Romans 15:7

Romans 15:7 says, Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.  We are to receive one another, just as Christ received us.  This is to be done for the glory of God.  When we gather together, whether as a small group in everyday life, or as a gathering of the church to worship and learn, we are to do it to the glory of God.  We are not called to occasionally live for God's glory, but to continually live for His glory.  Verse eight adds, Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:  Paul tells us that Christ came first to the Jews, those of the circumcision, because they were the ones He had chosen to work through and had made His covenant with.  The fact that the overwhelming majority refused to accept Christ as the Messiah did not, nor does not today, mean that God rejected them.  What we have to realize though is that the Jews were not special because of their birth into the Jewish nation, but because of a covenant between Abraham and God, based on faith. Verse nine continues, And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. Paul is referring to Psalms 18:49. We, the Gentiles, all those not born into the nation of Israel, are to glorify God, because through Christ, salvation is made available to all who believe.  Had the Jews accepted Jesus as the Messiah, this does not mean that we as Gentiles would have never been able to find salvation through Christ.  We must remember that the nation of Israel was not chosen by God because they were better than anyone else, but because God chose them to proclaim Him to the world.  The intention was never for them to keep God to themselves, but to reach the world for Him.   The same is true for Christians today.  We are saved by faith in Christ and called to reach the world for Him.  Verse ten states,  And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. This is a reference to Psalms 22:22.  This was not some new thought that Paul had, but was God's plan.  We are to be united in worshipping God.  Christ came to save all, not just the Jews with the Gentiles being an alternate plan.  Verse eleven adds, And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people. Paul tells us we are to praise God.  I do not believe that had the Jews accepted Christ as Savior that we, the Gentiles, would have been excluded. The Jewish people would have simply been the ones to share the gospel with the world.  Paul was a prime example, being a Jew himself.  If I were to refuse to believe the gospel, that does not doom anyone but me.  Verse twelve continues, And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.  Paul was again referring to the scriptures and said that Isaiah foretold Jesus coming to save the Gentiles as well as the Jews.  Verse thirteen says, Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.  We as followers of Christ are to abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. That power will never wane no matter the condition of the world, so if our hope comes from the Holy Spirit, it should never wane either. Verse fourteen adds, And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.  Paul was certain that his fellow believers were full of goodness and filled with all knowledge and able to correct one another in faith.  We today should be the same. Being full of knowledge does not mean that we know everything, but that we are full of the knowledge of Christ.