus

demonstrated,

among many other things,

demonstrated that God

keeps His word.

God's promises

can be trusted.

Now, even though the word hope

doesn't appear in this verse,

it is the theme of the paragraph.

And it's implied by the mention

of the word promises.

hope is generally defined

in the world

as an expectation

of something desired.

And it's important

to have those components,

expectation and desire.

Because there is a difference.

It's not just a desire,

it's a desire that has

an element of expectation to it.

It's kind of interesting.

Esther reminded me,

she was my translator in Italy

for three years

as I was,

would go to the markets

or preach or whatever.

She always happened to be with me.

And she reminded me last night

that this concept was real difficult

because there isn't a distinction

between wish and hope

in Italian.

And it was difficult

for people to understand that.

But that's important here

because it does have

this sense of expectation

with it.

Now, I understand

that sometimes we use

the word hope

to express doubt.

I hope so.

You know,

what are we saying?

I don't know

if that's going to happen.

No way.

But that's not

what it normally means.

It does have

a sense of expectation.

Hope is a common

and powerful theme

in the modern world,

even though it might not be

the biblical definition.

It's often used

to emphasize

the possibilities

of human potential.

I don't know

how many movies you watch,

but there's a scene

in the theory of everything.

You know,

have you seen

any of you

familiar with that?

The story of

Stephen Hawking's life.

And

during a lecture

in the movie,

he began taking questions

and a man rose

and asked,

knowing that

Hawking didn't believe

in God,

did he have some kind

of philosophy

of life

that helped him?

And

after

giving a short

description

of the apparent

insignificance

of human existence,

he then said this,

however bad

life may seem,

there is always

something you can do

and succeed at.

While there is life,

there is hope.

And at that point,

the audience stood up

and broke out

in this amazing applause.

You know,

wow, yes,

that's so true.

He was quoting

Roman orator

Marcus Cicero.

And, you know,

you could look at that

and say,

yeah, okay,

there's,

from whatever

perspective

you're looking at,

there's truth

to that,

but that's

not the

biblical idea.

It is

the hope

of the world.

It is the

philosophy of the world

which says

there really is

no meaning

to the universe.

But even though

we're insignificant

and even though

we have real problems,

we should hope

for something.

We should hope

for something better

and,

as is the theme

of many of

modern science movies,

together we can face

any obstacle

in hope of survival

or for a better world.

And when you think

about what

they're really saying

is that

the hope

we're supposed

to have

is just

impossibility.

That something

could be possible

if we join together

or if we work hard,

if we do

what

good

human beings

have evolved

to do.

The problem

is there's no

assurance

at all.

No assurance

that the expectation

is anything

more than

mere possibility.

And because of that

many philosophers

today have argued

that there really

is no

reasonable

basis for hope.

And to live

with hope

is to live

with an illusion.

And yet

people continue

and will continue

to hold on

to this kind

of hope.

I think it's

interesting what

one self-proclaimed

American agnostics

one said,

he said,

I suppose

it can be

truthfully said

that hope

is the only

universal liar

who never

loses

his reputation

for veracity.

Did you get that?

I had to read it

twice.

I suppose

it can be

truthfully said

that hope

is the only

universal liar

who never

loses

his reputation

for veracity.

At least

he was being

honest.

And people

will continue

to hope

this way

because

it's all

they have.

hope

but it's

quite different

from

the biblical

portrayal

of hope.

And you can

see a quote

in your

bulletin

Daniel

Caudry.

Now what

is hope?

But the

expectation

of those

things

which God

has promised.

And we

find in the

scripture

that

it defines

hope

in this

way.

Two parts.

First

an

expectation

of something

desired

which includes

something

promised

and two

a certain

future

reality.

A

certain

future

reality.

It's not

just a

possibility.

It's

something

promised

by a

truthful

God

confirmed

by the

coming

of

Christ.

Advent

hope

assures

us

that God

keeps his

promises

and you

can trust

him

to keep

all of

them.

Now

not only

does

Advent

hope

mean you

can trust

God

to keep

his

promises

but

abundant

Advent

hope

means

you

have

inherited

the

same

promises.

You

have

inherited

the

same

promises.

That's

his

point

here

in

these

verses.

!

God

in

order

that

so

here's

a

second

reason.

Why

did he

come?

Why

did he

become

a

servant?

He

did

so

to have

mercy

on us.

It was

God's

mercy

that

included

you

and me

in the

messianic

hope.

Paul

says

elsewhere

in

Ephesians

that

the

Gentiles

were

once

strangers

to the

covenants

of

promise

having

no hope

and without

God in

the world.

