Romans, page 1141.
So, Romans, page 1141, chapter 15, starting from verse 1 to 13.
That's page 1141.
We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.
Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
For even Christ did not please himself, but as it is written,
the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.
For everything that was written in the past is written to teach us,
so that through endurance and encouragement, and the encouragement of the scriptures, we might have hope.
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves,
as you follow Christ Jesus,
so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
For I tell you that Christ has become the servant of the Jews,
on behalf of God's truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs,
so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy.
As it is written,
Therefore I praise you among the Gentiles, I will sing hymns to your name.
Again it says,
Rejoice, O Gentiles, with this people.
And again,
Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and sing praises to him, all you peoples.
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.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace,
as you trust in him,
so that you may overflow with the hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Thank you Stephen.
Well we've been looking at
chapters 14 and 15,
which is on the whole theme of unity,
bringing together God's people together.
Well we're going to pray and ask for his help to us now,
as we look at this section in Romans 15.
Let's pray.
Amen.
Our Father God, we thank you so much for your amazing grace to us.
We thank you for what Christ has done in our lives,
to bring us together as one people,
united under Christ.
We pray, Father, for your protection on our unity,
and we pray for your ongoing work in our lives,
so that we work together,
and live together as your people,
reaching out to our community,
and reaching out to the world.
We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, with the World Cup well and truly underway,
we're beginning to get an idea as to who's going to win.
It's not going to be England anyway,
that's for sure.
My money's still on Argentina.
But vital to the success of every team is unity.
So you can have the most skillful players in the world on your team,
but if they're all fighting and arguing and squabbling with each other,
they're not going to win anything.
But the team that's united,
players, coaches, and managers,
all working together,
they're going to be successful.
In the same way,
the local church is to be a united team.
Under our one true manager,
the Lord Jesus Christ,
our goal is to preach the gospel,
the good news about Jesus Christ,
to all people in all places.
But to achieve that,
if we're going to reach that goal,
we've got to protect our unity,
in Christ.
In other words,
if we're divided,
it's not going to happen.
You see,
sometimes within the life of the church,
we can lose our shape.
And we can begin to argue and fight over,
if you go back to chapter 14,
verse 1,
the very end of verse 1,
we can begin to argue and fight over
what's called here disputable matters.
And as we've seen over the last couple of weeks,
these are not primary issues of faith,
like salvation by grace,
or the authority of scripture.
So not the primaries of issues of faith,
but the practice of our faith.
So some of the things we were looking at by way of example was,
one person may view Sunday just like any other day,
and they can go play sport,
they can go to the shops,
they can do all sorts of things,
but for another person,
they must keep it special.
For one person,
they might be free to have a glass of wine,
or a smoke after dinner.
For another person,
they may be not free to do so.
Or somebody might say,
well, I can listen to secular music,
I can watch an 18s movie.
Another says,
I'm not free to do that.
So instead of dividing over these disputable matters,
look at chapter 14, verse 13.
There's the strong command,
therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another.
Instead,
make up your mind.
So,
don't judge each other,
but make good judgments with each other.
Make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.
In other words,
don't behave in such a way that's going to cause your fellow brother or sister in Christ
to trip in their faith and fall.
Verse 15.
If your brother is distressed because of what you eat,
and I don't think we have a problem here with the kinds of things we eat,
but so distressed because of your behavior,
you are no longer acting in love.
Do not,
by your eating or your behavior,
destroy your sister for whom Christ died.
So rather than pursuing your particular freedoms in Christ,
here's a call to protect the unity we have in Christ.
Verse 22.
So whatever you believe about these things,
whatever your opinion or your view is on these disputable matters,
keep between yourself and God.
Don't make your private convictions a public controversy.
So there are two ways in chapter 15 that we're going to look at that will help us to protect the unity we have in Christ.
First,
please each other
as Christ pleased you.
Please each other as Christ pleased you.
So look at verse 1 of chapter 15.
We who are strong,
that is,
those who are strong in faith,
so where the gospel has taken effect in their lives,
and they've come to know the freedom that the gospel brings,
we who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak,
and not to please ourselves.
You know what the reason for every conflict and argument is?
What causes conflicts and arguments?
We want to please ourselves.
It's the cause of every war in the world,
every family breakup within our communities,
and every division within the church.
