Romans 15 - The God of Hope

Last time in Romans, we talked about Christian liberty. There are things in Christianity (the nonessentials) that we are free to do, but should not if it offends or stumbles other believers. Love will not unnecessarily offend or cause others to stumble. The kingdom of God is not in meat or drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. If we have faith to exercise a freedom, then have it to ourselves before God. If we have doubts, then we should not partake, since whatever is not of faith is sin. In chapter 15, Paul will finish up his discussion on Christian liberty, and then begin penning the closing to his epistle.

He states that those who are strong ought to bear with others’ weaknesses. As we saw in chapter 14, those who are weak in the faith are those believers who make extra rules above what God has already prescribed for us, either because they sincerely believe the Lord wants them to keep those rules, or they are vulnerable to temptation in that particular area. Those who are strong should support those weak brothers and sisters. Rather than pleasing ourselves with our freedoms, we should seek to please others by building them up. Paul wrote to the Philippians, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” (Phil 2:3-4)

Jesus is our example, who did not come to please Himself, but bore the reproaches of men that were really against the Father who sent Him. This was a prophecy of Jesus given in Psalm 69:9, who endured their reproaches in hopes of saving some. Paul continues in Philippians, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Phil 2:5-8)

Paul reminds us that the Old Testament Scriptures are there for our learning as well, that through patience (perseverance) and comfort of the Scriptures, we might have hope. If Jesus persevered through life’s challenges and overcame, then we too will overcome through our faith in Him (1 John 5:4). He prayed that the God of patience and comfort would grant them to be like-minded toward one another according to Christ Jesus. The context here is still Christian liberty, and just as God is patient with us in our weaknesses, we ought to be patient with one another so we can with one mind and mouth glorify God the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. He began chapter 14 telling them to receive those that are weak in the faith, and he ends by telling them to receive one another just as Christ has received us to the glory of God. Whether we are the legalist Christian or the free one, we are to receive one another. We are not told to erase our differences, but to rise above them.

Jesus Christ has become a minister to the circumcision (the Jews) according to the Scriptures, and this is in fulfilment of the prophesies given to their ancestors. It is also that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy. Paul then quotes from several OT passages that God intended for the Gentiles to praise Him: “as it is written: ‘For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles, and sing to Your name.’ And again he says: ‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!’ And again: ‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!’ And again, Isaiah says: ‘There shall be a root of Jesse; and He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, in Him the Gentiles shall hope.’”

Again, Paul prays, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Not only are we to have hope, but we believe in and serve the God of hope. He will not allow us to go through any circumstance without providing us the hope of seeing us through. He gives us all joy and peace in (by) believing. We have all probably gone through situations where we didn’t feel like we had joy and peace, but we need to remember we receive it by faith. This is faith in the person of Jesus Christ generally, but faith specifically that He wants to give these things to us. Because of this, we can abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

He reassures them that he did not believe they were drastically falling short in these areas, but was confident they were full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to admonish each other. However, he wrote to them more boldly on some points as a reminder. Sometimes we need to be reminded of things. It’s not that we don’t know or don’t want to do the right thing necessarily, but we just have forgotten for whatever reason. Life has a way of distracting us, and we need that reminder from time to time.

Paul viewed his calling of being an apostle to the Gentiles as an act of the grace of God. He wanted the offering of the Gentiles to God to be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit, so his reminders were to prepare them for that offering. He had reason to glory in Christ Jesus in the things that pertained to God as it related to the Gentiles, and would not glory in what God had done through others. The Lord had worked through him to make the Gentiles obedient to the faith through mighty signs and wonders by the Spirit of God. The Lord confirmed his ministry through signs and wonders through the power of the Holy Spirit, and this was in fulfilment of Jesus’ words, “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” This was not to happen as the primary draw to Christianity, but in confirmation of the Word being preached. “So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into Heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.” (Mark 16:17-20)

Through the power of the Spirit, Paul had preached the Gospel from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum (South Eastern Europe). He did not want to preach the Gospel where others had already done so because he did not want to build on another man’s foundation. There is nothing wrong with building upon the foundation of someone else, but he probably thought there was too much work that needed to be done. He viewed his ministry as a fulfilment of an Old Testament prophecy, “To whom He was not announced, they shall see; and those who have not heard shall understand.”

