A Fitting End: Praise
Nick Owens, December 22, 2024
Intro: Over the course of the schooling I’ve done, I’ve had to write more essays and papers than I can remember. I never really loved the actual writing of papers, though it was often fun to dig deeper into various subjects. And after lots of experience and practice you kind of get your grove on how to do it.
Do you remember what it was like when you first learned how to write essays? I want to say it was 6th grade or so for me when I remember learning how to write an expository essay or a persuasive essay. When you first have to do this sort of thing, it’s kind of overwhelming, isn’t it? How to do I organize my thoughts? How can I communicate clearly and get my point across? How do I develop an argument and flows logically from one point to the next. How do I structure this whole thing?
I still remember something my dad told me – here’s what you do – Tell them what you’re going to tell them….. then tell them…. Then tell them what you told them….
Today, after a year in this letter Paul wrote to the church in Rome, we come to these final verses. And in a sense this is what we see Paul doing in these verses. If you were to compare what Paul writes in these 3 verses, these final words, to the opening of Romans you would see a lot of similar language, phrases, and themes. If you read any commentaries on Romans – they all point this out. In these final words, Paul echoes how he began the letter.
Just like at the beginning of his letter, Paul writes about strength and power; he writes about the gospel, the good news, and how this gospel was promised in the prophetic writings of the Old Testament; he uses the exact same phrase “the obedience of faith” to speak of God’s intentions that people from all nations and places would come to believe the gospel and follow Jesus.
And yet, Paul does more than just regurgitate the facts, themes, and phrases of how he began. He recalls and echoes the themes with which he began the letter, but here he does so directed toward God in praise and wonder. These final words are a doxology. They are words of praise to God. Notice how v. 25 begins and to whom Paul is speaking – “Now to Him who is able to strengthen you….” and look at how he ends in v. 27 – “to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.”
Paul doesn’t end this letter with themes from the beginning simply to remind us, in case we forgot. He ends with praise that those reading and hearing this letter might be drawn in to praise, and adoration of the God that this letter has been about.
You see – It is one thing to learn the content and truths of this letter – to acknowledge the facts and true things about God – who he is, what he has done. Paul wants to lead us to do more than simply that – he wants us to rejoice, to enjoy, to savor God. He wants us to get caught up in wonder and join in and praise this kind, gracious, and loving God.
Now – There’s honestly a lot here we could look at this short passage – in some ways, each of these phrases are like hyperlinks that could lead us to recall various themes and passages in Romans.
But here’s what I think Paul’s trying to do in this passage – he’s trying to lead us – to…
Praise God, who strengthens us by the gospel, because in the gospel we come to know God’s loving intention for our lives and for the world…
He’s wanting his listeners and readers to Praise God – who strengthens us by the gospel, because in the gospel we come to know God’s loving intention for our lives and for the world.
Let’s begin with the first part – Praise God, who strengthens us by the gospel…..
The gospel is powerful. – Powerful for what? – Powerful to save and to transform your life…. Powerful to establish and firmly root your life…..
The idea of power or strength shows up twice in v. 25 – the first use is harder to see in the English translation – you could just as easily translate v. 25 as, “Now to him who has the power to strengthen you” – you may remember that Paul beings Romans by talking about how the gospel is God’s power for salvation, Romans 1:16 – the same root word shows up at the beginning of v. 25 in that phrase – “to him who is able” – the idea is, “to him who is powerful” – God is capable, God is able, God is powerful ….. to do what – To strengthen you – or as it’s sometimes translated elsewhere – “to establish you,” meaning – to give you an inner strength so that in the midst of life’s challenges and difficulties you are secure and established.
ILLUST – This past week I was listening to a podcast that mentioned book, written about 10 years ago. The book is titled, “Primates of Park Avenue” – written by Wednesday Martin. It’s a memoir about her experience of moving into and living in the Upper East Side of NYC.
She and her husband had already been living in NYC, already in one sense you could say people of great means, went to good schools, made good money. Well, they move with their young children into the Upper East Side neighborhood – and it’s like a whole different world.
And they experience a sort of culture shock with just what’s normal and how people live life in that part of New York.
