By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study, we looked
at verses 13-23 of chapter 14.
1.1.1. We finished
part two of our study in chapter 14 about those times in our lives as
Christians when in love we have to agree to disagree with one another.
1.1.2. We have
observed many things in our previous two studies, including :
1.1.2.1. In Paul’s
day there were enormous problems in the churches that had been planted in that
first century of the church due to the various backgrounds and baggage that
people brought with them into the church after coming to Christ.
1.1.2.1.1.
Jewish brethren in the church in Rome had come to
recognize Jesus as the Jewish Messiah and believed upon Him for salvation,
however because of their Jewish upbringing and training they still held onto
and practiced many things from their Jewish heritage, and they had a hard time
understanding why everyone did not practice these same things. Plus, they had a hard time befriending and
accepting Gentile brothers and sisters as equal heirs of God, especially because
many of the practices of the Gentiles were in violation of their Jewish Law.
1.1.2.1.2.
Likewise, Gentile brethren in the church in
1.1.2.2. In Christ we
have been given a great amount of freedom for Paul even wrote, “all things
are lawful but not all things are profitable.”
1.1.2.3. We saw that
Paul referred to two kinds of brethren within the church, “weaker brothers”
and “stronger brothers.” We saw
that contrary to what we might have initially thought would be the case that
the “weaker brothers” were those who were more sensitive to certain
kinds of conduct and behavior as being sinful.
The “stronger brothers” more correctly understood their freedom
in Christ and didn’t have as many rules and regulations that they imposed upon
themselves.
1.1.2.4. We saw that
in our world today that there are often problems that arise in the church due
to the fact that some people think that if a person is truly a Christian that
he/she ought to be living a certain way and forsaking certain types of worldly
behavior that they believe is a compromise of their faith and a denial of their
Lord. There is a lot of judging and
criticism of each other in the body of Christ today. Many times in the church we are disjointed
and don’t work together or particularly like each other, and, cliques often
form within the church based around holding to certain types of convictions.
1.1.2.5. This chapter
dealt with those grey areas of our lives in which good people can agree to
disagree about, the things that are not black and white in the scriptures.
1.1.2.6. Christians
who are genuinely and seriously following the Lord sometimes disagree about what
is right and wrong behavior in certain situations, and we saw that there is a
time and place when Christians in love need to agree to disagree with each
other about certain things.
1.1.2.7. We are told
not to judge others, however at the same time we are also told to judge all
things and judge those who are within the church. The judging that we are not to do is holding
a critical opinion of another, acting as judge and jury without even talking
with the person or finding out his side of things, judging by wrong standards,
hypocritical judging, judging others by one standard and ourselves by another,
etc.
1.1.2.8. It is OK if
we Christians have convictions about things that are not black and white in the
scriptures, however it is important that we not insist that others accept all
of our views. Plus, how we treat each
other is more important than that we get others to accept all of our opinions.
1.1.2.9. Each of us
need to be fully persuaded in our own minds about the convictions we have in
these grey areas for whatever is not of faith is sin in our lives.
1.1.2.10. If we really
believe that something is a sin then if we commit that act we will be
committing a sin. Therefore it is very
important that we are careful concerning the convictions that we have.
1.2.
In our study today, we are going to look at verses
1-14 of chapter 15.
1.2.1. We are going
to see that Paul’s arguments from chapter 14 continue over into our study
today. Paul will begin to talk about the
fact that we as Christians need to bear one another’s weaknesses and be of one
mind and accord in the body of Christ.
1.1.1. Paul’s
exhortations to the church are expanded in this study beyond what they were in
chapter 14..
1.1.2. Before
we begin our study I’d like to share something with you that Jack Handey has written, "Before you criticize someone,
walk a mile in their shoes. That way, you'll be a mile from them, and you'll
have their shoes."
