Benefits of Belief | Romans 15:8-13

8For 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, 9and 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.”

10And again it is said,

“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”

11And again,

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

12And again Isaiah says,

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

13May 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.

Jesus’ ministry isn’t only about accomplishing something. It’s also about displaying something. Verses 8-9 teach that Christ became a servant to:

1. Show God’s truthfulness
2. Confirm God’s promises
3. Ignite worship

Showing God’s Truthfulness

8For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness…

God is true. This means that God is true-to-fact, in perfect accord with reality. You can set your life by him like you set your watch by an accurate clock. Setting your life by any other so-called truth will misalign you with reality. He wants you to know this.

Confirming God’s Promises

8For 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…

Confirming God’s promises is like testing a floor for sturdiness. With his arrival, life, death and resurrection; Jesus jumped on God’s promises and they held up. God’s promises are sure. We can stand atop them with our full weight. He wants you to know this too.

Igniting Worship

8For 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, 9and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.

God’s historic ministry to the Jews was leading up to the point when God’s ministry to the Gentiles would be made plain. When the doors flung open for the Gentiles to be welcomed into the new covenant, it unleashed an explosion of worship. This is what verse nine means when it says, “in order that the Gentiles might glorify God.”

To glorify is to ascribe weight. It means to recognize and respond to the weightiness of a subject. God didn’t just want to save Gentiles. He wanted Gentiles to see and respond to his glory, his weight. Therefore, we are not fulfilling our purpose as Christians unless we are living in light of God’s weight.

Imagine you’re sitting in a church service and a mouse runs in. Some of the women might jump up on their pews in response. Now imagine that during the mouse commotion, a lion runs in the other side of the sanctuary. Everyone would forget the mouse altogether because the lion is the weightiest presence in the room. God is the lion in the room. God is the weightiest presence in all reality. And he wants us to know it and glorify him in light of it.

Proof

In verses 9-12, Paul proves that this was God’s intention for the Jews and Gentiles all along by quoting five Old Testament passages:

As it is written,

“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,
and sing to your name.” (2 Samuel 22:50; Psalm 18:49)

10And again it is said,

“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” (Deuteronomy 32:43)

11And again,

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples extol him.” (Psalm 117:1)

12And again Isaiah says,

“The root of Jesse will come,
even he who arises to rule the Gentiles;
in him will the Gentiles hope.” (Isaiah 11:10)

Prayer

At verse 13 Paul transitions into a blessing or benediction—a prayer.

13May 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.

There are three things I’d like to point out from this verse:

1. God is the God of hope.

Because God is true and his promises are sure, we have hope. Hope is for the meantime. This is what promises are all about. When my daughter asks me for something and I say, “In just a minute sweetheart,” that’s a promise. All she has in the meantime, while she waits for that minute to be up is my word. Unfortunately I don’t always come through on my promises. But God always does. Therefore he is the God of hope.

2. God will fill you with all joy and peace in believing.

Depression and anxiety are the emotional plagues of our day. God can fill you with all joy and peace… in believing. There is no joy or peace apart from believing God. You might be able to find distraction or medication, but you’ll only find joy and peace down the path of belief.

3. God will empower you to abound in hope.

Christian hope is anticipation of something certain (not lottery ticket hope, hoping for something that might not happen). You can’t conjure up this hope from willpower. It has to be supernaturally empowered by the Holy Spirit. This is probably why Paul turns to prayer at this point in the passage and it probably means that you should transition into prayer right now.

Discussion Starters

1. Read verse 8. How was Christ a servant to the circumcised? (See Acts 3:17-26.)
2. Why is it important that God’s people know that he is truthful and that his promises are sure?
3. What scriptural promises have meant the most to you?
4. Look up the original quotations Paul uses in verse 9-12. Read them together. They are:
   1. 2 Samuel 22:50; Psalm 18:49
   2. Deuteronomy 32:43
   3. Psalm 117:1
   4. Isaiah 11:10
5. Read verse 13. Why refer to God as “the God of hope” in the context of this passage?
6. Why does Paul ask God to fill them with all joy and peace in believing? How is belief connected to joy and peace?
7. Take some time to pray verse 13 together.