Romans 15:8-13

                                                                 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, 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; in him will 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.

The Jews are God’s chosen people.  He purposed to use the nation of Israel as a means of blessing and reaching all nations.  God’s mission in the world is to be worshiped by all nations in all languages.  He wants His glory and the fame of Jesus to be spread to all people in all places.  Just as God worked through the Jews to reach the Gentiles, He continues to work through those who have been reached to reach others.  Each member of the Trinity is actively at work to reach all nations for their own glory.

 

THE FATHER BLESSED THE JEWS TO BLESS THE GENTILES: When God called Abraham, He promised him that all the nations would be blessed through his offspring.  That promised was fulfilled in Jesus.  The Father sent the Son to serve the Jews so that the promise to Abraham could come true and the Gentile nations would be blessed by bringing glory to God.  There is no greater blessing than that of being able to fulfill the purpose for which we were created: bringing glory to God.  Unfortunately, much of the world continues to be in darkness and blindly worships idols of their own making.  God blesses us with the knowledge of the truth so we can bless others by reveling that truth to them.

 

THE SON WAS PRAISED BY JEWS FOR THE JOY OF GENTILES: The fame of Christ was spread in all the nations through the Gospel.  The first believers in Christ were all Jews.  They responded to Christ by praising Him and promoting His praise in all nations.  This brought great joy to all peoples.  The result of forgiveness and the privilege of worship is the purest form of joy.  We rejoice because of the Gospel and because it is good to praise the Lord.  We truly enjoy doing what we were created to do.  All other sources of satisfaction and pursuits of pleasure are temporary and will ultimately leave us empty and longing for joy.  That joy can only be found in worshiping The God who created us for His glory.

 

THE SPIRIT USED THE RULE OF JESUS FOR THE HOPE OF GENTILES: When we trust Christ to rescue us from sin, the Spirit of God indwells us.  When we recognize the rule of Christ in the world and over our lives, He infuses our lives with hope and peace.  As we submit to Him, our lives begin to change, and the Spirit conforms our lives to the image of Christ.  When we see His work taking place in our lives, it gives us even greater hope.  The power of the Holy Spirit is at work in us so we have every reason to be hopeful that His work will, one day, be eternally complete and the image of Christ will be visible in us.  This is the hope of the Gospel.

APPLICATION: Knowing and worshiping God is a blessing we must be faithful to share with those around us and must be intentional to spread to all the nations of the world.  Rejoice in the Lord and demonstrate that joy by praising the Lord.  Don’t complain about the circumstances of life.  Rejoice that God is using every circumstance to conform His Children to the image of Christ.  Never lose hope in the power of the Spirit to produce that image in us for eternity. 

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