2. VS
15:1-2 - “15:1 Now we who are
strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just
please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to his
edification.” - Paul tells
us that we who are strong in Christ ought to bear the weaknesses of those who
are without strength and not just please ourselves
2.1.
The arguments which Paul uses in chapter 15 are
actually a continuation of chapter 14, and it is apparent when looking closely
at the themes of chapters 14 and 15 that the first part of chapter 15 should
have been included in chapter 14.
2.2.
In chapter 14, Paul wrote that the “stronger
brothers” shouldn’t despise the weaker ones, and here in this verse, Paul
talks of inward motive. He writes that
people are not supposed to just ‘please’ themselves, but that they are
to ‘please’ their brothers and sisters.
In other words, Christians are not supposed to be so selfish-minded and
self-centered that all they are thinking about is themselves and what they are
going to get out of anything. But,
rather they are to think about “others” and ‘their good,’ and how
that they can build up and edify their brothers and sisters in all that they
do.
2.3.
They way that the ‘stronger’ brother pleases,
builds up, and edifies his weaker brother is by not flaunting his freedom in
Christ in such a way as might cause his weaker brother to stumble. If a brother or a sister has a conviction
about not doing a certain thing out of conscience towards God, then the ‘stronger’
brother should try not to do that thing in front of, or in the presence of, the
‘weaker’ brother.
2.4.
It is such a worthy goal is it not to be committed to
‘bear the weaknesses’ of our brothers and sisters in the body of
Christ? Is this not how the Lord deals
with each of us? The Lord is forbearing
with us and bears our weaknesses.
2.5.
Selfishness is really the root of many of our sins as
people. We are basically self-centered
people by nature, and only when we actually begin to walk with Christ and put
to death the old sin-nature, do we escape living our life selfishly and for
ourselves. In the church, each of us
must deny ourselves and our own ego-centric goals and desires in order to do
what is best for the body as a whole. We
should always think about our brother or our sister in Christ, and what his/her
needs and desires may be, and then deny the fulfillment of some of our needs
and desires so that we can be a blessing and help build up that other brother
or sister.
2.6.
Paul writes here that each of us as Christians must
learn to ‘please’ others rather than just ‘please’
ourselves. Therefore, in every
conversation and situation we find ourselves in we must think about our
neighbor and our brother and sister and what their needs and desires consist
of.
2.7.
Specifically, those of us who are stronger in our
faith and our understanding of our freedom in Christ, need to not just please
ourselves, but rather please our brother who is weaker and has more
restrictions he/she has placed upon himself/herself thinking that by these
restrictions he/she will be more spiritual.
So, we must be careful not to flaunt our freedom in Christ at the expense
of a brother or sister who does not believe he has the same freedom that we
have. We do not want to do anything to
cause anyone to stumble.
3. VS 15:3 - “3 For even Christ did not please
Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached Thee
fell upon Me.”” - Paul tells
us that even Christ did not please Himself but rather bore the reproaches of
those who reproached the Lord
3.1.
In this verse, Paul uses Christ as the ultimate
example to all Christians of one who denied Himself and His freedom, needs, and
desires for the good of all men. Christ
was willing to sacrifice all of His freedoms and endure horrendous pain and
suffering in order to bear our ‘reproaches’ (or sins and iniquities)
upon the cross of Calvary.
3.2.
Paul is quoting here an Old Testament verse in Psalm
69:9 that prophesied what Christ was to accomplish on the cross for man, “9
For zeal for Your house has consumed me, And the reproaches of those
who reproach You have fallen on me.”
3.3.
We Christians ought to look long and hard at Christ’s example
of self-denial of His freedoms and attainments as God the Son. If Jesus was willing to deny Himself of
everything which rightly belonged to Him and allow Himself to suffer to such a
great extent as He did, then we should be willing to deny ourselves some of our
freedoms and privileges, if it is that by expressing those freedoms and
privileges we could cause another to stumble in their faith.
