Romans 12:9-21 Our Christian Legacy

Have you ever thought about the legacy you want to leave behind when you die? I’m not talking about a physical legacy such as the things you own. I’m talking about how you want people to remember you. The type of legacy you leave behind will depend on the kind of life you lead on earth. Do you want to leave a legacy that is based on the world, its possessions and its sinful nature, or do you want to leave a legacy that is based on a life of service to God and that is pleasing to God? God has put together a checklist for a legacy that is pleasing to him. The most important item on that checklist is Christian love. In Romans 12:12-16 Paul teaches us how to show love in practical ways. 

                                                                                                             
The most important qualities of genuine love are sincerity and discernment. If there is no sincerity, love becomes manipulation, competition and pretense. There is no room for this because love and truth go hand in hand. Love clings to what is good.

Love is characterized by devoted affection. It is to be characterized by the warm affection that is shared by family members. In our case, it is the warm affection we have for all of God’s people. Sometimes this can be difficult, but we must make the effort because our family bonds can’t be broken.

Love is also characterized by honour. This includes letting someone else have his or her own way in matters that are nonessential. We must listen carefully when other people speak, even if and when they disagree with us. We must treat other peoples’ feelings with respect and dignity.

We must also have enthusiasm and passion. It is a passion for doing well by others. It is a boiling passion to love and serve God. This passion can’t be contained. This does not mean that we have to show the same enthusiasm that is shown in charismatic churches such as the Pentecostal church or the Salvation Army.

Love is also patient, especially as explained in 1 Corinthians 13 (also known as “the love chapter”). This can be hard to do in times of trial and difficulties. It means fulfilling obligations and receiving blessings when we are discouraged. We can press on when we devote ourselves to prayer. 

Generosity is also a part of love. Love means sharing what we have with the less fortunate. Love means sharing in the suffering of our fellow human beings even when our own circumstances are different. The resources we have been given by God can be the means of blessing or cursing, the instruments of good and evil. The determining factor is whether we regard our resources as personal possessions to be used as we desire or as gracious gifts from God to be used for his glory and man’s benediction.

Closely tied with generosity is hospitality. The original meaning of the word “hospitality” is “loving strangers”. It means showing love to those who are different from us in race, nationality, creed or belief. Love takes the initiative and actively looks for opportunities. A good example is the hospitality many people here in the Maritimes showed during the immediate aftermath of 9/11. When thousands of airplanes had to land at the nearest airport when American airspace was shut down after the World Trade Centre in New York was attacked, Maritimers opened their homes and hearts  to stranded passengers by providing food, clothing, shelter and day trips. The same hospitality was shown after the crash of Swissair Flight 111 when people provided food for searchers and comfort to visiting relatives of the passengers.

Also tied in with hospitality and generosity is graciousness. It is the most difficult aspect of love to carry out. Graciousness means returning good for evil. Grace in response to evil is a unique characteristic of a godly person, and grace can only come from God. 

True love also means showing compassion, sympathy and empathy. It celebrates joy when fellow believers celebrate joy and grieves when fellow believers grieve or die. Compassion says, “I will do anything I can to stop your hurt.” Jesus was repeatedly moved by compassion. He was willing to do whatever he could to stop others from hurting, including going to the cross. He was willing to die to stop our hurt by giving us a way to receive God’s grace and eternal life.

True love is also characterized by an emphasis on satisfying another person’s need for approval. We are to facilitate another person’s victory. We are to rejoice in hope in the assurance that by doing so, our lives will count both now and for eternity.

Love must always be shown with humility. Paul warns the Gentiles in Romans 11:1-2, 29-32 not to be full of pride, and here in Romans 12:9-21 he repeats the same warning to all of us. Paul urges us to think like other Christians, but not to blindly go along with the group. We are to be for the same things even if our viewpoints and approaches are different. In other words, we are to try to find common ground without sacrificing God’s truth. We are to seek out and serve the outcasts of society. Most of the time love must be tender, compassionate and understanding but there are times when love must be tough, firm and unbending, especially when we are speaking the truth of God’s word.

Part of love is forgiveness. It allows God’s love to flow cleanly and clearly. It is the antidote to the bitterness, anger and resentment that come from our tendency to hurt each other. Paul’s warning to bless those who persecute us are an echo of what Jesus says in Matthew 5:44-“Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you.” Jesus says the same thing in Luke 6:28-“Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” Paul hints that to love others genuinely is to love as Jesus loved.  