Chapter

2

verse

12

But

now

they

have

been

brought

near

by

God's

rich

mercy

chapter

2

verse

4

and

through

the

blood

of

Christ

2

13

Now

Paul

could

have

just

said

Jesus

came

to

save

the

world

but

I

like

the

way

he

says

it

here

he

says

it

in

a

way

that

highlights

our

response

we

will

glorify

God

for

his

mercy

and

then

he

quotes

four

Old

Testament

prophecies

to

demonstrate

this

in

verse

9

we

see

that

he

indicates

that

something

has

changed

in

the

world

and

God

is

now

worshipped

among

all

the

nations

and

in

verse

10

scripture

calls

on

the

nations

to

rejoice

with

the

people

of

God

the

Jewish

people

and

in

verse

11

to

worship

the

Lord

then

in

verse

12

we

see

the

reason

another

quote

from

Isaiah

and

there

we

see

that

the

messianic

root

of

Jesse

comes

to

establish

his

reign

over

all

people

and

he

himself

becomes

our

hope

I

think

it

was

always

God's

intent

to

include

us

it

was

always

God's

intent

to

include

the

nations

in

his

plan

even

though

for

a

time

he

isolated

what

looked

like

his

affections

on

one

particular

people

and

gave

them

promises

and

worked

with

them

and

judged

and

had

mercy

on

them

and

yet

it

was

his

promises

to

the

patriarchs

!

that

included

us

to

those

of us

who

believe

in

Jesus

we

inherit

the

same

promises

and

we

see

that

in

Ephesians

3

we

are

now

joint

heirs

and

partakers

of the

promise

in

Christ

Jesus

through

the

gospel

verse

6

of

chapter

3

so

the

triumph

the

promise

of

triumph

the

blessing

of

Abraham

the

messianic

heritage

!

