Romans 15:1-13

Well, please turn with me to Romans chapter 15. We're going to read verses 1 to 13.

Romans 15 · chapter mention

So Romans chapter 15 and verses 1 to 13.

Romans 15 · chapter mention

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 was written to teach us

so that through endurance 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 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 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.

As it is written,

Again, it says in Deuteronomy, in Moses' song,

And again, Psalm 117,

And again, Isaiah says,

Amen.

Amen.

Let's pray for a moment.

Heavenly Father, these words of scripture were, we remember, words in a letter to your people in Rome.

And for them, they were truth and nourishment and correction.

They were, from the apostle, what they needed to hear.

And no less so tonight, Lord, may these words be your words to us.

For we need truth, your truth.

We need to be nourished by your word.

We need to be corrected.

And taught and shaped.

So by your spirit, our prayer is that you would speak.

For Jesus' name's sake. Amen.

Well, before I get into the text, I want to speak firstly of two introductory thoughts

as we turn to the letter to the Romans.

My guess is that after a summer break, you maybe can't remember what the rest of Romans is about.

And so I want to just make two introductory remarks before we look at the text in a bit more detail.

And the first is this.

Romans, the letter to the Romans,

for all its theological substance,

and for all its rich and deep truth,

and for all the intricacy and precision of its argument,

and the way in which the apostle builds his case for the gospel as he writes to the church in Rome.

For all of that, the letter to the Romans is,

and we must remember this every time we believe it,

it is every time we read it,

it is for ordinary believers in Jesus Christ.

Romans can become labeled in our minds,

even if not by our mouths,

as a letter of the New Testament to be avoided

because it's theologically complicated,

or because it is full of truth

and not so full as some of the other letters

in terms of practical advice for living.

But Romans was not written for theologians or for academics,

it was written for believers,

just like you and me.

It was written for people who loved Christ

and who formed a church fellowship in the city of Rome

way back in the earliest days of the New Testament church.

I love to remember,

when I turned to the letter to the Romans,

a true instance that took place some 30 years ago,

where a pastor here in the city of Edinburgh

was preaching through the letter to the Romans

to a large Sunday evening congregation week by week.

And after one of the services in his series on Romans,

an academic student came to the pastor,

having never been in the church before,

and said to him,

now I really think you ought to avoid preaching

as in-depth and as deeply as that sermon was.

If you want ordinary people to understand what you're saying,

I really think you should concentrate on more simple things.

Can you imagine the embarrassment of it?

This 19 or 20-year-old student

telling the experienced pastor this.

And the pastor, because he was kind,

listened for a while.

And after some minutes of listening to this,

he said, well, I think you're quite, quite wrong.

Romans may have stretched you

beyond what you can understand,

but see that man sitting over there?

He's a plumber,

and he loves listening to sermons in Romans.

And that lady over there,

she's a single mum,

and she's been drinking it in Sunday night by Sunday night.

And you've never been here before,

and you have the nerve to comment,

I suggest you come for another 10 weeks and listen,

and then we'll chat again.

That was his advice,

because Romans is for ordinary believers.

And the experience of the church

down through the centuries is that

when the letter to the Romans

is preached and taught

as God's word for ordinary folks,

normal believers are captured

and grasped by this divine word in this letter.

And their lives are mastered

by the gospel that Romans contains.

This letter is for you.

It is for your church here,

a local fellowship of God's people.

It is not primarily for anything else.

That's my first introductory thought.

My second introductory thought is this,

and here we turn to the section of Romans

that we find ourselves in tonight.

The section begins at the beginning of chapter 14,

and you may remember,

if you've looked at this in earlier weeks,

that Paul is speaking about the weak and the strong.

The particular issue in his day

was whether or not believers should eat meat

which had already been sacrificed to pagan idols.

And some, the strong, as Paul called them,

said, yes, it's fine, it's just meat.

It doesn't matter a hoot what it's been sacrificed to.

It's meat, it's food provided by God.

And idols are just dead bits of stone and metal and wood anyway,

and if the meat has been sacrificed to them,

well, it's only been sacrificed to nothing,

and so I'm quite happy to eat it and to enjoy it.

