ニューイングランドの母校からアドベントの便り、その3
2016 Gordon-Conwell
Advent Devotional | Day 3 | A Messiah for All Cultures and Nations
Romans 15:8-13
Throughout history, religion and the cultures of nations have been frequently intertwined. At one time it was thought that to be from a Western culture was to be a Christian. Today it is frequently thought that to be Saudi is to be Muslim or to be Thai is to be Buddhist.
Thus, the words of our text come as a shock by portraying a faith in which Christ is the Messiah for all peoples—Jews and Gentiles alike. God chose to reveal himself through the Hebrew people. But even in the Old Testament there was the promise that Gentiles, all nations and cultures of the world, would be blessed by the coming Messiah. Four different Old Testament texts are quoted in Romans 15 to show that the Gentiles (i.e. the nations) too “might glorify God for his mercy,” most explicitly revealed in Jesus Christ.
Today followers of Christ come from every nation and nearly every culture around the globe. This is a harbinger of the coming final Kingdom when, “A great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb…cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God” (Revelation 7:9-10).
In this Advent season we long for that day. But we seek now to demonstrate this coming reality in the Church of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is indeed for all cultures and all nations.
Dr. Dennis Hollinger
President; Colman M. Mockler Professor of Christian Ethics
