1 Peter 1:1,2 - Trinity

1:1

The letter follows the standard pattern for the day with the introduction naming the writer and the recipients. As mentioned in the Introduction, the letter clearly claims to be written by the apostle Peter. He is writing to various Christians in the regions mentioned. This is in contrast to Paul’s letters which tended to be written to specific churches, and often dealt with local problems. The recipients are referred to as “God’s elect” and “exiles”. Why does he do this? The Christians were facing an increasingly hostile environment and these two terms both reflect their privilege in being God’s elect, and recognising the difficulties they were facing. This world is not our home. In Hebrews 11 it speaks of us being strangers and aliens. So often it can be very uncomfortable, but we should always remind ourselves who we are. We belong to the Lord.

1:2

We have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. This does not just mean that He knew ahead of time what was going to happen, but that He made a deliberate choice to save us. We are not at the mercy of events, not victims of chance. God has an eternal plan for our salvation. See how the Father, Son and Spirit are all linked together here. They all work together in perfect unity. The Father has chosen us, He decided to save us. We were cleansed of our sin by Jesus’ blood. The Holy Spirit works to sanctify us. Ie His work in our lives is to make us ever more Christlike, and to clear out the dross from our lives. And we are chosen for obedience to Jesus Christ. Obedience is a central part of the gospel. The so-called hyper-grace movement is way out of line in some of its teaching. We were chosen for obedience, and the Holy Spirit works in us towards that end. Moreover, I consider one of the greatest blessing I can receive from God is to be more obedient. The more obdient I become the more freedom I have.

Grace and peace is a ubiquitous blessing in the New Testament. We need the grace of God in abundance, and we have peace with God. We are not trying to earn peace, it is something we have because of the sacrificial work of Christ upon the cross.

1 Peter - Introduction

1 Peter

Introduction

First of all acknowledgment of sources which have contributed to these notes.

• An Introduction to the New Testament - Carson, Moo and Morris - especially in the background material contained in this introduction.
• 1 Peter - Tyndale Commentary, A M Stibbs & A F Walls - this is the main source of textual commentary.

Right at the outset the letter claims to be written by the apostle Peter, so one might have thought that that was the end of the matter as far as deciding who wrote it. However, there are always those who question the most obvious things. So we will take a look at the matter.

The arguments for Petrine authorship, apart from the obvious one of 1:1, are the allusions to gospel incidents, such as 2:20-25 (Mark 14:65, 8:34, 10:32, 14:27). There are also similarities between this letter and the words of Peter recorded in acts (Acts 4:10,11 - 1 Pet 2:7,8), (acts 10:3,9 - 1 Pet 2:24).

So there the Petrine authorship seems pretty conclusive, so what are the objections?

1. The Greek is of too high a standard for a fisherman. In answer to this we need to remind ourselves that “unschooled” (Acts 4:13) does not mean thick! It simply means they had not had a rabbinical training. If we go back a few decades in our own country, not many went to university, and that meant many perfectly intelligent people did not go to university. Greek was widely spoken. Moreover, 1 Pet 5:12 says Peter wrote the letter with the help of Silas, and this may have included Silas tidying up the Greek.
2. It is said to be too dependent upon Pauline theology. Of course, if it wasn’t then people would object that it was too different to Paul and start complaining about inconsistencies. There is one gospel, so consistencies are to be expected. Paul and Peter interacted and it is to be expected that Peter learnt a lot from Paul.
3. Limited evidence of events in Jesus’ life. This letter is not a “I remember when ...”, it is written with a specific purpose.
4. The passages referring to persecution are said to refer to that under Domitian or Trajan, by which time Peter was dead. This is really a most stupid and ignorant objection. There were times of persecution under Nero and at many times and places. Moreover, those referred to in the letter would seem to be less severe than those that occurred under Domitian or Trajan, so this actually lends support to Petrine authorship!

