[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. Amen. What a great, great song. A great, great truth. I've never heard that song before, but it's already one of my favorites.
[0:13] I appreciate how those in the music ministry study the Word and know where we're going. We're in Romans 15. In that song where Jesus bears our burdens, our infirmities. It's a quote from Psalm 96.9.
[0:24] Then told again in Romans chapter number 15. And if you don't know why that song is so wonderful and so great, I'd love the opportunity at the end of the day to show you why that is a fantastic truth.
[0:36] And there's nothing in all the world more worth celebrating than what we just heard about. We're in Romans 15, verses 1 through 7. We're going through the book of Romans. I've been greatly blessed by the passages that we've been through.
[0:49] The pastor taking us a few sermons back. And the bacon sermon, as I refer to it as, where we started off in Romans 14. We all left here challenged to work together better and also challenged.
[1:03] And we all went out and bought bacon. Sales of bacon went up during that time. But it's just a wonderful sermon. And it helped me greatly. Something that I needed so much. And I hope and pray that God will allow me to be a voice for the text.
[1:17] Because this is a passage of Scripture that will really help our church as it would help any church. And that's why it's found here in the Bible. I didn't mention it earlier, but I'm so glad to have Ariah here with us.
[1:27] William and Janolia's daughter, one month old. And this is her first service here with us. I praise the Lord for that. It also reminds me that I get to announce that Matt and Julie are expecting their first child.
[1:40] I would ask that you give them a round of applause. But I don't want to wake up Ariah over there. Is she in the nursery? All right. Yeah, don't clap then. Okay. But make sure you congratulate Matt and Julie on their first child.
[1:52] They're expecting. And it's passages like this and the decision you'll make based upon what you hear that will determine so much the unity inside of the church. And the unity in this church is these small children will grow up and they'll see it modeled by us.
[2:07] So our pastor doesn't preach reactionary waiting for a problem and going through this passage. We're going through it, but we know that this must be applied to our lives and it will help us.
[2:18] This is a family issue in which we're dealing with here in Romans 14 and 15. It's between brothers. One called the stronger brother, one called the weaker, but they're both brothers.
[2:30] And we see it here today as a family issue. Our Heavenly Father, the Spirit, and Jesus all speak about unity in the Bible. Ephesians chapter number 3 verses 4 and 6 says that we should endeavor for the unity that's found in the Spirit because there's one Lord, one Spirit, and one Heavenly Father.
[2:49] Then the Bible goes on to teach us in Psalm 133 that God says that it's good and it's a pleasant thing when brethren dwell in unity. And it gives an example that many of you will appreciate that includes the beard of Aaron and how the ointment runs down the beard of Aaron and goes all the way to its feet.
[3:07] Which is to say that once it's set in motion, it doesn't stop flowing. That the unity there just keeps going and going and it affects every part of our life.
[3:17] Jesus, towards the end of His earthly ministry in John chapter number 17, He prays to the Father. The disciples are around. He looks up, one of my favorite passages of Scripture, and He prays there.
[3:30] He says, and now I'm no more in the world than these are in the world. And I come to Thee, Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those Thou hast given me that they may be one as we are.
[3:41] And it sets the bar really high. It doesn't say in the Bible, I pray that my church will be one like a good SEC football team. Or it doesn't say, I pray that my church will be good like a good Fortune 500 business.
[3:55] It says that He wants our oneness to be like the oneness of the Trinity. There's many things that could be said about that, but we can say that it's an unexplicable oneness.
[4:05] One that we can't even understand. And that's what He's calling to us in a church. It's a type of oneness that goes beyond our human way of thinking. And there's no human example for us but there.
[4:18] Then in the book of Acts, we find that when they were indwelt by the Holy Spirit, that it says in verse number 46, And they continued daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.
[4:34] Is that when the Holy Spirit indwelt them, they worked together, they shared life together, with a singleness of heart. The Father says it's good and pleasant. The Son prays for it, and the Holy Spirit provides it.
