A Reason To Glory In Christ Jesus

Alba 7-17-2022

A REASON TO GLORY IN CHRIST JESUS

Romans 15:14-21

Michael McCartney, minister at Christian Hills Church in Illinois, said he made a search of the word “glory” in scripture. And here is some of what he discovered about this term from the Bible. He said:

I discovered that heaven is filled with the glory of God and the angels sing about it. I discovered that when God shows up so does His glory. I discovered that sin causes the glory of the Lord to depart from an individual’s life and a nation’s life.

I discovered that many Saints in the Bible saw and beheld the glory of God in their lives. I discovered that miracles point to God’s glory and are done to glorify God. I discovered that when we produce fruit for the Kingdom of God we in turn glorify God.

I discovered that those who do good and live righteous lives bring glory to God. I discovered that as I grow and mature in my faith I glorify God. I discovered that when you experience the glory of God others will see it in your face.

I discovered that if we look at Creation itself we can see the glory of the Lord. I discovered that some people are afraid of the glory of the Lord. And I discovered that we are to do everything for God’s glory.

As the apostle Paul begins to close his letter to the Christians in Rome, he looks back at what God has accomplished through him in reaching people, especially the gentiles, for Jesus.

He is thankful for the many who have come to faith but he also sees it as a reason to glory in Christ Jesus.

He writes in Romans 15:14-21 saying, “14 Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.

“15 Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God, 16 that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

“17 Therefore I have reason to glory in Christ Jesus in the things which pertain to God. 18 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me,”

And we might ask, What are those things?... “in word and deed, to make the Gentiles obedient— 19 in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

“20 And so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man’s foundation, 21 but as it is written: 'To whom He was not announced, they shall see; And those who have not heard shall understand.'”

Paul points out that because God is the One who had given him his ministry to the gentiles, it was something that he could legitimately “glory” in or boast about.

Glorying in or boasting about something can be wrong when we are trying to take the credit for our own achievement, but it is appropriate when it is the product of God’s work, and we give Him the credit.

In verse 18, Paul says that he would not presume to speak of anything except what Christ had accomplished through him. He wasn't just trying to present himself.

Paul certainly had reason to glory in the Lord, because God had accomplished many notable things in and through Paul’s life. But Paul did not glory [exalt] or boast in what he had done, but rather in what God had done through him.

Paul had it right. The purpose for anything he had done was to bring glory to the Lord Jesus. And that is the same for us today. Anything we do that gives the Lord glory is made possible by the power of the Spirit of God working in and through us. And that gives us something to glory in as well.

Paul was merely an instrument in the hand of God. So he did not talk of what he had done, but of what Christ had done through him. Just like us, he was dependent on God for accomplishing his ministry task.

Paul then explains his personal goal in verse 20 – to preach the gospel in places where it has never been. Last Sunday night we saw the film, “Beyond the Gates of Splendor”.

It told the story of five missionaries who were killed trying to reach the Auca Indian tribe in Ecuador with the gospel. They, like the apostle Paul, were wanting to take the gospel where it had not yet been made known.