Spring 2024 · Vol. 53 No. 1 · pp. 79–87
Welcoming Hope (Romans 15:4–13)
In recent years, many reasonable people are no longer participating in churches. They no longer have hope in the church. For some, after the pandemic shutdowns, they’ve gotten out of the habit of church. Other activities have replaced church. Church doesn’t inspire them anymore. Church doesn’t give them hope. For other people, it’s the stories of abuse and unmarked children’s graves at former residential schools. Those stories have caused people to give up hope in the church.
Hope abounds when we welcome people with whom we disagree.
I expect you can think of other reasons people are leaving the church, have lost hope in the church. I’ve therefore chosen to speak in response to Romans 15:4–13, which speaks about hope and the church.
Before we hear this passage, we need to remember that Romans is a missionary support letter. Paul is writing to Christians in Rome, most of whom he has never met. He wants them to support him on his planned mission trip to Spain. He starts his letter by explaining his motivation for this trip: p. 80
For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 2
If the Roman Christians are going to support him, they need to experience the hope of the Gospel that Paul is preaching. Later, when Paul wraps up his letter, he comes back to this main point: the hope of the Gospel. Listen to Paul speaking, starting at verse 4 of Romans 15:
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,
“Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles,
and sing praises to your name”; and again he says,
“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people”; and again,
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples praise him”; and again Isaiah says,
“The root of Jesse shall come,
the one who rises to rule the Gentiles;
in him the Gentiles shall hope.”
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
This passage begins and ends with hope. First, Paul reminds his hearers that the Old Testament was written so we will live according to our hope in Christ. Later, Paul declares that God is a God of hope, who fills us with joy and peace so that we will have a surplus of hope. 3
But even when we hear all these words about hope, hope is elusive. We can’t manufacture it on demand. Life makes it hard for us to have hope.
Hope is like the hint of light that you catch in the corner of your eye. But when you turn around to look, there’s nothing there.
C. S. Lewis wrote three novels as a space trilogy for adults. In these novels, Lewis describes angel-like characters called eldila. To humans, the eldila “are hard to see because light goes right through them” and they p. 81 may be easily mistaken “for a sunbeam or even a moving of the leaves.” 4 Hope is as elusive as the eldila.
And I suspect hope was also elusive for the first Christians in Rome.
They had many reasons for struggling to have hope:
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societal inequities: as between masters and slaves.
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economic hardships: most people lived in five-story walk-up apartments. Several families might share a larger apartment of a mere 300 square feet. Upper floor apartments were as small as 30 square feet. Most of life was lived outdoors. 5
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natural disasters: storms, volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides.
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ailing bodies: aging, illnesses, injuries.
And we can relate to all, or most, of these reasons today: from homelessness, to the recent earthquakes in Syria and Turkey, to our own aging and personal challenges. Life makes it hard to hope.
But Paul focuses on how hard it was to have hope because the Roman Christians were divided by their ethnic and religious backgrounds and convictions. (Read the rest of Romans 14–15 for details.) These Christians, in their various house churches, were in a power struggle with each other.
Not surprisingly, the first Christians in Rome were Jews. They knew the Old Testament scriptures, knew about the God of Jesus, knew the Law of Moses, knew the Psalms for praying, and so on. And then non-Jews became Christians too, although they were likely in the minority. However, under Emperor Claudius in 51 or 52 BCE, Jews were expelled from Rome—they became political refugees. That left only Gentiles in the churches. Gentile Christians now became the leaders. Their approach to faith was much less rule-bound than the Jews: no circumcision, no kosher diet, no need to keep holy days like Sabbath or Passover. So that later, when the Jewish Christians slowly and quietly returned to Rome (under Nero), they discovered that the churches had changed. And the first Christians, who knew the most about Jesus and the Scriptures, weren’t in charge anymore.
Furthermore, each group thought the other was wrong. The Gentile Christians thought the Jewish Christians were legalistic, demanding, and petty—maybe fundamentalist. So the Gentile Christians despised the Jews for building walls around the faith. And the Jewish Christians thought the Gentile Christians were lax and unfaithful—maybe liberal. So the Jewish Christians judged the Gentiles for flaunting their Christian freedom, for failing to keep Christian boundaries. Each group thought the other was being sinful. (Paul addresses this toxic situation throughout his letter.)
The community of God was dividing, and destroying, and failing to be a welcoming witness. By failing inside, the church was unable to bless p. 82 outsiders. In this condition, Paul could hardly expect them to support his mission to Spain!
That kind of church does not inspire hope!
How can you hope in Jesus as Savior when his followers accuse each other being sinners? How can you hope in the Prince of Peace when his followers are competing for power and influence? How can God be trusted as the God of one hope (Ephesians 4:4) when the church is divided?
It’s easy to see similar situations suck hope out of churches today. Our hope can be shaken by the circumstances of life: bankruptcy, terminal illnesses, chronic mental disorders, droughts, floods, famines, aging, and dementia. But like the Christians in Rome, we can also lose hope because of our divisions.