The strong.

But the weak found themselves thinking,

no, no, no, I just couldn't.

I couldn't eat that meat.

Once it has been sacrificed to a pagan idol

and used in that way

and been involved in the lives

of those who are worshipping false gods,

it wouldn't be right for me

as a follower of the Lord Jesus

to eat that food,

to associate myself with it.

I couldn't possibly,

I couldn't bring myself to eat it.

They, to use Paul's language,

were the weak.

Slightly more full of tender conscience,

perhaps, we might think.

Slightly more afraid

to take steps into the unknown.

Slightly more fearful

that they would be doing something

that might upset God.

They were weak,

weak in their faith,

unable to see as yet

that all good things are given by God

for us to enjoy.

It's fine.

Eat the meat,

as their brothers and sisters,

their strong brothers and sisters,

were saying.

And so there was,

at that time,

a very obvious difference of opinion

over this particular issue.

And Paul is writing

to this local community of believers

in Rome

to help them sort this difficulty out.

And the danger

in becoming either the weak

or the strong,

one of the dangers in our churches

is that perversely and paradoxically,

the weak are often,

in reality,

as strong as an ox.

Now let me explain

what I mean by that.

The issue in their day was

whether to eat meat sacrificed to an idol.

I shouldn't think

that many of us

have been faced

with that particular difficulty

in recent months or years.

But we will have been faced

with innumerable,

comparable issues.

Whether or not

we should dress

in a particular way

to come to church

and meet with our brothers and sisters

on a Sunday.

Whether or not

believers should

drink alcohol.

Whether or not

believers should

pop into Sainsbury's

on the way back from church

or not.

Whether or not

you should

feel free

to go to the

baptismal service

of someone

where the

practice of baptism

is different

from what you hold

in your particular church.

Or

much more painful

and much more

difficult

and real

in people's lives

if I have

a non-Christian

family member,

my brother

or sister

or son

or cousin

and they

are

getting married

to somebody

who

is

a Muslim,

should I go

to the wedding?

The strong

will say,

well yes,

he's your cousin.

Go to the wedding.

Show him that you love him.

He knows

you're not a Muslim

and that you're not

wanting him

to follow this

religious route

but he's your

cousin.

Go to the wedding.

Whereas the weak

would say,

no, no,

I couldn't.

I couldn't.

I just couldn't

take part in it.

There is no right

or wrong

but

there is a very

obvious difference

of opinion,

isn't there?

And therefore

a great potential

for believers

even within

one fellowship

to find themselves

on different

pages

and pulling

in different

directions

over such

an issue

as this.

Now,

in a church

fellowship,

the weak,

the person

who has a

tender conscience,

the person

who says,

no, no, no,

we mustn't

be selling

books

on a Sunday.

That is

some kind

of business

matter

that shouldn't

take place

on a Sunday.

Whereas the

strong believer

will say,

nonsense,

we want to

sell all

the Christian

books that

we can

possibly sell

and get

the good

news of

the gospel

and good

teaching from

the Bible

out into

the lives

and the minds

and the hearts

of all who

are in our

church.

But the weak

says,

no, no,

I'll be offended,

I'll be hurt

if you do that.

I couldn't

possibly,

I might have

to leave

the church.

And so,

the weak

can become

as strong

as an ox

because sometimes

it only takes

two or three

of the weak

to effectively

hold a whole

fellowship

to ransom

and to actually

be strong

enough to

force their

opinion

on everybody

and to be

very strong

indeed.

So,

that's a

great danger

when we're

speaking about

the weak

and the

strong.

And that's

my other

introductory

thought

this evening.

So,

that's the

kind of

issue

that is

being dealt

with here.

That,

by way of

introduction,

and so

now to

the text.

And in

chapter 15

verses 1

to 13,

Paul is

really wrapping

up his

thinking about

this area.

Most of

his teaching

on this

topic is

done in

chapter 14.

And in

chapter 15,

he is

wrapping

things up.

And having

had two

introductory

thoughts as

my first

point,

what I want

as my second

point this

evening is

to draw

your attention

to three

enduring

and central

fundamentals

of the

gospel.

just look

at how

Paul

concludes

this part

of his

letter.

