Tag: Justification Leads to Unification - Romans 15-16

Romans 15:8-9 (Christ the Hope of Jews and Gentiles)

For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to 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 praise you among the Gentiles,

and sing to your name.”

Tag:  Unity is the Purpose of Justification

The book of Romans carries a great message of the doctrine of Justification:  Man is justified by grace through faith and not by works of the law.  We can get all we need in Theology as we read verse after verse.   However, as the book reaches the end the purpose does not end, but rather grows to the thought in Paul’s mind from the beginning:

Romans 1:13-14

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.

Now, in these verses from chapter 15, we read that the purpose of Christ was to make Himself submissive to the “circumcision” (Jews) in order to bring the message of the Gospel to the Gentiles.   Justification always had the intent of bringing all nations to Christ:

Romans 1:5

through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations,

Paul is writing to make sure that those in the church in Rome realize that their justification was to bring unity among the nations to honor and glorify God.   The outcome of their justification is “praise among the Gentiles and sign to your name.”   This unity of the believer is not a “secondary” or “ancillary” outcome of the Gospel.  The chief end of the Justification is the unity of all believers to glorify Christ.   Division is the enemy of Justification.   We are to rejoice in the fact that Christ brought us together, through His death, burial and resurrection.   Justification makes unity possible.