It was because of Paul’s traveling around preaching the Gospel that he had been hindered from coming to Rome, but he planned to come see them on his way to Spain. He wanted to enjoy their company for a time, and hoped they would further assist him in his missionary endeavors in going to Spain. However, before doing so, he was going to Jerusalem to bring an offering from those in Macedonia and Achaia for the poor believers in Jerusalem. The Gentiles had been partakers of spiritual things from the Jews, so it was only fitting that the Gentiles should help the Jews with material needs. Once he had delivered this offering, then he planned to go through Rome on his way to Spain, and would come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

Paul begged them through the Lord Jesus Christ and love of the Spirit that they would strive with him in prayer that he would be delivered from those in Judea that did not believe, and that his offering would be acceptable to the Church there. His desire was to come to them with joy by the will of God and be refreshed. Paul’s prayers were not answered in the way he had hoped, because the Lord had a different plan. He did make it to Jerusalem, but he was arrested by the Jews and then turned over to the Romans. Through his various trials and traveling to Rome, he was able to witness to soldiers and centurions, governors, primitive islanders, and eventually Caesar himself. As far as missionary endeavors go, he accomplished far more than he probably had planned on. When the Lord does not answer our prayers as we want Him to, He has a plan that is bigger and better than we could ever come up with. He ends by saying, “Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.” In the final chapter, Paul         will conclude his epistle to the Romans.

Romans 14 - Concerning Christian Liberty

 

In our last study, we talked about how human government is a divinely appointed institution. They are there to be public servants for the good of society, and to execute justice for wrong-doing. For this reason, we are to submit to the authorities to avoid their wrath and to have a clean conscience before God. In this chapter Paul is going to discuss Christian liberty, and how we should conduct ourselves with such liberties.

He begins by saying they should receive those who are weak in the faith. In other words, they should not refuse to fellowship with others who are not on the same level of maturity as they are. We can have constructive conversations with people, but we should not argue with them on nonessentials. On the essentials of the faith, however, we should be in agreement. These are those doctrines that make Christianity true Christianity, and they are clearly taught in the Scriptures. The nonessentials are those things for which we can disagree, either because they do not make a difference in our right standing with the Lord, or the Scriptures are somewhat ambiguous. We may have strong opinions on these matters, but should be willing to yield for the sake of others when necessary. As it has been said, “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.” My goal in this study is to present a biblical case why we are free in certain matters, but may not want to exercise those freedoms for the sake of others.

Some believe they can eat all things, and others who are weak eat only vegetables. As we can see, those weak in the faith are those who place extra rules on themselves and on others that God has not prescribed. This may be because they sincerely believe God wants them to adhere to these set of rules, or because they have a propensity to certain sins and these extra rules help keep them away from those sins. In context, these were people (primarily Gentiles) who did not want to eat meat, possibly because they used to eat meat sacrificed to idols, and they felt they would be sinning or tempted to sin by eating meat.

So, what does the Bible say about eating meat? For starters, let’s go back to Genesis 9 where it states, “So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.” (Gen 9:1-4) Before the fall when sin and death entered into the world, God’s intent was for our food source to be from plants (Genesis 1:29-30). However, after the flood, God ordained all living things for food. He only told them they were not to eat the blood. Again, this was pre-law, so this is God’s permission granted (or even possibly his recommendation) to mankind.

In our day and age, we don’t typically have the problem of people sacrificing meat to idols, but we do have lots of individuals who do not like to eat meat for health reasons. There is nothing sinful about not eating meat for health reasons, but my concern is this actually has been influenced by something more sinister. Paul wrote to Timothy, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.” (1 Tim 4:1-5) In modern application, this would probably represent those who are involved in the New Age or occult who have made the environment their god, and, therefore, among other things, preach we should not eat meat. As we can see, God intended every living thing to be food for us if we desire to eat it, because it is made clean by the word of God and prayer. Therefore, we can eat it and be thankful for it. However, if a believer chooses not to eat meat for health reasons, we should not pass judgment on them, nor they on us, for God has received both. We are not to pass judgment on a fellow-servant of God, because it is not our place. We will each stand before God and answer for ourselves.

