Romans 15:8-20 "The Gentiles Were Always in the Plan"

For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 9 and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,

“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,
and sing to your name.”

10 And again it is said,

“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”

11 And again,

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples extol him.”

12 And again Isaiah says,

“The root of Jesse will come,
even he who arises to rule the Gentiles;
in him will the Gentiles hope.”

13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

14 I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers,[a] that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. 15 But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. 18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, 19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; 20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation,

Video Notes:

Jesus became the servant of the Jews to confirm and fulfill the promises made to the patriarchs. A covenant had been made and Jesus fulfilled it. God’s promises are always true. However, this wasn’t just for the Jews. It was also for the sake of the Gentiles!
This wasn’t new.
- Romans then quotes from the Psalms (also the former prophets), the Torah, Psalms again, and the latter prophets. All of the Old Testament testifies to this.
  - Psalm 18:49 (2 Samuel 22:50)
  - Deuteronomy 32:43
  - Psalm 117:1 – All the peoples would include Israel.
  - Isaiah 11:10 – The Messiah with rule over the Gentiles. This is not a harsh rule, but one of grace and mercy.
- Isaiah 49:6
From the very beginning God’s salvation has been for all people. The first promise was to Adam and Eve, father and mother of all people. He also made the promise to Abraham before he was circumcised, thus Jesus the savior of both the circumcised and the uncircumcised. Then the four promises above and many others.
God wills that all would be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). That salvation comes through Jesus Christ by faith alone. It is that Good News, that Gospel, that is the power of God for salvation first the Jew and then to the Gentile.
Tomorrow we’ll talk about how that Gospel is the same for all people, we are all saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, but in the new life faith in that Gospel brings, we each have different callings.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Romans 15:8-20 "The Gentiles Were Always in the Plan"

Video Notes:

Faith Lutheran Church in Wesley Chapel, FL serving Lutz, Zephyrhills, Land O’ Lakes, and New Tampa, FL