I am my brothers keeper.

ROMANS 15:1-7

Romans 15:1–7 “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” 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. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”

Introduction-

🪖 Illustration: Desmond Doss — Bearing the Weak

During World War II, there was a young soldier named Desmond Doss. He served as a medic in the Pacific, on the island of Okinawa, in one of the bloodiest battles of the war — the fight for Hacksaw Ridge.

Desmond was a committed Christian. - Because of his convictions,as a 7th day adventist. He refused to carry a weapon. When instead of dodging the draft, he found a way he could help. So he became a medic. He faced ridicule and mockery from his fellow soldiers. They called him a coward, said he wasn’t doing his part. Yet, Desmond never wavered in his faith or his desire to serve.

Then came the day of the battle. The Americans were ordered to take a 400-foot cliff, and as soon as they reached the top, they were met with brutal machine gun fire. Dozens of soldiers fell, wounded and dying. The unit was forced to retreat back down the cliff — but Desmond Doss stayed.

All through the night, under constant enemy fire, he crawled across that battlefield — unarmed — searching for the wounded. One by one, he dragged them to the edge of the cliff, tied a rope around their bodies, and lowered them to safety. He saved those who couldn’t be saved on their own

After each rescue, exhausted and trembling, he prayed the same simple prayer:

“Lord, please help me get one more.”

By the end of that night, Desmond Doss had single-handedly rescued 75 men. For this he earned the most prestigious award the COngrssional medial of honor. He also received 2 bronze stars for valor. The very soldiers who once mocked him now owed their lives to him. Those who are mature are to bear the burdens of the weak!

Big Idea- Bearing each other's rburdens demonstrates the love of Christ and strengthens the unity of church.

Spiritual maturity carries responsibility.

Bear with the weak 1-2 Romans 15:1–2 “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.”

Those who are strong have an obligation to the weak. Bear there burdens.

Being strong in faith is not a badge of honor but rather an obligation.

The Strong that the passage is talking about is those who are committee in their walk with Christ and they are those who are committed in their commitment to the body of Christ. They are those who are not tossed about by every wind of doctrine. The word strong is a strong word word. They have been kicked around my life. It refers to one who has weathered to storms of life. Not in there own strength but because they have experienced the power of God at work in their lives. They are those who matured. They have seen a thing or two and they have lived through a thing or two. And they just keep going in their walk with Jesus. The strength in the passage has no refrence to physical strength but to Spiritual strength.

These strong people are called to bear the weak. The concept of bearing means literally to pick up. It is the same word and concept that Jesus uses in Luke 14:27 “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” The strong are to pick up the weak, they are to bear the weak. This statement is not a suggestion, it is a command that give us a obligation,

Now who are the weak? I think that the verbs before weak, gives us a level of indication of who these folks are. Notice the word Failings. If the strong has nothing to do with physical strength, I bet that weak falls in the same vein. To be weak means to be weak in faith. Meaning that then Christian life is a struggle for them. That the disciplines of walking with Jesus are hard for them. When they are faced with the struggles of the world, the flesh and the devil at this juncture in their faith, it is any bodies guess how they are going to come out. These are the ones that often struggle with their commitment to the body of Christ. They are not dependable, they are burden. These types of people are hard to lead, hard to deal with at times. It is very easy for those who have time tested resolve, who are on tract in their walk and love of Christ at times to be patient with these folks. There are times where the church might ask the question if we actually need these kind of folks in the church.

Well WEAK PEOPLE ARE A NECESSITY IN THE CHURCH. If our church has an absence of these kinds of people, than we are not fulfilling them mission that Christ gave us as a church. So it is the obligation o the strong, the weathered warrior, to not just tolerate these people, but rather it is there obligation to pick them up and to carry them as long as they will let you. You see the goal of the gospel is not for you to please yourself! The goal of the gospel is to see the lost found, the weak strengthened and the gospel to go forthThe Goal of the gospel is for you to love your neighbor by building him up. Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

1 Thessalonians 5:14 “And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.”

The strong need the weak — to practice patience and love. The weak need the strong — to experience grace and growth. And together, the church reflects the patience of Christ.

Christs example-“Paul doesn’t leave this command hanging in the air. He gives us the perfect example — Jesus Himself.”

Romans 15:3 “For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.””

Paul seeks to make a fairly simple point. You should bear with the failings of the weak in the same way that Christ bore your failings. It should not be far from our memories what our immaturity looked like. We need those reminders much like we need pictures of ourself from middle school. Because at some point in our walks with Jesus we where the weak. And some of us are still. weak. We should never see bearing with the failings of the weak as an imposition. We should never see carrying someone who obviously has trouble bearing there own failing as being put out of the way.

If you want to get all frustrated with weak. If you want to feel like you being limited in your capacity to serve because of those around you that you are constantly trying to pull those around you a head. I way to admonish you and say “you should be glad that Jesus didn’t feel this way! Because when he came for you, you were not even weak, you were dead and he still came to save you. We are called follow Christ’s example in patience, love and sacrifice. Because he bore far more for us than we are required to bear for others. He bore your reproach. What He did for our salvation is the model for how we live toward others.

