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Pator's Blog November 25, 2021
"View of God in Romans XXXVIII"
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In Romans 15:13, Paul prays a beautiful prayer for the Christians in Rome: "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (NASB). God intends for believers to have hope and joy and peace - a hope that is grounded in the Holy Spirit and a peace and joy that come from the God who is the foundation of hope. But have you ever wondered why Christians have access to this hope, a hope that comes from the God of hope and is actualized by the Holy Spirit, the one who gives that hope?
Paul makes very clear the reason why Christians have this hope: because God has provided it in what he has done for us through Jesus. Going back a few verses, Paul makes a shocking statement: "For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers, and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy" (Romans 15:8-9, NASB).
This is shocking because of the reason Paul gives for why Jesus came: he came to be a servant. And Jesus' ministry, vocation, and role as servant was not in service to God, as much as it was in service to "the circumcision" (a biblical way of talking about Jewish people) and "the Gentiles" (a common biblical reference to everyone else in the world). According to Paul, Jesus' position as servant was for the purpose of confirming the promises about salvation and the Messiah to the Jewish people, as well as to enable non-Jewish people to praise God for his love and mercy! In fact, that's the reason why Paul then quotes 2 Samuel 22:50, Psalm 18:49, Deuteronomy 32:43, Psalm 117:1, and Isaiah 11:10 (respectively) in verses 9-12: to show that God had always intended on confirming his salvation promises to Jews and Gentiles alike, so that they could praise him for the experience of his mercy in hope, joy, and peace!
Friends, God has shown us his character by first saving us through Jesus' service, and then providing a robust and substantial hope through Jesus' ministry and the power of the Holy Spirit. I dare you to trust him today, and let him give you hope, joy, and peace through his love and mercy.
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God bless,
Pastor Nathaniel Gamble