He takes

the believers

right back

to basic

fundamentals.

The word

fundamental,

by the way,

is a very,

very good

and positive

word.

And what

Paul does

in verses

1 to 6

is he

reminds them

of the

cross,

the

scriptures,

and the

Holy Spirit.

Three

absolutely

core

Christian

beliefs

around which

both the

weak and

the strong

can and

must unite

in any

local church.

A

fundamental

is

a

necessary

base

foundation

is

the word

fundamental

or

fundamentalist

we understand

in our

culture

is now

seen

almost

entirely

negatively.

But you

do not

have a

negative

opinion,

for example,

of the

fundamental

importance

of the

foundation

that sits

underneath

your house.

It is

absolutely

fundamentally

important

that that

foundation

on which

your

house

or

flat

or

wherever

you

live

sits

is

strong

and

well

built.

And it

is the

necessary

base

of the

cross

of Christ

in the

thinking

of the

believer

that Paul

takes these

people to

in verses

1 to

3.

And this

is very

costly

for us

to hear

properly.

we who

are

strong

ought

to

bear

with

the

failings

of

the

weak

and

not

to

please

ourselves.

That is

with the

failings

of the

genuinely

weak,

not the

weak who

are actually

just being

like strong

bulldozers

in the

church.

We who

are strong

ought to

bear

with the

failings

of the

weak.

Each

of us,

whatever

our view,

should

please his

neighbor

for his

good.

That is,

you and

how you

are doing

in your

faith and

in your

life,

that is

much more

important to

me than

how I am

doing.

Each of

us should

please his

neighbor for

his good,

to build

him up,

because,

and here's

the cross,

even Christ

did not

please himself,

but as

it is

written,

the insults

of those

who insult

you have

fallen on

me.

Remember

Jesus hanging

on the

cross and

how the

passers-by,

as if it

wasn't bad

enough that

he was

hanging there,

the only

innocent human

being to

have ever

walked the

face of

the earth,

being punished

unjustly,

with no

mercy,

as if that

wasn't bad

enough.

He then

had the

insults of

the passers-by

pouring out of

their mouths

into his

ears.

some leader

you.

If you

were up

to

anything,

if you

are even

half of

what you're

cracked up

to be,

then come

down off

the cross

and rescue

yourself,

and then we

might believe

in you.

Talk about

kicking a man

when he is

down,

and talk

about the

slicing and

stabbing effect

of wicked

words.

And Paul

says,

well,

if that

was how

the Lord

bore these

insults for

us,

then in our

fellowships

together,

are we not

willing for

the sake of

our neighbor

to look out

for what

is good

and up-building

for him,

regardless of

what people say

about me

and my

position,

whether it's

one of

weakness or

strength in

the two

categories,

what people

say about

me doesn't

matter.

But what I

do for my

neighbor matters.

It matters

for him.

And that is

the cross

engrafted

into the

attitudes and

the lives

of Christian

believers in

a church

family like

this one.

That's the

first fundamental,

and it's a

very costly

thing to hear,

isn't it?

Because it's

telling us

to bear

the scorn,

to bear

the comment,

to bear

the insult,

following in

the steps

of our

Savior,

the Lord

Jesus.

The second

fundamental is

in verse 4,

and it is the

core truth

of the

scriptures.

pillars.

And here,

if you like,

another

illustration to

remind us that

fundamentals are

very good

things.

A fundamental

thing is like

a central

core around

which everything

else is

built.

Think, if you

like, of a

spiral staircase.

Now, the

staircase, the

thing that you

step on to

get down the

stairs, are

the wooden

steps themselves.

But the

vital,

fundamental

feature of

that staircase

is the

metal core

that goes up

the middle to

which all the

steps are

attached,

isn't it?

Now, that is

what the

place of the

scriptures is

like in the

life of the

church.

Look at

verse 4,

as Paul

takes them to

this topic.

4,

everything that

was written in

the past, in

the Old

Testament

scriptures, was

written to

teach us.

