Saved for What?

⁜ Prayer ⁜

Intro

We are nearing the end of our time in Romans! And what a beautiful journey it has been! Right?!

Now, last week we saw how Paul lays out the implications of the Gospel message he has been writing about. He showed us in Rom. 12 that everything we have been diving into is not just fancy theology, but that this is a message that breaks into our hearts and our lives - utterly transforming us from the inside out.

And he did that in very particular way, right. He shows that it is by being empowered by the Holy Spirit and his gifts that we are made capable of living renewed and transformed lives.

Well, today, we see Paul continuing that theme. But he does it by focusing on a particular problem that the church in Rome was facing.

This is why he begins in Rom. 14 by saying: "Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters" (v. 1). And with that we notice an immediate problem. The Christians in Rome are quarreling - and it is not over essential doctrines of the faith or over clear ethical teachings... it is as he says: "over matters which are debatable" - or in other words, what they are fighting over is not central to the Christian faith, and so it is unworthy of such divisive behavior.

And as we see in what we have read today, at the heart of these fights is the question: "What can the Christian permissibly eat?"

Now to us today, this may seem strange! We hear this and likely respond with: "Who cares whether someone eats one thing or another!" But what we find at stake here is actually a huge problem. This question of whether one is free to eat anything or not, as well as how to handle the divisions in the Roman Church points to an even deeper question - namely: "What have we been saved for?" And Paul sees that and he points us to the heart of that issue today.

Paul also points out the two problems that were cropping up and standing in the way of these Christian's living into a central reason for which they were saved.

The first was that these Gentile Christians were so brashly and in such a self-indulgent manner living into their own freedom that they were failing in Christian charity for - as Paul puts it - their weaker brothers and sisters.

How was that? Well, as we see in today's reading (cf. Rom. 14:13-15), they were causing their Jewish Christian brothers and sisters to have a crisis of conscience because they were eating meat from the pagan markets, and they were doing so despite knowing that their Jewish brothers and sisters had scruples about doing so. This is why Pauls says to the Gentile Christians that: "if your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love" (Rom. 14:15).

But we also see that in all of this Paul also says that this whole situation was causing both the Jewish and the Gentile Christians to "pass judgment on one another" (Rom. 14:13). That too is deeply problematic, for it also shows that they are no longer acting in love towards one another! They were no longer living into the grace that God offered them. And they were no longer living in accordance with the command to "love one another" (Jn. 13:34) that Jesus had explicitly given to his disciples.

When such lack of love breaks forth into the life of the Church, for whatever reason, Paul words here in Romans gives us a moment to pause and see that we are heading down the wrong path... we are forgetting what we have been saved for.

Cruciform Love (14:13-5:7)

So what is the solution that Paul offers? Well, we see him lay this out in Rom. 14:13-5:7 where he he calls the Roman Christians to turn back to the new way of life Jesus had called them into... which is the way of cross-shaped love.

What we see Paul laying out for us is not a suspension of objective standards. Rather, as Robert Yarbrough explains, the point Paul wants us to get is that because God has made made us into a community, we have a duty to care for one another. And that care entails avoid anything which would hinder another's' spiritual growth (v. 13), and to realize that the same activity may not be appropriate for everyone in a congregation (v. 14).

Moreover, such loving care looks a certain way! As Robert Yarbrough notes: "What does not vary is the gospel mandate to be "walking in love" (v. 15)." And that love has a source that defines what it looks like. And what is that source: Jesus.

Paul wants us to see that throughout his life: "Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, "The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me" (Rom. 15:3).

It is in light of Jesus own cross-shaped love, by which all Christians have been made one with Christ, that Paul continues in Rom. 15:7: "Therefore accept one another, just as Christ accepted you."

And what does that look like?

Well, Paul lays out a message which runs against the grain of our American culture which is a culture that idolizes and elevates our own individual freedoms and liberties at the expense of those of others.

In contrast to that culture Paul says that Christ shows us a different way. And that way is one where out of love for each other we need to discern when we must hold back on exercising our liberty and freedom for the sake of our brother and sister.

And that becomes especially true if the exercise of our freedom impedes our brother's or sister's spiritual growth, or harms their conscience!

That is what Paul means when he writes in Rom. 4:20: "Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Indeed, everything is clean! But it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats."

Jesus our Model and Source of Unity (15:8-14)

In all of this Paul places our Lord Jesus Christ at the center. It is Jesus who is both the source our new life and of our unity. And it is Jesus who is the model the Holy Spirit is shaping us in accordance with.

It is those points that Paul is seeking to drive home in Rom. 15:8-13 as he offers a string of quotations from the Old Testament. So as Paul goes through these quotations he is emphasizing the fact that "Jesus gave himself for the sake of others" - both Jew and Gentile.

So as the Christian community considers Jesus and his cross-shaped love for all, Paul wants us to to see that Jesus has set the model for how we are supposed to treat one another... "even when [we] hold deep-seated and opposing opinions" around issues that are not central to the Gospel. In this way our life in Christian community is supposed to becomes a proclamation of the Gospel!

That is the central points Paul makes here! This is what must cut through the unnecessary divisions which had arisen in the Roman church. Yes we are free, but we are freed not for our own sake. Rather we are freed for the sake of being shaped each day a bit more into the image of Christ, so that our lives look more and more like his.

And what did his life look like? Yes, it was a life of sacrifice - it was a life given as a gift for others - it was a life defined by the Cross. And so - if we follow Paul's logic here - we come to see that we must not use our freedom for self-gratification, but instead to lift up those who are weak. Putting aside our right to what is good, but not essential, is the Christ like way to nurture Church unity.