So we will accept the Bible for what it says and there is strong reason to do so. On a more general point, those who like doubting the authorship of everything say that people used the name of an apostle to lend credibility to what they wrote. This is another example of ignorance and stupidity. The historical evidence of the early church is that they were very careful about authorship, claiming to be someone you are not would not aid your cause. As an example the gnostic gospels, such as the “gospel” of Thomas gained no traction despite have the name of an apostle attached to them. By the way, if you want a laugh go and read the gospel of Thomas, it is only 114 verses long (make sure you go right to the end). You will quickly realise why the gnostic gospels were not included in the Bible. It was nothing to do with the church suppressing stuff, but due to the fact that they weren’t written until the 2nd or 3rd century, so aren’t gospels anyway, and that they are complete rubbish.

The letter was probably written in the early 60’s and from Rome. The mention of Babylon in 1 Pet 5:13 is taken as an oblique reference to Rome. Babylon was also used to refer to Rome in Revelation. The beginning of the letter gives the churches that the letter was originally intended for. It is probably aimed at a predominantly Gentile audience, but is of course relevant to Jewish Christians as well.

There are several quotes from 1 Peter in early Christian writings and it was recognised as apostoloic at a very early stage.

The overall theme of the letter is concerned with how Christians should live in a hostile environment, and it should be noted that the primary motivation and encouragement in all cases is theological. Ie it is based on who Christ is and on what He has done and will do.

Romans 16:21-27 - To Him who is able

16:21-24
Paul did not work alone, but had several co-workers. 
Paul’s letters were usually written down by someone else, presumably at Paul’s dictation. So Tertius adds his greeting. Notice that this also implies that Tertius was considered part of the work, he was not a “mere secretary”. All that we do for the kingdom is important.
Gaius is probably the Gaius of 1 Cor 1:14, though it was a very common name. HIs providing hospitality for the whole church and Paul may imply the church met at his house, or that he was very hospitable, readily receiving anyone as a guest.
Erastus is referred to as the “director or public works “(NIV) or “city treasurer” (ESV). He may or may not be the person mentioned in Acts 19:22 and 2 Tim 4:20.
You will probably find verse 24 is missing! As the footnote in the NIV says “Some manuscripts include here May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Amen.”

16:25-27
Paul closes with a doxology. Paul has a personal connection to the gospel, he is not just doing a job. The gospel is the message of Jesus Christ, this centres on his work of justification on the cross and His resurrection. The gospel is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies, and is entirely in keeping with them. The Old Testament also clearly proclaimed that the gospel would go out to all peoples. The gospel calls people to obedience, the obedience that comes through faith. God is the only God and is completely wise, and all His plans are fulfilled through Christ.

Thoughts for a country in chaos

It seems that all of a sudden the nation of the United Kingdom has been thrown into complete chaos. On Friday morning the result of the EU referendum came out and there was a clear, albeit small, majority to leave the EU. This came as a surprise and shock to most. Since then the Prime Minister has announced his intention to resign, the Labour party is in meltdown, and the United Kingdom looks as though it might break-up. Now we need a degree of calmness, things are often not as traumatic as they seem, and there may be a return to some sort of order before too long, or there may not. However, here are some Biblical perspectives on the matter, mostly on how we should react.

Yesterday my reading of Psalms took me to Psalm 46. Go and read all of it. The psalm starts by declaring that God is our refuge and strength, secure whatever the danger. Then it speaks of the nations being in uproar. Finally it closes with the well known words “Be still and know that I am God”. We are seeing how quickly a superficially sound structure can suddenly be thrown into chaos. The things we are seeing are not just the result of one referendum decision, but have built up over many years, and the referendum has brought them all to a head. But we see how quickly things can change, and how little control we have.

In Haggai 2:1-10 we read of God shaking the nations. In the midst of that God’s servants are told not to fear, and it is all in the context of God’s plans for His people and His glory being fulfilled. Now we need to be careful not to overreact to current events, they may be of far less significance than we imagine, but we certainly should beware of fear taking over.

Finally, a verse in 2Tim 2:4 has been very much on my mind.

No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs; rather they try to please their commanding officer.

