Paul is concluding his account of the gospel he preaches, and does so in a very practical way.
His readers in Rome include numbers of Jewish believers, and, probably, a majority of Gentiles. Their different backgrounds have led them to different conclusions about the right way to express their new faith.
Jews are accustomed to reverencing God by not eating certain foods and keeping certain holy days. They know they are justified by faith in Christ but can’t put aside what they see as an obligation. The Gentile Christians have no such constraints and gratefully enjoy all foods and serve God without regard to a calendar.
If these two people groups share the same faith, should they not share the same practice? The problem is felt keenly. Jews are condemning Gentiles for their liberties. And Gentiles are despising Jews for their rules[i].
These differences are all the more difficult to resolve when the issues are not just cultural but have to do with what each one thinks is right or wrong. As we have noted, everyone wants to be right—or be seen to be right. It’s hard to get on well with people who challenge this.
The problem is felt wherever the gospel brings people of different backgrounds together—and hopefully, that will include every church!
So, Paul gives us ways to navigate this territory. But he is not content to give directions. He tells us his gospel again and shows how it both shapes and enables this new way of living with each other.
The world fosters an ethic, an education and a culture, and ways to keep people within their bounds. These things are necessary but they can’t create what they prescribe. Only God and his gospel can do that. Here’s how.
First, God has welcomed us all. So, welcome each another![ii]
It is no small thing to be welcomed by God. The Maker of the universe is our Father. We’re being blessed because we are in his beloved Son.[iii] The Father knows each of us and wants us to help each other.
The opposite of this—as we have seen—is being alienated and destined for wrath. But this same God has offered up his Son in our place, to reconcile us to himself. He’s not angry with us. [iv] He’s welcomed us.
Given that this has taken place, our part is relatively simple. We should put away our anger with each another. We should welcome each another.
We can stop looking down on people who don’t have the same perspective as ourselves. And if God doesn’t see anything to condemn, there’s nothing to correct. If it’s only a matter of opinion, our opinion isn’t final!
Obviously, there are things God does condemn. And it may be our task to advise or to warn, and certainly, to pray. But it will be done as one who shares the same grace and is part of the same family.
What a relief! If God has welcomed us, we don’t need to be critical or dismissive of each other’s views on Christian living. A lot of our critical spirit is simply restlessness—because we’re not trusting in God’s welcome of us. So, let’s live in the gospel, enjoy it, and let its effects flow out to others!
Second, Christ is Lord of the living and the dead.[v] We’re responsible to him before we are responsible to each other.
Christ being our Lord hasn’t come about just because of who he is but because of what he’s done. He died and rose again. That’s why he’s been made Lord over everything.[vi]
So, he’s in charge of the household we belong to. We’re his servants and need to be looking to him for what needs to happen.
There are probably many people we look up to—those who have brought the word of God to us, given us advice or helped us out of trouble. But Jesus Christ is the one to please. He’s the one who can settle our conscience, and our thinking as to what is right and wrong. He’s the one who can help us make adjustments as we experience greater security in his gospel.
And in the end, God has a judgement day arranged. That’s the assessment we need to face. And the person we’ll see on that throne will be Jesus Christ. So, he’s the ‘big person’ to be aware of now. The opinions of angry people, dominant people, kind people, all need to be subject to his presence.
Third, the whole purpose of Christ’s reign and God’s kingdom is establishing righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.[vii]
You may remember these three thoughts coming together in chapter 5. We are justified or declared righteous, we have peace with God, and rejoice, even in suffering because the Holy Spirit has poured love into our hearts.
If we have felt the relief and dignity of justification, the confidence of being at peace with God and the joy of flowing love, we know what it means to belong to a kingdom that is safe and sure. Matters of what we eat and when we do things can take second place.
And we’ll be careful not to get in the road of a fellow believer practicing what they believe to be pleasing God. They need to act according to the faith they have—faith by which they are justified. Faith is the important thing, not getting everyone practicing their faith in the same way that we do.
Fourth, Christ didn’t please himself. In fact, he endured a lot of trouble because of us—to put it mildly! So, we need to endure the troublesome aspects of what other people do.[viii]
For example, if we are robust in our confidence before God, that quality is for others just as much as it is for us. We’ve got enough enjoyment of grace to put up with the stumbling faith of others. We should use our faith for their benefit.
Just look at Christ. He’s a walking picture of what God endures from us. All our hatred of God is directed against him, and he feels the pain. But he endures what we are and what we do. And still, he encourages us in what is good. This is perhaps what leads to Paul’s conversion. The ascended Jesus explains that persecuting Christians is fighting against him. He tells Paul that he must be having a hard time![ix] That’s endurance, and that’s encouragement.
So, these are the things God wants us to feel and to express. We Christians are a diverse and unfinished bunch! But God wants us to welcome each other—like he does. Not to indulge useless talk, but to endure each other when necessary. And to encourage each other.
And now, here’s the final word on this gospel of which Paul is so proud.[x]
Christ has fulfilled the promises God made to Israel—particularly about people from all nations being thankful for his mercy. The day of joy and praise and hope has come.
If Jews think they have been left behind by what is happening among Gentiles, they should rather be proud that they have been the launching place for this great work.
The world is not just the dismal place we have made it. It is the scene in which God has let his gospel loose!
If we forget this gospel and try to make a world around ourselves—even around our Christian experience, we shut others out. But if we live in what God has done and is doing—giving us righteousness peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, we will praise God together, rejoice together, and hope for the same future.[xi]
God himself is full of hope. He wants us to share this confidence with him—in our life together, and while we wait for the coming glory.
Paul began this letter telling us why he is a joyous slave of Christ. Now we know why! And he will finish the letter with some personal reflections, plans and greetings. We’ll look at this next time.
[i] Rom. 14:3
[ii] Rom. 14:1-4
[iii] Eph. 1:6
[iv] Rom. 5:9-11
[v] Rom. 14:5-12
[vi] Rom. 14:9 with Phil. 2:8-11
[vii] Rom. 14:13-23
[viii] Rom. 15:1-13
[ix] Acts 26:14
[x] Rom. 1:16
[xi] As in Rom. 5:1-5
Simply True 