Sermon notes - 12/7/25

Romans 15 4-13

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"For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Crhst has welcomed you, for the glory of God. 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 says '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."

Romans 15: 4-13

This text serves as Paul’s last official instructional moment for the people of God at Rome. It is a text that is calling us to remain bound to Christ, but also bound to one another.

When we think about biblical peace, it’s more than the absence of conflict. Biblical peace represents wholeness and completeness. The arrival of Jesus means the arrival of “Shalom” wholeness of peace between God and His people. Jesus arrived with peace, but when he ascended, he left peace behind with us!

We’ve been given this peace with God because the Holy Spirit and salvation has been left with us and his word has been left with us. Because of this, peace may exist among all the faithful.

This peace is one aspect of our testimony to the world as we wait for Jesus's Second Coming. So we must ask ourselves: What does it mean to be the kind of people who profess a God who came with peace, left peace and is coming with peace?

The groups that Paul is writing to here are a people disrupted by class, ethnicity, etc. but Paul is showing us that there is hope for peace within all that division.

Paul argues that strong gospel minded Christians have an obligation to bear with and carry their weak Gospel minded Christian siblings. We are to lovingly bear with our brothers and sisters who may be too tied up with laws and restrictions of conscience.With intentionality, we are to uplift our Christian siblings who we could easily be divided from over these matters of conscience.

You and I need help to do this, so we should pray! It’s going to take endurance to live this life, but it takes God to give that endurance and encouragement. It is to God we must appeal over and over in order to live in harmony with our fellow Christians. If your life is empty of seeking endurance from the one who holds it, is it surprising that you are lacking the endurance you need?

We are to welcome one another as Christ has welcomed us. Accept one another as Christ has accepted us: in our differences. Why should we accept all these differences? Because Christ accepts us. Who are we to erect higher standards for kinship than Christ? We might disagree on matters of politics or culture, but we have the same Savior by faith. So we accept those who are different than us, because Christ has accepted us and them as well!

And why should we do this? Because God is glorified when Christians are able to disregard our partisanship and accept our fellow brothers and sisters.

We have been given the power to live lives that are filled with gospel peace/shalom. The joy in our peace comes through our dependence on Christ's actions on the cross. You and I have no excuse to live on as division makers. We have been given holy power to live peacefully despite our differences, which will make others outside of the faith say “there’s something different and awesome about those people! I want that too!”