Love is hard to show when we have been wronged. It’s only natural for us to seek revenge, but we must remember that God will ultimately punish those who have wronged us unless they repent and turn to him. For example, many of us want to curse those who have wronged us, and I don’t mean cursing as in casting spells or using black magic. Instead, we curse them with words, including words that take God’s name in vain. We must remember that God does not have a last name that is spelled D-A-M-N. We must speak well of those who have wronged us. We must bless them, which is contrary to our human nature. We have to look beyond our hurt to see what good we can do for the offender. Our behaviour must be guided by a godly character and not by a worldly character that seeks revenge. We are to set aside our revenge so that God can use his own brand of revenge to bring the offender to repentance.

There are times when it is not practical or possible not to take revenge. When we are confronted by an evil that is extremely dangerous, we have no choice but to respond with vengeance. If we do not fight evil, we allow lawlessness, tyranny and oppression to gain a foothold. For example, what would have happened if Nazi Germany had not been fought and defeated? What would have happened if NATO had not intervened during the civil war in Yugoslavia? What will likely happen if democratic countries do not stand up and oppose Russian support of the rebels in Ukraine? The most extreme forms of evil must be fought decisively, but they must be fought with a spirit of love and concern for the victims of evil.

Paul does not condemn any actions we take to protect ourselves against physical attacks. For example, if someone breaks into our homes we are not to say, “Here, help yourselves!” We are to call the police, have the offender arrested and press charges. Paul’s aim is to teach us how we are to respond to verbal attacks, slander, lawsuits or dirty politics at work, school or other places.  

So how can we respond to issues that make us angry such as oppression, injustice, deception, manipulation and violence? We can’t simply turn a blind eye. In fact, Paul says in Romans 12:9 that we are to hate evil. That means that we are to do everything within our power to fight evil, but at the same time we are not to repay evil for evil. We are to repay evil with good, as mentioned in Romans 12:21. This is easy to say but difficult to do in practice.

When we respond to evil, we must respect what is honourable in the sight of all men. We must be careful in both our proper conduct and appearances. For example, for a long time Billy Graham had a policy of not being alone behind closed doors with any woman other than his late wife Ruth.  It was one of many rules he and his associates followed for the sake of their reputations. There are also rules in this Diocese that govern how members of the clergy are to interact with other people.  The more visible our position, the more careful we must be.

How should we respond when we meet difficult people? Here are four methods that Jesus used:

      1.      Realize that we can’t please everyone.

2.      Learn to say “no” to unrealistic expectations.

3.      Never retaliate.

4.      Pray for them

Paul’s comments on the issue of vengeance are a mission statement for God’s master plan of salvation. He will overcome the world’s evil with his goodness and grace. He will transform the world and bring it back under his righteousness. If we return evil with good, we show our faith in God by playing a role in his pan for the world. Sometimes we feel we are alone in this task. After all, it’s rare to find other believers coming to help us when we are attacked. It is at times like this when we must remember the question Paul asks in Romans 8:31-“If God is for us, who can be against us?” To paraphrase a popular saying, with friends like God, who needs enemies? We can withstand attacks when we have faith in Jesus. We are to overcome evil with good.

Paul’s letter to the Romans offers advice and direction on how we as Christians are to live our lives. Our old habits and rules don’t apply any more. Our new Christian life takes some getting used to because it goes against our human nature. It calls on us to tame our egos and show Christian love to others.  In our world where trying to get ahead of one another seems to be the rule, God asks us to consider a new reality: to love genuinely and reciprocally, to clutch that which is good and to compete to show the most integrity. When we show the characteristics of true love, we show our faith in God. We also set a good example for other people to follow. When we die, not only will be go to heaven, but those we leave behind will remember and cherish the great legacy we have left behind, and that is because it is the type of legacy that we will want to leave behind-a legacy of Christian love.

