Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Striving For Unity by Welcoming Those Who Are Different...

This week, we have been looking at a section of a letter in the Bible called the book of Romans that provides for us the timeless practice that followers of Jesus are to practice a lifestyle that strives for unity. Yesterday we discovered that followers of Jesus are to strive for unity by building others up. As followers of Jesus, we are to practice a lifestyle that strives for unity by building others up in a way that lovingly limits the freedom that we have for the spiritual good and growth of others.

Today, we will see Paul reveal for us a second way that followers are to practice a lifestyle that strives for unity, beginning in verse 7:
Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God. For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers, and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written, "THEREFORE I WILL GIVE PRAISE TO YOU AMONG THE GENTILES, AND I WILL SING TO YOUR NAME." 10 Again he says, "REJOICE, O GENTILES, WITH HIS PEOPLE." And again, "PRAISE THE LORD ALL YOU GENTILES, AND LET ALL THE PEOPLES PRAISE HIM." Again Isaiah says, "THERE SHALL COME THE ROOT OF JESSE, AND HE WHO ARISES TO RULE OVER THE GENTILES, IN HIM SHALL THE GENTILES HOPE." Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Here we see Paul explain that, in light of the fact that we are to be focused on the spiritual good and growth of others, accept one another, just as Jesus also accepted us to the glory of God. As we discovered last week, this word accept literally means to extend a welcome and to receive one into our inner circle of acquaintances. And it is here that we see Paul reveal for us a second way that followers of Jesus are to practice a lifestyle that strives for unity. And that second way is this: Followers of Jesus are to strive for unity by welcoming those who are different.

As followers of Jesus, we are to accept and welcome within the community of faith those who may be different than us when it comes to exercising their liberty that they have in Christ in their day to day lives in a debatable or open handed issues of the faith. You see, unity does not mean uniformity. The church is divinely designed to be comprised of followers of Jesus that come from diverse social, cultural, and economic backgrounds that are united in their confident trust in the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel. While there may be diversity of opinion on some issues of the faith, there is to be unity regarding the closed handed issues of the faith and in the kingdom mission that God has given us. There is to be unity within diversity in the church.

Paul then reminds followers of Jesus throughout history that Jesus entered into humanity to confirm and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that God’s promise of rescue was reliable to both Jews and Gentiles. Paul reinforces this reality by quoting from several sections of several letters that are recorded for us in the Old Testament, beginning in verse 9. First, Paul quotes from Psalm 18:49, to reveal that God’s rescue from selfishness and sin of individuals from cultures and continents across the world resulted in God’s reputation being enhanced across the world.

In verse 10, Paul quotes from Deuteronomy 32:43 to reveal that both Jews and Gentiles were designed to be united in their worship of God in community with one another. In verse, 11, Paul quotes from another Psalm, this time Psalm 117:1, to remind followers of Jesus throughout history that people across continents and cultures throughout history would be united in their worship of who God is, what God has done, and what God has promised to do. Then, in verse 12, Paul quotes from a section of a letter in our Bibles called the book of Isaiah. In Isaiah 11:10, the prophet Isaiah predicted and proclaimed that God’s promise of rescue through Jesus would result in both Jews and non-Jews would be united in the confident expectation of a glorious future that comes as a result of their rescue from selfishness and sin by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader.

And once again, Paul pauses, right in the middle of his letter, to pray that God would give the members of the church at Rome, and followers of Jesus throughout history the experience of gladness and well being that comes from entrusting oneself with complete confidence to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel in community with one another. Paul prays that followers of Jesus would have, as a result of the Holy Spirit’s transformational power an abundance of hope that looks forward to the future with confidence as we experience unity in community with one another. A unity in the midst of diversity that welcomes and receives people from diverse cultural, social, and economic backgrounds to experience genuine and authentic community.

Because as followers of Jesus we are called to strive for unity by welcoming those who are different. So do you strive to welcome those who are different?

Tomorrow,we will see Paul reveal a third way followers of Jesus are to practice a lifestyle that strives for unity...

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