We are born with the capacity to detect the faults of others and we have been conditioned to develop this capacity. Identifies points in the distance? No problem (even when we somehow persistently struggle to see our own frames). And life gives us many dots to detect. Life on earth, for now, means a life surrounded by failures.
Surprisingly, the Christian gospel is not too grand and lofty for these regular deceptions, for the dark and painful nooks and crannies of real life. Indeed, Paul's great epistle to the Romans, one of thethe best letters ever written— points us to the stains, revealing such relational challengesas proof of the power of the person and work of Christ.
In Romans 14 and 15 in particular, Paul addresses the dividing lines emerging among Christians overAdiaphora(literally "without differences" in relation to the essence of our faith, but several non-essential matters). Such matters are not clear examples ofsin— clear violations of the law of Christ, such as lying or stealing — but differences of opinion (sometimes even convictions), such as observing or not observing certain holy days, or eating meat or drinking wine sacrificed to idols. In the first century, these matters related to the historical shift from the old to the new covenant. Some differences, as in Galatians, have beenof the essenceOf faith; others do not.
Although Romans 14–15 speaks of controversies that are not differences in the essence of Christianity, Paul does not gloss over them, ignore them, or treat them lightly. Rather, he sees in them an opportunity to bring the heart of faith to Christ's people, focusing onhow we treat each otherdespite such differences. Paul dignifies the hurt and pain such differences of opinion can cause by providing them with the greatest possible remedy and comfort: Christ himself.
For the strong (and for the weak)
Elsewhere we have instructions on what to do when a brothersinsagainst us (Matthew 18:15–22). But what happens when others irritate us with mistakes and immaturity that are not simple examples of sin? What if it's not just a matter of differences of opinion, but of conviction?
In Romans 14–15, Paul believes that a group isBOMso to speak, and the othermistakenas to the truth of the matter. He calls a group “the strong ones”; the other, "the weak one." He concedes: "I know, and am convinced in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself" (Romans 14:14). Therefore, as he writes elsewhere, “if one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you want to go, eat what is set before you, without raising any doubt on grounds of conscience” (1 Corinthians 10:27). However, if your host announces: "This was offered as a sacrifice", then do not eat it, not for your own sake, but for your own sake.because of your host, lest you confuse and confirm in soul-destroying idolatry. In other words, consideryour eternal good, not just your own momentary appetite and your ability to exercise freedom.
In Romans 15:1–7, Paul specifically addresses “the strong” who know by faith and conscience that all food and drink is clean. Of course, both groups have flaws. Paul's strategy, however, is to begin by addressing the strong and exhorting them to take the first step toward peace. Paul appeals to them to rise above the "weaknesses of the weak", even as he acknowledges that they are genuine.flaws. And in doing so, she clarifies the truth of the matter for "the wimps" who are listening.
Our tensions today may not be the same as those that plagued the church in Rome in the first century, but we have many faults and needless divisions. So what can we learn from these verses so that we don't justhaving withthe blind spots of others, but even more so as who is "strong", to literallycarries the flaws(Greekta asthenēmata bastazein) of the “weak” (Romans 15:1)?
The call
The first is the call to love. Attractive as it is, Paul doesn't just see it as achance- take it or leave it - but as aobligation. As Christians weobligationmutual love, which, for the strong, means "bearing the infirmities of the weak" (Romans 15:1). In fact, it wouldsinviolate the law of Christ by not loving. Christians arenot boundeat meat or not, or celebrate certain festivals or not, but weThey are connectedlove each other. “Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8). “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). Pork, wine and holidays are optional; Christian love is not.
“Pork, wine and holidays are optional; Christian love is not.
However, Paul does not leave suchamarunqualified or unspecified. Give terms, an example, and the source of the power.
The terms
After the call to love your neighbor come the terms of that love: “for your good, for your edification” (Romans 15:2). The obligation to love does not require the Christian to do to othersfeel lovedin human terms. Christ sets the terms. We love thinking about the good of others, as God definesBOM, not the whims or momentary preferences (or demands!) of sinners. The Christian call to love is not to satisfy immaturity or unbelief, or to coddle sin, but to look at others with the mind and eyes of Christ and love them.for your cause, to build them up in Christ.
“The obligation to love does not require the Christian to make others feel loved in human terms.”
