Please Others, Not Yourselves

Please Others, Not Yourselves Romans 15:1–13 (NIV84) 1 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should please his neighbour for his good, to build him up. 3 For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” 4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. 8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs 9 so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy, as it is written: “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to your name.” 10 Again, it says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” 11 And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and sing praises to him, all you peoples.” 12 And again, Isaiah says, “The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him.” 13 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. Listen to another translation 1 So those of us who have a strong ⌊faith⌋ must be patient with the weaknesses of those whose ⌊faith⌋ is not so strong. We must not think only of ourselves. 2 We should all be concerned about our neighbour and the good things that will build his faith. 3 Christ did not think only of himself. Rather, as Scripture says, “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” 4 Everything written long ago was written to teach us so that we would have confidence through the endurance and encouragement which the Scriptures give us. 5 May God, who gives you this endurance and encouragement, allow you to live in harmony with each other by following the example of Christ Jesus. 6 Then, having the same goal, you will praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Therefore, accept each other in the same way that Christ accepted you. He did this to bring glory to God. 8 Let me explain. Christ became a servant for the Jewish people to reveal God’s truth. As a result, he fulfilled God’s promise to the ancestors of the Jewish people. 9 People who are not Jewish praise God for his mercy as well. This is what the Scriptures say, “That is why I will give thanks to you among the nations and I will sing praises to your name.” 10 And Scripture says again, “You nations, be happy together with his people!” 11 And again, “Praise the Lord, all you nations! Praise Him, all you people of the world!” 12 Again, Isaiah says, “There will be a root from Jesse. He will rise to rule the nations, and He will give the nations hope.” 13 May God, the source of hope, fill you with joy and peace through your faith in him. Then you will overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. During my years in ministry, I have found that many people expect everything to be easy. Life should be easy. Marriage should be easy. Raising a family should be easy. Our working expectations ought to be informal and unceremonious. Our hopes for friendships should be stress-free. Our way of communication should be open and easy-going. The daily routine of preparing food ought to be unpretentious and fuzz-free. Housework should come easy and be peacefully participated by all occupants. When we exercise to become fit, it should come easy – no stress. Witnessing should be easy. Evangelism should be easy. Retirement should be laidback. And the longer I journey through life, the more I find people who experience some form of difficulty with an aspect of life they believe should come easy! And their level of discontent causes them to feel bogged down. I hear them asking, “What’s wrong?” Many of them are doing all the right things, yet they feel like they’re racing madly on a spiritual treadmill. They’re highly active, but going nowhere. I came across this response to a remark made by a man named Ian Thomas: “If an unbeliever were to walk into a Christian bookstore, he would see the shelves just blanketed with “how-to” books—everything from how to run a Christian business, to how to lead a Christian exercise class, to how to cook a Christian dinner. His response would probably be, “Don’t you Christians know how to do anything?” In his book, Classic Christianity: Life’s Too Short to Miss the Real Thing, Bob George, says: “I have to agree with Major Thomas. I think we have strayed far from God’s real priorities for us. With all our “how-to” resources, I believe we have forgotten how to live. We have forgotten that the Christian life is Christ, not just a change of lifestyle.” Like many people, Mariette and I have become utterly dependent on our phone GPS to help us navigate the traffic. I love it when the GPS indicates that we are on the fastest route and shows route is clear. If only our faith journeys were this easy, with clear directions and turn-by-turn guidance to God’s destination for our lives. What do these signs have in common? They all point to the providence and sovereignty of God: He is in charge, and we are not. Our God is able and faithful, and our response should be to depend on him. In Romans 12:1–15:6, Paul reminded us of the importance of unity and life together. He closed that section by highlighting Christ’s humility and concern for others and by calling for unity among believers. In chapter 15, Paul continues his discussion from chapter 14 on how believers should relate to one another, especially when there are disagreements on matters of opinion. Allow me to highlight a few things Paul mentioned: 1. There is no question that there will always be a variety of opinions on many matters in any church. 2. Paul uses “strong” and “weak” to describe believers. 3. “Strong” believers are those who understand their freedom in Christ and who are sensitive to the concerns of others. 4. They realise that faithful obedience comes from the heart and conscience of each individual. 5. “Weak” believers are those whose faith has not yet matured, so they are not free of some of the rituals and traditions. 6. “Strong” believers can function in a variety of situations and influence for good; “weak” believers find that they need to stay away from some circumstances to maintain a clear conscience. 7. But both are still believers, and both are still seeking to obey God. 8. As long as these matters of conviction do not involve disobedience to God, strong believers must not look down on their weaker brothers and sisters, and weak believers must not judge and condemn the freedom of stronger brothers and sisters (Romans 14:12). 9. Also, strong believers must not parade their freedom in a way that hinders the spiritual growth of the weaker brother or sister (Romans 14:13–23). 