Read-along
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Hello, church. Today, we are concluding our series through the book of Romans, and we've said it a few times. Paul wrote this letter to the church in Rome fully knowing that it wouldn't stay there, but that it would actually be used to impact the world. And so week after week, chapter after chapter,
as we've been going through it together, we've just been revealing, uncovering this incredible, beautiful picture of the gospel, and it's today in chapter 15, we're gonna see how Paul chooses to conclude it all. Now some of you may be asking, well, there's 16 chapters in the book of Romans, and you are correct.
But for our time's sake, we can kinda look at chapter 16 as like the credits at the end of a movie or maybe like the thank yous that someone shares when they win an award at an award show. Paul really uses chapter 16 to express, yeah, all of his his shout outs to his friends and those people that have helped support him and encourage him in his faith journey and missional journey as well. It serves a purpose. It is important,
but it's really in chapter 15 I think we see Paul's final challenge to the church, and I think it's one of the most important ones in the entire letter. That no matter your background, your upbringing, your current season of life, even your age, man, this one is crucial for all of us.
After everything Paul has has shown us and taught us about sin and grace and faith and salvation, this is how he chooses to bring it all together, all full circle. So as we dive into this text, let's pray. Lord, we need to hear from you and you alone.
You've prepared our hearts through a powerful time of worship and communion, God. Now steady our minds. Guide our thoughts with the leading and prompting of your spirit. Would you continue to be glorified as we seek you and your word today? Have your way in and through us. In Jesus' mighty name that we pray. Amen. Amen.
Well, it is the end of July. We are over halfway through the year. We're over halfway through 2026. I have a question for everyone in here. How are you guys doing with your New Year's resolutions?
I'm assuming by the chuckle, maybe similar to me. I don't even remember if I made resolutions this year, and that should probably tell you how well I'm doing with them. But some of us intentionally, we start the year with some new resolutions, new goals.
Some of us started this year wanting to better manage our finances, and that's incredible. My question for you though is why do Amazon boxes keep showing up at your front door every single day? Those two the math does the math.
Some of you guys said you wanted to lose 20 pounds this year. I'm all for it. I have some some health and fitness goals for myself as well, but again, we're over halfway through the year, and now you only have 30 more pounds to go.
Some of y'all wanted to read your Bible every day. That is the best goal, the best resolution you could have set. And if you use YouVersion, the Bible app, just like I do, I wanna remind us though, the purpose of reading the Bible every day is to know more about God, not just to keep that YouVersion active streak alive.
See, you guys get it. I've been there too. See, we we have good intentions. You know, we love a fresh start. We we love to do something new, new goals, new habits, new opportunities. If we're truly honest with ourselves, starting has never really been the problem. Finishing is.
And this is what I think Romans 15 is gonna help us see today, that the world celebrates starting strong, but God celebrates finishing strong. And that's where Paul lands this entire letter, and he starts this conclusion not talking about more success or more influence or being more productive.
He starts it by talking about how we treat other people. So let's begin. Romans chapter 15 verse one.
We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves. We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. For even Christ didn't live to please himself. As the scriptures say, the insults of those who insult you, oh God, have fallen
on me. See, Paul's very first point in finishing strong, finishing well has nothing to do with more for self and everything to do with more for others. That it's not just about crossing the finish line, but it's actually about helping others cross it with you too.
But I recognize our human nature that doesn't necessarily come naturally, and I can prove it to you simply by this. You never have to teach a child how to lie. They just do it. We're all literally born a bunch of little sinners. Like, it's in our nature from the fall of man to now. We're just born into that,
And I think that's been the consensus of the book of Romans. We've really seen that sin itself bends our lives inward, more about me, my preferences, my comfort, my desires, but the gospel bends our lives outward toward God and toward others. And Paul keeps writing, verse four,
such things were written in the scriptures long ago to teach us, and the scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God's promises to be fulfilled. May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus.
Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Did you notice how often Paul uses the word gives? The scripture gives us hope and encouragement. God gives us patience. He gives us hope.
Because the life was a life of Christ, a Christian life. I mean, it was never meant to be lived in our own strength. It's something that he gives us, and then we live it out. God doesn't just tell us how to live, he literally gives us what we need to live,
which then leaves us with a decision to make. In our free will, he gives us something we then have to choose. How do we actually practice it? What are we going to do with the very things that God has given us? How are we not going to just start more things, but how are we actually going to finish them well?
Well, there's three options for finishing. There's three. First one, you quit. Second one, you coast. Third one, you actually finish strong. We have a decision to make in every season, every circumstance, every transition in life, to choose how are we going to finish. And the first one is you quit, and it truly is a choice.