 Bibliography

      1.      Swindoll, Charles R.: Swindoll’s New Testament Insights on Romans (Grand Rapids, MI:  
             Zondervan; 2010)

2.      Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, NKJV (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013)

3.      Pastor Rick Warren, “How Can We Love Difficult People?” Retrieved from www.newsletter.purposedriven.com

4.      ESV Study Bible. Part of Wordsearch 10 Bible software package.

5.      Briscoe, D.S. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 29: Romans (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982)

6.      Pastor Rick Warren, “Your Friends Need You to Share in Their Pain” Retrieved from www.newsletter.purposedriven.com

7.      Pastor Rick McDaniel, “Have Passion.” Retrieved from Oneplace@crosswalkmail.com

8.      Kelly McFadden, “The Family of Believers.” Retrieved from www.homeword.com

9.      Sheri Rose Shepherd, “His Presence Every Day-The Bait of Anger.” Retrieved from Biblegateway@e.biblegateway.com

10.  Bayless Conley, “When Peace Isn’t Possible.” Retrieved from Christianity.com@crosswalkmail.com

11.  David Zanstra, “Revenge is wrong.” Retrieved from www.thisistoday.net

12.  Exegesis for Romans 12:9-21. Retrieved from www.lectionary.org

13.  Elizabeth Shively, “Commentary on Romans 12:9-21.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org

14.  Mark Reasoner, “Commentary on Romans 12:9-21.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

Romans 12:1-8 The Gifts of God for the People of God

How do you think of yourselves? There are two options. We can allow our lives, values, attitudes convictions and relationships to be influenced by the world, or we can be remodeled, transformed, reshaped and redesigned from the inside out by the Holy Spirit.

How can we know God’s will for our lives? If we are not careful, we can mistake God’s will for something else, and we will be intimidated by fear. Well, fear not, because the will of God is realized by the direct influence of the Holy Spirit. To find God’s will in our lives, we don’t have to be supernatural. All we have to do is know how God speaks to us and how we hear him. It’s about learning how to spot his will when we see it and then choosing to follow it.

What is God’s will like? God’s will is good. That means that God has the highest and best goals in mind for us. God’s will is also acceptable, which means that is well-pleasing and agreeable. God’s will is also perfect, which means it meets the needs of the person.

So how can we know we are in the will of God? There are four steps:

1.      Be sure we are already in the habit of obeying God.

2.      Decide to always glorify God spiritually and physically.

3.      Read and study the Bible constantly.

4.      Associate with fellow believers in a church where we can receive faithful teaching based on God’s Word.

There is a note of authority in the words we read from the apostle Paul in Romans 12:1-8. He reminds all Christians that we must be careful in how we evaluate our own lives. This evaluation must come from a mind that has been transformed by faith in Christ, and not by a mind that has been influenced by the world. This evaluation must be based on the gifts God has given us and how we use them.  We need to have a godly sense of self-worth. It provides a safe, stable middle ground while being at the heart of a peaceful life.

Paul uses the analogy of the human body to describe the unity all Christians have in Christ. We are the eyes, ears, head, hands, legs and feet of Christ. All Christians are part of one body of Christ, all of whom have vital parts that work together. Each part is different, but the parts need each other. Christians have individual gifts, and these gifts are really a gift of God’s grace. They are like parts of a human body. When one part of a body disappears, we look for it. Do we look for a member of the body of Christ when that member disappears? 

If we truly understand the price of our salvation, we will want to give back to God out of gratitude and thanksgiving. When we truly understand God’s mercy, we will want to worship him with every ounce of our being. God’s love and sacrifice for us will motivate us to love and to sacrifice ourselves in return. That sacrifice involves using the gifts he has given us to do his work in our world. If we want to be the people God wants us to be, we will do what God wants us to do.

Once we are consecrated to God, we must not allow ourselves to be conformed to the world and its sinful nature. We must be guided by the Holy Spirit. This guidance involves two aspects. First, as committed followers of Jesus all of our actions must be in harmony with the will of God as spelled out in the word of God. If we meditate on God’s word daily, it will shape our thoughts and help us to be more Christ-like. Then we will act in a way that pleases God. Second, we need to know what our gifts are and how we can use them to serve God. We have to get the best training we can to sharpen these gifts and use them to serve others. We serve God by serving others.

No one can even begin to imitate Christ’s ministry on his own, because his abilities and ministries were so varied. When we come together as one body we can collectively demonstrate the many and varied forms of ministry that he wants to perform through our united effort. The Holy Spirit gives each of us the correct portion so that we can fulfill our individual roles within the entire body of Christ. 

We have to consider our roles within the body of Christ because each of our roles is different. Each role is represented by the individual gifts believers have. One of the spiritual gifts is the gift of prophecy. Old Testament prophets along with some of the New Testament prophets, had the gift of addressing the future. Modern prophets don’t have this gift. Instead, they are teachers and proclaimers of God’s truth. My own ministry is a good example. When I preach, I teach and proclaim God’s truth. This ministry has taken place within this parish and within the wider community in churches such as Zion United Church here in Liverpool and Bridgewater United Church.

