Context No. 3906 of 4322 · Romans

Romans 15:7-11: in context

7Therefore accept one another, even as Christ also accepted you, to the glory of God. 8Now I say that Christ has been made a servant of the circumcision for the truth of God, that he might confirm the promises given to the fathers, 9and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will give praise to you among the Gentiles and sing to your name.” 10Again he says, “Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.” 11Again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Let all the peoples praise him.”

Paul gives a simple but far-reaching command: welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. The measure of how we are to receive one another is nothing less than the way Christ received us. And he goes on to show that in Christ, the deep division between Jew and Gentile is overcome, so that both together glorify God for his mercy.

There is a searching standard here for how we treat one another. Christ welcomed us when we had nothing to commend us, when we were far off and undeserving; he received us freely, by his mercy. And that is the pattern for our welcome of each other. We are to receive one another, across every difference and division, with the same open-hearted acceptance Christ showed us. This is not a lukewarm tolerance but a warm welcome, extended even to those unlike us, because Christ first welcomed us. When the church welcomes one another as Christ welcomed us, God is glorified, and the dividing walls the world builds are overcome.

Do I welcome others, across every difference, with the same open-hearted acceptance that Christ showed in welcoming me, so that God is glorified in the way his people receive one another?

Sources

Romans 15:7: "Therefore accept one another, even as Christ also accepted you, to the glory of God."
Romans 15:9: "And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy."
Romans 15:11: "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Let all the peoples praise him."