Next, Paul will address the observing of religious days. Another common disagreement within the Church is which days we should observe, and which ones we should not. Probably the most common of these would be the Sabbath day, followed by various Jewish feasts found in the Old Testament. If we are observing these things out of some legal requirement to be obedient to the Lord, then we would be debtors to keep the whole law (Galatians 5:3). However, if we merely observe them because we see value in them or just enjoy doing so, there is no issue. Either way though, this is not a barrier for fellowship. Some like to esteem one day above another, and others consider every day as holy to the Lord. Paul says to let each be fully persuaded in his own mind, because whether we observe or do not observe a day, it is unto the Lord. This is the same for meats. Paul wrote to the Colossians, “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.” (Col 2:16-17)

We do not live or die to ourselves, but in both instances, we do it unto the Lord, for we belong to Him. It is for this reason that Christ died and rose again, that He would be Lord of both the dead and the living. Why do we then judge or have contempt for each other? The legalist Christian finds it easy to judge those who do not keep the rules they believe should be kept, and the free Christian judges the legalist for being proud and self-righteous for trying to impose their rules on them. However, we all will stand before the judgment seat of Christ to confess Him as Lord, and will give an account for what we have done. This judgment seat is the bema seat in which believers will be rewarded for their works after those works have been tested by fire.

So then, we are not to judge one another in these matters, but there is another principle at play here. This principle is love. Although we may be free to do or not do something, there may be times when exercising our freedom will harm others. Paul said that he was convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself, but if someone deems it to be unclean, to him it is unclean. If a brother or sister thinks eating meat is unclean, and we flaunt our freedom in front of them, we are not walking in love. Our actions may offend them or stumble them back into the sin the Lord delivered them from, and they are someone for whom Christ died. At this point our freedom becomes evil because it is offensive or possibly bondage to someone else. The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. We can make a big deal out of our own personal freedoms or rules, but miss what is really important as it relates to the things of the Lord. When we focus on righteousness, peace, and joy, this is acceptable to God and to men. We are to pursue the things that make peace and that build up others rather than destroying the work of God over food. All things are pure, but it is evil to do it if it offends others. We should not want to eat meat, drink wine, or do anything that stumbles, offends, or makes someone else weak.

Almost in passing, Paul mentions wine as one of those freedoms believers have that we may not want to exercise because it may stumble others. This is another one of those topics for which people have strong opinions, and understandably so, since alcohol abuse has destroyed countless lives. The Bible does not condemn the drinking of alcohol, but it does come with some clear warnings. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation (excess); but be filled with the Spirit.” (Ephesians 5:18) Now, if the Lord wanted to communicate to us that drinking in any amount is sinful, I believe He would have said it right here. However, it is drunkenness that He says is a sin. Some like to debate what drunk is, but it’s simply drinking to the point where one’s physical and mental faculties are impaired. So, Christians are free to drink in moderation unless it offends or stumbles someone else. For more on what the Bible has to say regarding alcohol abuse, you can read Proverbs 20:1 and 23:29-35.

There is one other point worth mentioning here, and that is the possibility of stumbling ourselves. Chuck Smith said that if by exercising his freedom to have, he loses his freedom not to have, then he is no longer free, and this is so true. When it comes to things with an addictive nature such as alcohol, we need to be careful we are not ensnared by it. If we have difficulty drinking in moderation, then we should not drink at all. It’s not worth the consequences of drunkenness or potentially becoming an alcoholic.

Paul ends the chapter by asking, do we have faith to exercise a freedom? Have it to yourself before God. If those whom we are around are offended or stumbled by our exercising of a particular freedom, then keep it to ourselves before God. Enjoy those things we can do in faith. However, if we doubt, we are condemned if we eat, because it is not done out of faith. Whatever is not done out of faith is sin. In other words, if we believe something to be wrong and do it anyway, or if we do something not being fully convinced it is alright, it is sin. At this point, it becomes a matter of the heart. Our heart is not right with the Lord if we are willing to do something that we believe to be sinful or has the potential to be. We should act on our convictions until the time comes that we are convinced through the Scriptures that what we want to do is in line with the Lord’s will.

There are no doubt other things we are free to partake in, but we may choose not to exercise those freedoms. We should apply the same principles: If the Scriptures do not speak to them as being sinful, we should make sure we are doing them out of faith, not passing judgment on others for seeing it differently. We should also make sure we are not causing a brother or sister to stumble by exercising those freedoms. If these things check out, we are free to enjoy or not enjoy them in the Lord.    

