Acceptance without exceptions
The U.S of A. was once known as “the melting pot,” a country where people of different ethnicities could come from all over the world and blend together into one homogeneous, happy family of “Americans.”
In reality, once you take the lid off the pot and look inside, you see more of a stew with individual viands retaining their characteristic flavors. Although the variety of flavors adds richness to the mix, it’s obvious that stirring together different cultures does not guarantee unity and acceptance.
However, there is one institution where “e pluribus unum” (out of many, one) is expected and made possible: the church of Jesus Christ.
In Romans Chapters 15 and 16, the apostle Paul is wrapping up an extraordinary theological treatise that explains the Gospel and its implications (Romans 1:16 — 17). He proclaims the unity of all people — all of us are bound by sin and under the same condemnation (Romans 3:9, 23). The good news is that salvation is offered to these same people without exception (Romans 10:12 — 13).
As Tertius dips his quill into the inkpot and stretches his weary fingers one last time,
Paul pleads for the Christians to welcome one another as Christ welcomes all alike, both Jews and Greeks (non-Jews; basically, everybody else, Romans 15:7).
He begins with the weak in faith, whom we could so easily dismiss as spiritual babies, legalists, or the piously paranoid (Romans 15:1 — 7). Paul then moves on to accepting and pursuing all nationalities in and for the Gospel (Romans 15:8 — 21). The Gospel is for all nationalities and ethnicities (Notice that color does not arise as a distinction; it is irrelevant to a colorblind God.).
It all comes down to mutual acceptance and sharing. The Romans were told to encourage the weak and share with them in hope. They also saw Paul’s example of sharing the Gospel with other nations.
In Romans 15:22 — 33, we see our obligation to share our material wealth with other believers without regard to their background. Gentile believers were expected to help Jewish believers, whom they probably didn’t personally know, with monetary gifts, prayerfully given.
Paul’s loving, accepting heart is on display as he greets his friends in Chapter 16. The word “greet” means more than just a friendly wave; it means “salute, pay respects.” The list includes men and women, beginning with an introduction to Phoebe (“Bright”), a deaconess from another church, whom Paul holds up as a special sister, worthy of all respect. The list goes on to include seasoned saints, church hosts, laborers, ex-cons, probably slaves, Africans and Turks, families, relatives of Paul, those who were like relatives of Paul, Jews, Gentiles, and royalty.
The greetings were extended from Jewish missionaries, a secretary, a local political official, and all the churches in Christ (Romans 16:16). It seems that everyone was on an equal plane in Christ (Galatians 3:28).
The apostle’s doxology reminds believers of the command of God to reach all nations, for “in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:35). Like God, when it comes to sharing the Gospel with non-Christians and mingling with other Christians, we should be accepting without exceptions.