We have a desire to always please ourselves,
insisting on what we want and behave as we choose to.
But,
verse 2,
each of us,
rather than please ourselves,
should please his neighbour
for his good to build him up.
So rather than pursuing my freedom in Christ,
I am protecting the unity we have in Christ.
I want to please my fellow Christian.
I don't want to upset them or cause them to trip.
Look back at verse 1.
That little phrase where it says,
we who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak.
To bear with means,
doesn't just mean,
well,
I've got to put up with this person,
I don't really like them,
and they're a little bit awkward,
and I've got to put up with them in a condescending kind of way.
No,
it means that,
actually,
I'm willing to change my behaviour,
so that my fellow Christian doesn't trip up in the faith.
Instead of destroying each other by our behaviours,
we build each other up by our behaviours.
So,
pleasing our neighbour,
pleasing each other,
that's hard to do.
And if we struggle to do this,
look at verse 3.
So,
we are to please ourselves,
verse 3,
for or because,
even Christ did not please himself,
but,
as is written,
the insults of those who insult you,
have fallen on me.
This is a reference,
back from the Psalms,
but it's talking about Jesus when he went to the cross.
As Jesus made his way,
with all the beatings that he endured,
and all the mocking from the soldiers,
and all the abuse from the crowds,
and all the taunting from those who were at the cross,
and all the insults that heaped down on Jesus,
everything that happened that day,
as Jesus made his way to the cross,
and as he hung on the cross,
all that was going on was humanity's hostility towards God,
mankind shaking their fist at God,
saying,
we don't want you,
we don't want you ruling us,
we don't want you in our lives.
But all of that hostility,
although directed towards God,
fell on Jesus Christ.
Look at the quote again that we have in verse 3.
The insults of those who insult you,
they're the insults that insult God,
have fallen on me.
That is, Jesus.
And as Jesus endured all of that,
he didn't avoid the insults.
Jesus didn't insist on getting his way.
He took the insults.
He didn't please himself.
Rather, he went through all of that to please his neighbour.
He went through it all to please you and me.
He suffered on the cross.
He endured all of that for our good,
to build us up,
to strengthen us,
so that we might be accepted by the Father
and welcomed into his family.
Now, if Jesus has done that for me,
if Jesus has done that for you,
shouldn't we be willing
to bear with our fellow Christian?
Rather than please ourselves,
we seek to please each other.
We should be willing to take the insults
rather than put the other person down.
So if I'm free to go to the pub
or to buy a lottery ticket,
and I know that's going to offend you
or hurt you in some way,
I change my behaviour
so that I do not cause
another Christian to stumble
and fall.
We live to please one another.
Now, the reason
we please each other
is because
of the wonderful hope
that is to come.
So, look at verse 4.
For everything that was written
in the past,
including the quote there
from Psalm 69
we've just read,
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.
Now, let's be honest here,
and I think the scriptures
are really refreshingly real with us
to say to us,
living with each other
within the church family
is hard work.
To be a part of the church family
with all our differences
and all our cultures
and our backgrounds
and our different traditions
isn't easy.
We're going to clash
at certain times.
But here's the encouragement.
Hope awaits us.
That's said at the end of verse 4.
Through endurance
and the encouragement
of the scriptures
we might have hope.
And the hope that he's referring to
here is the hope of glory,
the hope that is to come.
So keep your finger there
in chapter 15
and just have a quick look back
to chapter 8.
Chapter 8, verse 21.
And here he's been talking about
the hope that's to come,
the new creation,
the new beginning
that we are all
looking forward to.
So he's looking forward in hope,
chapter 8, verse 21.
The hope that creation itself
will be liberated
from its bondage to decay
and brought into the glorious freedom
of the children of God.
Verse 24.
For in this hope
we were saved.
But hope that is seen
is no hope at all.
Who hopes for what he already has?
But if we hope for what we do not yet have,
we wait for it patiently.
Go back to chapter 15.
You see, this is the hope
we are all longing for.
This is the glory we all want
when everything is going to be put right.
Everything in the universe
is all going to be put
ordered again
and everything is going to flow right
and everything is going to work out right.
And in chapter 15, verse 4,
we're told that the scriptures
give us the hope.
As we read through the scriptures,
they remind us
of God's promise in his word
that one day
we, his people,
are going to be
living together
with him
in the new heavens
and the new creation.