[4:46] That He works in my heart, and He works in your heart. And every day we're being made into the image of Jesus. And doing that, we're brought closer and closer together. And I love that we're in a diverse church, and that there are many things that would make us different.
[5:00] But we are way more alike than will ever be different because of the work of the Holy Spirit inside of us. But not only the Trinity, but you yourself where you're at, you desire the unity in the church.
[5:12] Many of you have experiences where you saw a lack of unity, and it broke your heart. Because as exciting as it is to see unity in the church, there's nothing that's more sad when there is a lack of unity.
[5:23] A lack of love that will cause a lack of desire for unity, and then the natural result is a division. I've told this story before, but I was 12 years old. There was a business meeting in the church.
[5:34] Somebody made a motion that Trent should get the right out of the envelopes and lick the stamps. And there's another segment in the church that said, Trent should not lick the envelopes and write out the check or write out the envelopes.
[5:46] And there was a division. And at 12, that was an ugly thing for me to see. But I'm thankful there was people in my life that helped me see that it wasn't about me, and it wasn't about envelopes, and it wasn't about stamps.
[5:57] And unfortunately, it wasn't even about Jesus, and it wasn't about brothers dealing with each other. But it had to do with just a lack of love. And that lack of love caused a lack of desire for unity, and that lack of desire for unity caused a division.
[6:12] And as a young person, I could have been hurt, and my story could be like so many people that I meet. It's so sad to run into somebody who tells of a bad church experience, and they are able to tell some version of that story.
[6:26] It is a horrible thing for the kingdom. It's a horrible thing for the testimony of God's church, and it's something that none of us want to be a part of. So I said it's a family issue.
[6:37] So as a kind of review, I encourage you to go online and listen to the sermons if you haven't. It's helped me so much. But we learned about the weaker brother in the story, and we learned some things about him, and that went different than what you thought.
[6:49] But we found out that the weaker brother's practice is not sin, but it was a God-exalting behavior. And so we learned that because he says that he's weak in faith, but we don't find that he's without faith.
[7:03] Because in Romans 14, towards the end of it, it says anything that's done without faith is sin. But this weaker brother is not acting without faith. He is doing something that he believes that is a God-exalting behavior.
[7:16] And he even says that it's towards God, to God, that his actions are directed towards God as a form of worship. But we saw that he thought that the meat in Romans 14, 14, that it was an unclean thing.
[7:30] He thought it was sinful. So our message to the younger brother, or to the weaker brother, is not that they should, that they were trying to avoid fun. It isn't that they need to lighten up because they just don't want to have any fun, and they should be like this.
[7:44] Because they're not trying to avoid fun. They're trying to avoid sin. We should never ask anybody to lighten up on their view of sin. But they need time to learn and to grow in the sanctification process.
[7:57] And I ask you, is this what you think of when you think of the weak? What you think is shown in the way that you treat or you avoid them? We also learn that our weak brother is not a legalist.
[8:09] The Judaizers in Galatia, they thought you had to add circumcision to be accepted by God for salvation. And Paul was furious at this crowd. He was very angry.
[8:21] But we don't see Paul's treatment of the weaker brother in the same way. Because these people are not adding to the gospel. And that's what a legalist is. The word legalist is not a Bible word, but it does have a specific meaning, which is a person that adds to the gospel for salvation.
[8:37] And even though it's not a Bible word, it is a very harsh and strong word. And it's not one that brothers ought to be throwing at each other. My kids are always making up funny names to call each other.
[8:48] They haven't found this word yet. If they did, they might use it. But that word legalist is not a word that we throw at our brothers who are lovers of the gospel, who know that Jesus died for them and they put their faith in it.
[9:01] So if they're not weak because of faith and it's not intent, then what makes the weaker brother the weaker brother? And the weak man is the one that's making choices rightly on the basis of what he believes that will most honor the Lord and express their thanks to the Lord.
[9:17] But they're doing so with a weak conscience. And we see that here listed for us in 1 Corinthians chapter number 8, verses 6 and 7. You can turn there if you like.