Another gift is the ability to exhort or encourage those who are hurting, weak or discouraged. People with these gifts give them sacrificially. The church also needs the gift of leadership. In particular, the church needs the gift of leadership that has a sense of what the church needs to do. People naturally follow leaders who have that gift.

The most important gift is the gift of mercy. It is the spirit-given ability to extend love and compassion to those who are suffering. It also involves reaching out to the outcasts of society and other people who are ignored by society.

Regardless of the gift we have been given, we must not be full of pride, but at the same time we must understand how much each and every one of us is valued by God. Satan can use discouragement to keep us from using our gifts for God’s work. On the other hand, pride causes to attribute our contribution to God’s Kingdom to ourselves and not to God. 

Paul encourages all believers to consecrate themselves to a Christ-like way of life. This doesn’t happen automatically when we come to Christ. Our consecrated bodies are to be sacrificed to God constantly, undefiled and pleasing to God and his character. We live for Christ because we are grateful for what God has done for us. Transformation is a positive view of the place where God’s redemption unfolds. This transformation occurs because of God’s grace, and therefore we are to give ourselves entirely to God. This is what Paul means when he tells us to present ourselves as a living sacrifice to God.

The world was originally clean, but it became corrupted by sin, and when Christ returns the world will be transformed and cleansed. We are part of the sinful world even though we have been transformed by God’s grace. We learn to see the world through the Scriptures and respond to the world as the Scriptures tell us. Our minds become more and more like God’s mind and accomplish God’s will.

In ancient times, salt was used to preserve and add flavour to food. When Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 5:13 that they were the salt of the earth, He meant that they could stop the moral decay of society and impact generations for Christ as they ministered his truth to the world. We are to be reflections of Christ on earth. This will mean that we will be different from the world, but our mission is to change the world for the better.  We can’t change the world until we change ourselves. We must not become arrogant by thinking too highly of ourselves. We are to be servants in the world, not its doormats. We are to have a balanced view of ourselves. We are to see ourselves as God sees us and not in comparison to others. All of us are the same in the eyes of God. He chose all believers and the choice is made on the basis of grace.

Transformation causes us to believe God’s truth instead of listening to our feelings. It will take time, but eventually God’s truth will become part of us. When it does, our relationship with God will be stronger and the way we think about ourselves will change. All of this can only happen when we feed on God’s word.

Doing God’s will with certain conditions is not obedience. Obeying and following God’s will means surrendering everything in our lives to God. If we are not surrendering everything to God, we are not obeying God. Our different gifts must be offered humbly to the body of Christ. Only within the body of Christ can our thoughts, desires and behaviour be renewed and changed.

Paul uses God’s mercy to appeal to us as Christians. God’s mercy is the key part of a Christian’s commitment to God. In return, we are to show mercy to others. Christian life is marked by transformation and growth in discernment and understanding.

 Bibliography

 

1.      Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, NKJV (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing, 2013)

2.      Swindoll, Charles R.: Swindoll’s New Testament Insights on Romans (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan; 2010)

3.      ESV Study Bible. Part of Wordsearch 10 Bible software package.

4.      Briscoe, D.S. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 29: Romans (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982)

5.      MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible, NASB (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 2006)

6.      Steve Arterburn, “The Struggle against Worldliness.” Retrieved from www.newlife.com

7.      Richard Innes, “Being vs doing.” Retrieved from www.actsweb.org

8.      Michael Youssef, Ph.D., “God’s Success Formula.” Retrieved from www.leadingtheway.org

9.      Pastor Bobby Schuller, “Willing to be Weird.” Retrieved from www.hourofpower.org

10.  Michael Youssef, Ph.D., “The Importance of Salt.” Retrieved from www.leadingtheway.org

11.  Michael Youssef, Ph.D., “Opportunities to Serve.” Retrieved from www.leadingtheway.org

12.  James A. Harnish, “Squeezed or Transformed?” Retrieved from www.preaching.com

13.  Richard Innes, “Square Watermelons.” Retrieved from www.actsweb.org

14.  Richard Innes, “Discerning the Will of God for Your Life.” Retrieved from www.actsweb.org

15.  Dr. Charles Stanley, “Peace with Ourselves.” In Touch Magazine, September 2014, P. 51 (Atlanta, GA: In Touch Ministries Inc.)

