Jesus Came for All! Romans 15:4-13 120813M
"I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people" (Luke 2:10). Those are, of course, the words of the Christmas angel to the shepherds which we hear every Christmas Eve. You'll hear them again this Christmas Eve at St. Andrew--even in the King James translation. And of course there's John 3:16: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life." Do you see a common denominator between those two passages (and many others like them)? It's that God's salvation plan includes all people. Paul wanted the Christians in Rome to be sure of the same thing the Holy Spirit wanted us to be sure of when he caused Paul's words to be recorded in the Bible. And that is this:
Jesus Came for All
1. Know it from Scripture.
2. Believe it with hopeful heart.
3. Live it in relation to others.
1. We might be inclined to think that Jesus coming for all people is a truth taught only in the New Testament of the Bible. But it's a truth taught from the beginning, even in the Old Testament. Jesus came for all; you can Know it from Scripture.
Thechurch at Rome was made up of Jews and Gentiles. There was a tendency for the Jews to continue keeping the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament, and to look down on non-Jewish Christians for not keeping them. The Gentiles felt like outsiders or second-class citizens. So Paul remindedthe Romans that Jesus came for all. He wanted them to be sure of it from Scripture. You get a sense of the high regard Paul had for Scripture as the final authority on the matter.Paul quotes King David's song of praise from when God defended him from Saul, words also in a psalm:As it is written: "Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to your name." God's Old Testament people were called upon to glorify the one true God before all the other nations on earth.Likewise, Moses wrote in the book of Deuteronomy:10 Again, it says, "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people." These words are directed to Gentiles to join Israel in praising God. The Lord is the one true God, not just a national god of the Israelites. Psalm 117 encourages: 11 And again, "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,and sing praises to him, all you peoples."Finally, Paul quotes the Prophet Isaiah who gives the reason Jews and Gentiles have for praising God. He would send a Savior, descended from King David, for all people, Jews and Gentiles alike: 12 And again, Isaiah says, "The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him." Scripture foretold the gathering in of other nations as part of God's people Israel, so that in one place he concludes, "Not all Israel is Israel."
We share Paul's attitude toward Holy Scripture: it's God's inspired Word, every word of it. We base all our church's teachings on Scripture alone. Every sermon has a text from Scripture as its basis. And central to Scripture's message is that that Jesus came for all people, regardless of race, nationality, gender, age, economic and social status. The Old Testament teaches this, but so does the New Testament. Besides Paul's words here, consider how he told the Corinthians:God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them (2 Co 5:19).John the Baptist exclaimed, "Look the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world"(Jn 1:29). There are people who deny that and say Jesus died only for the ones God chose to believe in him, or for those who show themselves worthy of his sacrifice by the good works they do. If that's the case, could you and I ever be sure he saved us? Look at our sins! Since Jesus came for all, you and I can be sure he came for us!
2. And that's why he invites everyone to believe what he did for them. So Paul reminded the Romans that Jesus came for all, so Believe it with a hopeful heart.God wrote down what he did to save us in the Bible so we can be sure of it: 4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Endurance is what a weight lifter shows as he holds the barbell over his head. In our faith life, endurance comes from holding on to Christ even under the burdens and difficulties we have as we live our life in this world. Like muscles in your body, your faith gets stronger when its put to use. And like a personal trainer, the Holy Spirit encourages you through the Bible to keep on trusting God and relying on him for strength to get through all the tests and trials. We have the sure hope that we will have relief of all these burdens when we are in heaven.
With this hope we have peace and joy in Christ: 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are at peace with God because he's set aside his anger in Christ. Jesus suffered God's wrath for our sins. We have the peace of all our sins being forgiven. And that brings us joy, even in the midst of life's sorrows and problems. We have eternal life in Christ. Only by the Holy Spirit's power are we certain of this, based on God's promises in his Word.
Now just think about that. What burdens do you labor under every day? Is it your sin, because of which the voice of conscience nags you? Is it temptation to do things or say things you know are displeasing to God? Is it doubt that God really loves you? Is it a physical disability, or difficulties at home or at work? Jesus took away the greatest burden, the load of our sin. Go back to the sure words of Scripture, and believe they apply to you, because they do: Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed (Is 53:4-5). Because the Bible says Jesus did this for ALL, you can be sure he did it for you. Believe it with a hopeful heart!
3. And as you do, Paul says it's going to affect how you live, especially in relation to other people. Since Jesus came for all,Live it in relation to others.
The church at Rome wasn't doing this. Jews and Gentiles were not seeing one another as children of God and fellow believers in Jesus. Paul reminded them they had a common faith in the same Savior: 5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul's prayer for them was that the same God that gave them endurance and encouragement by the Scriptures would also give them "the same mind" among each other, falling into line witheverything Jesus taught. His prayer that they believe exactly the same thing and confess the same thing with their mouths. Such fellowship would bring glory to God who gave them that unity on the basis of his Word.
And if they believed the same things as people who were one in Christ, they could treat each other that way: 7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God's truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs 9 so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy....The message is clear: keep on receiving one another as Christ received you to himself.Jesus came to keep the ceremonial laws that pointed to his coming. He fulfilled those laws for everyone. Through Jesus "all people on earth" were blessed," as Godpromised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
These words apply to us and to our church. We, too, are of one faith and confession based on everything Jesus taught. We call this "church fellowship." It's not just agreement on the big things, or agreeing to disagree, and sweep the differences under the rug. It's a true unity based on the Lord's own Word. And since we have that unity, he says, "accept one another as he accepted you." How did he accept you? Unconditionally. He didn't say he'd die for you if you shaped up first, or if you proved yourself first, or achieved a certain level of godliness first. No, the Bible says while we were still sinners, Christ' died for us. In the midst of our ugliness, rebellion and sin, he died for us. He came to you in baptism when you were still in your sins. In baptism he washed them away and received you to himself. He wants us to receive each other in the same way, warts, failures, quirks, shortcomings and all. Even if the other person's hair is pink, or their skin is brown, black or tattooed. Or if they're old and set in their ways. And what if they're living in sin? What if they have a child out of wedlock, or the profess to be gay? What would Jesus do? No, he would not condone a sinful lifestyle. But he would lovingly call them away from that lifestyle to himself. He would go to the cross to take their sins as his own. That's what he already did for them...and for you too! So we approach others as fellow beggars, pointing them to the only source of spiritual nourishment and eternal shelter there is!
How can we do that? It starts by knowingfrom Scripture that Jesus came for all. It continues by believingit with a hopeful heart. It concludes by living this truth in relation with others. Then they can know it, believe it, and live it too! Amen.
Romans 15:4-13
"I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people" (Luke 2:10).
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life."
Jesus Came for All
1. Know it from Scripture.
2. Believe it with hopeful heart.
3. Live it in relation to others.
As it is written: "Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to your name."
10 Again, it says, "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people."
11 And again, "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and sing praises to him, all you peoples."
12 And again, Isaiah says, "The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him."
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them (2 Co 5:19).
"Look the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (Jn 1:29).
4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed (Is 53:4-5).
5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. 8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God's truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs 9 so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy....
while we were still sinners, Christ' died for us.