[9:29] It will also be on the screen. But before we get to that, let me say verse number 3 that we've already read together in a negative sense. I'll say it to you backwards. Verse 3 says, Let not the one that eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats.
[9:46] The weaker brother's conscience has not been undergirded by the truth, which means he thinks he's partaking in sin. 1 Corinthians 8, 6 and 7 shows us that it's by a lack of knowledge that their conscience is weak.
[10:02] But to us there is but one God, and the Father of whom all things, and we in him, and the one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we are all things, and we by him. How be it there is not in every man that knowledge?
[10:16] For some with conscience of the idol unto this idol, or eat as is a thing offered unto an idol, and their conscience being weak is defiled. So we see here by Paul, so there's an explicit connection between a lack of knowledge here and that weakness.
[10:32] We typically, when we think about a weak conscience, we think of it completely different. I told Tinsley yesterday at the end of the soccer game, I said, tell your brother that he did a good job. And my three-year-old daughter looked at me and said, but Daddy, he didn't.
[10:45] And I'm thinking, oh, this is going to be a problem. You can't teach encouragement and honesty on the same Saturday morning. And he didn't do too good, all right? Don't tell him that. But Tinsley didn't want to do it.
[10:56] And we think about a weak conscience being somebody who can't do what's right there, that she wasn't willing to do that. But in this sense, we're being taught a weak conscience as a person that the truth hasn't brought them to a point where they know they can do that action without feeling guilty or feeling condemned for it.
[11:12] So they're not at a point where that knowledge has strengthened that ability in their mind to do it. So it's not intent. It's not that they're without faith, but it's that they're without a knowledge and they're growing.
[11:25] And we should have patience towards people like that. We love to have patience from people who are saved in what we call the world who come from a background and we allow them time to grow. But when people come from a different religious experience and they haven't learned this truth yet, we're intolerant to them.
[11:41] And we have no time for that. But what you mean simply here, that if you cannot take the Bible and show them clearly the truth that you believe would liberate them, then you would best leave them alone and consider your own stance on an issue.
[11:58] Meaning that if it's not an issue that can be shown from the Bible, it is not a weaker brother, stronger brother. It is just an area. And not only that, what you may be seeing as a burden in their life may be the weight of the cross on them.
[12:13] Maybe you ought to consider their stance and say, well, if I can't find from the word why they shouldn't be doing that, maybe ought to consider their actions in this. My brother-in-law, Stephen, back there, he is on, I've already checked on this, but he said I could use this.
[12:28] He's on a weird diet. When we go eat, he orders the weirdest things on the menu. But Stephen doesn't think that for me to be a good dad or to be a good Christian, I would have to be on that diet.
[12:42] So there's things that I can eat that Stephen has chose not to eat. In this story, which one's the weak brother and which one's the strong brother? And the answer is, say this with me, neither.
[12:54] All right? In that story, neither of us are a weak brother or a strong brother. However, if Stephen decides that he is now saying, Trent, for you to be a good Christian, for God to be pleased with this, then you're going to have to take on my diet and do what I do.
[13:11] And if you don't do that, if you don't abstain from carbs, Trent, then you're not a good Christian. Then he places himself now in the weaker brother position.
[13:22] And I will walk with him and talk with him, but I will let him know that it is not my opinion. But in this story, if you're following, where Stephen says for Trent to be a good Christian, he has to avoid carbs.
[13:34] If I'm going to meet with Stephen and discuss this, I'm not going to invite him to a pasta house. I'm not going to ask him to come meet me for a plate of noodles or to break bread with me as we talk about it.
[13:44] You know what I'll do? I'll say, Stephen, if you feel that way, I'll let you buy me a steak. And we'll go to a steakhouse and we'll talk about it. And we'll get to an example in the Bible where that happens.
[13:55] Because I want to walk with him. Because even though I don't accept what he believes, I accept him as my brother. And I will walk with him and I will bear that burden with him as I do, waiting for the day that he will set it aside and we will walk together.
