In Closing, Dear Ones...

In Romans 15 Paul makes his final exhortations to the Roman church.  Overall, he is pleased with how they are allowing the Spirit to work in and through them (vs.14), and he has written the letter of Romans not as a corrective treatise, but as a refining, polishing set of reminders about the most basic aspects of faith in Christ.  Sort of "the Christian's 'main things' ", if you will.  The central theme of the letter has been "salvation by faith in Jesus Christ, period".  Now, we come to his closing statements.

Here are his final reminders to the Roman church (and to us, of course).

1.  Have wide-open, welcoming arms (vs.7).

7Receive one another, then, just as Christ also received you, to God’s glory

The model here is, of course, Jesus.  How did He welcome each of us?  Was it with an "anything goes" type of acceptance?  No.  He embraces the sinner in His arms, takes away his sins, and then says, "Now, go and stop living in, practicing sin" (John 8:11).  That should be every Christian church's model for welcoming those who do not yet know Christ.
We are exhorted also to receive our brothers and sisters who are already in the faith with mutual acceptance, despite our individual differences.

2.  Life sacrificially toward one another, to glorify God (vs. 1-2, 5-6).

1But we who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not just please ourselves. 2Let each of us please his neighbor for his good to build him up.

5Now may the God of endurance and comfort give you unity with one another in accordance with Christ Jesus, 6so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In those aspects of faith where you are strong, help a brother or sister who is not.  Conversely, where your faith is weak, a brother or sister should lift you up. Let me give you an example:
Satan loves to bind us up in pits of sin, so that we are generally unproductive for Christ's kingdom.
If your fellow believer is suffering under, say, a burden of fearfulness, and if this is not a pitfall for you, encourage him or her from the scriptures.  Lighten his or her load!  Paul here is echoing his similar admonition to the Galatians, (6:2), where he said:

"Bear one another's burdens and in this way fulfill Christ's law."

What was Christ's central law?  The law of love (John 13:34). Living sacrificially produces unity in the church - - the type of genuine unity which baffles the world and brings God glory.

3.  Keep Jesus the focus (vs. 17-19a)

17So I boast in Christ Jesus about the things that pertain to God. 18For I will not dare to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in order to bring about the obedience of the Gentiles, by word and deed, 19in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit of God.

No matter what we do as believers, the only thing we should keep central ("boast in") is Jesus, and what He has done in and for us.

4.  Pray fervently (vs. 30)

30Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, through our Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit, to join fervently with me in prayer to God on my behalf.

We'll look more deeply at this verse tomorrow, because it is a fascinating one, containing a word that appears nowhere else in the New Testament.  For now, take the verse at face value.  :)

5.  Celebrate hope (vs.13)
What does that mean?

13Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in him, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

This is Paul's benediction on the Romans, and its central theme is "hope".  Why is that?

You have read here in the blog about that word, "hope", and how it means in the New Testament "a promise that is certain".  Our hope is grounded in God's character.  His promises will always be kept.

What are some of God's promises to those who have accepted His Son through faith?  Here are just a handful to meditate on today:

a.   Jesus has loved us with an everlasting love (Jer. 31:3; John 13:1).

b.  His Spirit lives within us and is with us always (Matt. 28:20)

c.  Our identity, our truest selves, are hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3)

d.  It is not yet clear what our future will be exactly like, but we know we will be like Him, when we are able to see clearly, when we see Him as He truly is, in all His glory (1 John 3:2)

e.  The trials and troubles of this life are merely "prologue", one which lasts only a little while. 

f.  Our citizenship is not here, anyway; it's in Heaven, our final destination and eternal home. (Philippians 3:20)

There are many more, but I've listed only a few wonderful reasons to celebrate hope!

Father, may we let these reminders about living the faith life with those around us sink into our souls deeply today.  May we yield to Your Holy Spirit so that He can continue His process of molding us more and more into the image of Your Son, Jesus.  It's in His name we pray, amen.