So that

through endurance

and the

encouragement of

the scriptures,

we might have

hope.

What a wonderful

thing for him

to say when

he has just

taught them

about the

Christian

prospect of

bearing the

pain of

others'

comments and

abuse and

cutting words

and all the

costliness of

that.

What a

wonderful thing

for him to

say that the

fundamental

Christian help

for you,

bearing such

pain and

cost, is

the teaching

of the

scriptures.

Everything that

was written in

the past was

written not

only for the

people then,

but to teach

us.

Now, he is

saying to the

Romans.

And it's

written to

teach us

so that

through

endurance and

the encouragement

of the

scriptures, you

might have

hope to

go on

where there

are fights

and factions

and differences

of opinion in

the fellowship.

Have hope and

encouragement.

Keep going as

brothers and

sisters because

week by week

by week and

day by day,

the scriptures

will give you

that hope.

hope.

They will,

when you are

enduring the

pain of

standing for

the Lord

Jesus, they

will encourage

you and point

you to the

future.

That's the

second fundamental

then, the

cross and the

scriptures, and

thirdly, the

spirit, verses

five and six.

may the

God who

gives endurance

and encouragement

from the

scriptures, as

he's just

said, also

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

Father of

our Lord

Jesus Christ.

Now, bear

with me here.

We're going to

look at a few

verses throughout

the New Testament.

Now, when a

preacher does

this, I can

have an allergic

reaction to

looking at five

or six different

cross-references in

the Bible, but

tonight I want

to risk you

having that

allergic reaction

to really

persuade you

that this

plea for

united thinking

born by the

Holy Spirit

is found

everywhere in

the New

Testament

scriptures.

So look

first of all

with me at

Romans chapter

Romans 12:16

12, verse

16.

You can

manage that

one.

It's just

back one

page.

Romans 12,

Romans 12:16

verse 16.

Live in

harmony with

one another.

In other

words, as he

explains, do

not be

proud, but

be willing

to associate

with people

of low

position.

Do not

be conceited.

Live in

harmony with

one another

and appeal

for unity

with a very

practical

implication

against

conceit

and pride.

Now, you

can manage

the next

cross-reference

too because

it's just

one page

in the other

direction.

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 1:10

chapter 1,

verse 10.

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 1:10

chapter 1,

verse 10.

These are

very strong

commandments.

I appeal

to you,

brothers,

in the name

of our

Lord Jesus

Christ,

that all

of you

agree with

one another

so that there

may be no

divisions among

you and that

you may be

perfectly united

in mind and

thought.

that's a

very high

and lofty

appeal,

isn't it,

to Christian

people?

But it's

very strong

and it was

very necessary

for the

Corinthian

church.

Keep going

forward to

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 13 · chapter mention

chapter 13,

the famous

love chapter

and to

verse 11.

These

Corinthians

who were

so puffed

up and

immature and

full of

themselves and

their gifts.

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 13:11

chapter 13

verse 11.

When I

was a

child,

I talked

like a

child,

I thought

like a

child,

I reasoned

like a

child.

When I

became a

man,

I put

childish

ways

behind me.

We went

for a walk

this afternoon

with two

lovely little

girls aged

about five

and three

and they

were dressed

in their

matching

pretty

dresses like

something out

of a

postcard

from the

southern

states of

the United

States of

America

and they

looked

angelic

as they

wandered

along the

path and

the dappled

light of

the trees

and they

were arguing

the whole

time.

And when

we got

home,

they were

arguing about

whose was

the dolphin

and whose

was the

frog and

they never

stopped.

They argued

as little

children

can,

morning,

noon and

night.

And what

that verse

in 1

Corinthians

13 is

saying to

Christians is

grow up,

grow up

and stop

bickering

and arguing.

It's a very

strong appeal.

Look at

Ephesians

Ephesians 4:3

chapter 4

verse 3.

He's still

awake.

I'll keep

going with

another one

or two

until I

see someone

convulsing.

Ephesians

Ephesians 4:3

chapter 4

verse 3.

Make

every effort.

It's all

very strong

language,

full of

superlatives.

Make

every effort

to keep

the unity

of the

spirit

through the

bond of

peace.