10. Our best example for dealing with others in the church is Jesus Christ. We should imitate him. Paul identifies himself as one of the strong. Paul was comfortable in any company because his main goal was to win others to Christ. However, friends, as part of the strong Paul, was genuinely filled with humility. We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. The Greek word translated as “ought” in Romans 15:1 is purposefully chosen to be a present tense verb. By doing that Paul shows that stronger believers always have this obligation. They may find themselves frustrated by the failings of the weak. But the responsibility lies with the strong to maintain harmony in the church by putting up with these brothers and sisters. Paul says stronger believers demonstrate their spiritual strength precisely at those moments when they are practising compassion for those who are weaker. Strong believers are never self-centred. Jesus was the “strongest” human who ever lived—He did not please himself, but did God’s will. Indeed, death on a cruel cross was not the path He would have chosen to please himself, but His mission was to please God (John 4:34; 5:30; 8:29). Paul argues that Jesus is our role model. Christians should imitate Jesus. Friends, strength doesn’t lie in independence, definitely not freedom from God, but total dependence on God. Similarly, power in the church doesn’t come from each believer being completely independent, allowed to do his or her own thing but from mutual interdependence, where we all are doing God’s thing together. Truly strong believers are those who are willing to limit their freedoms to care for and love their weaker brothers and sisters who are not there yet with doing God’s thing together. You know, real Christian freedom means inconvenience. In the complexities of relationships, a free person will limit his or her actions in one area to accomplish a more important goal in another. Bearing with weaknesses, identifying with those who are persecuted for the cause of Christ, and seeking others’ good demonstrate a life of love. Maturity develops when we don’t allow our convictions to became excuses for treating poorly our brothers and sisters in Christ. May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus. The tenacity and assistance received from the Scriptures (Romans 15:4) have their ultimate source in God, for the Scriptures are his. Paul asks God to give the believers an attitude of unity—Jews and Gentiles, weak and strong, conservative and liberal—as they seek to follow Christ. This prayer is strikingly similar to the one Jesus prayed with his disciples at the end of his final meal with them, “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as, we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17:22–23 NIV). To accept Jesus’ lordship in all areas of life means to share his values and perspectives. Just as we take Jesus’ view on the authority of Scripture and the resurrection, we are to have his attitude of love toward other Christians as well (have a “spirit of unity”). As we grow in faith and come to know Jesus better, we will become more capable of maintaining this attitude of loving unity throughout each day. Christ’s attitude is explained in more detail in Philippians 2. In Romans 15:7–8, Paul widens the horizon, affirming that Jesus has fulfilled the promises of God for the salvation of the whole world—not only for Jews but also for Gentiles. The Roman church was a hybrid community. It was made up of Jews and Gentiles, slaves and free, rich and poor, strong and weak. So, it was difficult for them to accept one another. Accepting means taking people into our homes as well as into our hearts, sharing meals and activities, and avoiding racial and economic discrimination. Friends, we must go out of our way to avoid favouritism. Consciously spend time greeting those you don’t usually talk to, minimise differences, and seek common ground for fellowship. In verses 9–12, Paul strings together several quotations from the three major sections of the Old Testament—the Law (Deuteronomy 32:43), the Prophets (Isaiah 11:10), and the Writings (Psalm 18:49; 117:1). Friends, when you read these verses that Paul quoted in their Old Testament context, you’ll find that these are not random selections. No, Paul has chosen each one of them purposefully to illustrate his theme: That the God that Jesus revealed (verse 8) is the God of all people. Friends, through these quotes, Paul highlighted the truth that unity is not just his preference or one of his strategies for growing the church; it is an essential purpose in God’s plan of redemption. Some scholars believe that the church in Rome, to which Paul addressed this eloquent plea for unity in chapter 14 and the first thirteen verses of chapter 15, failed terribly. Theologians like Oscar Cullmann believe that some of the early Christian martyrs like Peter and Paul were killed because of jealous strife among the members of the church in Rome! The rivalry was so bitter, they say, that some brethren turned in the names of their Christian opponents, naming them as traitors against the Empire. If this is true, envy among Christians helped feed saints to the lions in the Colosseum and light fires under Christians who burned in Nero’s gardens. But the fact is, if we do not take God’s Word to heart, we will fail too. Friends, regardless of what some scholars argue, unity is not an optional behaviour for believers. What we have to come to know is what makes this unity possible. What we need to know is what brings all people together into one family of God? And Paul says the answer is plain and simple: The work of Jesus Christ. We must welcome people into the church just like Christ has welcomed us (Romans 15:7). Amid our most profound divisions, Jesus creates unity. Now, if we're honest, most of us would admit that we often think of ourselves first: Did we receive as much as other people? Is our opinion taken into account? Do we look good on Facebook? We tend to see ourselves as the focus of our life story, but Paul sees things differently. Ever since he encountered Christ on the Damascus road, Paul understood himself to be part of a larger story—the story of God. First, Paul’s identity is defined by grace (Romans 15:15–16a). Who he is and what he does—“minister of Christ Jesus” and “priestly service of the gospel of God”—stem from God’s gracious call on his life. Second, Paul’s message is not just about himself but is focused on God. When we give testimonies, we often tell how God has changed our lives. But Paul’s statement goes further, speaking about Jesus Christ and his gospel—a concept that envelops the entire letter. Of the 11 occurrences in Romans of “gospel” (or related words), four are found in the introduction (1:1–17) and three are found in this section (15:16, 19, 20). Paul’s message is not self-focused: It is the gospel of God’s grace in Christ Jesus. Third, because of God’s grace, Paul’s success belongs to God. Although Paul says he has every reason to be proud of his ministry (verse 17), he adds a qualification: His pride is not in himself but “in Christ,” “what Christ has accomplished through me” (verse 18). In summary: The call here today to please others and not ourselves is directed two ways: Firstly, to the “strong”—those who have a broader, more Biblical understanding of their freedom in Christ. Secondly, his, of course, does not mean the “weak” are exempt from the responsibility of accepting and being patient with the strong, because verse 7 subsequently indicates that both strong and weak are to be accepting. Nevertheless, the greater burden is on the strong. In God’s household strength denotes obligation. An unwillingness to forego our rights for others indicates we are not so “strong” after all. How do you see your life? Are you the only central character? What does it mean to pursue your role in the story of God? May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus... The emphasis here is not that we see everything eye to eye, but rather that we regard one another with minds that are filled with and focused on the Lord as we “follow Jesus Christ.” Amen.