How can Christians today honor the "service" and "promises" referenced in Romans 9:4? Setting the Scene Romans 9:4 lists privileges God originally entrusted to Israel: “the adoption as sons, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the Law, the temple service, and the promises”. Two of these—“the temple service” and “the promises”—point to ongoing realities believers can honor today in Christ. What Paul Means by “Service” “Temple service” (Greek: latreia) refers to the organized, God-ordained worship that took place in the sanctuary—priests, sacrifices, incense, songs, feasts. All of it foreshadowed Jesus, the true Lamb and High Priest (Hebrews 9:11-14). Ways to Honor the Service Today • Embrace your priestly calling. “You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). • Offer your whole life as worship. “Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship” (Romans 12:1). • Prioritize gathered worship. Corporate singing, Scripture reading, preaching, giving, the Lord’s Supper, and baptism mirror the order, reverence, and holiness once seen in the temple courts (Psalm 29:2). • Practice continual praise. “Let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise” (Hebrews 13:15). Praise on Monday morning honors the temple rhythms as surely as praise on Sunday. • Serve others in practical love. “Do not neglect to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased” (Hebrews 13:16). Every meal delivered, every act of mercy, is modern priestly ministry. • Support gospel ministry. Israel’s priests lived from the altar; church leaders today depend on the generosity of God’s people (1 Corinthians 9:13-14). What Paul Means by “Promises” God pledged redemption, land, blessing, a Messiah, a new covenant, and eternal life (Genesis 12:3; Jeremiah 31:31-34). “All the promises of God are ‘Yes’ in Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:20). Believers share in them as spiritual heirs (Galatians 3:29). Ways to Honor the Promises Today • Know them. Regularly read and memorize the Old and New Testament promises—doing so guards against doubt (Titus 1:2). • Trust them. When trials hit, anchor your heart in God’s sworn word—it is “impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:17-18). • Proclaim them. Share the gospel that fulfills the Abrahamic promise of blessing to the nations (Acts 3:25-26). • Pray them back to God. Scripture-soaked requests align your heart with His covenant purposes (2 Samuel 7:25). • Live expectantly. The same God who kept every past promise will keep the remaining ones—Christ’s return, bodily resurrection, the new heavens and earth (2 Peter 3:13). • Bless Israel. Romans 11:28-29 reminds us “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” Supporting Jewish evangelism and praying for Israel’s salvation honors the original recipients of these promises. Living Both Truths Daily • Morning: present yourself afresh as a living sacrifice. • Afternoon: act on a specific promise—perhaps generosity because “my God will supply all your needs” (Philippians 4:19). • Evening: close the day with praise, echoing temple choruses that rose with the evening sacrifice. In these rhythms, Christians honor the ancient “service” and “promises,” demonstrating that what God began with Israel He continues—and completes—in Christ through us. |
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