We have no shortage of reasons to divide:
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traditional vs. progressive theology
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urban vs. rural politics
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settler vs. Indigenous relations
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egalitarian vs. complementarian
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young earth vs. old earth creation
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welcoming and affirming vs. welcoming and not affirming vs. not welcoming
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newcomers vs. long-timers
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charismatics vs. cessationists
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Zionists vs. Palestinians
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evangelism vs. social action.
Take your pick. And, if I’m at odds with you on two, or three, or even five of these issues, then I’m even more inclined to keep my distance. I might even decide that your church differs from me in so many ways that I won’t associate with your church. And social media amplifies our suspicion of people who are different, so that it’s easier to divide than to reconcile.
Life makes it hard to have hope. But divisions make it even harder. We can’t manufacture hope on demand. Hope in Jesus can slip away as easily as a ray of light.
Thankfully, hope is not based on us!
Christian hope is based on God in Jesus Christ. God is reliable. Jesus invites everyone into His saving embrace. And that’s why we can have hope in the face of every obstacle and conflict.
Look again at today’s scripture passage. Remember that in verse 4, Paul says that the Scriptures (he’s thinking of the Old Testament) are meant to give us hope.
But in verse 5 he changes topic. He detours from his opening lines about hope. Instead of hope, Paul writes about believers living together p. 83 in harmony. We need to follow Paul’s detour because it will eventually lead us back to hope.
Verse 5: Paul prays that God—who is steadfast and encouraging, just like Scripture—will help the Jewish and Gentile Christians in Rome live together harmoniously.
That’s how they can be like Jesus!
Verse 6: Living harmoniously “glorifies” God—in other words, harmony between churches gives praise and respect to God. It makes God look good to each other and our neighbors.
Verse 7: Now Paul gives the Roman Christians a clear and simple instruction:
“Welcome each other . . . just as Christ has welcomed you!” (And then you’ll be praising and respecting God.)
To illustrate, Paul elaborates on what Jesus did (verse 8). Jesus was born when hope was low—when the Jewish people (the circumcised) lived under Roman occupation. They were exiles in their own land. In that difficult era Jesus became a servant to these oppressed people. He not only gave sight to the blind and life to the dead, but he died and rose for the salvation of God’s chosen people, the Hebrews.
In this way, Jesus confirmed God’s promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob— namely, that they would become a great nation that blesses all nations. In other words, God is reliable! That’s the first reason to have hope.
Then verse 9: Jesus did all this—was born as a human, was crucified, and was raised—so that every people group can be joined to God’s chosen people. Even Gentiles—non-Jews—can be part of God’s new humanity. Those others, those oppressors, those unclean, rule-breaking usurpers—they too can receive the eternal life that begins now. Every person of every ethnicity, language, and social status, who confesses Jesus as Lord, and is learning to trust in him with their whole person, receives the gift of eternal life that begins here and now.
In other words, in Jesus, God welcomes everyone. And that’s the second reason to have hope. We have hope because God is reliable (keeping his promises to the Jews); and we have hope because Jesus welcomes everyone (even non-Jews).
Then (in verses 9–12) Paul quotes four Old Testament passages that all speak of non-Jews being included among God’s chosen people. Paul quotes from all four sections of the Old Testament: Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 32), history (2 Samuel 22), Psalms (18, 117), and prophets (Isaiah 11). p. 84
It is reasonable to have hope in God and the church because the welcoming Messiah (a.k.a., Christ) has shown us that God keeps his word; and that God welcomes everyone, offering life to all without favoritism. All are offered life on the same basis: entrusting oneself to Jesus.
In the 1960s and 70s, I was in elementary school. I grew up hearing CBC News reporting on wars: including the Vietnam War, in which armies of the north were supported by China and armies of the south were supported by the USA.
I also heard of a missionary couple, Reg and Donna Reimer from BC, who worked in Vietnam with the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church from 1966–1975, all through that war. This seemed inconceivable in light of the fighting and atrocities. However, I was told that the Reimers offered medical care and the gospel to everyone who asked for help, no matter whether that person was northerner or southerner, whether a communist or an American ally. Based on that reputation, the Reimers were able to work in relative safety.
Amidst all the horrors of war, they made hope possible, first, because they were reliable—like God; and second because they welcomed everyone—like God. As a youngster half a world away, I caught that hope.
Jesus’s followers can have hope in the face of every obstacle and division because God is reliable, and because Jesus invites everyone into God’s salvation. Christian hope rests on God.
When we then share God’s reliable welcome, we make hope possible. Hope is possible when we welcome people with whom we disagree. Our neighbors will discover hope when they see us loving all kinds of people in Jesus’s family.
Paul wraps up in verse 13:
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Because God is reliable and welcoming everyone in Jesus, the Roman Christians must be just as reliable in welcoming each other—with all their differences of ethnicity, status, Bible knowledge, power, and even ethics. So Paul prays that God will fill them with joy and peace—in believing—so that their hope will be full and overflowing to everyone. Which is another work of the Holy Spirit.