You know, have a friend of a friend who years ago bought something brand new called Bitcoin. He bought Bitcoin for $271 a coin. A few months later, it doubled in its value, so he sold it. He was thrilled. Doubled his money. That's a good investment right there. Fast forward to now. I looked it up this week. A single bitcoin,
which he bought for $271 at the time, is now worth $65,000 See, you think about that. He didn't lose out because he failed. He technically made money, but he lost out because he quit too early.
I'm not trying to give you financial advice right now, so don't take that for what I'm not saying. What what I'm trying to illustrate is why Paul starts talking about endurance before he talks about hope. Because you cannot experience the hope that comes on the other side of something if you quit in the middle.
And I wanna encourage all of us, no matter where you're at in your faith journey, you've been a believer for years,
maybe you're only a few months into it, maybe you haven't even crossed the line of faith, and you're just kind of figuring out what this is all about. Here's my encouragement. Here's my challenge to all of us. Stay connected even when it gets inconvenient. Stay disciplined even when it gets hard.
Stay the course even when it takes longer than you and I would want it to. Let us choose to be faithful with what God has given us, because faithful people keep showing up even when we don't feel it. And the the honest truth is what we all really need to practice is discipline.
We really need to practice discipline, and I love I love this kind of working definition, this concept of what discipline is. It's staying committed to your assignment long after the excitement.
Discipline at its core is staying committed to the calling, the assignment that God has put in your life long after the excitement of it goes away. See, the excitement will fade. The butterflies, they'll disappear. The newness will wear off. It's usually in that moment, usually in that moment though,
where we then start to say, I just don't feel it anymore. I don't feel like being a part of that. I don't feel like doing this anymore. I don't feel like serving. I don't feel like giving. I don't feel like being in a crew. But here's the truth.
If you allow yourself to feel your way into it, you will allow yourself to feel your way right out of it as well. And we may not see, know, comprehend, even understand it yet, but I promise if you do not quit, if you choose not to quit, you will reap the reward of it on the other side. Stay committed.
So option one is you quit. Option two is you coast.
At first, coasting doesn't even look bad. Doesn't even look rebellious. Coasting might just look comfortable in a season at a time.
But but growth doesn't happen in the comfortable. It never has. When you get comfortable, you stop showing up. When you get comfortable, you stop investing in yourself. You stop investing into others.
When you get comfortable, you stop showing up to gather with the church body regularly. When you get comfortable, you stop deepening your faith. You may still be present in some circles, but you are no longer engaged. And
we've all seen it before. Perfect example for all of us. Maybe you've done it yourself or you know of others that have. You put in your two weeks notice. Those next two weeks, you may physically be there, but man, you are mentally checked out. You're coasting. It even happens in the church. Sometimes,
not always you guys because Echoes, I mean, y'all are beautiful people. You wouldn't do this, obviously. But sometimes people will come up to me, Pastor Daniel, other people on our team, and they'll start to tell us everything that their other church does wrong. The moment this happens, instantly, I'll start thinking, man,
it's only a matter of time till they go to another church and another pastor and start telling them what they think we do wrong. And I'm not saying we're perfect. I am far from perfect. You can ask my wife. She'll be in the next service.
And Echoes isn't perfect. We're not gonna get everything right. But here's what I'm trying to illustrate for you. The moment, the very moment this life becomes about me, my preferences, my comfort, my opinions, is the very moment we've stopped building his church and started building an idol for ourself.
And then this happens. We're coasting. We feel comfortable. It's all about me. And then we start to wonder, Well, why isn't God blessing this next chapter of my life? Well, the way you exit one place determines a lot about how you enter the next one. Remember,
Paul started his passage saying this, We must not just please ourselves. We should help others and build them up. But if God does lead you elsewhere, and it happens, again, workplace, church, communities, whatever it may be, here's my ask. Whatever you're leaving,
leave it better than it was when you first found it. Don't tear it down on your way out.
The third option.
We can quit. We can coast. We can finish strong. And here's the interesting thing about what it means to finish strong. If we kind of took a poll of everyone in the room right now, we'd get a wide variety of answers what it is to finish strong. You know, some people would say it's defined by the success you had.
Some would say it's defined by the influence you have. Some would say it's defined by your achievements, the legacy you want to leave behind. Those are not considered bad things, but we have to keep the main thing, the main thing, and this is how Paul defines what it is to finish strong.
According to Romans 15, a strong finish is a faithful finish. How do we finish this life faithfully? Well, you have to be a faithful person to do so. So Paul then illustrates kind of four habits to be a faithful people. The very first one, faithful people stay rooted in the word.