You and me
together with him.
And when we are together
in glory,
there's going to be
no more disagreements.
There's going to be
no more disputes.
There's going to be
no more struggles.
There's going to be
no more division.
Now if that's what you and I
are looking forward to,
if that's what's ahead,
the encouragement here is,
well why don't we
start living it now?
This is what we have.
This is what we've been given.
So as God's people,
start living it now.
If we're all going to be
pleasing each other
in glory
with all our differences
and all our cultures
and all our traditions
and a whole lot more
together,
then we can start living
to please each other now
as God's people.
for that's what it's
going to be like.
And to do that
and to live like that,
we need to pray.
Look at verse 5.
May the God who gives
endurance and encouragement
give you a spirit of unity
among yourselves
as you follow
Christ Jesus.
If we are going to
keep together,
if we are going to
work together,
then we need to
pray together.
We've got to ask
our Father
as his children
to give us,
look at verse 5,
a spirit of unity.
So,
if you and I
have some dispute
about,
well,
how often we should
celebrate the Lord's Supper
and whether we can do it
in our home groups
as well as church
and there's a bit
of disagreement
going on there,
well,
then we need to pray
for a spirit of unity
to ask God
to change us
through the gospel
so that our minds
are transformed
and our behaviours
are conformed
so that we come
to one mind,
that we have
an agreement together.
And as we pray
for the spirit
of unity amongst us,
it will be answered.
Look at verse 6.
So that with one heart
and one mouth
you will glorify
the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our unity
will be so strong
that we're no longer
arguing and disputing
all these debatable matters.
Instead,
we will be a people
with one heart
and one mouth
praising the Lord together.
In other words,
getting on with the task
of preaching the gospel
to all people
in all kinds of places
because that will be our focus.
We won't be arguing
and disputing.
We will be focused
on what he's called us to do.
So first,
please each other
as Christ pleased you
because we are going
to be united together
in glory.
And until we get there,
pray for that
spirit of unity
to be at work
amongst us.
Maybe there's somebody
you have on your mind
that you need
to be praying for
or a situation.
Pray
for God's unity
to be at work
among you.
Second,
the second way
to protect our unity,
accept each other
as Christ has accepted you.
accept each other
as Christ has accepted you.
Look at verse 7.
Accept one another then
just as Christ accepted you
in order to bring praise
to God.
Now this whole idea
of accepting
means
that we are to give
one another
a rich welcome
into the family
of the church
because
that is how God
has treated you.
if you are a Christian,
God has welcomed you
into his family.
He has taken us
and accepted us
on the basis
of
not our culture
or our tradition
or our background
but our faith
in Christ.
Not our opinion
over some disputable matter.
He's welcomed us
because of our faith
in Christ.
So who am I
and who are you
to reject
who God
has accepted?
You see,
you and I
don't actually
get to decide
who we welcome
into his family.
God decides that.
And if God
has accepted
somebody
by his grace,
then we are
to welcome
each other
in grace.
We mightn't
agree about
everything.
We might have
differences of opinion
over some things.
But that doesn't mean
to say we don't
welcome each other
in grace.
We need to be
so careful
as a church family
that we don't
accept people
on the same basis
that they hold
the same opinion
as me.
If everybody
held my opinion
or everybody
held your opinion
and we only
welcomed those
kind of people,
well,
let's face it,
there would only
be one person
in the church.
No,
we accept
each other
because Christ
has accepted us.
And when we
accept each other,
look at the end
of verse 7,
it brings praise
to God.
In other words,
it's not just
kind of our singing
that we're talking
about here,
but when we
welcome each other
in Christ,
we are declaring
to the world
around us
how welcoming
God is.
When we're
accepting each other,
we are proclaiming
to the world
how God
accepts people
in Christ.
Now,
the reason
we are to
accept each other
is because
of God's
promise
of grace
to the nations.
God's promise
of grace
to the nations.
Look at
verse 8.
We are to
accept
one another,
verse 8,
for or because
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
so that
the Gentiles
may glorify
God
for his
mercy.
Now,
that's quite a
mouthful,
isn't it,
to try and
work through,
but let me
try and put it
this way.
God had
promised
the patriarchs.
