Pray:
Ask God to orient or reorient you to Himself. Confess any known sin. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s Word. Pray for others in your life that they, too, would know and love God today.
Read:
Romans 15:7-12,
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. 8For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs 9so that the Gentiles may glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: ‘Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to your name.’ 10Again, it says, ‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.’ 11And again, ‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and sing praises to Him, all you peoples.’ 12And again, Isaiah says, ‘The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in Him.’”
Understand:
In verses 9-12, Paul strings together a series of Old Testament verses which emphasize the inclusion of the Gentiles into the people of God along with the Jews. Don’t miss what Paul is doing here… These citations are provided from the historical books: the law, the writings, and the prophets. He’s showing how all of the scriptures point to the unity of God’s people in worshiping the Lord. The people of God–both Jews and Gentiles–will praise God forever for His great mercy extended to them in Christ Jesus, showing that the worship of God is His ultimate aim.
Yesterday, we mentioned that the whole of Romans emphasized the inclusion of the Gentiles in God’s saving plan. Think about that. Ever since the fall, God had a plan to rescue humanity. This great plan, which comes to fulfillment in Christ, would cause the Gentiles to praise God for His mercy toward them.
The good news of the Gospel is that this praise that Paul speaks about even comes from believers today. Yes, you and I sing hymns to God, rejoice with other believers in corporate worship of God, praise Him alone. We put our hope in Him!
Apply:
Don’t let petty differences on disputable matters cause us to miss out on the wonderful praise that Paul wrote about in this passage.
A good way to change your focus is to think about the essentials of the Gospel.
Think about what Christ has done for you…your sin, the death of Christ on the cross to pay for those sins, the resurrection of Christ to provide life everlasting for those who follow Him, and finally, the free gift of salvation to all. He offers His salvation as a free gift that can only be received by faith (Rom. 5:15; 6:23), apart from any works or merit on our part (Eph. 2:8-9). The gospel is “the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile (Rom. 1:16)” and “If we declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Rom. 10:9).” This is why we come together as one people to praise the name of the Lord! Will you offer Him your praise today?
*From what you have just read and considered: What is a personal implication/application for your life today?
Live:
(Personalize this prayer today; make it specific to the circumstances that face you.)
Ask God to lead you through His Spirit as you go through your day. Ask Him to bring to mind the truth of the Gospel and its implications for what you will encounter today. Tell Him “Yes” to His will and ask Him for His power and protection to live this “yes.” Ask God to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today. KEEP PRAYING THROUGHOUT YOUR DAY.
Inspiration and insight for the devotionals came from the following books: Reading Romans with John Stott; The Message of Romans: God’s Good News for the World (The Bible Speaks Today Series), Stott, John; Romans (The NIV Application Commentary Book 6) Moo, Douglas J.; Encountering the Book of Romans: A Theological Survey (Encountering Biblical Studies) Moo, Douglas J.; Believers Bible Commentary; The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, with the New International Version, Romans through Galatians; NIV Application Study Bible. The Cambridge Bible Commentary, Romans, Best, Ernest. Romans 8-16 For You: For reading, for feeding (God’s Word For You – Romans Series Book 2, Keller, Timothy.