16.  Exegesis for Romans 12:1-8. Retrieved from www.lectionary.org

17.  The Rev. Dr. Charles Reeb, “I Wonder about God’s Will for My Life.” Retrieved from www.day1.org

 

 

 

 

Acts 8:26-40 Evangelism 101

Have you ever wondered how you can share the Good News with the people you meet? If so, the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:26-40 is a good teaching manual. Philip was leading a revival in Samaria that was leading multitudes of people to Christ. God called Philip from evangelizing the crowds to evangelizing to one person, but that one person-the eunuch-led to the spread of Christianity to the African continent. Philip must have wondered why God would take him out of a revival and place him in a desert, but he trusted God.

 

Evangelism is like that.  Evangelism is a team effort that involves each and every member of the body of Christ, but it eventually comes down to a one on one encounter between a follower of Jesus and a person who is following his or her own way. We do not have to be a Billy Graham, or a Franklin Graham or a Will Graham and lead crusades in major cities and large stadiums throughout the world. We can do the same thing in our own communities with the people we meet every day.

We don’t know anything about the eunuch’s spiritual background other than the fact that he travelled 1,200 miles to Jerusalem. Jewish law would have excluded the eunuch from the temple. This is an example of the Gospel spreading to the Gentiles. The passage the eunuch read was the passage from Isaiah about the suffering servant. There is no better passage with which to introduce someone to Jesus.

The eunuch’s baptism confirms that baptism is for those who profess faith in Jesus. Immersion equals death to sin, coming up out of the water equals rising to a new life in Christ. The eunuch’s joy represents a new spiritual state. 

Philip had to overcome a lot of barriers to get to the eunuch’s chariot, but the barriers did not matter to Philip. Barriers should not matter to us either. We must be willing to go, sit and spend time with people who want to get to know God. Differences in race, colour, creed or culture must not be barriers to our mission. We need to pour out our lives for their sake.

The only way to reach people for Christ is to preach Christ crucified, dead, buried and risen again. Clever stories or preaching methods or living our lives in front of lost people won’t do the job. We are called to make disciples. It requires our willingness to become a mentor for new believers. We have to take the goodness God has poured into our lives and pour that goodness into the lives of the lost.

This story is fast-paced and full of action. These might not be the first words we think of when we think of the word “church”, but the intention of the Book of Acts is to show us that the Spirit is alive and we are too. If we are alive in Christ, we will obey when the Spirit says to us, “Get up and go.” We must be prepared to seize each and every opportunity to proclaim the Good News, like I am when I’m given an opportunity to preach. If we are to discover God’s guidance for our lives, we have to be receptive to the Spirit, even if it does not fit into our plans, goals, prejudices, etc. Philip is a good example. He wanted to continue the revival in Samaria, but the Holy Spirit had other plans.  

There are two issues in this reading-obedience, and preaching the Good News. As I mentioned earlier, the eunuch spread Christianity to Africa. In the case of Philip, he obeyed God’s call to meet with the eunuch at that particular time and in that particular place. The eternal life of someone who would play a key role in the worldwide expansion of Christianity was at stake.

All believers have direct access to God through faith and the Holy Spirit. All believers are able to understand the teachings of the Scriptures and gain the benefit God intends-namely, the ability to share the Gospel with others. Sometimes we wonder about the people and situations God has guided us to. That’s only natural, because we can’t see “the big picture” that God sees. Sometimes the people and situations are difficult for us, but they often lead to blessings. God uses anything he can to convince us to follow his directions. The key for us is to be prepared to follow him, and that preparation includes openness, prayer, Bible study and surrendering to God’s will. If we are prepared we will be ready when opportunities arise. For example, I was a lay minister for several years before I felt the call to preach. God used that time to prepare me through working with other team members and learning from them. As a result, I have had the opportunity to preach over 200 times in locations such as churches in my own Parish of South Queens, Hillsview Acres, here at Queens Manor and just recently at the United Churches in Liverpool and Bridgewater.

If we, like Moses, don’t know what to say, that’s okay because the Holy Spirit will tailor our message to the needs of the people we speak to. It’s like advertisers who tailor the message of their products to a particular audience. For example, you rarely see ads for fishing gear in fashion magazines!