the

righteousness

that we

receive

by

faith

the

resurrection

from

the

dead

new

glorified

bodies

and

eternal

life

in

the

kingdom

of

God

belong

to

you

and

me

as

well

now

what is

this

hope

what

what are

we

talking

about

when we

we

say

we

have

hope

we

have

hope

in

these

promises

and

yet

reading

them

it's

perhaps

difficult

to

understand

exactly

what

is

involved

here

and

I

think

that's

the

point

hope

is

a

glimpse

into

the

future

a

glimpse

at

what

God

has

provided

and

yet

God

wants

us

to

understand

that

glimpse

and

I

believe

that's

what

the

apostle

prays

in

Ephesians

Ephesians 1:18

chapter

1

verse

18

when

he

says

in

his

main

amazing

prayer

in

chapter

1

having

the

eyes

of

your

heart

enlightened

that

you

may

know

what

is

the

hope

to

which

he

has

called

you

that's

Paul's

earnest

and

sincere

prayer

and

I

believe

therefore

God's

desire

for you

this

morning

God

wants

your

eyes

to be

opened

God

wants

you

to

see

more

clearly

than

ever

before

your

hope

what

it

is

he

has

planned

what

it

is

he

has

promised

to

you

so

that

it

might

have

an

impact

on

you

now

understanding

this

requires

enlightenment

because

we

really

can't

comprehend

it

we

have

little

to

compare

it

to

in

this

world

but

we

do

have

the

passages

in

scripture

that

give

us

a

glimpse

and

there

are

four

that

are

particularly

linked

to

the

word

inheritance

in

Mark

Mark 10 · chapter mention

chapter

10

it's

linked

to

the

eternal

kingdom

of

God

in

Hebrews

Hebrews 1 · chapter mention

chapter

1

it's

linked

to

salvation

in

Luke

Luke 10 · chapter mention

chapter

10

it's

linked

to

eternal

life

and

1

Peter

3

it's

linked

to

the

grace

of

life

it's

associated

with

Jesus

return

called

the

blessed

hope

in

Titus

Titus 2 · chapter mention

chapter

2

we are

told

that

we are

heirs

of

God

in

Galatians

4

and fellow

heirs

with

Christ

in

Romans

Romans 8 · chapter mention

chapter

8

whatever

this hope

is

it's

located

in

the

new

heavens

and

the

new

earth

according

to

Isaiah

66

and

2

Peter

3

and

Revelation

21

it's

typified

as a

mansion

in

heaven

in

John

14

as a

building

not

made

with

hands

in

2

Corinthians

5

as an

eternal

city

in

Hebrews

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

chapter

11

the

quality

of this

inheritance

is made

clear to

us

in

1

Peter

where

he

says

that

it is

imperishable

it's

undefiled

it's

unfading

and it's

kept

for you

in

heaven

and

Paul

I think

exasperated

with how

to describe

it in

2nd

Corinthians

4

just

says

an

eternal

weight

of glory

beyond

all

comparison

how

do

you

describe

that

I

think

it's

difficult

and

we

have

to

admit

with

Paul

that

even

though

we

are

told

these

things

we

really

don't

know

what

it

will

be

like

to

live

there

to

live

in

this

kind

of

life

one

way

to

look

at

it

is

negatively

there

will

be

no

impure

thoughts

or

motives

no

fears

or

worries

no

loneliness

no

orphans

no

stillborn

babies

no

maintenance

no

slums

no

need

of

police

no

prisons

no

planes

no

trains

no

cars

no

high

tone

sound

of

the

sirens

no

bad

news

booze

or

bars

if

you're

familiar

with

the

Isaacs

no

political

parties

no

corrupt

officials

no

misunderstandings

no

war

no

conflicts

of

any

kind

and

as

it

says

in

revelation

21

no

death

no

mourning

no

crying

nor

pain

and

suffering

now

that's

enough

to

get

me

excited

but

think

further

about

that

what

are

the

possibilities

of

living

in a

perfect

world

a

perfect

universe

where

everyone

is

righteous

to

be

able

to

explore

the

wonders

of

God's

creation

without

the

limitations

of

the

curse

to

enjoy

the

depths

of

God's

goodness

and

power

and

apply

his

wisdom

in

our

reign

because

that's

what it

says

will be

ours

we will

reign

with

Christ

or

consider

the

possibilities

of

utilizing

brand

new

bodies

that are

not just

these

old

bodies

restored

to

health

but

completely

new

bodies

wonderfully

designed

for a

grander

and eternal

life

and you

put your

brain

around

that

and try

to imagine

what it

means

that God

himself

God

himself

the

sovereign

all

powerful

good

merciful

gracious

loving

beautiful

one

is

our

inheritance

!

He

is

our

inheritance!

Well

our

understanding

is certainly

limited but

we do

know

that it

is way

better

than what

we could

ever

have

here

we

knew

we do

know

that it

belongs

to us

as well

and we

should

and we

should

gratefully

and

eagerly

anticipate

it

God

wants

you to

know

the

value

set

your

mind

on

eagerly

anticipate

what he

has

promised

promised

because

he has

promised

it

to

you

so

Advent

hope

means

one

you can

trust

God

to keep

his

promises

two

that

you

become

an

heir

of the

same

amazing

promises

and

finally

Advent

hope

means

you

can

live

free

from

the

attachments

of

this

world

while

you

eagerly

wait

for

those

promises

to be

fulfilled

look at

verse 13

the

apostle

concludes

his

thoughts

by

proclaiming

a

blessing

on

the

church

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

Paul

begins

this

verse

this

blessing

by

referring

to the

father

in a

unique

way

the

God

of

hope

that

might

be a

little

confusing

to us

what

does

that

mean

we

can

understand

the

God

of

love

because

he's

full

of

love

or

or

what

other

ones

are

there

I'm

ad

living

here

I

better

not

do

that

the

God

of

hope

what

he

appears

to me

to be

saying

is that

God

is the

originator

of hope

not that

he

hopes

necessarily

I don't

know

I've

never

thought that

through

very well

why

would

he

but

but

but

it

does

appear

and

the

context

seem

to

support

that

he's

talking

about

God

as

the

originator

the

one

who

inspires

hope

in us

in

creating

this

world

a

world

that

would

experience

great

suffering

he

mercifully

allows

us

a

glimpse

of

his

ultimate

plan

to

remedy

the

situation

and

that

expectation

helps

carry

us

through

doesn't

it

and

it

keeps

us

humble

so

that

we

can

make

or

so

that

he

can

work

in

us

and

through

us

now

the

apostle

invokes

this

God

of

hope

to

increase

our

own

hope

but

instead

of

just

saying

may

God

give

you

greater

hope

he

lets

us

see

how

God

would

do

that

it's

a

process

it

involves

increased

joy

and

peace

connected

to

faith

and

that

increase

enables

the

Holy

Spirit

to

make

hope

abound

in

us

so

it's

not

just

something

I

can

say

hey

hope

more

and

that

happens

God

does

a

work

in

us

hope

really

doesn't

originate

from

us

if

your

hope

is

has

dimmed

you

won't

be

able

on

your

own

to

restore

it

God

needs

to

do

that

and

there's

a

process

that

involves

and

it

requires

us

to

humble

ourselves

before

him

without

a doubt

though

this

is

God's

will

for

us

he

wants

our

faith

to

abound

but

what

does

that

mean

what

is

the

difference

between

hoping

and

abounding

in

hope

how

do

you

measure

that

that

difference

I

don't

think

he's

saying

the

more

hope

the

more

you

hope

for

the

more

you'll

get

I

don't

think

that's

what's

implied

here

but

I

believe

it's

a

measure

of

hope

that

happens

right

now

in

this

life

it

has

to do

with

the

degree

of

expectation

that

you

have

for

what

God

has

promised

if

hope

is

an

expectation

of

what

is

sure

to

come

then

abounding

hope

is a

greater

and

eager

anticipation

of

it

and

that

degree

can

be

measured

in

our