Now if

you flick

back to

Romans

Romans 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15,

our text

tonight,

and look

at the

verse there,

Paul says,

may God

give you

a spirit

of unity.

Now that,

what can

that mean

other than

a spirit

of unity

born by

the Holy

Spirit?

He's not

saying may

God give

you a

kind of

transcendental

feeling of

peace

washing over

you as

you sit

and have

your coffee

together.

It's not

that kind

of thing.

This is

a work

of God

in the

hearts

and minds

of believers

where some

are weak

and some

are strong

and never

the twain

shall meet.

May God

by his

spirit,

and here

it is in

Ephesians

Ephesians 4:3

chapter 4

verse 3,

make every

effort to

keep the

unity of

the Spirit,

capital S,

through the

bond of

peace.

Philippians

Philippians 2:2

chapter 2

verse 2,

make my

joy complete

by being

like-minded,

having the

same love,

being one

in spirit

and purpose.

Colossians

Colossians 3:14

chapter 3

verse 14,

this one

and one

other to

make my

point.

Colossians

Colossians 3:14

chapter 3

verse 14,

and over

all these

virtues,

put on

love which

binds them

all together

in perfect

unity.

And finally,

not just

Paul, but

1 Peter

1 Peter 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3,

1 Peter

1 Peter 3:8

chapter 3

verse 8,

finally,

all of

you,

live in

harmony

with one

another,

be sympathetic,

love as

brothers,

be compassionate

and humble,

live in

harmony

with one

another.

another.

So,

this is a

very widespread

New Testament

command,

isn't it?

I'm sure

you're glad

I didn't,

but I could

have done

as many

references

again.

The Spirit,

the Holy

Spirit of

God,

is the

one who

works

amongst

and within

his people

to bring

about a

God-given

unity,

even where

there are

very different

opinions about

certain issues.

Paul is not

papering over

the cracks

here.

Why?

He's devoted

a chapter and

a half of

his letter

to dealing

with how

to cope

with the

strong

differences

of opinion

in the

fellowship.

But the

Holy Spirit

is the

one who

brings about

a harmony

and a

unity

within the

church

that will,

verse 6,

lead to

us glorifying

God with

one heart

and one

mouth.

We may

have all

sorts of

different opinions

flowing out of

our mouths

when it comes

to shopping

and dressing

and sport

and goodness

knows what

else,

Sabbaths and

baptisms and

special days

and feasts

and new

moons and

all the rest

of it.

But with

one mouth

together we

praise the

God and

Father of

our Lord

Jesus Christ

who by

his Spirit

unites

believers

around the

gospel.

If I can

return to

the world

of the

Christian

Union and

the

university,

that is

what to

pray for

Christian

unions.

They come

to the

Christian

Union from

all manner

of different

evangelical

churches

and together

these Christian

students must

learn to

form a

united,

clear witness

to the

gospel of

Jesus Christ.

That is why

UCCF, the

Christian

Unions, or

IVF as some

of you will

have known

it in

decades gone

by, has

consistently

taken people

to the

cross, to

the scriptures

and to the

work of the

Holy Spirit

bringing new

life to

the believer

and uniting

believers

together in

Christ.

These things

Paul is

saying here,

these things,

if primary

and remembered,

will bring

your fellowship

to honor the

Lord Jesus

Christ, whatever

differences of

strength and

weakness are

found among

you.

And there

will be many

among you,

even a

number like

this.

Why, we can

tell by looking

at each

other that

that would be

the case.

So a

necessary base,

the gospel of

the cross,

a central

core, and a

spiral staircase,

the scriptures,

and a

primary rule.

Make every

effort to be

united amongst

yourselves as

you follow

Christ Jesus.

Three enduring

and central

fundamentals.

What a

wonderful way

to wrap up

his conversation

about the

strong and

the weak.

Point one was

two introductory

words.

Point two was

three enduring

fundamentals.

Point three is

one world

summoned to

praise.

Here is

Paul's

final

writing on

this topic.

Verses

seven and

eight and

the first

half of

verse nine

make the

point that

one world

is summoned

to praise.

