Tara-Leigh Cobble
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
The word keep here means hold firmly, not be quiet about.
Paul is telling them to hold firmly to their convictions from God, to live them out.
It means let it show up in everything.
It's the exact opposite of keeping things private.
In chapter 15, Paul tells us why the Old Testament exists.
The Hebrew Scriptures exist to instruct us, to encourage us, and to give us hope.
Many of you who were with us during the Old Testament have testified to the fact that it did that very thing for you.
You found hope in unexpected places, hope in the laws of Leviticus, hope in the slaughter of judges, hope even in the weird visions of Ezekiel.
It is stacked, Genesis to Malachi, with instruction, encouragement, and hope.
He reiterates this in verse 13, which says, The Holy Spirit brings us hope too.
And that all checks out because guess who wrote scripture?
The hope giver, the Holy Spirit.
He points out places in the Old Testament where God promises to save the Gentiles.
This diversity in God's family has been his plan all along.
Along with these reminders, Paul encourages them again to live in harmony with each other.
Harmony means people are singing different notes, not the same note.
A symphony is beautiful because people are playing different instruments and different parts, but in a way that works together to reveal the beauty of the song.