Notice that phrase “in believing.” That means “in faithing.” We don’t use faithing as a verb. So our English Bibles use the word believing. But think about faithing instead.
Faith is never just a felt trust.
Faith is never just a conviction.
Faith is never just an action. p. 85
Instead, faithing is felt trust and conviction and action.
Relationship and knowledge and participation.
Belonging and believing and behaving. All three.
Faith is a three-dimensional way of life that includes every part of being human. In other words, if Jesus’s followers in Rome have been saved by grace through trust, know the Gospel with conviction, and welcome each other in action, then their 3D faithing will produce so much hope they won’t know what to do with it all. They will abound in hope!
It’s the same today. We need hope, and our neighbors need hope. That hope comes to us from God’s reliability and welcome. If we who trust in Jesus and know the Gospel, also act by welcoming Christians with whom we differ, our 3D faithing will make hope abound to us, to our neighbors, and to the world.
Remember: Paul’s not just talking about welcoming the brothers and sisters we love to meet each Sunday at church, or at our home Bible studies. He’s talking about welcoming believers with whom we differ. The ones we find odd, or disagreeable, or too liberal, or too conservative, or too uptight, or too casual. Jesus welcomes them, and we can welcome them too.
When a strange person shows up for worship . . . if we go beyond saying “Hi” to “Would you like to sit with me?” that will make a real difference for hope.
Welcome means not only speaking well of another church, but also finding occasions to work and worship together, because our neighbors need to see that we worship the same reliable, welcoming God.
In 2016, a dozen of Canadian Mennonite University’s professors had lunch to talk about their experiences at CMU. CMU is a Christian university that began in 2000 with the merger of a Mennonite Brethren (MB) Bible college and a Mennonite Church (GC) Bible college. These two Mennonite denominations had seen themselves as distinct from each other for a century and a half! Listen to what three of those professors said: 6
Tim Rogalsky, a math prof of MB background:
Growing up, I thought of the good news mostly in terms of the afterlife. My colleagues rubbed off on me and helped me think also in terms of peace and justice on this earth as good news.
Janet Brenneman, a music prof of Swiss Mennonite background:
I grew up with a sense that one publicly declared one’s faith on the day of baptism. CMU gifted me with language to more freely express my faith with students and with colleagues in the seemingly private confines of my classroom, or more publicly.
Dan Epp-Thiessen, a Bible prof with GC background: p. 86
I grew up understanding that peace, justice, and ethics were central to Anabaptism, with personal piety being downplayed. At CMU, my MB colleagues enriched my understanding of Anabaptism to include the centrality of a warm, deep, and personal relationship with Jesus, and the importance of sharing the good news of the Christian faith. I’m reminded that the sixteenth-century Anabaptists first and foremost embodied this kind of faith in Jesus. My MB colleagues have shown me how personal commitments to follow Jesus are foundational to living lives of reconciliation, peace, and justice.
By teaching and worshiping together at CMU, people from different Christian streams of Mennonites learned from each other and came to a richer more faithful discipleship.
On top of that, because they learned to welcome each other, CMU now “attracts students from all kinds of Christian . . . traditions. I don’t think this could have happened had there just been one denominational group that started CMU. That’s been both a surprise and a huge gift to us as a university.” 7
Hope abounds when we welcome people with whom we disagree. Our neighbors will see that hope when they see us loving all kinds of people in Jesus’s family. When we share God’s reliable welcome, we make hope possible.
Today we’ve named barriers that make it hard for us to hope: suffering, setbacks, conflicts, and especially divisions. We’ve also remembered that Christ Jesus has welcomed us into God’s life, showing us God’s reliability, and making it possible to welcome strangers. Finally, we’ve remembered that we too can welcome others, to inspire hope.
Hear Paul’s words one more time.
Welcome one another, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace by faithing, so that we may abound with hope, have huge amounts of hope, brim over with hope by the Spirit who is Holy.
Amen. p. 87
NOTES
- This sermon was preached at Lakeview Community Church (Mennonite Brethren) in Killarney, Manitoba, on March 5, 2023. It has been lightly edited for print publication.
- Italicized for emphasis.
- Take time to look up all the other things Paul writes to the Romans about hope. Ch. 4: Abraham hoped that God would keep God’s promise. Ch. 5: We can hope in God when we suffer. Ch. 8: Creation has hope that God will free it from decay; and we join creation, hoping in what we can’t see. Ch. 12: Rejoice in hope.
- C. S. Lewis, Out of the Silent Planet (New York: MacMillan, 1977), 76.
- Reta Finger, Paul and the Roman House Churches: A Simulation (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1993).
- The following three quotations are from The Blazer: Connecting Alumni and Friends of CMU, Spring 2016, http://www.cmu.ca/docs/blazer/CMU_Blazer_Spring_2016.pdf.
- Dan Epp-Thiessen, in the same issue of The Blazer. When this sermon was written, CMU’s students with Christian backgrounds came from thirty different denominations; and more than 60 percent of CMU’s students came from non-Mennonite backgrounds.