[14:12] And I'm glad he doesn't feel that way because I am not giving up my bowl of cereal every night there for our friendship, Stephen. So we see the weaker brother, but we see the stronger brother.
[14:24] And having liberty, as Pastor said, doesn't necessarily make you strong. It often can just make you arrogant. We think when a missionary does something in a context to help win a people, it's a wonderful thing.
[14:37] This week, Philip was with another group of missionaries and they brought out a plate of fish and the fish was staring at them. It was just completely there and the fish was looking at them.
[14:48] And typically as Americans, we don't like to eat food that looks at you. That's just kind of a rule of thumb that we have. But Philip knew that it was offered to him and the host would be offended if he didn't eat it.
[15:00] And there was many missionaries there that they didn't eat it. And Philip said, when they didn't eat it, it even drove me more to eat it. He said, I licked it all the way down to the bone. And I was so proud of him because he was being intentional about eating fish.
[15:13] That a biblical conviction caused him to eat that food and he didn't offend. Every one of us love that story. I believe it here. But why don't we do that for one another? Why, when I would be willing to take on the burden of another brother, it seems to be a weak position that I would do that.
[15:29] And I would tell you that when you do it in Thailand with an unbeliever and when you do it inside the house of God one to another, it is an honorable and it's a wonderful God-glorifying action.
[15:42] So Romans 14, 1 through 12 told us here that we are to receive our brother with understanding. That we're supposed to understand where they're coming from, understand why their actions are that way.
[15:53] Then at the end of the chapter, we were told that we should build up one another without offending. But then in this passage today, it says we should please one another with Christ as our example.
[16:04] And we see that Paul brings out the big guns in the example here. That we should please one another with Christ as our example. And at the end of the chapter, it says that we should rejoice one another.
[16:16] So I'll say in here simply that there's an obligation in the church is for those who are strong to bear the infirmities of the weak and to patiently let them grow.
[16:26] And if you flaunt your liberty when you will drive them deeper into bondage. We're not trying to get them to externally come to your way of thinking. We're asking like giving them patience and time so they can come to that opinion based upon the word of God working on the inside.
[16:46] That if you flaunt your liberties, you could drive people deeper into bondage. Which if your heart is where it should be, is the exact opposite of what you'll be trying to accomplish in our relationship.
[16:58] So how we ought to behave? Between these two brothers, how should they behave? It tells us here, verse number one, Them that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak and to not please ourselves.
[17:10] We should bear one another's weakness. What does it mean to bear one another? In our modern way of thinking, where tolerance is so appreciated and celebrated, one of the most common words used today is tolerance.
[17:25] We have this idea that there's two options. There's an exclusion where either if you're not accepting me that you're completely, if you don't agree with what I say, then you're excluding me. That's one option.
[17:36] But then there's another option that says, If you do not have the same opinion as I have, that's okay. But you must admit that nobody has the right answer.
[17:47] So we say, we can agree my opinion is right, or we can agree that no opinion is right. But there's no way that we can agree that we have differences here.
[17:58] And that's our modern view of tolerance. That you're not right and I'm not right, everybody's right. Or we can say we're just completely excluding. But the gospel allows us to do something that is so much greater than those two options.
[18:12] It takes it to a whole new level in the way that it transforms us and the way that we're able to relate one another. This word bear is seen many times in Scripture.
[18:23] In Luke 22, it's the carrying of a water jar. In Luke 7, it's used of carrying a stretcher. In Luke 10, it's used of carrying stones. In John 12, it's used of carrying a bag of money.
[18:34] Which any of you need any help carrying a bag of money? I am the stronger brother that will help you carry that. Acts 21, it's carrying a man. Revelation 17, it's carrying a woman.
[18:45] And today in our church, it's illustrated by carrying a chair dolly. This chair dolly does not need to be carried, but it can be carried. So it makes a great example in here for us today.
