Romans 15:7–13 (NASB)

Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God. For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers, and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written,

“Therefore I will give praise to You among the Gentiles, And I will sing to Your name.”

Again he says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.”

And again, “Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, And let all the peoples praise Him.”

Again Isaiah says, “There shall come the root of Jesse, And He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, In Him shall the Gentiles hope.”

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The expansion of the gospel to the gentiles is one of the greatest plot twists in history. The Jewish messiah turned out to be everybody’s messiah. No one saw that coming.

Actually, it’s not quite right to say, “No one saw that coming.” The prophets saw it coming. It just felt like no one saw it coming. So, Paul has to back this up by quoting the prophesies (2 Samuel 22:50, Deuteronomy 32:43, Psalm 117:1, and Isaiah 11:10).

Modern Christians are taught this from birth, so we aren’t surprised, but this hit first century folks like a bolt of lightning. So, Paul uses this awesome plot twist to support his argument that we all just need to get along. Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.

But notice Paul’s deliberate, two-step logical construction. First, he says that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers. Then comes the plot twist, “and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy.”

We’re in—and it was all planned from the beginning. Through an incredible plot twist, we get to be part of God’s covenant.

That feels like hitting the lottery.

So, as fellow lottery winners, we need to put aside our differences and accept one another. Sure, we’re going to have disagreements, but let’s not get confused about what’s important.

The Lord commands us to even forgive our enemies, yet we have trouble accepting fellow Christians.

That’s just wrong.

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