For some of us (myself included) there is a great temptation to express our opinions on matters, and there certainly is a place for Christians being involved in politics. There is also a time to keep out of it. I do not want to be identified with Leave or Remain, I want to be identified with Christ. There is a time to realise that events are moving in such a way that the most important thing is that we are ready to do Christ’s bidding in the midst of them, unencumbered by any political labels. I stress again that I am not saying Christians should not get involved in current affairs, Paul says at the end of the section containing the above verse in 2 Tim 2:7

Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

Let each one of us be still before the Lord and listen to the commands He has for us today.

Romans 16:18-20 - Those who cause division

16:18

Today we are often called to treat people with opposing views with respect. Now there is a time for this, but there is also a need to recognise that people who cause division and promote false teachings are not serving Christ, they are promoting themselves. Their ideas and opinions are self-serving and are the product of a corrupted heart. They work to deceive people.

At the same time we do need to distinguish between people who are false teachers, and those who teach mistaken things. We are probably all guilty of the latter at some times in our lives. A false teacher is one who is deliberately teaching wrong things and is going directly against the gospel.

6:19

Paul reassures the Romans that he thinks well of them. Everyone has heard about their obedience. However, it is vital that they do not become complacent. We need to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. Evil can present itself as an angel of light, it can have a coating of sugar. But inside it is utterly deceptive and vile. We need to be careful.

16:20

Why does Paul suddenly raise this matter here? In fact I don’t think Satan has had a mention in Romans so far. The emphasis has been on man’s sin and Christ’s justification. There is an important lesson for us here on spiritual warfare. We can become too obsessed with the devil (the opposite extreme is equally dangerous). We need to realise that our greatest weapon is repentance and trust (Is 30:15). See also that the defeat of Satan is the work of God, yet He involves us in it. For God will crush Satan, but He does so under our feet. And notice all that has gone before in Romans, it has all been about repentance and trust. This is how we win.

Paul now brings the letter to a close, and as he often does bestows a blessing of grace upon them.

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Romans 16:8-17 - Greetings

16:8-15

We then get a list of various people. They cover male and female, Gentiles and Jews. It is clear that Pul valued strong relationships and those who work hard and faithfully for the Lord. He also had good relationships with women. So, as I have already said, those who accuse Paul of misogyny really don’t know what they are talking about.

16:16

Here we have an example of cultural application. “Greet one another with a holy kiss”. It was common then, as it still is in some countries, for people to greet each other with a kiss. In our society this is far less common. So it would not generally be appropriate for us to follow this. It would either lead to misunderstanding, or just be far too embarrassing.

16:17

We are to avoid people who cause division and who promote things that are contrary to the gospel. We need to listen to this, too often in the church we think we have to be “nice” all the time! There are some people who are just trouble, and note that the Bible, Old and New Testament, is very clear on this, and it advocates a direct approach to such people. We avoid them and do not give them the time of day. Now we do need to be careful for we have a habit of going to one extreme or the other. We are all sinners, so we need to be concerned first about the logs in our own eyes. We also do not want to go down the road of some so-called “discernment ministries” that are obsessed with finding fault with people. But the Bible calls on us (ie God calls on us, Jesus calls on us) to use wisdom and to treat false teachers and division makers very seriously.

Romans 16:3-7 - Women apostles?

16:3,4

Priscilla and Aquila are mentioned elsewhere in Scripture (1 Cor 16:19; Acts 18:1,2,18,26). The had worked often with Paul and had moved back to Rome. They had even risked their lives for Paul and all the churches valued them highly.

16:5,6

Priscilla and Aquila had moved back to Rome and a church met at their house. The implication could be taken that they led the church together.

We get an idea of the movement of people in that Epenetus was the first convert in Asia Minor but was now apparently in Rome. Mary was a Roman name, but could also be a variant of the common Jewish name Miriam. Again notice the prominence of women in the work of the church.

