They who have not heard will understand.

Romans 15:1-22 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and not just please ourselves. ² Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. ³ For even Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written: “The taunts of those who taunt You have fallen on Me.” ⁴ For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. ⁵ Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another, according to Christ Jesus, ⁶ so that with one purpose and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷ Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us, for the glory of God. ⁸ For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision in behalf of the truth of God, to confirm the promises given to the fathers, ⁹ 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 praises to Your name.”   ¹⁰ Again he says, “Rejoice, you Gentiles, with His people.”

¹¹ And again, “Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, And let all the peoples praise Him.”   ¹² Again Isaiah says, “There shall come the root of Jesse, And He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, In Him will the Gentiles hope.”

¹³ 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.

¹⁴ And concerning you, my brothers and sisters, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another. ¹⁵ But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given to me from God, ¹⁶ to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁷ Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found reason for boasting in things pertaining to God. ¹⁸ For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, ¹⁹ in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and all around as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. ²⁰ And in this way I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already known by name, so that I would not build on another person’s foundation; ²¹ but just as it is written: “They who have not been told about Him will see, And they who have not heard will understand.”²² For this reason I have often been prevented from coming to you;

Today’s text says:  I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and all around as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. And in this way I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already known by name, so that I would not build on another person’s foundation; but just as it is written: “They who have not been told about Him will see, And they who have not heard will understand.”   That too should be our testimony, not what we have done, but what Christ has accomplished in us through us. We should aspire to represent and preach the gospel, where Christ is not known. For us, we don’t need to travel far to do that. In just a short time, our nation has gone from one that was founded and established on Biblical values and principles, one where faith was intrinsic in every part of our culture, to a nation where many have not been told, have not heard and surely do not understand the gospel. Many people today are immersed in things supernatural, but they do not understand or know the supernatural power of God.

Paul says: Concerning you, my brothers and sisters, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another.  We have seen, in previous meditations, that we are not to judge others, but to help them see clearly. Paul says we are to admonish those who are in the faith. To admonish is to caution, advise, or counsel against something - to reprove or scold, especially in a mild and good-willed manner - to urge to a duty; remind. In Ephesians 4:15-16 it says:  Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is, Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.  The world will not receive the truth because they have not understood. Truth sounds like hate to those who hate the truth. Those who are believers though may need to be admonished, counseled, reproved, advised and reminded of the truth, in love, in a mild and good-willed manner. 2 Timothy 3:16 says:  All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness.  Our admonishment of others should not be based on doctrines derived from isolated verses of scripture, but rather on all of scripture. From Genesis to Revelation, all scripture reveals God’s plan and will. It reveals both His grace and His righteous judgment.  Paul says: Whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another, according to Christ Jesus, so that with one purpose and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  In Matthew 5:17-19 Jesus says:  “Do not presume that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter shall pass from the Law, until all is accomplished! Therefore, whoever nullifies one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”  The purpose of the law was to bring an awareness of sin and the recognition of the need of a savior. Jesus is the fulfillment of the law. He is the Savior. We should not hold others accountable to the law, but rather point them to the one who fulfilled the law, Jesus Christ, our only 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.  Amen.