And why is that so important?

1) Because division over non-essential issues actually fails to glorify God.

2) But also, it fails to bear witness to his grace at work in the community he has created us to be.

3) And finally infighting and unnecessary division are a scandal to the world. For when people see Christians drawing up division lines over personal preferences, rather than dying to our own selves, they rightly call us out for being hypocrites and not following Jesus' teaching and model of life.

And so, as our lives look ever more like Jesus' own life, they are meant to also proclaim to the world that God is about the work of recreating us.

But does all of that mean that the weak in faith then get to set the demands, and that the strong in faith must simply give into their weakness? Absolutely not!

That is not what Paul is saying here. If he was saying that it would simply mean that the weak would remain in their weakness... which is not what Paul desires. Not in the least!

Instead Paul offers this as the solution. In Rom. 15:1 he writes that "we who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak." Now when we hear "bear with" it sounds almost like a grudging thing. Right? But that is not what Paul is saying here. In the Greek Paul does not say "bear with" he simply says "bear" - which we could more helpfully translate as "carry."

So Paul is saying that those whose faith is strong "ought to carry the failings of the weak." And how do the strong carry the weak? Well, it is in the moment they choose to "not please themselves" as Paul continues saying in Rom. 15:1.

But we also see in today's Scripture passage that Paul points out that mature Christians have the task of "building up" and "instructing" the weaker brethren (as we see in Rom. 15:2 and 15:14). And so, the strong have a duty to also teach the weak, both in word and in action, and with gentleness, so that the weak may come to a stronger and more mature faith.

And so in this way too our life in community is modeled after Jesus' own life... who carries each of us, in the midst of our weakness, and leads us into an ever deeper and more robust faith.

Keep the Gospel and Mission Central (15:15-19)

Having noted all of that, Paul then turns to reminding his readers that their quarreling has caused them to forget what is central. In Rom. 15:15-19 Paul finishes up his argument by pointing out what it is they need to return their focus to. He tells them that all their in-fighting over debatable issues has been distracting them from the truth of the Gospel and the mission entrusted to them. been distracting them from the truth of the Gospel and the mission entrusted to them.

This is why Paul writes (in Rom. 15:15): "I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again!" Which points back to everything he has written thus far in his letter to them. And then, in vv. 15-18, he links this reminder to his own ministry, which reveals what actually is at the heart of the Church's life and ministry. In short, he shows us here, by the example of his own life, that the Church's life and ministry revolving around:

1 ) living in Jesus Christ

2 ) faithfully living into the reality of the Church's calling to be a new people made up of both Jews and Gentiles

3 ) the proclamation of the Gospel

4 ) the Christian's life being lived in such a way that we glorify God as the Holy Spirit leads us into holiness!

5 ) and finally, it involves a life of obedience to God (which we should note means more than just theological obedience, but actually entails the whole mission of God's people to: 1) to glorify and worship God, 2) to live holy lives, 3) to maintain orthodox teaching, and 4) to work for God's vision of justice in this world.

This is what every Christian has been saved for! This is also what salvation is about. Yes, the Bible tells us that we have been saved from sin and its power over us. But it also tells us that we have also been saved for something; which is to engage in God's mission for us in this world.

And so we see Paul finish his reminder by inviting the Roman Christians to refocus on what is central. And as they do so, he also invites them to join with him in his mission to share that Gospel message.

Conclusion

So my brothers and sisters, at this point you may be asking - "Well, what does this have to do with us?!"

Well, I would suggest that what Paul offers to us in today's reading is always relevant in the Christian life. We all can too easily get caught up in secondary or debatable issues - and allow them to become our central focus. And when that happens they slowly lead us to start living in ways that are contrary to Jesus' call to be a community defined by love for one another and set on mission in this world.

When we elevate non-essential things to the place of primary Gospel issues, or when we elevate our own desires over the needs of our brothers and sisters, we have gone off track... and we have lost sight of what God has saved us for. That is a reminder the Church always needs to hear.

The Church regularly needs to remember that we are not called by the Scriptures to serve ourselves, but rather, we are to serve others and be a blessing to the world... bearing witness to God's grace and promises. Pastor theologian R. Kent Hughes rightly warns us that:

The Kingdom of God is not operative in your life if your rights are so important to you that you are willing to separate from a brother who does not agree with you [on what is not essential to the Gospel].

My friends, we have been saved with a purpose. As the missionary theologian Leslie Newbigin once wrote: "being saved means being made part of the community which bears [witness] in its life and communicates to the world the secret of what God has in store for His whole creation." This is why our life in community must take the form of cross-shaped love - just as Jesus' own life did.

And so, my friends, we must always carefully consider what it is that we are bearing witness to in our daily life together, as well as how we are bearing witness to it! Let us always be on guard to not get side-tracked by turning in on ourselves or focusing on our freedom in Christ at the expense of our brothers and sisters. And may our life-witness always be centered on and unified around the Gospel message of what our Triune God is doing in us and for the world.

⁜ Let us Pray ⁜

Notes:

1 Robert Yarbrough, in ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible, p. 1697.

2 Ibid.

3 Ibid, p. 1698.

4 Ibid.

5 R. Kent Hughes, Romans: Righteousness from Heaven, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1991), 271.

6 Lesslie Newbigin, Signs amid the Rubble: The Purposes of God in Human History, ed. Geoffrey Wainwright (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003), 71–72.