This appeal to greater pleasures for our neighbors than their whims is also an appeal to our greater pleasures in our love for them. To the strong: do not be carried away by the immediate needs of the weak.or yours. Love seeks the eternal (more than the momentary) good of both our neighbor and ourselves. Which leads to Paul's remarkable example in Romans 15:3: "Christ did not please himself."
The example
When it comes to inconvenient and uncomfortable love, Jesus provides the greatest example and model imaginable. "It is worthy of notice," writes John Murray, "how the apostle relies on the example of Christ in his most important accomplishments to entrust the most practical duties" (romans, 516).
On his knees, with a pool of sweat like drops of blood, Jesus did not give in to his own immediate needs in Gethsemane. Instead, he embraced the divine will, and with it, eternal good and the edification of others. He did not choose momentary desires, either his own or others'. Certainly at the time the disciples, if they had a choice, would have been anxious for Jesus to flee. Peter had said, "Never, Lord!" when he first heard of the cross; the disciples could not yet conceive how the death of Christ could lead to greater joy.
At a basic level,please yourselfit would have meant giving in to his own momentary (very human and very natural) desires to avoid death, especially the utter torture of death on the cross and, worst of all, the feeling of separation from his Father. But in the garden, Jesus abandons his human desires for self-preservation andwillsthe divine will. He chooses you. By saying to the Father: "Not my will, but yours be done" (Lk 22:42), he makes the divine will his own (as a man). On one level he doesn't really want that, but on a deeper level he does, just as Isaiah 53:11 prophesied, "Because of the anguish of his soul he will see andbe satisfied.” Likewise, Hebrews 12:2 confirms that in terrible anguish and anguish, it was, at bottom, the holy pursuit of joy that encouraged and sustained his obedience: “For the joy set before him [Jesus] endured the cross. ”
This does not mean that we advise Christians, contrary to Paul's letter and Christ's life, to "please themselves." Rather, we say that God in Christ is so deeply and enduringly pleasing that we are free to "please ourselves" in relation to others. Satisfied with God and knowing that in Christ He is satisfied with us, we are free to look away from ourselves to others and their genuine needs, and to love them.for your good and edification.
The power
Finally, as wonderful as Christ's example is, Paul insists even more. not only saythatChrist triumphed in love, but he shows usas. What allowed Jesus, as a man, to look beyond his early human desires to thejoy laid before himon the other side of torture and death? He trusted his Father's word.
Paul represents Jesus living and drawing strength from Psalm 69:9 in Romans 15:3: "The reproaches of those who reproached you have fallen on me." Note the orientation and God-centeredness this brings to Christ's great act of love (and to our little ones). And the way in which the power to resist came to him was not simplythrough the truthbutthrough the scriptures. With his uniquely holy and sinless human mind, Jesus could have theologically and philosophized in many ways to put his call and excruciating pain into broader perspective. He certainly could have nailed himself in many creative ways. But in his most pressing moment, he turns to God's own words (in this case, captured in Psalm 69). What prompts Paul to write, “Whatever was written before was written forourinstruction, who through patience and through the [comfort] of the Scripturesushope" (Romans 15:4). As Jesus did.
The God of patience and consolation awakened persevering love in his own Son through the instrument of his written word. Jesus was comforted and strengthened to persevere as he searched the Scriptures. And so it will be for us. As the soul of Christ himself was fed on what was written in the past, so we fill our tank with the promises of God, to free ourselves from selfishness and sinful self-love, to know what is truly for the good of others. others. our neighbor and for edification. get up and "do not please ourselves," but do it with pleasure. The same God of patience and consolation works the miracle in us and through us.by his word.
How Christ welcomed you
This “unselfish” pursuit of joy in the good of others (called love) leads, over time, to Christians strong and weak living “in harmony with one another, according to Christ Jesus, so that together, with one voice, they may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 15:5–6).
Rising above our own initial whims and preferences, as Jesus did, glorifies him and his Father. After all, that's exactly how Christ received us: not surrendering to the garden, but trusting God's words to walk the (much!) harder path for our good. So Murray asks, "Should we of the strong insist on pleasing ourselves in the matter of eating and drinking to the detriment of the saints of God and the building up of the body of Christ?" (517).
