The Gospel Applied: Protecting our Unity

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.

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.

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.