Romans 13 - The Debt of Love

After discussing a Christian’s relationship with human government, including paying taxes, Paul moves on to discussing money owed to one another. He says we are to owe no one anything but the debt of love. The word for ‘no one’ and ‘anything’ are actually the same word in Greek, which makes this pretty all-inclusive. We are to be in debt to nobody, no one, or nothing (e.g. financial institutions or credit card companies) for money, property, or the like. No doubt, this is a radical statement, especially in today’s culture. According to Ramsey Solutions, 77% of Americans have at least some type of debt. The total personal debt in the U.S. is 17.5 trillion, and the average debt per adult is nearly $67,000, around $6,500 of that being from credit cards. With the inflation rate of 19% since 2020, this is not a good time to be in debt. I would not say going into debt is a sin, because Jesus Himself permits lending to others at least in some circumstances in Matthew 5:42. However, the Scriptures have a lot to say about money, and staying out of debt is one such admonition. The Lord said through Solomon, “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” (Proverbs 22:7) This says then that one of the keys to financial prosperity and freedom is not going into debt if at all possible. Most financial advisors (including those from Christian organizations such as Ramsey Solutions or Crown Financial) see an exception for a home mortgage. The idea is that buying a home is an investment because real estate tends to appreciate over time when other property does not. For example, a brand-new car loses about 20% as soon as you drive it off the lot. So, if you finance a vehicle at 50 thousand, it’s only worth 40 thousand once you leave the dealer, meaning you are already upside down on it. This is just the principal, then you have to pay the interest on top of that, which at a 7% interest rate, comes out to $9,404 over 60 months. This means you will pay almost 60 thousand for a vehicle that is only worth 40 thousand. So, as we can see, the math is not in our favor when it comes to going into debt, especially when it is for our own personal pleasure.

Rather than going into debt, however, we should be obligated to love one another, for this is the true fulfilling of the law. This love, again, is the unconditional love with which God loves us. If I really love my wife, I will be faithful to our marriage vows. If I love my neighbor, I won’t murder him or steal his belongings. I won’t lie to him or about him, and I won’t covet his things. These are only five of the 10 Commandments, but all the Commandments are summed up in this, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This is the second of the two greatest commandments that Jesus gave for which He said hangs all the law and prophets. Love does no harm to its neighbor (anyone with whom we encounter in our daily lives), and therefore is the fulfilling of the law. Sometimes, we get so caught up in rule-keeping, we forget the why behind the rule. God is love. He doesn’t say sin is bad because it is forbidden, but that it is forbidden because it is bad. Sin hurts me, and it hurts those around me. Therefore, the Lord does not want us to sin. If I love God and my neighbor as I ought, I will not sin either, and I won’t need a law to tell me not to do so.

Because of the time, Paul calls believers to awaken out of sleep. As believers it can be easy at times to just go along for the ride. We become lazy and dull to spiritual things, and can drift into a carnal or backslidden state. However, our salvation (future glorification) is closer now more than ever. The night is over, and the day is at hand. If we truly believe Jesus is coming soon, this should motivate us to clean up our act if we have allowed sin into our lives, and really begin living for the Lord. We need to cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light (Ephesians 6:10-18). The imagery is that of changing clothes. As a follower of Jesus Christ, we should act decently as people do in the daytime. The works of darkness Paul mentions here are revelry and drunkenness, lewdness and lust, and lastly, strife and envying. Revelry is boisterous drunken merrymaking. Lewdness speaks to desiring sexual immorality (the forbidden bed), and lust here means not caring what people think about their sexual sins (they are shameless).

Finally, we are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. This phrase also appears in Galatians, and speaks to our new nature we receive at salvation. There is both a positional and a practical application of this: we are to, day-by-day, moment-by-moment, choose to walk in this new nature, and make no provision for our flesh (sin nature). The sin nature will be as active as we allow it to be. In Galatians it also states, “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” (Gal 5:16-18) So then, to put on the Lord Jesus Christ is to walk in the Spirit, and to walk in the Spirit is to love one another, fulfilling the law. Again, we do this by being transformed by the renewing of our minds through the word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.

In closing, how are we doing as it relates to debt? There are organizations as I mentioned earlier like Ramsey Solutions or Crown Financial that can assist you in getting on a budget, getting out of debt, and building wealth for the future. How are we doing in loving our neighbor? How many problems would we solve relationally if we would just love one another as Jesus said to? Love works no harm to our neighbor. Are we sleeping spiritually? Are we coasting through our Christian walk and lapsing into sinful behavior? Jesus is coming back soon, so let’s put off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light. Let us put on the Lord Jesus Christ by forsaking sin and walking the way He wants us to. In the next chapter Paul will discuss Christian liberty, and some of what he has to say may challenge us a bit.

 

Additional Links

 

A Proven Plan for Financial Success - Ramsey

Crown Financial Ministries