He says in

verse seven,

accept one

another then,

just as

Christ accepted

you.

Now, why did

Christ accept

you?

He accepted

you in

order to

bring praise

to God

because I

tell you that

Christ has

become a

servant of

the Jews,

the people of

God whom he

came to,

on behalf of

God's truth,

in order to

confirm the

promises made

to the

patriarchs so

that the

Gentiles may

glorify God.

See what

Paul is saying?

Christ came

to the

people of

God,

the Old

Testament

people of

God as

their Messiah

to confirm

the promises

made to the

patriarchs and

he came to

them so

that the

Gentile world

with them

would honour

and praise

the living

God and

glorify him

for his

mercy.

All of this

unity, all of

this working

out how to

cope with the

weak and the

strong in

our fellowship

is because

God wants

there to be

one voice

of praise

from all

the nations

throughout the

world to

the praise

of his

son Jesus.

That's his

point in

verses 7

and 8.

Accept one

another

because one

world is

summoned to

praise.

And then

he effectively

makes the

same point

in verses

9 to

12 all

over again

by very

beautifully

drawing from

the Old

Testament

scriptures

this theme

of one

world being

summoned to

praise.

Look at

Psalm 18

he says to

them.

Here is Paul

preaching from

the Old

Testament

scriptures.

And here

is Paul

giving several

cross-references

which gives

me hope.

So here he's

saying from

Psalm 18

the song

of the

king

therefore I

will praise

you among

the Gentiles

who would

ever have

thought it.

The Old

Testament people

were used to

praising God

among their

own people

but here he's

saying I will

praise you

among the

Gentiles.

And then he

goes to

Jishoraname

to Moses

song rejoice

O Gentiles

with his

people.

It was

always God's

purpose to

have one

world summoned

to praise.

That was

his purpose

in calling

out his

covenant

people.

Then his

third reference

praise the

Lord all

you Gentiles

again in the

Psalms 117

this time.

Praise the

Lord all

you Gentiles

and sing

praises to

him all

you peoples.

and finally

in Isaiah

David's

heir

King

David

the great

king of

God's

people

King

David

his heir

will rule

the world

the root

of Jesse

will spring

up

one who

will arise

to rule

over

the nations

the Gentiles

will hope

in him.

This is not

a New Testament

idea that

suddenly came

up in the

mind of

Paul

now that

he was

engaged in

missionary

endeavor in

the nations.

This was

fundamental to

God's purposes

from the word

go.

The global

purpose of

the gospel

and the

global purpose

of God's

call to his

people embedded

in the very

Psalms that

they sang

was that

the Gentiles

too

would praise

the living

God.

So in

effect

as he

ends like

that

he's saying

you know

when you

have your

issues

of strong

and weak

I could

never do

that

I could

do that

what's

the problem

with that

when you

have these

issues

God says

here in

Romans 15

get over

it

get over

it and

remember the

global

purpose of

the gospel

there is a

bigger purpose

a much

bigger purpose

than how you

relate in

your fellowship

over some

cultural

difference that

has spilled

through history

and landed

on your

plate in

its current

form

get over

it and

remember the

global purpose

of the gospel

and the

global purpose

of the

Old Testament

scriptures

that's how

Paul wraps

up his

description of

the strong

and the weak

and you know

verse 22

of chapter 14

which we

didn't read

tonight

is a very

good place

to end

chapter 14

verse 22

so

whatever you

believe about

these things

the meat

the sabbath

the shopping

the sport

whatever it is

whatever you

believe about

these things

keep between

yourself

and God

because the

cross

the scriptures

the spirit

and God's

call to the

world

should

over

arch all

your squabbles

and differences

about these

petty trivia

and there

is a time

often

when these

things are

about to

burst into

flames and

cause destruction

in a church

family

to say

nothing

and unite

around the

Lord Jesus

himself

well let's

pray

dear heavenly

father

sometimes

often

perhaps

we feel

it better

to speak

our mind

to others

and to

keep matters

between

us

and you

Lord you

know our

hearts

you know

when we

rile each

other

you know

in a way

that I

certainly

don't

all the

potential