4. VS 15:4 - “4 For whatever was written in
earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and
the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” - Paul tells us that the things that were
written in earlier times were written for our instruction so that through
perseverance and the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope
4.1.
In verse 4, Paul writes that the Old Testament
scriptures were inspired by God and written by men so that we could have ‘instruction’
through them, and at the same time persevere in believing through their
encouragement. The scriptures were given
then so that that by them the Christian can have ‘hope,’ which for the
Christian is confident expectation of what the Lord is going to do in
fulfilling His promises.
4.2.
This verse reveals clearly the importance of teaching
the Old Testament scriptures during New Testament times. God has given us His Word, both old and new
covenants, so that we might learn principles and precepts such as will guide
our lives in whatever era we may happen to live. Sadly, today you can hardly find a church
that teaches the Old Testament scriptures which were given to the church today
for ‘instruction,’ ‘encouragement’ and ‘hope.’
5. VS
15:5-6 - “5 Now may the God
who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with
one another according to Christ Jesus; 6 that with one accord you may with one
voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” - Paul pronounces a blessing upon the hearer
invoking God to give perseverance and encouragement to be of the same mind with
one another in the body of Christ so that with one accord we might glorify the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
5.1.
Since God through His Word gives us ‘perseverance
and encouragement,’ in verse 5 Paul prays that the Lord will grant to his
readers that they, ‘be of the same mind with one another according to Christ
Jesus.’ That is, he prays that they
will all be joined together for one purpose and under One Lord. He prays that their “unanimity” (being
of one mind) will be in ‘Christ,’ which is to say that they will be in
agreement and joined together under Christ for His purposes and kingdom.
5.2.
It is a work of the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ
that brings about “unanimity,” and apart from this work of the Holy
Spirit in the body of Christ you will be hard-pressed to find “unanimity”
in this world. When the leadership of
the church is not of one mind concerning decisions that are to be made then in
the vast majority of cases the leaders should wait until they become of one
mind before they make a decision, for the Holy Spirit brings about “unanimity”
in the church.
5.3.
Then, in verse 6 Paul prays that in that unanimity in
Christ, that the church would be of ‘one accord’ and with ‘one voice
glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ’ through their worship
and godly living. This verse pictures
the church at the height of what God has called her to be when we are together
worshipping the Lord with one mind and of one accord. This is the closest to what heaven will be
like that we can experience in the here and now.
5.4.
We Christians must deny ourselves so that we can
become of one mind with the rest of the body of Christ. We must humble ourselves and forsake all of
our pride (in case anything in our life is keeping us from being of one mind
with the body of Christ we find ourselves in).
We must sometimes and in some situations hold our opinions to ourselves,
restrict our freedoms and privileges, and even forsake our own desires and
plans in order to be of one mind with the rest of the body.
5.5.
God calls us in the body to work together as a team,
and therefore we must work for the good of the whole, even if it means working
at the expense of our own individual goals and agendas.
5.6.
It is only through the Holy Spirit working in and
through each of our lives in the body of Christ that we can truly be of one
mind and purpose in the church. There is
no unity on this earth apart from that which God’s people have through the
indwelling Holy Spirit in the Christian’s life.
6. VS 15:7 - “7 Wherefore, accept one another,
just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.” - Paul tells us to accept one another just as
Christ also accepted us
6.1.
Paul had previously written to the “stronger
brothers” to ‘accept’ their “weaker brothers” in the faith,
and here in this verse, Paul exhorts the church as a whole to ‘accept one
another.’ Each person in the body of
Christ is responsible before God to ‘accept’ his brothers and sisters in
Christ in the same way ‘as Christ also accepted us.’
6.2.