Notice what the passage says….. He bore our reproach. This means that when we where sinners Christ died for us. That when we where helpless and hopeless, When where un able Christ died for us. This is the Gospel.

The Scripture gives us its encouragement (v. 4)

Romans 15:4 “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.”

The apostle continually draws us to the centrality of the scriptures. The heart of the scripture is biblical unity among the people of God, it is mutual sacrifice for God and for other. HE takes them back to OT. So often as Christians we say well, I am a more of a new testament person and really never regard the OT. But a passage like this reminds us. That the OT is not be be disregarded. Yes, the Law has been fulfilled by Christ. Yes, there are aspects of it that are fulfilled in Christ, but you cannot understand NT with Out the OT. Jesus proves this because of how much he himself quotes the OT. A very strong theme through the OT is unity among Gods covenant people.

Dictionary of Bible Themes 7032 unity, of God’s people

unity, of God’s people

A distinguishing characteristic of God’s people, which derives from their common relationship with God, and is expressed in commitment to one another, mutual concern, concerted action and harmony within the believing community

Psalm 133:1–3 “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.”

Unity is accomplished in the church when the people of God come around the word of God. And the stronger our ties to the word of God, then the greater aptitude that we will have loving those around us that at times are harder to love like the weak. The greatest commandment in the OT is to love the Lord your God and when you love the Lord your God you will then love your neighbor.

B. Hope Springs from the Word

Then he goes on to say “endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

We see the Scriptures encourage us to love the brothers and pursue unity when we do this in a enduring way. We will know hope. Once again we need to define the word hope. Hope is far more than wishful thinking. Hope is the confident expectation that what God has promised is true! When the bible gives me hope. I don’t sit here pining on weather something is going to happen or not. I walk forward with confidence, I walk in obedience because the God I serve is not a lair and if promised me it, it is possible.

Unity in the church is a beautiful thing and when it doesn’t exist it is ugly. And most times it doesn’t exist it is because people stop serving one another and they serve themselves. IT is because people think more highly of themselves and there opinion. And when the church lives like this we are not better than the world. But when we carry the burdens of the weak, when we walk in humility and love with one another. When we serve one another with the care and the kindness that Christ served us. We have hope why, Because when the church dwells this way, we begin to look a little more like heaven and a little less like earth. We hope because are getting a foretaste of what heaven is like.

The church should be a imperfect picture of heaven.

IV. Paul give us his prayer The Prayer for Unity and Glorifying God (vv. 5–6)

Romans 15:5–6 “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

So Paul begins to do the most appropriate thing that he can do in this situation. He prays. Because, in our own strength this level of unity is not going to happen. He prays because he know that in order for us to accomplish this, we are going to need the Spirits help.

He prays that the God of endurance and encouragement- It think that it is amazing that Paul focuses in on the communicable attributes of God. God is a God of endurance and encouragement. And he give us endurance and the ability to encouragement through his word and by His Spirit. It is repeated from verse 4 for emphasis. If you need endurance and encouragement from Gods word so that you can do this. So I am going to pray that god would give it to you.

Would give us harmony. What is harmony? This is a reference to music. It means everything is working together as it should. There isn’t Harmony in a band when instruments start playing different cords.- TEEN BAND and there Music. Early on with the youth worship team. Boiling a live cat in oil! But, harmoney is when we bear with one another in love. At the instruments begin to play the same music, together.

V. The Call to Welcome One Another (v. 7)

Romans 15:7 “Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”

Paul Concludes this section by reiterating what section 14-15:6 has been been teaching. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you…” Christ is always the example. His sacrificial love cause Him to endure the pain of the cross, to endure the struggle with our sin so that we might be redeemed. He gave us grace and mercy when we did not deserve it. With the same motive that he is calling us to have as we bear with the weak. “For the Glory of God”

“Paul ends this passage with a beautiful command — ‘Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.’

That’s what this table is all about.

Here, at the Lord’s Table, the strong and the weak come together — not to boast, not to compare, not to please ourselves — but to remember the One who bore our burdens. The bread reminds us of His body, broken for us. The cup reminds us of His blood, poured out for us.

When Christ welcomed us, we were not strong. We were sinners, helpless and hopeless. Yet He bore our reproach and welcomed us into His family by grace.

So as we come to the table this morning, we are reminded of two things:

First, that Christ bore our sin so that we could be forgiven. Second, that we are called to bear with one another in love — to forgive, to serve, to welcome one another just as He welcomed us.

The Lord’s Supper is a meal of remembrance, but it’s also a meal of reflection. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 11 to examine ourselves before we eat and drink.

So before we come, let’s take a moment in quiet prayer. Ask the Lord to show you if there’s anyone you’ve refused to bear with… anyone you’ve struggled to welcome. Ask Him to give you the heart of Christ — the heart that says, ‘Lord, help me love one more. Help me bear with one more.’

And when you’re ready, come to the table — not because you’re strong, but because He is strong. Come remembering that we are one body, united by one Savior, to the glory of God.”

1 Corinthians 11:23–33 “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another—”