16:7

Adronicus and Junia are almost certainly a husband and wife team. They were Jewish believers and had been in prison with Paul. Of most interest is the statement “they were outstanding among the apostles”. This could be taken to mean the apostles had high regard for them, but most scholars prefer the alternative reading that they actually were apostles. So what does this mean? Calling anyone other than the twelve apostles throws some cats amongst the pigeons, having a woman as an apostle doubly so! The term apostle is used in two senses in the New Testament. The primary sense is that of the Twelve (including Paul) and they had special authority, particularly in the writing of Scripture. The second meaning is that they were sent out by the church with authority. There are no apostles like the Twelve today, and certainly no one can rewrite or add to Scripture! However, people will be given special tasks to do special work in the church, maybe of a foundational nature. There is also a strong implication here that women can be involved in this work. At the same time I do think the term apostle is bandied about a little too freely in some circles. We should remember that key signs of an apostle in the New Testament were: proclaiming Christ; signs and wonders; and suffering for Christ. If any does this today then I have no problem with them being called an apostle.

It should be noted that there are people who say the text means that Andronicus and Junia were held in high regard by the apostles, and there are those who say Junia was a man. In these sorts of debates it is always difficult to see whether an interpretation is reading into the text what we want to see, rather than seeing what it actually says (this can apply to both sides of the argument). However, the question of the role of women in the church is not as clear cut as some like to suggest.

Romans 16:1,2 - Women in leadership?

16:1,2

Paul closes his letter with a whole list of greetings. Romans is a great theological exposition, but it is not an academic exposition. Paul cared about the people he was writing to, and he is writing to a church that was part of the wider Christian community. It seems that Christians from various places had found their way to Rome. One of the interesting features of the people mentioned is the prominence of women. This is important for two reasons. First there are those who accuse Paul of being a misogynist, I really have little time for such “arguments” as there is no foundation for them at all in Scripture. Paul quite clearly worked with many women and respected them. The second reason is the vexed question of the place of women in church leadership. The two broad camps are complementarians and egalitarians. Complementarians see men and women as equal, but having distinct roles in the church. Egalitarians see women as being able to do any role that men can do. The main sticking points are whether women can lead churches and, to a lesser extent, whether they can preach. These are very broad brush descriptions and any individual’s position may be much more nuanced. If I had to describe my own position it would probably be a “soft” complementarian, or a “soft” egalitarian. I am perfectly happy with women preaching, and have heard some very good ones. I am also happy with women having a role in leadership. However, I do believe that men and women are different and have a different strengths.  I also consider it vital that men play an active role in leadership. A lot of the time the debate focuses on what people cannot do. A more fruitful approach is to consider what people can do. Moreover, a major problem in much of the church is the failure of men to take up their responsibilities. Anyway, now you have a better idea where to disagree with me!

The first mentioned female is Phoebe who was a deacon. That means she was designated to serve the elders or overseers. It is likely that Phoebe was responsible for delivering the letter. She may also have been required to read the letter to the church in Rome, and possibly also explain parts of the letter. So Paul urges them to treat her with respect, and speaks highly of her. Phoebe may also have been a businesswoman.

Romans 15:30-33 - Pray for me

15:30

Paul was the great apostle, the one through whom God broke into Europe and Asia Minor with the gospel. He preached fearlessly and effectively, and with love. Even so he knew he needed the prayers of others, he knew he was just part of the body. If we become proud we will very quickly find that the anointing and power of God leaves us, but if we remain humble, trusting in God and working together with our brothers and sisters in Christ then the blessing of God will truly be upon our lives. Notice that Paul also says it is a struggle. There is a battle to be fought, and prayer is a primary means of connecting with all the power of heaven.

15:31-33

Paul knew that he faced danger in Jerusalem. Others tried to dissuade him because of this, but Paul knew the purposes of God so was prepared to encounter the danger. However, this did not make him oblivious to it, or paying no heed to the danger. Instead he asked them to pray that he would be kept safe. He also prayed that the contribution would received in the right spirit. There were tensions between the Jewish and Gentile Christians, and in such situations it is all too easy for people to take offence, and has been wisely said, more offence is taken than is ever given. So Paul asks them to pray about the matter. Again we see him facing up to the realities of the situation. Then Paul would be safe and be able to finally visit the Roman church.

