Romans 15- Glory to God

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I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God. For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed, Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation: But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand. Romans 15:17-21

Why do we do any of the things we do? Why do we go to Church? Why do we share the gospel with others? Why do we pray for one another? Is it so we can check off the list of “Christian” things to do? Or do we do these things to give Glory to God? The Apostle Paul begins here “ I may glory through Jesus Christ” Everything we do is because Christ lives in us, not because we are righteous or because our flesh even wants to, its because we live to glorify God!

As Paul has also said “Let him who boast, boast in The Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:31) I visited a Church once where the Pastor bragged to me all the people he led to Christ, the reality is we didn’t lead anyone to Christ. People are drawn to Christ by Christ himself, and not of ourselves. If we are going to boast about anything that happened in our lives, or anything that happened in our Church, boast in The Lord. All glory needs to be given to God!

It reminds me when Mose struck the rock in the wilderness, however Moses failed to give glory to God. Moses allowed the people to give him credit for the living water in the wilderness, because of Moses disobedience, he was not allowed to enter in the Promise Land. (Numbers 20:1-12) Let this be a warning to all of us, in all things you do, give the glory to God, because without God there would be no glory. Without Christ, you would be dry bones in the valley of death, without the Holy Spirit, you would be no better than a wild donkey, its only because of God we could possibly see the Kingdom of Heaven

The Apostle Paul continues “For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me” Paul acknowledges anything that He has accomplished, is because of Christ in Him. Any Gentile that has come to faith in Christ, is because of Christ himself. We are the vessels of God, (2 Corinthians 4:7) therefor in all things we do, give glory to God not ourselves!

And remember what our mission is, as the Apostle Paul stated “I have fully preached the gospel of Christ” In all things you do for God, make sure you have fully proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ, the only way to salvation, the only hope for a fallen world, and all glory to God our Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Amen!

Romans 15- The Spotless Church

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And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of God, That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. Romans 15:14-16

If The Apostle Paul was around today, he would be writing Churches a letter, he might even be writing your Church a letter. And instead of Christians receiving these letters with great joy, as Paul was an Apostle filled with the Holy Spirit. Christians today would mostly dismiss Paul as a “legalist” and “judgemental” , however the Apostle Paul wrote these letters, not to condemn his brothers and sisters, but to remind and enlighten them with the wisdom of God

Paul begins with a positive note, “my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able or competent to instruct or admonish one another” Imagine the hours and years Paul had to pour into this Church to get them to this point! This is what Jesus instructs us to do “Go Make Disciples” (Matthew 28:19) Yet most Churches today, most Christians don’t want to be discipled or make disciples. This has been the downfall of the modern Church, the lack of love and discipline to The Lord. Paul has labored with many Churches, making many disciples, and He’s ready to let the Church of Rome on their own, as Paul is coming to the end of his life in prison.

But next , since Paul loves these brothers and sisters in Christ, he must tell them the truth, he must rebuke them. As scripture says “For The Lord disciplines those he loves” (Hebrews 12:6) Yet most Christians today don’t want to be disciplined, they don’t want to be discipled, they don’t want to submit to any authority, because most of the Church today is Luke Warm,  it’s carnally centered false religion. The Apostle Paul states “Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God”

Paul admits he had to be hard on the Church sometimes, just as a parent sometimes has to show tough love to their children, not because Paul wanted to condemn the Church, but because he loves the Church and wants them to grow in sanctification. However the flesh for most overcomes the spirit. Many have rejected Pauls instructions, just as many Christians still do today. The Apostle Paul was preparing the Church to be a spotless bride before The Lord (Ephesians 5:27)

The Apostle Paul continues “that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” Let me ask you , are you Born Again? (John 3:3) And if so, are you being sanctified by the Holy Spirit? Looking back in the past years, have you really grown in The Lord? Or have you become a dead branch? Have you produced fruit of the Holy Spirit? Or are you a dead tree waiting to be cut down and thrown into the fire? (Matthew 7) Answer the calling of our Father,  Submit to The Lord, submit to the Church, be sanctified by the Holy Spirit, Amen

Romans 15- What Is Your Hope?

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Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. Romans 15:13

My question or challenge you for this morning, is what gives you hope? Many people try to find hope within different places, many people try to find hope in their occupation or in politics, or in their bank accounts. However none of these things will give you hope, because they are here today and gone tomorrow. Many people don’t want to confront the truth about this world, that its corrupted and fading away on a daily basis. 

Our only true hope is Jesus Christ, as the Apostle Paul states “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing” Why is Jesus our only hope? Is it just because I’m a Christian? What is your greatest enemy? Everyday you get closer to the grave, everyday our world is falling further away from Paradise, every day disease and sin overtake our bodies, who can cure such things?

This is why Jesus Christ is your only hope, this is why Jesus Christ is the God of hope, when Christ went to the cross, He defeated sin and death forever. When Christ rose from the dead on the 3rd day, the grave and the devil are left powerless. Oh death where is your sting? Oh grave where is your victory? (1 Corinthians 15:54-57) All enemies have been put under the feet of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:25) Christ has overcome the world (John 16:33)

Because of what Christ accomplished , “you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit” We are victorious through Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57) So what must we do? As the Apostle Peter said “You must repent, be baptized, and receive the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:37) We are saved by grace through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8) This is your Victory, this is your living hope in our Lord Jesus Christ! As Christ said on the cross “It Is Finished” (John 19:30)

So I’ll ask you, do you have hope today? Have you given your life to Jesus Christ our Lord? Don’t look to the temporary things of this world that are fading away, look to the eternal Son of God who has overcome sin, death, the devil, and this world, our living Hope Jesus Christ, Amen!

Romans 15- Receive One Another

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Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust. Romans 15:7-12

I recently saw a survey that stated, over half of “American Christians” haven’t been to Church in a year. Now I have to wonder what the laundry list of excuses “Christians” make for forsaking the assembly? The Pastor is no good, the songs are not right, the people are not holy enough….Have you ever examined yourself with such precision? To think your going to find the perfect Church is a clear misunderstanding of the human condition. There are no perfect people or perfect Pastors, including yourself! These are not real excuses to forsake the assembly of the Church (Hebrews 10:26)

The Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, says “receive or accept one another, as Chirst also received us to the glory of God”  Have you received or accepted your brothers and sisters in Christ? The harness of your hearts will say “I’m better than these people”, “these people are not real Christians” You are consumed by the flesh and not the Holy Spirit, this is why you forsake the assembly of the Church. Christ forgave us, so we should forgive one another (Ephesians 4:32) Don’t be like the Pharisees who believe they will sit at the high seat at the Wedding Feast, only to be thrown out! (Matthew 22:1-14)

The body of Christ, The Church is made up of many different people, Jew and Gentile, this is the New Covenant in Christ. I’m sure the Jew will say, they don’t do this right, and I’m sure the Gentile will say, they are legalist, however we are all saved by grace through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9) Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, black and white, male and female, you are only a Child of God through Christ (Galatians 3:26) 

The Apostle Paul quotes several Messianic Prophecies of the Old Testament, Jesus Christ fulfilled them all. As the prophet Isaiah fortold “There shall be a root of Jesse (Christ) and He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles , In Him (Christ) The Gentiles shall hope!” (Isaiah 11:10, Romans 15:12) The New Covenant in Christ was foretold since the beginning of time, has been fulfilled and accomplished by Jesus Christ, we are the Church through Christ, receive one another because Christ has received You! Amen!