[18:58] And how we should share the burden one another. Bo, would you mind helping me out and surging over here? One of you will be strong and one of you will be weak. You two figure out who that is.
[19:09] Okay. All right. Good choice. Now, I think it's pretty much given. I'm sorry, Bo. All right. But we got our strong brother here. And then we have Bo, the weaker brother in the example. Bo, would you mind picking this up and carrying it with me for a little bit?
[19:23] Pick it up higher because people need to know you're carrying it. All right. There we go. So Bo is carrying this. And there's Sergi, who does not believe he needs to carry this.
[19:33] And he would say, hey, Bo, don't you see? It's got wheels on it. There's no reason to be carrying a chair dolly around. But you can carry it because, look, it's got a nice little handle for carrying up here.
[19:43] And it works. So the strong brother's responsibility here is obligation is to help. Keep walking, Bo, with me. It's Sergi's responsibility to help Bo carry this.
[19:55] I normally think, if I'm Sergi here for a second, I normally think when it comes to bearing, this is what it means. All right, man, you've got that stupid chair dolly with us today. This is so embarrassing. We're in Walmart and you're carrying a chair dolly.
[20:07] Keep coming. I'm going to bear with you, but I don't really like this because this is just bad. But I'm bearing with you, Bo. I will put up with you. Even though I'm frustrated and you're not following me, I will bear with you in this example.
[20:22] That's my view of bearing. Is that your view of normally a bearing? Meaning I'll put up with you. I will bear it. I'll do this kind of way of tolerating it. But the Bible says here that he's supposed to get under it and help him.
[20:33] So Sergi, if you'll help Bo carry this, you take one side, he'll take another side. And he gets under the load with him and he carries his infirmity. And there could be a conversation that helps here.
[20:44] Bo's carrying it and he says, oh, Sergi, I see that you like to carry chair dollies now too. You think that I am right. And Sergi's answer would be lovingly say, Bo, I still don't agree that we need to carry this thing.
[20:58] But I love you and I accept you. But even though I don't think I need to carry this, because I love you and you're carrying this, I will carry it with you.
[21:09] That's what a strong brother does. It helps carry this burden, this infirmity of the weak. And that's why the gospel allows something. Because he does not have to go without an evaluation.
[21:22] The modern view says, hey, we won't evaluate right and wrong. We'll just all be right and that will work. But we're logical people. We know that can't work. And we know that the gospel says what's right and wrong. But Sergi says, I have an opinion.
[21:34] I know what the word of God says on this matter. But I will still love you and I will bear with you and I'll help you carry this thing until we get to a point that you decide you want to set it down.
[21:46] And if you want to set it down now or if you want to keep going, guys, all right, keep going. Take it with you. I don't want that thing. All right. And keep walking. So he may walk with them a short time or he may keep walking and they're walking and they may never get to a point where they set it down.
[22:00] But until Bo decides he wants to set that thing down, all right, Bo, you decide. Set it down. All right. Until he decides he wants to set it down, Sergi, the strong man, will bear it with him and carry.
[22:12] And what a wonderful thing. And then we get the ultimate example here of why that is. So it's necessary that we bear one another's burden. We need to ask God in 14.1. It says that we should do this with understanding.
[22:25] It says, him that is weak in faith, receive him, but not to doubtful disputation. But we're supposed to receive them here. What motivates this behavior? When we look at our brother, the weaker brother, we should ask, what motivates this behavior?
[22:39] We could ask ourselves, if I had grown up with their environment and their understanding, maybe I would be carrying the same chair, Dolly. They would if I came from that same situation.
[22:50] Willing not to live for ourselves, but we must prefer the other one. For even Christ pleased not himself, but as it is written, the reproaches of them that reproach thee fell on me.
[23:01] And we must want for the weaker brother, we must want them to come to a point of obedience from an inward conviction and not with just an outward external following after us.
[23:13] Because when behavior is simply legislated from the outside, instead of coming from the heart that loves God, it cannot be called obedience. And that's the view of the stronger brother.