Romans 15:27-29 - Sharing spiritual and material blessings

15:27

The Gentiles had received spiritual blessings from the Jews. We do well to remember this today, and the church would have avoided some major sins if it had done so throughout history. The Old and New Testaments are a continuum, there is no division between them. Both are concerned with the salvation of Israel and the salvation of the whole of mankind (ie the Gentiles). We are in it together! So the Gentiles had an obligation to help the Jews out materially. 1 Cor 9:11, referring to the same collection, makes a similar point. Today Israel is not a poor nation materially, but we should pray fervently for that nation. This does not mean saying everything Israel does is correct, they do much wrong and are indeed a very atheistic nation. But we should pray for their well being, for their repentance and coming to faith in Christ.

15:28,29

So Paul planned first of all to complete his mission of taking the collection to the Jews (this was probably primarily the Jewish Christians). Then he planned to go on to Spain, visiting the Romans on the way. He would come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ. The visit would not be a quick stopover but a significant stay and he would seek to build up the church.

Romans 15:23-26 - Going to Spain

15:23,24

However, Paul has now taken the gospel to all the places he could in southern Europe. So at last he can make plans to go and see them, and was going to do so on his way to Spain. Now the to the best of our knowledge he never made it to Spain, and the account in Acts tells us the circumstances under which he did eventually get to Rome. Things to do not always work out exactly as we expect them to. He intended to spend some time in Rome and to use this as a launching pad for his planned work in Spain. Paul did indeed spend some time in Rome, mostly in captivity.

15:25

Paul was currently on his way to Jerusalem. We know from Acts that most thought he was foolish to go there because of the great danger he would face. Events proved that there was indeed great danger. There were attempts on his life and he ended up being held in captivity, eventually being sent to Rome. So in one sense those who warned him were correct, but Paul knew what God’s plans were and that everything was part of the plan so that he would speak to rulers, and would eventually get to Rome. Whether something is God’s will or not is not simply a matter of whether it works out well or not.

15:26

The immediate purpose of the visit was to take money to the church in Jerusalem. Hard times had hit them and Paul had been organising a collection for the people. Churches in Macedonia and Achaia had been particularly generous in providing for Jerusalem.

Romans 15:20-22 - My ambition to preach Christ

15:20

Paul had not at this stage been to Rome and they may have wondered why he had “neglected” them, especially as Rome was such an important city, the centre of the Roman Empire. Here Paul gives an explanation. Paul’s ambition was to preach the gospel where it was not known. He did not want to build upon somebody else’s work, but to establish new works. This does raise the interesting question of how the gospel first got established in Rome. It also shows that while Paul was the prime mover in the gospel spreading throughout Europe, he was not the only one.

15:21,22

Yet again Paul quotes from the Old Testament, this time Isaiah 52:15. This verse is part of the famous prophecy of Jesus and the cross. As an aside, people sometimes see the New Testament as being opposed to the Old Testament, such a view is complete nonsense. See how many times Paul quotes the Old Testament and sees Jesus and the gospel as the fulfilment of it. Look at the gospels and see Jesus’ attitude towards the Old Testament. They clearly regarded it as the word of God, and so it is.

Paul then says this is why he was hindered from coming to see them. So hindered here is actually positive, rather than its usual negative connotations. Paul had not been to see them yet because he was so busy spreading the gospel elsewhere.

Romans 15:17-19 - I glory in Christ

15:17

Paul glories in Christ Jesus. This is the opposite of what those who take pride in observing certain customs do, or those who take pride in being “better” than the Jews because they have believed in Christ. We should put all our focus on Jesus, we should put all our hope in Him, He alone is the source of our pride. We need to be completely Jesus focused.

15:18

We see here the practical outworking of that glorying in Christ alone. The only things that Paul considered worthwhile were those that involved people obeying God. Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles, hence the particular mention of them here. Notice how things are accomplished by Christ through us. Without Christ we can do nothing, but when He works He works through us. So Paul led people to Christ by what he said and what he did. Speaking and doing go together, and Christ working and our working go together.