Like in one part, she talks about how it’s normal to have a handbag that costs 100k – totally normal. Her training and formal education was in anthropology – so she approaches the culture of the Upper East side and writes about the experience like an anthropologist – hence the title of the book – “Primates of Park Avenue” – what she describes on the one hand are people who seem to have great power
– I mean, they are uber wealthy – financial power, they have status and education power, they access to basically anything and everything a person could want or need for self improvement and growth and getting ahead.
One of the things she notices in this particular culture is what she calls the “deification of children” – in this culture – children are like gods, everything is about getting the kids ahead in life.
They have coaches and therapists and….. play date tutors – you know, for kids who need to get into the best private schools, but maybe because they are so over scheduled they don’t know how to play well with other kids – no prob, there are tutors who can help little kids learn how to be better at spontaneous play….. Access to anything and everything, means to get all the help and support they could want….
And yet, as she works her way into this world and gets to know people in this world what does she find but people who are deeply, deeply insecure, fearful, anxious. They look powerful, they portray strength and confidence, but inside they are impotent and fearful….. It’s not uncommon for moms to turn to alcohol and drugs, to use powerful sleep aids to combat anxiety and restlessness, because of the constant pressure they feel in their lives – pressure to be perfect, pressure for their kids to achieve success, the fear that one day their husbands might leave them for someone else, younger and more beautiful …..
What gives real power? What gives real strength? Because I just described a group of people – who on the one hand seem to have it all. Seem to have everything they could ever want or need for life….. Status, money, connections, access, support…….. Do we sometimes believe that if we just had different circumstances, different means, different abilities that somehow that would be the thing that dispels the deep fears and anxieties, and insecurities within and would give us real strength?
There is a power that can truly establish you and give you an inner strength. It comes from the living God in the gospel of Jesus. That’s what Paul says in v. 25 – “Now to him who is powerful to establish you according to my gospel” that gospel or good news he says in the next phrase – “is the preaching about Jesus” – this is why the gospel is powerful.
The gospel is powerful because the gospel proclaims Jesus, it points us to Jesus – Remember what Paul said in the beginning of Romans – the gospel is about Jesus, Romans 1:4 Jesus who was “declared to be the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead.” Jesus is the resurrected true king, who triumphed over death and evil and sin and all the brokenness of the world.
He is the resurrected king who reigns with power –
That’s why as we are connected to him by faith, as we trust in him, everything begins to change –
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our status is changed – we’re not guilty and condemned but justified, made right.
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our future is changed – it’s not up in the air – who knows what’s going to happen, or dependent upon us controlling and securing it for ourselves – but we are secure in him forever;
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AND now ….we’re no longer stuck with just ourselves and our own resources to try and change….. but our ability to grow and become like him, to become who we were meant to be – our true selves – all this now becomes possible –
Because the power……….. the power of the resurrected king flows into our lives as we are united to him by faith. His life, his power, his Spirit, his Righteousness – floods into our lives.
But there’s more…. Paul wants to lead us in Praising God, who strengthens us by the gospel, because in the gospel we come to know God’s loving intention for our lives and for the world.
Prior to the coming of Jesus we see in the Old Testament God at work in the history of Israel and the lives of Israel his people. And while there are numerous passages pointing forward to God’s intentions of world-wide salvation, of doing something in history that wouldn’t just effect Israel, but would bring salvation to the world….. how exactly God is going to do this, the plan, isn’t fully known or understood.
The pieces were there in the Old Testament Scriptures pointing forward, promising what was to come. But until the coming of Jesus, and the good news of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, the mystery had yet to be revealed and made known.
But now, in the gospel, in the good news of Jesus – What the prophetic writings had been pointing to has been made known, revealed… in Jesus, God’s plan for the nations has been revealed. And what we see in that plan is the gracious inclusion of all peoples – Jews and Gentiles in Jesus. We can now see God’s intention and understand God’s intention, his loving intention for you and for the world – God’s purpose is to bring people to believe in Jesus and follow him. God’s plan of salvation through Jesus can now be seen and understood.
This is what we see in v. 27 that leads Paul to turn back and explicitly direct praise to God – v. 27 to the only wise God, he says, be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.
Who would have come up with a plan like this, to fulfill all God’s ancient promises going back centuries and centuries, and to do so in a way that would bring together Jew and Gentile, to bring salvation to the world and call people from every nation to belong to God????? ….. It’s overwhelming. It’s like what Paul wrote in ch. 11:33 – “Oh the Depths and riches and wisdom and knowledge of God.”
