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!