Jesus was not a Christian. Before His incarnation, He had no religion because He is one with the Father and need not follow anyone. In His incarnation, He became a servant to the circumcision—He became a Jew in order to preach the truth and confirm the promises given by God to the fathers (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). Those promises included the blessing of all people on the earth (cf. Genesis 12:3). Paul quotes form 2 Samuel, Deuteronomy, the Psalms, and Isaiah to prove his point—again encouraging the unincorporated gentiles in Rome that God is not only for the Jews but for all people.

Notice what Paul does not do, here. He does not tell the gentiles in Rome that they could die at any moment and better make sure they are headed to the correct place by getting their lives right or praying a prayer. Such an invitation does not conform to the actual gospel. Instead, he exposits the Old Testament texts and simply invites gentiles to Christ like the Old Testament does—by saying, “may the God of hope fill you with all the joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in the hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Paul does not linger, trying to manipulate someone into making a pressed decision. He, instead, honors God’s work as monergistic. Instead of trying to scare the Hell out of people, He simply wants them to be filled with the joy and peace of Christ—which is real and is the focal point of the Gospel (rather than Hellfire or brimstone). The Gospel is encouraging and joyous, not fearful. Paul preaches it as such, and I wish many today would follow the example we have in the text when it comes to sharing such good news as the Gospel.

Instead of trying to get people to recognize their wretchedness, and indeed wretchedness is sound doctrine, Paul says that he is convinced his audience is full of goodness, knowledge, and able to admonish one-another. So, there is reason for the unincorporated to incorporate—to no longer neglect gathering together but come together to edify one another in the faith. Paul always encourages his audience to gather as often as possible because the local gathering of believers is where edification happens—bringing the hope, joy, and peace of Christ to each one. If we are honoring one another, whether weak or strong as Paul has taught in Romans, gatherings will be entirely absent of bickering, quarrels, and so on only to be defined by edification concerning the hope, joy, and peace of Christ. This is not the sign of a mature congregation. It is the sign of a sincere congregation filled with both mature and immature Christians. Quarrels and bickering are, then, signs that there are unregenerate people wearing Christian masks and pretending to be something they are not in the congregation of God. Further, Paul places the privilege of admonishing one another on one-another. Never was the design of the church to have some people admonishing others but for every believer to be admonishing every believer. Where there are ‘classes,’ there should never be students perpetually filling a seat. But, we should be training our students to become teachers. It is our success when they leave our classes to start others and we so fulfill the Scriptures—admonish one another. Eventually, people get bored just sitting and consuming because that is not who we are in Christ or according to the instruction of Scripture. Admonish one another.

Paul boasts not in himself but in Christ—the one who elected him and sent him to the gentiles to preach the promise of hope, joy, and peace. It is not Paul’s work but Christ’s that results in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed. It is the affection of the Holy Spirit that that fulfilled the Great Commission through Paul. Paul has not yet made it to Rome because he heard that there are already believers there, and he endeavors to go where Christ has not been preached so that the Scriptures are fulfilled.

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