[23:25] Don't put your externals on me. Let it work in my heart. And our same opinion towards the weaker is, I'm not going to put my externals on you. I want God to be able to work in your heart as he worked in mine.
[23:37] Because it's that type of obedience that brings glory to God. So here's some expected objections that I have in here. If I'm sitting where you're sitting today, here's a couple objections that I have.
[23:48] And one of them goes like this story in 1 Corinthians chapter number 10. In that story, there's two Christians and they go over to a pagan's house, an unbeliever's house. And as they sit there, meat is served to them that have been offered to an idol.
[24:04] And one Christian believer says, I know that I can eat this and I'm hungry and it looks really good. And another Christian says, I don't think I can eat this.
[24:15] My conscience won't allow me. I'd feel guilty if I did this. And what do you think that the answer is? Does the Christian, the stronger one here, does he offend the pagan host?
[24:25] Or does he offend his weaker brother? In verse 29 of 1 Corinthians 10 it says, conscience I say, not thine own, but of the other. For why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience?
[24:40] You heard me. The scripture here is saying that you are supposed to offend the host. You're supposed to offend the man of the world before you would offend the weaker brother.
[24:52] Is anybody startled by that? Did anybody else expect that story to go different? I did. He said, in a situation where you may offend that unbeliever or your brother.
[25:03] That is not the way I thought the story was going to go. I really thought the answer would be, we do whatever it takes to make sure we don't offend this unbeliever. Because the unity in the church, the unity between that brother, is the best thing that will happen for that unbeliever.
[25:19] It is the best thing that will happen for this community. So that's one objection. What do I do if I'm in this situation? And the answer is, we should not offend the weaker brother. And here's another one you may have, and it's not a good one, but it's one that we'd have.
[25:33] I don't want to be a man pleaser. Anybody got that going through their head right now? I hear what you're saying, but I just don't want to be one of those man pleasers. Well, first of all, that's not a term that's found in the Bible, those two words.
[25:45] But it is an idea that we would have. But we're not asking here that you would alter your view of the gospel. What's happening, a man pleaser would be an example of Absalom. When people would come to him, he would try to gain their favor, and he would try to absorb his authority with his father.
[26:02] And he tried to please them for gain. We're not asking in here that you would do that for your own personal gain, but you would do that for the other person. And that's why you're not a man pleaser in here.
[26:15] So maybe you'll say, I'm tired of living in a church world dictated by the weak. Why should I always have to cater to them? When do I have to stop serving people, and why don't people serve me?
[26:27] When will the church become more about me than others? And my answer in here is never. Because once the church gets to that point, it ceases to be a church.
[26:38] It was not about you, and it will never be about you. And I know that's not a very good infomercial for our church today. But good morning. Welcome to Vision Baptist Church.
[26:48] We're so glad you're here that none of this was created for you. It is for our God and for his glory, and we will always serve. We will always bear the infirmities of our brothers and carry them, and it will never be made for us.
[27:04] So how do we do this? Write these three things down quickly. If you will, I would like to encourage you here in this passage with the three things. First of all, it says we should do this with the consideration of others and denial of self.
[27:18] The only way to prefer our brother is to deny ourselves. You are in a multi-generational church. There will always be Mercedes, and there will always be teenagers.
[27:30] There will always be multi-generationals. You're also in a church here between a country and between the city, between Dawsonville and the city. You're in a multi-national church with no political agenda.
[27:44] You're in a missionary church that sends out missionaries and that acts like missionaries here. There will always be people on the chair beside you that are different than you, and for this, you should say amen to that.
[27:58] Some people will be different in here because of your background. Others because of the process of sanctification. And believe it or not, some will be different than you because they are right about something that you are wrong about.
[28:10] I won't repeat that because you didn't like it the first time. Understand why pastor says this is the loneliest place on the planet. But there will always be people different besides you in these chairs.
