Romans 11 - Wednesday 8th May
Today’s chapter is Romans 11
Tom writes:
The doxology of v33-36 is one of my most favourite passages in all of scripture. What has got Paul so excited? Unexpectedly it is the fate of Israel. Paul has already confessed to agonising over that. How can it now evoke such praise? When we place this passage in context we realise chapters 9-11 have been Paul advocating for the absolute embodiment of his gospel in the church. Our glorious current experience and robust hope must be demonstrated in fullness in the church. Saints need to accept Paul’s words as the Everlasting Words of God. Saints need to yield their emotions to the wisdom of God. And now - here - we see that saints must devote themselves to collaborative bodies of mercy. And to do so without a hint of conceit. When Paul looks at churches he sees they are made up of the most unlikely people; devoted Jews are now like family with the gentiles. Only the unsearchable mercy of God could make something so beautiful out of such an assortment of… sinners. And that is the key pastoral message of this chapter. We are sinners saved by grace. Our journey through the process of atonement, our re-birth into a new race in Jesus, our staggering hope of co-ruling all the nations - when we look at those things and look at ourselves we should shake our heads in bewilderment.
That should lead us to ask “How can I be part of this?!” and then to embody humble devotion to Jesus’ church. Paul - to his horror - found that some of the Gentiles were parading around like they deserved to be in church, treating the Jews like they should not be there. Such behaviour is totally anathema to a true understanding of the gospel of Paul. This passage doesn’t promise that millions of Jewish believers will pour into the Kingdom in the last days. But it does urge Gentile believers to have that desire. And to manifest that desire in how they respond to all believers of any nation today. Grateful devotion to a body of believers (with all their quirks) is what it means to live without conceit. When you humbly love the church it is like you are joining Paul in a doxology of devotion to the wisdom of God from whom, through whom and to whom are all things, for ever and ever. Amen.
Question for reflection
How could your treatment of others mirror the mercy God has shown to you?
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