Too Wise For Your Own Good
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15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
At the beginning of this chapter we found the the first mark of the transformed mind in verse 3.
3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
Paul says this trough the grace given to him.
The grace given to Paul is the grace of faith and salvation. And the grace of his calling to apostleship.
5 Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name,
So Paul immediately confirms that in giving this instruction he is not doing it in pride by being condescending. but rather the calling of apostleship given to him by grace (not because he was more worthy than others but because God simply chose him for this office) demands that he instructs and teaches the doctrines which he received from Christ Himself. Paul is not thinking of himself more highly than he ought but rather he thinks soberly and humbly.
And his instruction is that we, like him, do not think more highly than ourselves than we ought but to think soberly.
How do we do that? How highly ought I think of myself?
Paul tells us.
“as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”
The way to avoid pride is to think of our selves according the faith that God has given us. God is the distributor of faith. We don’t produce even the faith required for salvation.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
The sober way to think about myself is that I was totally helpless and without hope, a sinner incapable loving God, incapable of serving God. All my efforts of doing good fell hopelessly short. I was an enemy of God and deserving of eternity in hell. And Christ died for me. God the Father loved me. He called me. He drew me. he gave me faith even though I did not deserve it. And through the faith that He supplied He justified me and is sanctifying me, and according to His promise He will glorify me. So it is all God and I have nothing in which I can boast.
The very best thing about me by a long shot is that God loves me. All that I am, all that I have and all that I will be is God’s amazing grace.
When we think of how we should think about ourselves Paul says according to the faith that God has given you. So think about Jesus and what He has done for a wretched sinner.
So I’ve taken us back to vs. 3 this morning because I believe that this is what we must have in mind when Paul says in vs. 16
Romans 12:16 (NKJV)
16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
I believe that this is the crux of the instructions in these two verses this morning. This issue of which Paul warns us is pride.
The two things which Paul emphases here which are greatly effected by our pride are,
our ability to empathise with others
and our ability to dwell together in unity.
Empathy
Empathy
Pride greatly diminishes our ability to empathise. I use the word empathy not sympathy. Sympathy is when we hear and understand someones situation and acknowledge sorrow but we remain outside the situation. I don’t feel your pain I simply recognise that you are in pain.
Where empathy is much more intimate. I enter into your feelings and feel them with you.
So we sympathise if we feel bad or good for someones sadness or joy
We empathise if we feel bad or good with someone in their sadness or joy.
So when Paul says
Romans 12:15 (NKJV)
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
This is entering into their feelings with them and sharing in them.
Typically we can only empathise when we have also experience the same thing. So if you lose your job then I can empathise if I have also lost a job before.
But Paul doesn’t give that distinction to us. We are just told to share in the feelings of others. How is this possible?
It is because we are one body. As Paul told us in vs 5
5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.
26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
So how does pride affect our empathy with the church?
Romans 12:16 (NKJV)
16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
Many Christians refuse to truly be a part of the body. They come to church but not too much. Sometimes this is just because other things become a priority or they just don’t understand what it means to belong to a church. But often it can be related to pride. They are above being too involved with peoples lives. These are usually those who have been a Christian for many years and they feel that they have a deeper understanding about church than those other Christians and so they can’t bring themselves to associate with those who are less enlightened than themselves.
Are we greater than Christ who died for the church? Christ who’s thoughts are above our thoughts and ways are above our ways associated with a bunch of uneducated fishermen and a bunch of sinners and tax collectors and prostitutes. They were so far below Him and most of the time they couldn’t understand the things He would tell them. And yet he said
20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;
21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
Christ humbled Himself and became a servant. He washed the feet of His disciples and give His life the church. If he was willing to be one with us then who are we to be too good to be united with God’s people? Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble.
The word Paul uses here for the humble is not limited to people but also things or task. Do not be so high minded that you can’t do menial task. Wash dishes, clean toilets, do manual labour.
Also interesting is the word translated “associate”. Its a strange word that Paul chose to use here which means to be carried away with. It is as if Paul is saying “be totally caught up with and involved with the lowly and humble.
We should be associated with caught up with and carried away with and intimately involved with the God’s people to the extent that we are one. So that when a member of the body has something to rejoice about we don’t just feel good for them but we rejoice with because whatever is good for them is good for the body. And when someone suffers affliction, we don’t just feel bad for them. ‘Oh I’m so sorry for your loss or pain” No, we weep with them because it is our loss and our pain. We feel it too.
33 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.
34 And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”
35 Jesus wept.
Jesus knew full well that He would raise him from the dead and yet Jesus wept. He knew that death is only the passing from this life to the next and yet Jesus wept. He knew that they would all have eternity together yet when he was there with Mary and Martha weeping with the others with them He wept with them. He was not prideful and even though He is God of very God He suffered with them because He was one with them.
Let’s follow Christ. Let’s not set out mind on high things but let’s associate with our brothers and sisters and rejoice with one another and weep together.
The second thing that Paul indicates can be effected by our pridefulness is...
Unity
Unity
Romans 12:16 (NKJV)
16 Be of the same mind toward one another...
What does Paul mean to be of the same mind towards one another
It is not that we have the same ideas or even that we all believe the same. Unity is not uniformity. We have have differences of opinions and still be in unity.
There are many beliefs that we all hold in common sure. The number of things we hold in common would no doubt outweigh the things in which we would differ.
And we should alway focus on the doctrines that we hold in common rather than those things it which we would have different opinions on.
But how do we approach our differences of opinions.
We approach with humility and we do not be wise in our own opinions. If someone has a different view of a scripture or doctrine we should not think that we have all the answers and should not be high minded. We should always treat each other with respect and dignity. Sure we can debate our views but do so in love.
As Paul said in verse 10 “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another”
So if Being “of the same mind toward one another” doesn’t mean that we all think the exact same things then what does it mean?
It literally means to have the same regard for everyone. Paul is saying Don’t be a respecter of persons. That is do not treat those who are rich or who you think are wise differently to those in the church who are poor or maybe aren’t as spiritual as you believe that you are.
1 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.
2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes,
3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,”
4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts?
7 Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well;
9 but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.
11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.
12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.
13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?
17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!
So Paul instructs us to have the same regard for everyone. Do not favour anyone because of social status or wealth or education rather show honour to everyone equally and associate with the lowly.
Pride destroys our ability to truly engage with the body and be a part of the church. To feel one another’s joy and pain. Pride will also destroys our unity of spirit.
Let us not think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think but think soberly according to the grace of faith which we have been given.