Romans 15:7-13 In Christ There Is Hope
“More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness; the other to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.” - Woody Allen
“The science to which I pinned my faith is bankrupt. Its counsels, which should have established the millennium, have led directly to the suicide of Europe. I believed them once. In their name I helped to destroy the faith of millions. And now they look at me and witness the great tragedy of an atheist who has lost his faith.” - George Bernard Shaw
“There are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have grown hopeless about them.” - Clare Boothe Luce
Hopelessness is a strategy of Satan to keep us down.
Our text gives us solutions to this problem, and a ground of hope for the future.
Acceptance in Love (v. 7)
Here we have the principle of acceptance of love.
Because of Christ love He:
- Left His heavenly estate and was made a man.
- Went to the Cross and paid the penalty for our sin.
- Received us just as we were.
Christ knows all about us and still accepts us.
We all need love and acceptance. Let’s lay down our petty differences and receive one another with open arms.
Christ’s Example (vs. 8-9)
Here we have an example of Christ’s humility as He became a servant to both Jews and Gentiles, to see that God’s purposes were accomplished.
By becoming a servant to the Jews, His purpose was to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs.
In verses 9-12, we see Scriptures from the three areas of the Hebrew Scriptures, which indicate that God is a God of the Gentiles as well as a God of the Jews.
- The Writings – Psalms
- The Law – Deuteronomy
- The Prophets – Isaiah
For our Christianity to be life-changing, it must meet the needs of someone else.
For our testimony to be evangelistic, it must be reaching out beyond the usual circle of those whose company we enjoy.
Hope for the Future (v. 13)
Receiving one another in love opens the door for God to:
- Move into our lives.
- Fill us with His joy and peace.
- Give us hope for the future.
Our Source our power to love one another is God. The God of hope.
Only as we surrender to the power of the Holy Spirit can we expect His work to be real in our lives.
“When the spiritual tides are low, every shrimp has his own little puddle. But when the mighty ocean of God’s love comes rushing in, we are all caught up in the water spouts of God.” - Unknown.
