Rejoice In Hope!

Rejoicing In Hope

Introduction:

Romans 12:9-13 ESV

9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Paul spends the first three chapters of Romans proving that both Jews and gentiles stand before God sinners separated from God. He goes on to explain in the fourth and fifth chapters to explain that it is only trust in the faithfulness of Jesus that can bring one into right standing with God. In chapters 6-7 he talks about the struggle to overcome sin and how the solution is being dead with Christ and buried with him in baptism. Jews and gentiles stand on level ground at the foot of the cross which is the only solution. Chapter 8 is central to Romans. Here Paul relieves all those who are in Christ from condemnation. They are free to live by the power of the Spirit! In chapters 9-11, Paul unfolds the mystery of God's sovereignty and his selection of national Israel for a special purpose, before he shows that now in Christ both Jew and gentile find themselves in Israel. He finds this mind-blowing.

It seems that there was tension between the Jewish and gentile Christians in Rome and Paul was writing before he made his trip there to call for unity. Prior to the writing of Romans, the emperor had expelled all Jews from Rome. During that time the amount of gentiles in the church at Rome grew. They did not align to the Jews practices and when the Jews were able to return to Rome there was division in the church. The Jews tried to impose their practices on the gentiles; the gentiles rubbed their liberty in the Jews faces. Paul called for them to respect one another. They all needed Jesus. They were all equally sinful. They were all baptized in Jesus's Name. They were all filled with HIs Spirit.

In the next five chapters Paul turns to the practical or ethical part of the letter. How should the Jewish and gentile Christians treat one another? He begins chapter 12 with a "therefore" that is followed with admonitions about how we should live in light of the mercies of God.

Romans 12:1-2 KJV

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

God's will is our transformation, and transformation takes time and a continual willingness to yield our lives to the inner-working of the Spirit. The world is constantly pressing in on us. And it can even us our God-given gifts to press us into its mold.

This is why Paul admonishes us in the next verse:

Romans 12:3 KJV

"For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith."

In my Bible the translators out the heading "Gifts of Grace" before the section including verses 3-7.

Realizing that all that we have is a gift from God helps us keep things in perspective. It tends towards an attitude of humility. We are more gentle with others and ourselves when we realize that what we have, God gave us.

Proverbs 18:23 NIV

"The poor plead for mercy, but the rich answer harshly."

Matthew 5:3 KJV

"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

All the things we have the ability to are gifts from God. One person said, "What we are is God's gift to us, and what we become is our gift to God." We are stewards over the manifold grace of God. We have no reason to boast, except in the cross of Christ!

Paul describes the church as one body where each individual member's gift has purpose, meaning, and value. The gifts came from God and whether it's preaching, serving, teaching, exhortation, giving, or showing mercy all of these should be used with a realization that it is about God and others.

Our gifts are not to show one another up; they are to build one another up.

Romans 12:4-8 KJV

"For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; 7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; 8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness."