The Greater Good of God's Glory

INTRODUCTION

*OPEN YOUR BIBLES TO ROMANS 15

Have you ever been asked to do something “for the greater good?”

This statement is usually supposed to give us a sense of obligation for something that we don’t want to do

It is usually an acknowledgement that you are suffering so that others don’t have to

EX: The parent that goes and eats a cold dinner to change the baby’s diaper allows everyone else to enjoy their meals in peace.

Most of the time in our world today, this phrase relates to unfair requests for perceived inequalities

Socialism requires those that work hard and earn more money to give most of it away to those who don’t work or who earn much less

The largest amount of tax dollars go to the schools in the most impoverished areas so that nearly everything is provided at those schools

meanwhile, the parents who pay the majority of those tax dollars are left to still provide nearly everything for their own students

There are a lot of situations where talking about “the greater good” leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of those having to sacrifice.

But as we look at this morning’s text, the greater good takes on a whole new light within the body of Christ

As we went through Romans 14, we saw that

You and I do not have a place to sit and judge our brothers and sisters

Instead, I need to focus on my own walk, living by the convictions I have in faithful obedience to God

I also need to be careful not to make the others around me trip up over their convictions because of my freedoms

Because if you believe something is wrong and do it anyway, for you it is sin

And if I knowingly tempt you to sin in this manner, then I am sinning against you

And so, it is in this discussion of not tripping our brothers that we pick back up in Romans 15:

Romans 15:1–12 NASB95

Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. For even 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 earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God. For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers, and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written, “Therefore I will give praise to You among the Gentiles, And I will sing to Your name.” Again he says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.” And again, “Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, And let all the peoples praise Him.” Again Isaiah says, “There shall come the root of Jesse, And He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, In Him shall the Gentiles hope.”

PRAY, Invite the church to sit

*LISTENING GUIDE OUT

The greater good takes on an entirely different meaning in the framework of the body of Christ

This is for two reasons,

First, in Christ, this life isn’t about me, it is about the glory of God

This is what I was created for

It is the sole purpose of my life

Secondly, Because my life is not about me, nothing pertaining to me is more important than God’s glory- even life itself

My wants, comforts, and desires are of little consequence because Christ is my purpose

Whatever is glorifying to God is most important because in the Kingdom He is most important

But what does this have to do in not causing others to stumble and the greater good? -EVERYTHING

There are three things we need to see related to this in Romans 15

Let’s look at them one at a time:

Romans 15:1–3 NASB95

Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.”

The first thing that we need to see this morning is this:

Helping others grow requires bearing the weight of their weakness

EX: We’ve moved a lot. When my kids were little, they always wanted to help us

Bethany and I would be working to move big, heavy piece of furniture together

The kids would come and be beside us, and lift all that they could

But, Bethany and I felt no relief in the weight

Yet, at the end of the day, we would thank them for helping us

Why? Why thank them for working hard when we carried the load entirely?

Because they were lifting all that they could, and we carried the weight of their weakness

This is precisely what we are commanded to do here, in Romans 15: Carry the load for our weaker brothers in Christ

How do we do that? Well, in two ways

First, we deny ourselves so that they don’t stumble

It isn’t a burden for them if you deny yourself, the burden of their weakness in faith is yours

But, by bearing that weight and denying yourself, they are given room to grow and be involved

And together, in this everyone grows in our faith

Secondly, we always consider ourselves as last

The lowest servant knows he’s the lowest and expects to serve everyone else

In the Kingdom of God, this is what is most glorifying to God, so that your reward will be greater!

Mark 9:35 NASB95

Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”

The beauty of this is that it applies to everyone:

The one that you are seeking to please in self-denial is also to try and please you by denying themselves

If everyone thinks of themselves as last, it will become easier to sacrifice for the sake of others.

Who is first in the Kingdom of God? Jesus Christ

There is no greater example of self-denial than Jesus Christ

Jesus, the God man, fully God and fully man

He denied Himself the glory due to Him as equal with God

He took on Himself the reproach of those that hated the Father

In His flesh, He bore the sins of the world and the revile of evil against the Father!

He humbled Himself, that you and I could have relationship with God

This is why His name is exalted above every other name

Jesus has given Himself for your growth and God’s glory-I think we can stand a little self-denial

Let’s Continue together:

Romans 15:4–6 NASB95

For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The second thing we need to remember for the greater good is this:

Sacrificing for the weaker allows us to be of one mind, accepting one another and glorifying God

Verse 4 kind of looks out of place, at first, doesn’t it?

But what’s going on is that verse 3 quotes Psalm 69:9

Psalm 69:9 NASB95

For zeal for Your house has consumed me, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.

This verse clearly predicts that Christ would bear the hatred and revile of those who hated the Father

But it was written long beforehand

And the point is this: As God told us beforehand it would happen

And it happened just as it says, Christ sacrificed for mankind and for God’s glory

And God raised Him up and glorified Him

And because these things are true, we can have hope

That when we persevere, God will it is glorifying to God

That as we endure, there is a crown of glory in the end to lay at the feet of Jesus

We can have hope that any and every sacrifice that we make is worth it

Especially those we make for the greater good of our brothers and sisters in Christ

Something amazing happens when we sacrifice what we are free to have for the sake of our brothers

We join Christ, who sacrificed for them

In that way, we become more like Jesus

And in that moment, a door opens for the Spirit to move

Now, the Spirit can bring greater growth in you and in the one you have sacrificed for

And when there is no hindrance in front of either of you, you can grow together

And when you grow together, you become unified, thinking together in one mind-the mind of Christ

Have you ever been in a boat with people rowing different directions? It goes nowhere

We must be of one mind, the mind of Christ!

Being unified, and of one mind will make us more effective for the Kingdom of God,

so that the love of Christ is fostered to grow in us.

All of these things are glorifying to God, so the result is that God’s glory grows!

In other words, through sacrifice we can fulfill our purpose, which matters more than what we’re giving up

Let’s look at the last section of the passage:

Romans 15:7–12 NASB95

Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God. For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers, and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written, “Therefore I will give praise to You among the Gentiles, And I will sing to Your name.” Again he says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.” And again, “Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, And let all the peoples praise Him.” Again Isaiah says, “There shall come the root of Jesse, And He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, In Him shall the Gentiles hope.”

The last thing we will note this morning towards the greater good of God’s glory is this:

Accepting one another as Christ accepts us makes you and I reflect His glory

Think about this:

Through Christ’s death and resurrection you and I can be accepted as children of God

no greater example of sacrifice for the sake of the weak exist than Christ’s sacrifice for us

Christ denied Himself more greatly than you or I ever could

If God acted to make sinners one with Himself, we can deny ourselves for a brother

In the ancient world, there was no greater divide than that between Jew and Gentile

Yet Christ died for both

He is our accepter, our unifier, and our reason for being unified to one another

Tell me, friend: this morning, how can you carry your weaker brother?

How might you be called to deny yourself for the sake of another?

How might you need to lay down your judgment for the sake of unity?

How might you be die to yourself so that you can bring unity with others?

Maybe this morning, you are the stronger one…maybe you are the weaker one

But regardless, this morning Jesus is calling us to be one with one another

And that starts in a relationship with Him

You see, we cannot love like Christ until we know Him

We cannot share in His sacrifice until His Spirit is in us

You cannot be one with the Body of Christ until you are a part of it

But strong, or weak, Christian or not, there is room this morning at the alter

This morning, you are invited to bow at the alter

Come and die to yourself, that Christ might fill you with life

Come, and for the first time find your purpose in Him, or renew it again

Come before Him and find that seeking His glory in loving each other truly is the greater good

PRAY