The joy of not pleasing ourselves comes not only when others are in need, but also when they are wrong or the need comes from their own faulty faith and conscience. As we die to our rights, freedoms,and yourselfAgainst almost every impulse of our age, we learn instead, in Christ, to “receive one another as Christ welcomed you, to the glory of God” (Romans 15:7).
FAQs
What does Romans 15 1 3 mean? ›
We should not live in a self-centered way but should help our fellow Christians build their faith and their relationship with God. Christ is the perfect example of this selflessness.
What does Romans 15 2 3 mean? ›Christ came to fulfill God's promises to Israel and about the Gentiles. Paul is satisfied with the faith and practice of the Roman Christians. His work of taking the gospel to unreached regions of Gentiles in his part of the world is completed, and he longs to come see them.
What is meant by Romans 15 1 6? ›Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. The reason why we're called to bear with one another - and build up one another - and accept one another is so we can bring glory to God. Someone once said that glorifying God is the way we make God look good to others.
What does Hebrews 10 24 25 means? ›Hebrews 10:24 says, “… consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,” and verse 25 mentions “exhorting one another” (emphasis added). Stirring Up Love: The word for “stirring up” means to incite or provoke in the best sense. To incite or provoke others in love does not mean loving just happens.
What does Romans 15 21 mean? ›He is proud of the work that Christ has accomplished through him in bringing Gentiles to faith in Christ. He knows Christ has done this through the power of miraculous signs and the power of the Holy Spirit.
What does Romans 15 4 mean? ›The final point of Romans 15:4 is that all the Scriptures have this goal: to sustain our hope. For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that by the endurance and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.
What does Romans 15 2 say? ›Romans 15:2, KJV: Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. Romans 15:2, NASB: Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. Romans 15:2, NLT: We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord.
What is the meaning of Romans 15 5? ›Meaning, as believers of Christ we must imitate the God who is existentially encouraging and enduring. We must be one with Him because He was made one with us. This also means that as God is patient with us, we must also be patient with one another.
What is Romans 15 5? ›Romans 15:5, NASB: Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another, according to Christ Jesus, Romans 15:5, NLT: May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus.
What does Romans 15 1 4 mean? ›Romans 15:1-4 In-Context
4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
What is Romans 15 7? ›
Romans 15:7, ESV: Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. Romans 15:7, KJV: Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. Romans 15:7, NASB: Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us, for the glory of God.
What is Romans 15 13? ›Romans 15:13 Bible Verse Print - 'May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. ' Bible Passage Print.
What is hebrew10 25? ›not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
What is the lesson of Hebrews 10 24? ›We, every one of us in Christ, has full access to God. So based on that, we encourage one another to grow closer to God. We live to help others grow in their relationship with God, to stir them up toward love and good works. We meet with each other and we encourage one another in faith.
What does it mean for a wife to submit to her husband? ›Submission in marriage means selflessness, service, accountability, and respect for your partner, which should be mutual; it is not slavery or a woman's call to lose her voice. The fundamental rubric on which The Christian marriage is built is love, and love is anything but the desire to control.
What does Romans 15 4 5 mean? ›Romans 15:4 Parallel Verses [⇓ See commentary ⇓]
Romans 15:4, NIV: For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
Christ came to fulfill God's promises to Israel and about the Gentiles. Paul is satisfied with the faith and practice of the Roman Christians. His work of taking the gospel to unreached regions of Gentiles in his part of the world is completed, and he longs to come see them.
What is the meaning of Isaiah 52 15? ›Isaiah 52:15 (NIRV) But many nations will be surprised when they see what he has done. Kings will be so amazed that they will not be able to say anything. They will understand things they were never told about. They will know the meaning of things they never heard about."
What does Romans 15 12 mean? ›"The root of Jesse" refers to the descendant of Jesse who will rise to rule over Israel and all the Gentile nations. This is a prophecy about the coming of Israel's promised Messiah. The Gentiles, however, will not merely become the servants of the Messiah. The verse ends with the statement that they will hope in Him.
What does Romans 15 5 6 mean? ›The Spirit of Unity among Believers—Romans 15:5-6. As believers we are called into one body, the body of Christ Jesus. We are to strive for unity among ourselves in all things. Unity is the state of being one or single of minded.
What is Isaiah 5 1 7 about? ›
In Isaiah 5:1-7, however, the tone is judgment. The owner of the vineyard made every possible preparation for a fruitful harvest — picking a good site, preparing the land, choosing the best plants, arranging for protection and for processing the grapes.
