Romans 15
Notes
Transcript
Be Like Jesus
Be Like Jesus
Good morning my friends...
I hope you have enjoyed the first week of this new year!
We have ben given so many blessings, and given the opportunity to enjoy each new day I would say you are blessed, amen? Yes, Amen!
Each new day is a wonderful opportunity to live and serve the Lord our God.
Last week we talked about examining self, looking at the last year and asking God to reveal to us how we can better love Him, while loving and communicating to the world the message of Jesus Christ.
Today, we are continuing that thought some what as Paul calls for all to be like Jesus.
Like the old bracelet that some some continue to wear today WWJD, “What would Jesus do?”
That is an impact-ful, statement friends, Does Jesus and our walk with him influence our actions, our voice and even our thought process?
He should… He should influence our words and our actions all the time.
And with this in mind, Paul is communicating this idea as we live in relationship with our brothers and sisters and the world around us.
So this morning we are coming to Romans 15 and we are going to look at the first 7 verses.
Now this is not a new theme by any means, we see this in other New Testaments teachings. Christlikeness in both word and deed are represented in many places.
So here this morning let open those 7 verses as we begin...
1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” 4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
So with this text, lets look at 3 thoughts this morning...
1. Consider Others First...
Christians cannot live selfishly, this must be a standard by which we live. You have heard me say it, Our walk cannot be about me, it must be about Him.
Last Sunday we looked at two different types of believers, the strong and the weak? And perhaps that isn’t a very fair statement… some might call them mature and immature, but I think they are learning to walk in faith.
Walking with Jesus wasn’t about keeping the law, or the other commandments and dietary restrictions.... it truly was a matter of the heart.
Paul is calling for them to be like Jesus and put outers needs first.
Look again at verses 1-2
1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
So what is Paul saying here?
First off, notice, Paul is right there with them. He says “ We who are strong....”
What is the significance of this, well first off Paul is identifying with believers as a whole. He might be an apostle, but he is just like them.
Paul, also reveals where he stands with all this, by claiming to be strong here he is saying, their faith in Christ allowed them to partake of this food with a clear conscience. It was simply food to them.
But.... just because he, like others who were considered “strong” could partake of such things, it didn’t mean they should do so....
So, secondly they were still under the obligation of love. Being free from ceremonial obligations of the law didn’t release them the obligation to care for each other.
So these who were stronger in the faith, they needed to consider others over themselves.
Now this is where the challenge is, in sinful flesh we are not used to this my friends. We are taught to put self first, be number one and sadly the only one you can depend upon is yourself, since on one else cares for you.
But in Christ we have one who loves us, he has loved us from the foundation of the world, He loved us and saved us from our sin and continues to love us till we see Him!
And since Christ has loved us, humanity is called to return that love, not only to Him, but to others as well.
The mature or stronger believers should help the weaker or ones who have less faith.. The church and its members cannot seek to please itself.
Paul says in I Cor 10:24
24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.
And later in verse 33 of that same chapter Paul says I Cor 10:33
33 just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.
Remember the church isn’t one person, we are a body, many parts that make up the larger whole. So it is the task of the stronger, to ensure that all may be built up.
Now I like that word, built up. Think about having a herd of cattle, and one of the new calves was a little weaker, smaller and not doing as well as the rest. What would you do? Neglect it??? No! Not at all!
You goal is a larger, stronger herd, you will take care of all the cattle and new calves, but this one. You might put her and her mother up, give her extra feedings, keep her out of the weather as best you can. The goal is to ensure that calf is built up, strong like the rest.
As the church we are to consider the needs of all, not our own desires and wishes, but what benefits the greater whole so that they might be blessed and God the Father glorified.
I realize that the kingdom of God is not me, and it is not you, it is all of us!
It takes all of us, praying, attending, serving to accomplish all that God has planned for the larger whole.
And here is the best news, we get to be part of God’s work!
Now, lets look at the second thought this morning...
2. Jesus Example
The greatest example for us to model is Jesus. And here is the challenge; Will we follow His example?
Will we take his life and his way and make it ours, or will we continue to live for self?
Lets go back to our text and see the example Paul says we are going to follow… Romans 15:3
3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”
Do you see that example, Christ did not please himself. In fact, He did not serve Himself, He put our needs over His own..