“Unconditional love” for a brother or a sister
is required to ‘accept’ them in the same way in which Christ has
accepted us. Christ didn’t tell us that
if we clean up our life and do this and so and not this and the other that He
would eventually recognize that we have become holy enough for Him to accept
us. Rather, Jesus reveals that the
Father has accepted us just as in Jesus’ parable of The Prodigal Son where the
father embraced and accepted his prodigal son who had just returned from the pig
sties of rebellion and idolatry in another land. When the son returned from living in sin his
father’s acceptance of his son is seen in the fact that he fell on his neck and
hugged and kissed him, put a gold ring on his finger, threw a robe around him,
and called for a big celebration feast to be held.
6.3.
Since Christ has accepted me with unconditional love,
I must likewise accept my brother and sister in Christ in just the same way I
have been accepted by God.
7. VS
15:8-12 - “8 For I say that Christ
has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to
confirm the promises given to the fathers, 9 and for the Gentiles to glorify
God for His mercy; as it is written, “Therefore I will give praise to Thee
among the Gentiles, And I will sing to Thy name.” 10 And again he says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles,
with His people.” 11 And again, “Praise
the Lord all you Gentiles, And let all the peoples praise Him.” 12 And again Isaiah says, “There shall come
the root of Jesse, And He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, In Him shall
the Gentiles hope.”” - Paul tells
us that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth
of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers and for the Gentiles to
glorify His mercy along with His people
7.1.
These verses bring out the fact that both of the
groups that existed within the early church of Paul’s day, the Jews and the
Gentiles, have been called by God to come together and to worship and glorify
God together. Paul is implying here that
both groups need to accept one another and work together in the church.
7.2.
In verse 8, Paul writes that Christ came and ‘became
a servant to the circumcision,’ the Jews, and this was for the purpose of
fulfilling the promises that had been given to the Jews concerning their
Messiah. Thus, we read in the gospels
how that Jesus was called first to go to the house of
7.3.
In verse 9, Paul writes about Christ’s ministry to the
Gentiles. He has ministered to them
primarily through His church and this was for the purpose of having them ‘glorify
God for His mercy.’ When Gentiles
become saved by Christ, they begin to give glory to God for that salvation that
they have received, or ‘for His mercy.’
7.4.
Then, in verses 10-12 Paul quotes from the Old
Testament various references which show that it was prophesied that the Lord
would bring in the Gentiles ‘with His people,’ that the Gentiles would
worship with the Jews, and that the Messiah would eventually rule ‘over the
Gentiles,’ and He would also become their ‘hope’ (confident
expectation) for salvation. This rule of
Christ over the Gentiles will happen during the Millennium.
8. VS
15:13 - “13 Now may the God of
hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope
by the power of the Holy Spirit.” - Paul
pronounces a blessing on the readers invoking God to fill us with all joy and
peace in believing and that we might abound in hope
8.1.
In this verse, Paul writes that God is the ‘God of
hope,’ for the Christian’s ‘hope’ originates from God, as it is His
invention and He ministers ‘hope’ to the Christian through His word and
the Holy Spirit.
8.2.
In this verse Paul is again praying for his readers,
and he prays that the Lord would ‘fill’ them ‘with all joy and peace
in believing.’ Trusting in the
promises of God’s word brings ‘joy and peace’ to the Christian as his
mind meditates in and rests with the rest of faith upon that which has been
promised to him in God’s word.
8.3.
Finally, Paul prays that his readers will ‘abound
in hope’ and do so ‘by the power of the Holy Spirit.’ Thus, he is really praying that their faith
will increase and that this will occur because of the ‘power of the Holy
Spirit’ which fills and empowers them, giving them ‘hope’ (confident
expectation).
8.4.
We in the church today don’t always have taught to us
the hope that we have in Christ that is beyond the grave. Teachers and preachers must remind the body
of Christ of that hope that lies beyond the grave.
8.5.
I have told this story before, but I want to tell it
again for the sake of those who haven’t heard it. In April of 1994, one of the women in the
home fellowship I led through our church in
9. VS
15:14 - “14 And concerning
you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of
goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able also to admonish one another.” - Paul tells us that he is convinced concerning
his readers (the Roman church in specific) that they are full of goodness and
filled with all knowledge and able to admonish one another
9.1.
