Hope & Worship
In Romans 15:8-12 God reveals his plan to create a worshipping community. Paul connects the present to the past to demonstrate that God has a project and He will faithfully see it to completion. Paul recalls God’s promise to the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Beginning with Abraham God promised to bless the whole earth and to raise up a people who know and treasure Him.
We should be careful not to gloss over the patriarchs or anyone else who discovered their place in God’s plan. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are not perfect men. Abraham is fearful, Isaac plays favorites, and Jacob is a liar. They are messy guys. As God works his plan he continues to include imperfect, failing people. Sarah doubts, Rahab outcasts herself, David abuses, Bathsheba is a victim, Ruth loses everything, and so on. God’s plan includes disheveled and disordered people. This truth anticipates the heart of God’s plan.
The heart of God’s plan is the good news of hope through Jesus Christ. In verse 8 Paul explains, ““For I tell you that Christ became a servant…” During Advent Christians celebrate this truth. Jesus is the eternal Son of God, fully divine with the Father and the Spirit, who came down from heaven and became fully human by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary. According to his birth narrative in Matthew 1:18-23, Jesus came to save his people from the source of their messiness: sin.
By his death and resurrection Jesus has put an end to the tyranny of sin and death far as the curse is found. According to the Scriptures, he suffered God’s displeasure toward sin, he endured sin’s penalty, and he died a sinner’s death. Jesus’s finished work promises that all that is disorganized and empty will one day be marked by form and fullness. The redeemed will be raised from the dead to eternal life. Creation will shake off its bondage. All that was once sad, chaotic, and muddled will be made untrue. Those who come to Jesus and taste of this hope by faith are given new hearts to live in awe of God who is Father, Son, and Spirit.
Gospel hope produces worship, and Paul demonstrates this in verses 9-12. Pointing to the Law, Psalms, and Prophets he shows that the good news of God’s salvation creates people who worship rightly. At least four observations can be made:
Worship is directed to the God of the gospel. In verse 9, it is said that the Gentiles glorify and praise God, and sing to his name. Worship is directed to the God who is Father, Son, and Spirit. It is to rejoice in who He is and what He has done through Christ by the Spirit.
Worship is to remember what Christ has done. Again in verse 9, the Gentiles worship God for his mercy. The occasion for worship is God’s rescuing mercy in Jesus Christ. Worship is savoring that truth.
Worship is to anticipate that Christ is coming again. In verse 12, Paul quotes Isaiah 11:10 in which the prophet foretells Jesus’s coming. Jesus has come, and on this side of his resurrection and ascension Christians eagerly await his second when the New Creation will be consummated.
Worship is practiced best in community. The tacit assumption in these verses is that worship is a community practice. Worship takes place “among the Gentiles,” and “with his people.” “All you gentiles” and “all the people” participate together in the worship of God. True worship takes place in the company of redeemed.
God’s plan for us is to gather together on the first day of the week to rejoice in the good news of hope through Jesus Christ. The church’s gathered worship should be directed to the God of the gospel and organized to direct the hearts of the congregation to the hope of Christ. Further, it ought to be carried out in a way that encourages participation from the whole church. God uses our gathered worship to empower us by the Spirit to live worship-filled lives.
God’s plan for us is to live worshipful lives. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 encourages us, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Through the hope of the gospel we can see to all of our responsibilities, obligations, and tasks while treasuring God in our hearts. We can design, repair, teach, parent, manage, clean house and fix supper all while rejoicing in Christ and his gospel. A practical step we can take to live this way is by prioritizing a small amount of time each day to read God’s word, pray, and remember the hope of the gospel. As Psalm 90:14 exemplifies, “Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.” This is God’s plan for us.