What is Ephesians 4 29? ›4 Verses 29 to 32. [29] Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
What is Proverbs 16 24? ›Proverbs 16:24, NIV: Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. Proverbs 16:24, ESV: Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.
What is Romans 14 19? ›Romans 14:19, KJV: Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. Romans 14:19, NASB: So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.
What is Philippians 4 13? ›13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
What does it mean for love to endure all things? ›“You have to keep holding on to HOPE to keep holding on. You having to keep finding your HOPE when you've lost it, or you lose your way. You have to breathe HOPE to keep your lungs and your dreams from collapsing. You have to let HOPE always carry you or fears will carry you away.
What is Isaiah 41 verse 10? ›In Isaiah 41:10, God says to “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
What is Romans 12 2? ›Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
What is Proverbs 31 25? ›Proverbs 31:25 - She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. - Floating Scripture Bible Verse Decor. In stock.
What is Romans 12 10? ›Romans 12:10, NASB: Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor, Romans 12:10, NLT: Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Romans 12:10, CSB: Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. Take the lead in honoring one another.
What is the meaning of Romans 15 16? ›
d. The offering of the Gentiles: Romans 15:16 is filled with the language of priesthood. Paul says he serves as a “ministering priest” of Jesus Christ presenting the gospel as a “priestly service” so Gentile converts would be an acceptable sacrifice to God.
What does Romans 15 verse 1 and 2 mean? ›Bear with the Failings of the Weak and Not to Please Ourselves—Romans 15:1-2. We have a responsibility as believers to build up and encourage our fellow believers if they are struggling with certain things. We are not to look to our own interests but to that of Christ.
What does Romans 15 say? ›Romans 15 concludes Paul's teaching that those strong in faith ought to sacrifice their own desires to live in harmony with other believers. Paul shows that God always planned to welcome the Gentile nations, and his mission is to introduce Gentiles to the message of salvation by faith in Christ.
What is Ephesians 4 32? ›One example comes from Ephesians 4:32: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God has forgiven you.” In this sentence, Paul has summarized the biblical message: that we are to be kind, compassionate and forgiving. In other places, the gospel is summarized in other ways.
What is Galatians 5 13? ›Galatians 5:13, ESV: For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
What is Jeremiah 31 3? ›The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.
What is Romans 12 13? ›Romans 12:13 NLT
“When God's people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. ”
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, aworld without end.
What is the verse Hebrews 11 1? ›Hebrews 11:1, ESV: Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1, KJV: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
What is Romans 15 verse 1 talking about? ›All Christians must please each other and not themselves. After all, Christ didn't come to please Himself. With God's help and encouragement, everyone in the church can live together in harmony and glorify God with one, unified voice, as they serve each other ahead of themselves.
What does Romans 15 teach us? ›
Romans 15 concludes Paul's teaching that those strong in faith ought to sacrifice their own desires to live in harmony with other believers. Paul shows that God always planned to welcome the Gentile nations, and his mission is to introduce Gentiles to the message of salvation by faith in Christ.
What is the explanation of Romans 15 1 2? ›Bear with the Failings of the Weak and Not to Please Ourselves—Romans 15:1-2. We have a responsibility as believers to build up and encourage our fellow believers if they are struggling with certain things. We are not to look to our own interests but to that of Christ.
What is the meaning of Romans 15 1 4? ›Romans 15:1-4 In-Context
4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
All Christians must please each other and not themselves. After all, Christ didn't come to please Himself. With God's help and encouragement, everyone in the church can live together in harmony and glorify God with one, unified voice, as they serve each other ahead of themselves.
What is the commentary of Romans 15 1 7? ›Romans 15:1–7 Reminds Us to Build Up Others
Rather than pleasing ourselves, we ought to look to build each other up. “Let each of us please his neighbor for his good to build him up,” talking about brothers and sisters in Christ, because this is the spirit of Christ in us.
3. (5-6) A prayer for the fulfillment of this attitude in the Romans. Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
What is the message on Romans 15 4 13? ›In chapter 15 as Paul is nearing the end of his letter to the church in Rome he once again comes back to the importance of hope. Romans 15:4-13, “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.
What is Romans 14 13? ›Romans 14:13, ESV: Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.