In the gospel of Jesus we come to know God’s loving intention for our lives and for the world.
Recently Mackenzie shared a YouTube clip with the staff – it’s a short video of writer and philosopher James KA Smith speaking at a Veritas Forum event – the Veritas Forum is something that happens at college campuses all over the US where typically two scholars or professors, one Christian, one not, come together to have a conversation about big life questions – I attended a handful of these while I was doing campus ministry and typically at some point in the conversation the moderator will ask each of the presenters, basically…. why they believe what they believe – why they are an atheist or agnostic or Christian…. In this clip James KA Smith says this about why he is a Christian,
“I would say it’s this…..This incredible testimony of a God who created the entire wonders of the cosmos becoming one of the most vulnerable of humans and then enduring death at the hands of the regnant empire and overcoming…. even that death by being raised from the dead…. That to me is a story if you will, this is an account that makes sense of all the things I experience, which is both hopes and hungers, but also why this world is so messed up.
To me, what’s really distinctive about the Christian story, is the Christian story bears witness to a God who goes through the pain of the universe, who takes on the brokenness of the world, [who is] in solidarity with the wretched of the earth and triumphs………… The bottom of that story is that I am beloved, you are beloved”
Isn’t it true, this morning whether you’re someone here who believes in Jesus and would call yourself a Christian, or whether that’s not where you are right now – isn’t it true that part of the human experience is we have all these longings. We desire and hunger to be loved, deeply loved and cherished; to be seen and valued, to be significant and to matter; to do meaningful things and have our lives be part of something bigger….
And yet often, don’t we also experience the frustration of these longings?? –
And on top of that – The world can be a cruel place – disasters can come out of nowhere; tragedy can strike taking away what is most central and cherished in our lives; disease can come, seemingly out of nowhere and feel like a cruel game of chance – one person withers away from cancer, while others seem to go on happy and healthy for decades…. How are we to make sense of this – why do we long and desire and hunger, and why is this world so messed up?
The gospel says – you are beloved.
The gospel reveals God’s loving intention for your life and for the world. It speaks to the longings – yes, you were made to be loved by a greater love than anything in this world; you were made for a purpose and you’re life has meaning and is meant to find it’s meaning in this larger story of God’s redemption of the world;
yes …you were made to be seen – you were made for the face of God, to know God to enjoy God to have God’s smiling face shine upon you… these things are real, these longings are real and there is one who can satisfy them.
And importantly the gospel speaks to the seeming cruelty of the world…. the tragedies, the disasters, the struggles and sufferings of disease and death and loss – because God the Son, entered the world, taking on flesh – becoming man, identifying with and experiencing the pain and suffering and evil of this world, all the brokenness – that in the end he might save us and end all evil, and make all things new.
In the gospel God’s loving intentions for your life and for the world are revealed – you are beloved.
As Paul is closing this letter, he is celebrating the gospel and God’s loving purpose revealed in the gospel. This is what we celebrate in Advent – as we’ll sing in our closing song – “Long lay the world in sin and error pining” – in the pain, in the brokenness, in the lostness, in the confusion…. “Until he appeared and the soul felt it’s worth…..” – if you will look at Jesus and listen to the gospel you will see how much God truly loves you…… you are beloved.
“a thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn….”
something has changed with the coming of Jesus, a new morning has dawned. In Jesus we can have power and strength; in Jesus we can know we are loved by the one who made all things.
One day – because of Jesus and through Jesus – all our longings and hungers and desires will be satisfied, filled up by the one who loves us – one day all the sadness and brokenness of the world will become untrue because Jesus is coming back to make all things new.
But today, by faith in Jesus, by the power of this incredibly good news – you can be strengthened, you and your life can experience the power of God’s saving love.
And so praise him. Praise the God of this wonderfully good news.
As we are now just days from Christmas, imagine how this good news is meant to touch ground in your life.
There are many things about the Christmas and holiday season that are enjoyable and fun – and that’s all great….. But I would imagine at the same time for many there are also very hard realities during this season….. There is loss – people we’ve lost who we miss. There are relational difficulties. There’s the reality that no matter how good the Christmas is, it will end and many of the things that are hard about your life now, will still be there… still be hard…. The brokenness will continue….