We need to consider the needs, background and experience of our audience when we are called to share our faith. When we find out about our audience, our natural desire to help takes over. When that desire kicks in, we have to start where our audience is in relationship to Christ, and not where they should be. When we are nearing the end of our witnessing, we have to wait for signs of readiness and response. If that readiness indicates belief in the resurrection, the audience is ready to begin their new life in Christ.  All of this is only possible if we are willing to talk about Jesus and if we are willing to go anywhere to share the Good News, just like I was prepared to share the Good News at the United Churches in Liverpool and Bridgewater, and just like I am prepared to go anywhere God wants me to go and preach. If we let God direct us where he wants us to go, he will give us the courage and the words. All we have to do is to step out in faith.

Bibliography

 

1.      Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, NKJV (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013)

2.      Tony Robinson, “Get Up and Go.” Retrieved from dailydevotional@ucc.org

3.      James MacDonald, “Seize the opportunity.” Retrieved from Christianity.com@crosswalkmail.com

4.      T.M. Moore, “Read with the Saints.” Retrieved from wwww.colsoncenter.org

5.      Lysa Terkeurst, “Might We Dare to be a Little More Common?” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com

6.      ESV Study Bible. Part of Wordsearch 10 Bible software package.

7.      Ogilvie, L.J. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 28: Acts (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1983)

8.      Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible, NKJV (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 2005)

 

Romans 11:1-2,29-32 Save a Piece for Me Jesus…Please

A woman was talking to her minister after church one Sunday. She said, “I hope you didn’t take it personally, Pastor, when my husband walked out during your sermon.”

“I did find it rather upsetting,” the minister replied.

“It’s not a reflection on you, sir,” the woman insisted. “Ralph has been walking in his sleep ever since he was a child.”

Have you ever thought that you were alone on your walk of faith? Have you ever thought that you were the only Christian in the world? If so, you are not alone. Many of the Old Testament prophets felt that they were the only Christians in the world. Many Christians today sometimes fee that they are the only Christians in the world.  They even feel that they have been rejected by God.  At the end of Romans 10, it seems that the people of Israel have been rejected. It seemed that God’s plan and purpose for Israel had ended, when in fact nothing could be further from the truth as Paul argues in Romans 11.

God knew that the Israelites would reject him, but he chose them anyway and made a covenant with them. He could not make a covenant with them and then abandon them because they turned away from him in sin. To do so would go against his nature, because he does not go back on his world. God did have a “loophole” in his covenant. He was not bound to save the whole nation of Israel. He was only bound to save those who remained faithful. Those few that were faithful are the remnant referred to in Romans 9:27. Just as God reserved a remnant of his people when Elijah thought in 1 Kings 19:1-8 that he was the only faithful person left when in fact he had over 7,000 brothers and sisters in Christ, God has preserved a remnant of Christianity for Paul and for all of eternity. This remnant has been preserved by God’s grace. (Pause)

Sometimes God uses the disobedience of one group of people to show mercy to another group. The people of Israel rejected God, so God decided to show mercy to the Gentiles by calling on the most hated, hardened Jew-Paul-to spread the Good News to the Gentiles. God surrounds his people with their sin with no means of escape so he can show his people grace. God stands off from his people when they rebel against him, but he never ignores people who cry out to him in faith. When we look beyond the struggles of this life we will see him waiting for us with open arms. When the lost cry out to him, he hears their cries and joyfully carries them to eternity.

God showed mercy to the Israelites even though they were ungrateful. Why? It can’t be explained. Such is the nature of grace. It can only be received with gratitude just like the Gentiles received God’s grace with gratitude.

The apostle Paul is proof that God is not finished with Israel. Paul was from the tribe of Benjamin and he believed in Jesus after his encounter on the road to Damascus. In Romans 11:1-2, 29-32 Paul uses various texts in Scripture to prove that God keeps the promises he makes to believers, unbelievers, disobedient and contrary-minded people, and this is a key part of Paul’s theology. After all, if God was not faithful to the people of Israel, Christians would not have a good reason to repent. God has the power to bring the Gentiles and the Israelites into his kingdom. Paul warns the Gentiles who have received salvation not to become proud and boastful because they can also be punished. The Gentiles were tempted to hate the Israelites because God found them to be unworthy, but Paul reminded the Gentiles that they needed to understand that they were the beneficiaries of Israel’s unfaithfulness. God made the same promise to the Gentiles, including the “loophole” that only the Gentiles who were faithful to God would be saved. These faithful Gentiles are also part of the remnant referred to in Romans 9:27. The Israelites also benefitted by Gentile obedience, because it caused the Israelites to become faithful to God.  