[28:22] And then we have the ultimate example in verse number three. Why does Paul bring out such a big gun? Why not the example of Jesus washing the feet? Why not the example of Jesus healing somebody?
[28:32] Why the example of feeding 5,000? Why quote Psalm 69 verse 9 where the reproaches of them that reproached thee fell upon me? Because the only way that you can serve the other brother is if there's death to yourself.
[28:47] Jesus accepted the reproaches which belonged to us. The penalty that was ours now became his. God came to a group of people that he disagreed with.
[28:57] God came to a group of people that he knew was wrong. And he took our infirmities. He took them on himself. And he carried them to the cross. And that is our example as we relate one another.
[29:09] So first of all we see here that there ought to be a consideration of others and a denial of self. Secondly we see there ought to be a conformity to Christ by submission to the scriptures. We ought to conform to what the God of the Bible teaches.
[29:24] Because the word of God sustains our hopes and prevents our insecurities. Insecure people are the most vicious people in all of the world. Pastor Carrie Smith last weekend talked about how middle school 7th grade girls can be some of the most vicious humans in all of the world.
[29:42] Because they deal with such insecurities. They can rip each other's faces off because they're always trying to find a place of security. Can I tell you that the word of God brings a security that allows us to be free to serve one another.
[29:58] Look at the freedom found in Romans 12.19. Dearly beloved avenge not yourselves but rather give place on the wrath for it is written. Vengeance is mine I will repay saith the Lord.
[30:10] When you get to a point and you want to be vengeful. The word of God brings us back to the fact that it belongs to him. And it allows us not to be vengeful people. Even in this chapter in Romans 12.19 that's a quotation from Deuteronomy.
[30:25] And even in verse number 3 Paul is quoting scripture to confirm how important scripture is in the Bible. How cool is that? In the middle of this you think so he's teaching about our relationship with the weaker and the stronger.
[30:39] Why does he throw a verse in there that says Bible reading is really important? It kind of seems like Paul chased the rabbit trail. He said I want to talk to you about this subject. Oh yeah by the way you should really be in the word because it sustains you.
[30:51] Because it's connected to it. This is Paul's explicit statement that the scripture provides a security that allows us to serve one another. When we find our identity in our profession we think less of those of another profession.
[31:06] When we find our identity in our income we believe those of less means are inferior. When we find our identity in the positions we hold we think less of and do not serve those who do not hold the same position.
[31:20] But when we find our identity in Christ and we know that kneeling to wash their feet does not change who we are. When we find our identity in Christ which we find said time and time again in scripture we can serve one another.
[31:36] But when you find it in anything else the only option you have is to look down upon anybody else that is not like you. Whether it be a profession or whether it be a position.
[31:47] Because it's not your belief about something. It is who you are in Christ that makes you who you are today. And then lastly here not only conformity to Christ by submission to scripture.
[31:59] Not consideration of others and denial of self. But by God's power and for God's glory. This is the type of relating one to another that only God can grant.
[32:09] Now the God of patience and consolation grants you to be like minded one toward another according to Christ Jesus. It is only God that can grant this to us here.
[32:22] He's done it through a sacrificial death on the cross. And he has done it by sustaining us through the scriptures. Verses 3 and 4. However only God can allow us to have this type of relationship.
[32:34] Which means what the Bible is asking for among us and unity inside of the church. I tell you not to try to go replicate it in any other group in the world. Because only the redeemed of God that's being transformed by the gospel can have this type of oneness together.
[32:51] Because it's done by God's power. And it's done by God's leading. And done by the example given in Jesus. And all of us, the weaker and the stronger, dying to ourselves, God will be magnified.
[33:04] Verse number 6 says that you may with one mind and with one mouth glorify God. That's what we read at the beginning. And that's how we ought to leave this place. Glorifying God with one mind and with one mouth.
[33:18] We should be of one mind being that we hold the mind of Christ in our hands. How do we get together and have one mind? We don't get together and do just a consensus. We don't go and just talk to somebody.