He had
made a
promise to
Abraham
and to
his children
that he
was going
to send
his saving
king,
the Lord
Jesus Christ.
And his
coming,
when the Lord
Jesus was to
come into the
world,
he was to
welcome
and he was
to save
not just
Jewish people,
but all
kinds of
people from
all kinds
of nations
and all kinds
of backgrounds.
he was
going to
welcome
in the
Gentiles
too.
Because
God,
by his
grace,
longs to
welcome
and accept
people in
all kinds
of places.
And so
we're given
all these
different quotes
from the
Old Testament
to remind
us of
God's
promise of
grace to
all these
different kinds
of people.
So look at
verse 9.
Therefore,
I will
praise you
among the
Gentiles,
I will sing
hymns to
your name.
God's
desire and
longing is
that the
nations would
be included
and that they
would join
in the praise
and celebration
of God.
And there
is great
rejoicing when
all the people
come together.
So look at
the theme of
rejoicing and
praising that's
going on as
these people are
brought together.
Verse 10.
Again it says,
rejoice,
O Gentiles,
with his
people.
And again,
praise the
Lord,
all you
Gentiles.
And again,
Isaiah says,
the root of
Jesse,
in other words,
coming from
his line,
will spring
up one who
will arise to
rule over the
nations.
That's the
Lord Jesus.
And the
Gentiles will
hope in
him.
Jesus,
by his
grace,
had come
into the
world to
accept and
welcome all
kinds of
people from
all kinds
of places.
And if
God is
this kind
of God
who accepts
people and
welcomes
people,
if he's
come to
save people
from all
different places
and cultures,
isn't that
the kind
of church
and the
kind of
people that
we should
be?
And
welcoming and
accepting
people.
Rather than
arguing and
fighting over
disputable
matters,
instead we
are rejoicing
together and
praising God
together in
the grace that
we have all
received from
him.
We are to
celebrate our
unity in
Christ and
how he has
brought us
together.
At the very
beginning of our
time together we
went through the
nations that are
represented here.
And we are all
people brought
together through
Christ and
his grace.
Well how are we
going to keep
and protect that
unity?
Well we need to
pray.
Verse 13.
May the
God of hope
fill you,
fill the
church,
with all
joy and
peace as
you trust in
him.
Rather than a
church filled
with arguments
and disagreements,
we are a
church to be
filled with
joy and
peace.
In other
words our
focus is to
be on the
primary matters,
not on
disputable
matters.
So if I
find myself or
you find
yourself in a
conflict with
someone else,
I need to
pray that God
will fill me
with his joy
so that I
rejoice in the
grace that you
have received
and that I
have received.
And I need to
pray that God
will fill me with
his peace so
that I don't
do anything
that's going
to cause you
to stumble in
your face.
And this is
the prayer we're
to pray for
each other as
a church family.
And as we
do, as we
pray this
prayer, look
at what
happens.
Look at the
end of verse
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.
As we pray
this prayer,
God fills us
with joy and
peace and the
Holy Spirit is
at work within
us and as we
are filled it
begins to
overflow with
hope to a
world without
hope.
We begin to
overflow to the
community and
to the nations
beyond us to
show people how
God welcomes
and accepts
others in
Christ.
Together as
we live out
this prayer,
we declare
and proclaim
the hope we
have in
Christ.
So the
local church
is to be a
united team.
We are
together under
our one true
manager, the
Lord Jesus
Christ.
our goal, and
this is the
big theme of
Romans, is
that together
as one
people we
would be
united together
to preach
the gospel,
the good news
about the
Lord Jesus
Christ to
all people
in all
places.
That's the
purpose of
our unity.
That's why
he's brought
us together,
so that we
would be a
people together
as one
body reaching
out.
But to
achieve that,
we must
protect our
unity.
Just as
Christ
pleased us,
so we
please each
other.
Just as
Christ has
accepted us,
we accept
each other.
And with
that, let's
pray those
prayers from
verse 5 and
verse 13.
Let's pray
together.
May the
God who
gives
endurance
and
encouragement
give us
a spirit
of unity
among
ourselves
as we
follow
Christ
Jesus.
And may
the God
of hope
fill us
with all
joy and
peace as
we trust
in him
so that
we may
overflow
with hope
by the
power of
the Holy
Spirit.
We ask
this in
Jesus'
name.
Amen.