Paul has confidence in the believers in
9.2.
Paul writes that he is convinced that they were ‘full
of goodness,’ which is to say that he is convinced of their integrity and
purity of heart. He knew that they were
sincerely committed to Christ and very Christ-like in their character.
9.3.
What does a person’s life look like who is ‘full of
goodness’ ? In the book of Acts we
read in Acts 9:36 of a woman named Dorcus who was
full of good works and ministered to the body by making garments for
people. In Acts 11:24, Barnabas is
described as a good man who was full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. Etc., etc.
9.4.
Paul writes here also that they were ‘filled with
all knowledge.’ They were not
untaught in the scriptures and the things of God. They had received much from the Lord’s Word
which they in turn were able to share with others and minister to others from.
9.5.
Thus, Paul writes that he is confident of them that
they are ‘able to admonish one another.’
They knew God’s Word and how it should be applied to their lives so that
they were now able to give godly and Biblical counsel to each other in the
Lord. They were able to reprove, exhort
and rebuke one another in the things of God.
9.6.
The Greek word “noutheteo”
which is translated here ‘admonish’ is defined by Strong’s as meaning “to
admonish, warn, exhort.” Some have
translated this phrase ‘able to admonish’ as “competent to counsel,’
and Christian psychologist and author Jay Adams has written a book titled “Competent
To Counsel” in which he introduces what is called “Nouthetic
Counseling,” which is just an application of this verse in our lives in the
body of Christ. The ministry being
referred to by Paul is that of reminding people of their responsibilities
before God. To ‘exhort’ someone
means to tell them what they ought to do in any situation. To ‘admonish’ them means to implore
them to do what you have exhorted them to do.
9.7.
One of the fruits of maturity in our spiritual walk
with the Lord is that we grow in our understanding of God’s word and His
working in our life so that we can now be used in other people’s lives. This is the natural progression for us as we
continue to grow spiritually. At first
our focus is upon our own needs and getting those met by the Lord, then after
we have grown some spiritually we begin to think about others and how we can
minister to them from what the Lord has done in our lives.
9.8.
The writer of the book of Hebrews expressed the fact
that it was abnormal for a Christian to be in the faith for a good period of
time and yet still not be able to minister to others and be used in their lives
: Hebrews 5:12-14, “12 For
though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone
to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come
to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only
of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an
infant. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice
have their senses trained to discern good and evil.”
9.8.1. O Christian,
I must ask you the question of how long you have been in the faith and whether
or not you are right now where you should be in your spiritual growth? For the amount of time that you have been in
the faith, where should you be at spiritually in your ability to minister to
others? Where are you? Has your growth been stunted for some
reason? What could have kept you back
from being where the Lord knows you should be at this point in your spiritual
walk? What can you do to remove that
obstacle to your spiritual growth?
9.8.2. If we were
all honest with each other about the questions I asked above I think we would
all be in agreement that we are not where we really ought to be in our
spiritual walk at this point for as long as we have been saved. But, we do need to strive to grow and mature
to that person that we should be based upon our years in the faith.
9.9.