You want to finish your assignment, your calling, this life well? Paul says you need to first stay rooted in the word of God. Because if your faith is built on a experience, a worship experience, you're going to continue to chase after more experiences. If your faith is built on emotions or things that you feel,
your emotions will eventually let you down. If your faith is built on another person's faith other than the person of Jesus, I'm telling you, those people will inevitably fail you. But God's word never changes. That's why we can't build our lives on those things. We build our lives on his faithfulness.
Let's look back at verse four, but now in the NIV. For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the scriptures and the encouragement they provide, we might have hope. That progression is important. Every time you read the word of God, you grow in endurance,
you get encouraged, and the result is hope. And why does that matter? Well, more you read the Bible, the more you realize God is never early nor late. He is always perfectly on time, and what He promises always comes to pass, but it takes longer than we want it to. It's in His timing. Noah was promised rain,
but he had to wait a hundred years for it. Abraham was promised a son, he had to wait twenty five years for it. David was promised and anointed to be king, and he had to wait seventeen years for it. Jesus himself waited thirty years before going out and actually living out his public ministry.
Waiting is not the exception with God. Waiting is often the process. And someone right now, they're in a season of waiting. Hear me say that again. Waiting is not the exception with God. Waiting is often the process with him. And scripture teaches us if he was faithful then, he can be faithful now. So
then what happens in this waiting period? Again, the progression is important. It's in the waiting. We're growing in endurance, and then God begins to encourage us. How? Well, you see what he did for others in scripture, and then we believe, man, he can do it for me too. We look at Jonah,
who literally ran away from the calling that God had put on his life. You know the story, he then gets swallowed by a big fish, yet God still uses him to go reach a city. Esther, she's a widow. She's described as an ordinary woman, yet God uses her to do extraordinary things to eventually save a nation. Paul,
in his previous life as Saul, actually persecuted Christians, and God calls on him to write half of the New Testament. If God can use them, God can use you and I. So as we've grown in our endurance, we've been encouraged. It's then that we gain hope, not wishful thinking, not blind optimism,
but biblical hope. A confidence that he is the same yesterday, today, and forever more. Because when we see what he did in the Bible, we believe he can do it again. And if God can do that, if we truly believe the word of God to be true, man, he can handle whatever you and I are going through right now.
Because remembering God's faithfulness yesterday gives us confidence to trust in him tomorrow. If he did it for them, he could do it for you and I. If he blessed them, he can bless you and I. If he used them, then he can use you and I. If he loves them, then he certainly loves you and I. But Paul doesn't stop with God's word,
because the goal isn't just to know about God, the goal is truly to know God. To know God, not just about him. That's why the second thing Paul points out is faithful people stay connected through prayer.
That prayer is actually where our relationship with God grows. It's where we're reminded, man, we're not living in this life ourselves, carrying these things ourselves. It's where we exchange our weakness for his strength.
See, prayer is actually the difference between walking in your power and then walking in God's power, and that's the power I want. Yet some of us keep we keep asking, man, well, why isn't God showing up for me? I I need more. I need more strength. You keep seeking him in all these other different places.
Maybe right now you feel exhausted and weak, spiritually dry. I'm telling you that the answer is not doing more. The answer is in spending more time with the one who can provide everything you need to renew you, to sustain you. That's where you find the strength you need to walk through whatever you're facing.
And I love how the pastor and author illustrated this. His name is Mark Baterson. It says this, When we pray regularly, irregular things start happening on a regular basis. Some of y'all need to write that down, because that ain't about me, that's some other guy, but he said it really well. When we pray regularly,
irregular things start happening on a regular basis.
Here's what's amazing. Apostle Paul doesn't just teach us or tell us to do this, he models it. He asks us for it. Romans 15 verse 30, Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join in my struggle by praying to God for me.
Do this because of your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit. If Apostle Paul needed prayer from us, how much more do you think we need prayer? The answer is a lot. Let's go back to verse seven. Therefore, each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.
Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors. He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercies to them. Have you noticed it yet? How often Paul comes back to people?
See, he starts chapter 15 saying, we should help others and build one another up. Then he has to remind us, because we're a forgetful bunch, to stay rooted in God's word, stay connected to him through prayer, and then a few verses later brings it right back, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you.
It's almost like Paul is trying to tell us something that we can't stay in our private, siloed, isolated, personal relationship with God. See, every time Paul talks about God in this letter, he brings it back to God's people. That's because the next point is faithful people get along with other people.
Faithful people get along with other people. Why is that? You cannot separate spiritual maturity from how you treat God's people. You cannot separate spiritual maturity from how you treat other people. There is no such thing as jerks for Jesus. It's nowhere in the scripture.