With this truth, Paul says let Jesus be our example. Listen to Jesus own words in Mark 10:45
45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus says I have come to serve and to give my life as a ransom for many. There is nothing about self here, it is all about the Father’s will to save humanity.
What are we to then do, well, remember we talked about WWJD? We are to take His life, we are to take His mindset, His purpose and His direction and apply it to our lives and how we live
Paul addressed this deeply in his epistle to the church at Ephesus, Listen to Paul in Phil 2:5-8
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Here again take upon yourself the mind of Christ. Be likeminded in all you do…
And look at the explanation. Paul says, You are to think properly as Christians, to think as ones who are in Christ. So if you are “in Christ” you want to think and act just like Christ Jesus did...
Now continuing here, Jesus attitude and actions are one worthy of being replicated. He was God,( John 1:1) but there was nothing to loose by following the Father’s will and coming to earth, nothing that Jesus had to posses and hang onto, so He acted in obedience
He left heaven, his place before and with the Father, and took the form of a servant, being made like us, humanity. And he continued, even being obedient to death, even a death on the cross.
This mindset that was willing to step out of glory, following the Father’s direction and plan to redeem humanity, that supreme servant mindset is the same mindset we are to have my friends.
Too be like Jesus means that we consider others, it means we love others, we walk alongside our brothers and sisters and work with them to ensure we ALL are are best infront of God.
To be a servant of Jesus put others ahead of us, for the glory of God.
This was Jesus example, and it must be ours as we walk with our brothers and sisters, to aid and strengthen them and likewise us as a whole.
Do you have the mind of Christ?
That is the question, Do you have the mind of Christ...
So we have looked at the idea of considering others first, following the example of Jesus and now we are called live in harmony...
So lets look at this thought, live in harmony
3. Live in Harmony
This last thought is as equally important as the rest, in fact it is in harmony, in unison with the commands of God, to work together, serve together in love for the good of all.
Lets look at those last few verses, those being 4-7
4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
So listen, lets understand what Paul is saying to those Jewish and Gentile believers.
Verse 4 here really contains the first thought we want to look at. A thought we must hold fast too, Paul says that everything that was written in Scripture in days gone by, it was written for us.
The word of God was present and a blessing for those in that present time when originally given, and for those in the future, during Paul’s time it was significant. And even today, more than 2000 years later, it is for us as well.
Remember this isn’t just a book, it is the living Word of God! The word brings help, encouragement and enables man to live in hope.
Hope is something very dear my friends, we have hope.
The secondly here, Paul has hope, He is praying for God to grant the church at Rome a spirit of unity. Paul’s desire is that each of them would have the same mind that is in Christ.
That mindset is for the good of all people, The hope is that as each member becomes more like Christ, Harmony of all would prevail.
And finally here, this third point is that we must accept each other.
I think we would all agree that all are different. Now that is not a bad thing, we are born in the likeness of God but as we live, we develop, walk and talk in different ways.
There are two different groups here. The while both made in the image of God, they are extremely different. You have those Jewish believers who have the heritage and history of walking with God, keeping the law and rituals of God.
The gentiles, they are people who are created of God but did not follow, in fact some chased after foreign gods until they found Jesus. They have no history, no experience and no understanding but they are walking in faith, taking God at His word and are growing in their faith.
Paul is calling for these two groups to come together, the weak and strong believers, the ones who have little faith and great faith and they are to accept one another.
This is what it means to follow Jesus. He accepted us and we have accepted Him and with that each other and are to work for the glory of God.
So in the harmony of the church, we give glory to Him in worship and praise as we have work together to carry the gospel through out our communities, and through out our world.
So we must work together in our differences and in our similarities to see the gospel message carried for children and adults to know the one who died for them.
Upward is about to start, can you come together and help. Some of you are strong sports people and some are not. Can we come together and give God glory.
I will be there helping, Marci will be… will you be. - Yes, it is a sacrifice of our time, energy and yes
Sunday school? We need more attending Sunday school and we need some more volunteering..
Do you see where I am going, we are to work together in harmony, each one of us and serve the Lord our God.
Can you do this? That answer is yes.... Will you do this? You must decide
Pray