15:19

Now all would agree that Paul gives the most solid and reasoned presentation of the gospel, especially in Romans. He is most loved by reformed Christians. So it is especially notable that Paul then describes what his “speaking and doing” entailed. So we see here first of all “the power of signs and wonders”, then we see the “proclaiming of the gospel”. There are those of a cessationist persuasion who think that signs and wonders were limited to the 1st century, the apostolic time. There really is no Biblical support for this, and it is amazing that people who are usually so strong on the Bible, and usually give excellent presentation of the Scriptures then make such a fundamental error. But then they are human like the rest of us However, Charismatics can be very flakey. We are to proclaim the gospel, sometimes what passes for preaching and and teaching in Charismatic circles can be a load of nonsense. The Bible is the most balanced book on the planet, and we should follow all of it. So we should use our minds, hopefully being renewed by the Holy Spirit, and faithfully and carefully present the Scriptures, and we should be looking for and expecting God to move in power.

What happened in Orlando and the Bible

We are all highly aware of the recent horrific events in Orlando. The tragedy was quickly followed by an inordinate amount of rubbish in the media, some of the rubbish coming from “Christians”.

One strand of this rubbish has been to blame Christians for the attack as we supposedly engender an atmosphere of homophobia. And one line in this attack is to say that the Bible says homosexual acts are punishable by death, so Christians who hold to Biblical teaching are implicitly arguing, or at least thinking, that homosexuals should indeed be put to death. Sadly there are some so-called Christians who do think this and there have been some disgusting posts on the internet. The vast majority of Christians do not think this, and more importantly the Bible does not teach or promote this either. However, another stream of rubbish from so-called Christians is that we should “rethink” the Biblical teaching on LGBT issues. This is equally misguided. So let’s look at the matter more carefully, with a view to understanding what the Bible actually says.

In the Bible there are two main covenants, the old covenant or the Law, and the new covenant or the gospel. The Law was a covenant between God and the nation of Israel. The gospel is a covenant between God and all people. The precise details of the Law applied only to the nation of Israel. It also pointed forward to the new covenant, to the coming of Christ. One of the things the Law did was point out various sins. One aspect of this, and only one aspect, were sexual sins. There are a whole host of others, including justice in courts, fairness in economic affairs etc. One of the sexual sins is homosexual acts. The main places where these are mentioned are Leviticus 18 and 20. However, if you look at these chapters you will see that homosexual acts are indeed mentioned, you will also see that they are just one sin in a very long list of sexual sins (and a few others as well). And yes, in Leviticus 20:13 it does indeed speak of the death penalty, but this was an instruction for the nation of Israel alone.

Then we have the new covenant, the gospel, which the Old Testament is pointing forwards to. Under the gospel the sexual sins mentioned in the old testament, including homosexual acts, are still wrong, as is economic exploitation, dishonesty etc. But under the gospel the command is repent and believe. If we do so then we receive forgiveness and new life. Anyone who uses the Bible as grounds for hating gays is completely misguided and wrong, is misusing the Bible and will have to answer to God for doing so.

Those who call for a “rethinking” are also misguided and will have to answer to God as well. The gospel tells us that we are all (straight, gay or whatever) sinners and we are all called to repent and believe. As it says in Acts 17:30 God commands all men everywhere to repent.

President Obama has spouted a load of nonsense on the matter, he should also remember John 3:18-20, in particular 3:19

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.

The gospel is a message of new life, and we are called to hold out the message of life to all people.

Romans 15:14-16 - Writing boldly

15:14

Paul, as he will admit in the next verse, has said some quite direct things to them, particularly in the last few chapters. There are times to be direct, but we also need to be aware of the effect it can have, the way in which people can take our “directness”. So Paul “softens the blow” by stressing that overall he has a high opinion of them. He is convinced that they are “full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another”. This is high praise.