[33:29] But you hold in your hands the mind of Christ. Which means tomorrow as I spend time in the mind of Christ. And Brother Ty spends time in the mind of Christ. And Brother Gibby spends time in the mind of Christ.
[33:40] Our minds are renewed and brought together. And we are studying the same mind. So you study it and I'll study it. And the person in front of you will study it. And we will have the same mind.
[33:51] And this mind should move us in the same direction. Direction. I will go. You will go. And we will all go to the lost of this world. And it affects our mouth. We may not talk to the same.
[34:03] But we will talk about the same person of Jesus. We may not talk at different places. And at different times. But we will be in perfect harmony. So as a quick review here.
[34:13] How do we do this? How does the stronger bear the infirmities of the weak? We do it by considering other people and the denial of ourself.
[34:24] As it was given in the example of Jesus who left heaven and took on our infirmities and carried them to the cross. We do it by conformity to this Christ which is found possible by submission to the scripture.
[34:37] I told pastor. I said I'm so excited about this passage. Because you lead us in a ministry that's saturated by the scripture. Because only because we're people of this word can we be people of his mind.
[34:51] And can we have this unity. Then lastly we do it by God's power and for God's glory. Here in a moment I'm going to give an opportunity. You'll pray there in your seat.
[35:02] Some of you will choose to come here to an altar. But here's some questions that I think that this text demands of my life and your life. How are you going about receiving one another?
[35:14] How are you doing there church when it comes to receiving one another? Ask yourself how you're doing in this area. Are there people here that you have never considered fellowshipping with or serving with.
[35:26] Because you think you're just too different. Stronger brothers are you excited about your liberty? But now do you know that it comes with a responsibility? Hey that's great.
[35:37] You got a truck. I'm glad you got a truck. Well here at this church your truck has a responsibility. You know. So we're not talking about trucks. But we're talking about your muscles aren't there.
[35:47] The stand in the gym and the flex. But your muscles were given to you for a purpose. And that is the bare infirmities of another brother. To accept them with different views.
[35:58] And walk with them until the time that either it gets set down. Or you realize the thing that you're carrying is not an infirmity. But it was the cross all along.
[36:08] And you should be carrying it as well. Have you found that security in the word that allows you to serve one another? Father. Today. If asked to describe yourself on a note card.
[36:20] What are the things that you hold at the top of your priority? And I pray that it's the fact that you are a child of God. And that you're secure in that. Or do you think you're better than they are.
[36:31] Because your identity is found in something that's different. And because your identity is found in that. And they can't find their identity in that. You are now greater than they are.
[36:42] And you're in no position to help. Romans 15 says those that are strong. We have a responsibility to bear. How are you doing about bearing? I pray that as you respond in your seat in here at the altar.
[36:55] I pray that there's another response. I pray that you'll search your heart. And you'll say God. My opinion towards this brother or this sister. Has not been what it should be. I pray that there's fellowship that happens.
[37:07] I pray that there's ministry that happens in this church. Among people that would typically never walk together. Throughout the week. Because you have decided. That you will obey Romans chapter number 15.
[37:20] And there will be a unity inside of the church. As we said this is not a reaction. But we need this as a church. Engraft this into your heart today. And don't allow little children like William and Janolias.
[37:33] Or Matt. Or our children. To have a story someday. Where part of this church gets mad. Because they want to lick stamps. And put it on envelopes. Because we are people that love unity.
[37:44] And we love one another. And in areas like that are mentioned here. We will walk together. And the strong will bear the infirmities of the other. Heavenly Father. I thank you for your word.
[37:55] Lord. I thank you how straightforward it is. I thank you for how simple that it is. Lord. I pray today. For those in here. Which would be all of us. That consider ourselves the stronger brother.
[38:07] I pray that they will see the purpose behind their strength. And they will get beside somebody. And they will bear their infirmities. They will share life with them. They will do ministry together. They will do Bible study together.
[38:18] And they will walk together. This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. For more information. Log on to www.visionbaptist.com Where you can find our service times.
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