We see a lot of it on the, you know, insta webs and all that stuff, see some on the streets, but nowhere in scripture jerks for Jesus. Some people think spiritual maturity is measured by how much they know the bible. Paul's telling us it's measured by how well you love the people sitting next to you. More so, he's saying
spiritual maturity is how you love the people not sitting next to you, how you love the people you disagree with, how well you love the people that you might not even like, how well you love the people that probably don't like you either, How well you love the people that hurt you.
How well you love the people that think differently than you, act differently than you, vote differently than you. The gospel didn't just reconcile you to God. The gospel reconciled us to one another. God's people. And faithful people get along with other people. Because every single human being and all of mankind since
creation, Adam and Eve, every single person, no matter their upbringing, background, their status, their moral standings, their faith system, if they've walked away from the Lord or not, every single person is first created in the image of God. And nothing will steal your joy more than choosing to hate other people.
Because if the enemy can't destroy us, he'll try to divide us. If the enemy can't tear us down, he will try to tear us apart. So what's the answer? Become spiritually mature. How do you do that? Thanks for telling us, Paul. Let's look back at verse five in the message translation. May our dependably steady and warmly personal
God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all. Spiritual maturity is not in our intellect. Spiritual maturity is found in our relationship with God and with others. Yet it's a shame how many believers who've been practicing their faith for years,
man some with good intent, should be highly effective in the kingdom of God, aren't purely because they can't get along with other people. Not that they can't, they choose not to get along with other people, and then they're the ones who then try to over spiritualize it.
They're the ones that will then say, well, the enemy is attacking me. Honestly, a lot of times, not gonna say all the time, a lot of times, it isn't actually warfare. They're just not self aware.
See, if there's conflict everywhere you go, you got to recognize the common denominator there, big dog. It's you. You are everywhere you go, and if there's chaos, conflict, things wrong everywhere you are, what's the common the common variable there? So as Christians, man, we have to we have to do a little bit of growing up.
Have to be willing to have grown up conversations. Have to be willing to address things, even confrontational things, in healthy ways biblically. We have to choose to give people the benefit of the doubt. We have to choose to love one another. We have to choose to fill the gap with trust.
And maybe a lot of us, we just need to set some mid year resolutions. We already acknowledged we failed our new year ones. So let's just set some mid year resolutions. The rest of this year, man, less criticism going out and more compassion, less offense taken and more forgiveness given,
less division in our lives, and pursue more unity. Because faithful people get along with other people. And the last habit that Paul illustrates for us, faithful people stay focused on Jesus. Through everything he's led us through up to this point, this is where he concludes it. This is where he leads us. Verse 13,
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him, you're focused on him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Don't get distracted by the things of this world.
It's tough. It's ugly. It's broken. It's painful.
But don't play the what if game. Don't play the, well, what if this happens, then this. What if this doesn't change, then this. What if that? What if this? Here's my what if for us. What if we changed every what if to even if? Even if the diagnosis doesn't change, I look to Jesus.
Even if I don't get the promotion, my eyes are on Jesus. Even if the relationship isn't restored, my hope is in Jesus. Even when life doesn't go my way, my hope, my eyes, my focus focus is on Jesus. Our faith can't be built on circumstances. It has to be built on the savior. Stay the course.
Don't give up on him. I promise you, he has not given up on you. Jesus did not quit. Jesus did not coast. Jesus endured a cross that you and I to this day still deserve, but now is sitting at the right hand of the father. Jesus finished strong,
and the more you and I look at him, the more you and I will look like him. It's why I love our mission statement here. We learn to echo the life of Jesus in our everyday lives.
Spend your life staring at a savior because if he called you to it, telling you he's gonna lead you through it. Would you all stand with me?
As we conclude the the book of Romans, we conclude this series, I want us to think for a moment, not just about what Paul wrote, but think about who Paul was. Think about who he was before he met Christ, consumed with himself. Think about who he was as we know him in all of these letters that he wrote,
consumed with Christ and serving others. That's what faithfully walking with Jesus can do to a person. That's the invitation of Romans. That one day, every prayer we've prayed and every act of service, every passage we read,
every time we chose calling over comfort, that one day we will be face to face with Jesus in my my heart's desires that we would all long to hear, well done, good and faithful servant. Because a strong finish is a faithful finish. Lord, we come before you right now.
Lord, we are desperate for more of you, and we're desperate for less of us. Thank you, Lord, for your grace, your mercy, your faithfulness, your forgiveness, Lord. We want more of your presence. God, we wanna share in your glory in the throne room of the father. Draw us closer to you.
Lord, may we root ourselves deeply in your word. Teach us to love others just as you have loved us. Continue to focus our hearts, our minds, our eyes on you, Jesus, and nothing else.
That your holy spirit will continue not only to fill this place as it already has, but it would fill us from the bottom of our feet to the tops of our heads. God, have your way in and through us. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.