15:15,16

So why has Paul been “bold” on certain points? It is because of the grace God have him. Grace has appeared several times in the letter, and we have noted that grace is not just a passive thing in the sense that we are forgiven, but it is an active, empowering thing, enabling us to achieve things for Christ. Paul outlines the grace that God gave him to be a minister to the Gentiles, something he mentioned right back at the start of the letter. So what was Paul given grace to do? It was to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. This applies to all of us. Our mission is not to be nice to people, but to bring Jesus to them, or to bring them to Jesus. So Paul had the task of proclaiming the gospel. And the purpose was that the Gentiles might become acceptable to God and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. So we need to admit our sin and put our faith in Christ’s sacrifice, and we need to let the Holy Spirit work in our lives to bring them into conformity with Christ. There is so much of the teaching of parts of the church that pays no attention to this. Perhaps the most topical example is that of sexuality, with sex before marriage and homosexuality perhaps being the most obvious. So much of the church pays no attention to leading people to repentance and to changing our lifestyles. We need to remember that the gospel is about God and what He wants!

Romans 15:10-13 - Rejoice you Gentiles

15:10-12

Paul continues with a series of quotes from Scripture: Deut 32:43, Ps 117:11, Is 11:10. It seems clear that Paul’s mind is now well and truly back on the Jew-Gentile issue. God’s plan has always been that the whole world, Jews and Gentiles, would worship Him together. For a long time the Jews did not grasp this at all, in fact they grasped very little, and there was a gulf between Jews and Gentiles. In Christ this gulf is bridged (see Eph 2). How tragic it would be if the Gentile believers now viewed the Jews as enemies, or looked down on them! The first quote comes from the song of Moses. We need to grasp the greatness of God’s plan.

So how does the food and drink part fit in? Is this now forgotten? Well maybe, but it is symptomatic of a basic human failing. We always want to find some way of proving ourselves better than others, or at least not a bad as others. This could crop up in the Jew-Gentile issue, it can rear its ugly head in legalism over rules. We need to be very aware of this tendency of the flesh and to make sure we do not start living by it.

15:13

So this can be hard, we have to resist our natural inclinations. Does this mean we are in for a miserable time? No. Paul prays for the God of hope to fill us with all joy and peace. Jesus came to give us life, and all His ways are ways of life. Whatever circumstances we are in today we should ask God to fill us with joy and peace. And if we are ministering to others we should ask that God fills them with joy and peace. We also have our part to play, we need to trust in God. We do this by saying no to the ways of the flesh, and saying yes to the way of the Spirit. Then we will overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Your circumstances may look desperate or hopeless at present, but it is the power of the Holy Spirit who enables us to overflow with hope. So we should look for His power to fill our lives, and He is stronger than anything that is opposing us. By His power we can overflow with hope. And see that it is by power. The things against us may be powerful, but in Christ we can overcome.

May we be filled with hope this day!

Romans 15:7-9 - Accept one another

15:7

We should remember how Christ welcomed us, and then remember that He has welcomed our Christian brothers and sisters in the same way. We came with nothing but unworthiness, looking to Him for mercy and salvation. As time goes on there are times when we are acutely aware of our weaknesses and failings. There are brief times of despair at ourselves, or even self loathing, but the mercy, discipline and training of the Lord accept us and step by step change us. If we look back there are ways in which we have developed, things we understand now that we did not understand before, and an awareness of how far we still have to go. And all this work of mercy in our lives is for His glory. So we should have the same attitude towards others, the same patience and hope, and for the same glory.

15:8,9

We see here the linking of Christ’s work among the Jews and the Gentiles. Now what is Paul thinking of here? It seems that he is thinking both of the immediate context of our attitudes towards each other, and what he said earlier about the place of the Jews in God’s plan. Christ came to confirm the promises given in the Old Testament, both concerning the salvation of Israel and the salvation of the world. So we are to glorify God for His mercy, not for how “clever” we are, for we aren't really that clever at all.

Characteristically Paul quotes Scripture, Psalm 18:49

Romans 15:5,6 - The same mind as Christ

15:5

Paul then goes into prayer. Knowing what to do, knowing the way things should be is not enough. We need to remember this when we preach, teach or exhort. The preaching by itself will not achieve anything, we need the work of the Holy Spirit in people’s lives (including our own!), so if we want anything effective to happen we must pray. We are to have endurance and encouragement, but it is the Lord who gives this encouragement and endurance. And it is God who changes our inmost attitudes. So Paul also asks God to give us the same attitude that Christ had.