God’s grace preserved people of faith throughout history. Noah and his family were preserved during the Great Flood thanks to the Ark. Joseph was preserved by God during years of hardship and imprisonment in Egypt, and in turn Joseph preserved his family and the people of Egypt during the famine. Daniel and his friends were saved from the lions’ den. Jonah was preserved even when he was in the belly of the fish. God always saves a remnant of his people when he punishes his people for their disobedience because this remnant consists only of people who have obeyed God in faith. God’s compassion is the last word when he is dispensing justice. His justice is always balanced by mercy for the people who obey him.

We are in the same situation today. Our world is full of sin. We as individual Christians may feel that we are alone, but God has preserved a piece of Christianity through our brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world.  Justification is by faith for everyone.

Israel was willing to accept the special status of being God’s chosen people, but the people did not want to accept the responsibility of obeying him in faith. In other words, they wanted the benefits of the special status but they did not want to do any of the work that came with it.  In spite of this, God made a promise to his people that he would deliver them from sin and evil, and he kept that promise through Christ’s death and resurrection. The Gentiles should not have been upset because God blessed Israel, because God’s promise of salvation was made available to both Jews and Gentiles.

Both Jewish disciples and Gentile disciples thought they were better than less enlightened people, but God’s true Israel includes Jews, Gentiles and any other human group we can think of.  All of the members of God’s kingdom share in the same basis of membership-that is, the mercy of God in Christ. The historic people of Israel did reject God’s work of salvation, and that rejection allowed its acceptance by the Gentiles. The acceptance by the Gentiles prompted acceptance by the Jews. This proves that there is no basis for believers to be conceited, because where there is no merit, there can only be mercy. 

As I mentioned in a homily I preached a couple of Sundays ago, God can turn disobedience and the negative circumstances of our lives to redemptive purpose today. For example, a celebrity smoker dies of lung cancer, and other smokers are motivated to quit. An alcoholic loses a spouse or a job and finds the motivation to stop drinking. Our disobedience is never good and often produces terrible suffering, but God always works behind the scenes to turn our disobedience to redemptive purposes. For example, God used the suffering of my father from lung cancer to return me to the church and to the role of lay ministry. God uses our disobedience to motivate us to change our ways. In effect he says to us, “Turn, or burn.”

God makes the same promise to his people today. It is God’s will to save his people and to be faithful to them. He promises to save us from our sins if we believe in him by faith. God’s mercy is always a gift. Mercy is kind or forgiving treatment of someone who could be treated harshly. We know that we could be treated harshly. Our sin indicates that we should be treated harshly, but by the grace of God we are loved and forgiven anyway.

Those who have been called and who have responded to the gospel in faith have become both the remnant of Israel who were God’s elect in ancient times and the new Israel God has created in Christ. If we believe in him by faith, we receive the special status of being a member of God’s chosen people.  In return, we must do God’s work in our world by spreading the Good News and by showing Christ’s love to a hurting world.

 Bibliography

1.      Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, NKJV (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013)

2.      Swindoll, Charles R.: Swindoll’s New Testament Insights on Romans (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan; 2010)

3.      Rev. Brian Findlayson, “The Conversion of Israel.” Retrieved from www.lectionarystudies.com

4.      Rev. Brian Findlayson, “God Has Not Cast Off Israel.” Retrieved from www.lectionarystudies.com

5.      William Loader, “First Thoughts on Year A Epistle, Pentecost 16: 17 August Romans 11:1-2, 29-32.” Retrieved from www.staff.murdoch.edu.au

6.      Paul S. Berge, “Commentary on Romans 11:1-2, 29-32.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org

7.      Matt Skinner, “Commentary on Romans 11:1-2, 29-32.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org

8.      ESV Study Bible. Part of Wordsearch 10 Bible Software package

9.      Briscoe, D.S. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 29: Romans (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982)

10.  Exegesis for Romans 11:1-2, 29-32. Retrieved from www.lectionary.org

11.  Preaching Magazine (Nashville, TN: Salem Publishing Inc.: May/June 2014, pp. 61-62)

12.  John Shearman’s Lectionary Resource, 10^th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A. Retrieved from http://lectionary.seemslikegod.org

13.  Amanda Shultz, “God Pause for Wed., Aug. 13, 2014.” Retrieved from www.luthersem.edu