The great English preacher Spurgeon of a century and a
half ago once wrote an article called, “A Neglected Duty,” in which he
discussed the importance for each of us as Christians to admonish one another
in the things of God, and he states there, “The Word of God is very plain as
to the duty of rebuking sin, although, from the neglect into which the work has
fallen, one might have imagined that it was left optional, or allowed,
rather than commanded. It is a most weighty observation that, according to
God's law, silence concerning sin is consent to it. "And if a soul sin,
and hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he hath seen or known
of it; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity" (Leviticus
5:1). Trapp has pithily said, "By ill silence to leave men in sin is as
bad as by ill speech to draw them to sin. Not to do good, saith
our Savior, is to do evil, and not to save is to destroy" "And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath
days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill?" (Mark 3:4). To leave
others in their sins unreproved is to be
"partakers of other men's sins." Paul teaches us this when he writes,
"Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather
reprove them"—as much as to say, if you do not reprove them, you have
fellowship with them. If I see a thief breaking into a house, and give no
alarm, am I not, by my silence, an accessory to the act? Without the aid of my
silence the burglar could not perpetrate the robbery; if I lend him that
assistance, am I not, morally, his accomplice? The same holds good in all
cases; but we are not left merely to infer the fact, for the Lord has told us
by the mouth of his prophet Ezekiel, "If thou dost not speak to warn the
wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood
will I require at thine hand." The ruin and sin
of others we shall surely partake in if they perish through want of our
admonition.”
9.10.
Concerning the rebuking of another Christian in love,
the scriptures encourage us that if we are a faithful loving friend that we
will be willing to do this as often as needed and that a wise man will be
willing to receive rebuke, for instance :
9.10.1.
Proverbs 9:8, “8 Do not reprove a
scoffer, or he will hate you, Reprove a wise man and he will love you.”
9.10.2.
Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron so one
brother sharpens another.”
9.10.3.
Proverbs 27:6, “6 Faithful are the wounds
of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.”
9.10.4.
Proverbs 19:25, “25 Strike a scoffer and
the naive may become shrewd, But reprove one who has understanding and he will
gain knowledge.”
9.10.5.
Hebrews 3:13, “13 But exhort one another
day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of
you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”
9.10.6.
Colossians 3:16, “16 Let the word of
Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one
another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with
thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
9.11.
Gal. 6:1-4 gives us the perspective of using
gentleness whenever we may exhort and admonish one another in the body of
Christ, “Galatians 6:1-4, “1 Brethren, even if anyone is caught
in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of
gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be
tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law
of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something when he is
nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But each one must examine his own
work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself
alone, and not in regard to another.”
9.12.
It is because of neglect in being willing to go to a
brother or a sister and admonish them when needed that has allowed many
churches to foster heretical teachings as well as non-Christ-like attitudes and
behavior, with the result that the church today is filled with compromise and
much that is not pleasing to the Lord.
9.13.
We Christians can counsel one another because we know
that the Lord is the answer for everyone’s problems. We don’t have to have to be a professional or
have a degree in Psychology or Sociology, and we don’t have to have a procedure
or a method in order to help people who are struggling with problems. All we have to do is point them to the One
whose name is “Wonderful Counselor” and help them discover for
themselves the wonderful promises of God’s word which they can learn to trust
and depend upon.
9.14.
If we Christians will stick to sharing with others the
things that the Lord has taught us and worked into our lives which have helped
us in similar circumstances, then we too are ‘competent to counsel’ our
brother or sister. Counseling and
encouraging one another from the scriptures is such an important ministry that
all of us in the body of Christ need to be involved in.
9.15.
We Christians need to realize that we don’t have to
have identical personal experience and we do not need to know what to share in
each and every circumstance that a person needs counsel in. If we will simply point people to the Lord as
the answer to their problems, then He will meet the need that they have.
9.16.
Many times we Christians fail to realize just how much
the Lord has taught us. We sometimes
think we need to know so much more in order to help people, however this
thinking is wrong. Many of us know much
more about God’s Word and His Ways than, for instance, most of the pastors in
third world countries. God can use us if
we will just point people to the Lord as the One who can fix people’s problems.
10.
CONCLUSIONS:
10.1.
As we think about how that we ought to apply this
study to our lives, lets first of all be committed to bearing one another’s
weaknesses in the body of Christ and not just live a selfish and self-centered
life thinking only of our own needs.
10.2.
Lets be committed to bearing being of one mind and
accord in the body of Christ.
10.3.
Lets be committed to daily exhorting and admonishing each
other in love, for we are competent to admonish one another in Christ.