15:6

Only then we will truly glorify “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”, and we will do so with one mind and one voice. When we get full of ourselves we may imagine that we are glorifying the Lord, but that is almost certainly not the case. But we need to remember that Paul would not allow any compromise on the truly central elements of the faith, remember how he dealt with the issue in Galatians. We need to have true wisdom, and true wisdom recognises what is non-negotiable, what is debatable, and really doesn’t matter. It also recognises what goes on in a man’s heart, most of all our own hearts. So we do not live by the flesh, but by the Spirit.

Romans 15:3,4 - Endurance and encouragement

15:3

We now come to a key part of Paul’s argument, the example of Jesus Christ. This is similar to what he says in Philippians 2:5,6. Jesus is the supreme example and we should always compare our attitudes to the attitude that He had. Jesus is our yardstick, not some other fallible and sinful human being. Paul quotes from Scripture, specifically Psalm 69:9. The first part of that verse says “zeal for your house consumes me”. When we are self-justifying we are usually full of ourselves and will often claim to be acting for good. Well, no one was more dedicated towards God and goodness that Jesus Christ and He was was willing to suffer, He did not live to please Himself. So neither should we.

15:4

Paul reminds his readers that everything written in the past was written for our good and to teach us. When he talks of “everything written in the past” Paul clearly means everything written in Scripture. We should note that Paul and, even more so, Jesus, considered all of the Old Testament to be the word of God. So we should have no truck at all with those who denigrate the Old Testament. It is God’s word.

Now not living for ourselves but for Christ and for others is not easy, and sometimes will be very costly. In those times we need the endurance and encouragement that comes from the Word of God. The Word is a source of instruction and strength to us.

Romans 15:1,2 - Bear with the failings of the weak

15:1

Paul lists himself with those who are “strong”. Throughout chapters 14 and 15 there is a tacit admission that being free to eat any food, and no necessarily special days is actually the “correct” position, but they way we are tempted to use our “correct” knowledge is what is being addressed. So instead of using our greater knowledge to prove ourselves better we should bear with the weaker brother. The principle is that we think of others, not of ourselves first.

15:2

The point of thinking of others is further remphasised. While the context here in Romans is primarily concerned with relations within the church, in the related passage in 1 Corinthians 8 there is concern for unbelievers. The key is that we should always consider what will the result of our actions be on others. Will it help to build them up, or will it tear them down, or put obstacles in their way? For those in the church will it help them grow in Christ, know Him better? For those outside will it make it more or less likely for them to seek to find out who Jesus is.

Romans 14:20-23 - Think of your brothers and sisters

14:20

If we are tempted to neglect Paul’s approach we need to consider the effect that our actions might have on others, on others who are God’s children. “Do not destroy the work of God”. This should be very sobering. Jesus died on the cross for our brother, to destroy that work over a matter of food or a certain day is a terrible thing to do. So if helping a brother necessitates abstaining from a certain food for a while, so be it. We need to have true perspective on things.

14:21

A person might think “I have the right to eat meat, so I am jolly well going to eat meat”, or “my brother needs to realise the freedom we have in Christ, so I will eat meat to demonstrate this too him”. But both these views are mistaken, they are far more likely to lead to the brother stumbling. How might he stumble? He might just feel guilty, he might eat the meat under pressure and feel guilty, or it might just cause needless division. We need to think carefully, and beware of letting our self-centeredness taking over.

14:22

If you did take a high and mighty attitude then you would actually bring condemnation upon yourself. A certain amount of discretion is advisable on many occasions. We all have many opinions, but just because we have an opinion does not mean that we should flaunt it! There is a time and a place to voice opinions, and sometimes it is not at all.

14:23

So if someone eats meat, or drinks wine, under pressure, not because they are convinced it is OK, then they bring condemnation upon themselves. Their conscience will condemn them. Everything is to be done from faith.  We are in a relationship with the Lord, and the basis for that relationship is faith. We are not following a set of rules.