Paul reaffirms that the roots of Christianity are found in Judaism, and that the Messiah spoken of in the Hebrew Scriptures refer to Jesus. He proclaims that his ministry is to the Gentiles, and by reference to Hebrew Scriptures demonstrates that it was always God’s plan to bring Gentiles in. Consequently, Jews and Gentiles need to embrace a spirit of unity.
By way of apology to the Romans Paul explains that what delayed him from coming to Rome sooner was his ambition to proclaim the gospel where no one had ever heard of Christ. Now that this mission has been accomplished he plans to visit Rome on his way to Spain after he delivers contributions to the poor in Jerusalem. He apparently is worried about this trip to Jerusalem and requests the Romans to remember him in their prayers.
Romans 15:1-4
We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. We all should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. For even Christ did not please Himself but as it is written: “The insults of those who insult You have fallen on Me.” (Ps. 69:9) 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.
In chapter two of his first epistle, Peter calls all Christians “…a chosen people, a royal priesthood…” (1 Pet. 2:9) In effect, Peter is saying that all Christians are ministers with a duty to God and to the church, and as ministers; we should be about the work of the church, which is to instruct and build up the body of believers.
There’s and old saying: A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. This saying can refer to the common assumption people have, who know a little about something, that they know more than they do, which can prove dangerous in some situations where the so-called knowledgeable person turns out, in a pinch, not to be so knowledgeable at all. I’m reminded of the servant girl in “Gone With The Wind,” who after months of telling everyone she has had a lot of experience as a mid-wife, when the need arises cries out: “Miss Scarlet, I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout birthin’ no babies!” But that saying can refer to something else, too. It can refer to the tendency that some people have who, when they have learned a little about a subject, tend to want to lord it over those who haven’t yet learned as much. We even have a word for it, sophomoric. To be sophomoric is a tendency of the immature.
So this is a calling to maturity. Paul is saying that those whose faith is stronger than others should not behave in sophomoric fashion, but have compassion on those whose faith is not as strong. Those whose faith is weaker will tend to make more mistakes, but those whose faith is strong should overlook these. There might be a certain egotistic pleasure in pointing out the weaknesses of our neighbors, but that’s not the mark of a Christian. Instead, it’s the Christian’s duty to be a minister to them: To be supportive and encouraging and not to tear him or her down.
The question may arise: Who are those whose faith is weak? Will they always be just the newcomers? Not necessarily. We all walk individual paths. One person’s faith can mature in a few short months, while another’s faith may take years. We spoke a little about the spiritually weak in chapter 14. Often they can be identified by their attitudes and behavior. Often they tend to be locked into the letter of the law; they may be judgmental; they may find fault with everything yet do nothing; they may like to complain.
Paul calls us not to go about doing whatever we please, but to have consideration for those around us. Jesus was the prime example of compassion and consideration, and humility. The Messiah could have come to earth as royalty living in a fine palace with someone to answer His every whim. Instead, He chose to come and live as a servant, suffering one of the cruelest deaths ever devised by humanity.
Paul directs us to study the Hebrew Scriptures, saying that the Scriptures were written to teach us, to encourage us, to help us to endure life’s travails, and to give us hope. Notice that I said study the Hebrew Scriptures. There is often a tendency in some Christian circles to focus only on the Christian Scriptures, but again, the root of Christianity is Judaism. Remember that when Paul was alive the Christian Scriptures had not yet been written–as a matter of fact, as we all know, Paul is credited with writing the bulk of it. So when Paul encourages studying the Scriptures, he is speaking of the Hebrew Scriptures.
There’s a very important aspect of the study of scriptures that I don’t believe is spoken of often enough. And that is what I interpret to be the Divine Inspiration of Scripture. The term divine inspiration is most often used by scholars to explain how God intervened in the writing of the Scriptures. For example, some believe that God inspired the writers with general ideas, which the writers wrote, in their own words. Others believe that God dictated the very words, which are written down. I have a special definition for Divine Inspiration. I use the term to mean the work of the Hole Spirit in our lives guiding, directing us and “…leading us into all the truth…” (John 16:13) When we open up our Bibles to study, the Holy Spirit comes to us, personally and individually, and works with us helping our spirits to grow. The more we study the more our spirits grow. In other words, this is an example of a having a personal relationship with God. I think that often we have the idea that having a personal relationship with God is a lofty ideal granted only to the select few “holy people” in our midst. I’m here to tell you it isn’t. Your God–big G, big O, big D–your God wants to have a personal relationship with you. Yes, I said you! One of the ways that happens is every time you open up the Bible; the Holy Spirit is there, just as Jesus promised.
Want to test the theory? God doesn’t mind a test. Remember Thomas and his test? Here’s one for you. Choose a passage of scripture–any one that you want. Study it and it will speak to you at your current level of understanding. Then set it aside and go on and study other scriptures, regardless of what they are. Let some time pass–six months will really demonstrate what I’m talking about. At the end of that time go back and read that same scripture. The chances are very, very good that the particular passage you read today will read differently to you than it did six months ago. You will see it in a different light–you will see it at your current level of understanding, which will have grown, because your spirituality has grown. That will be evidence to you of the Holy Sprit leading you, guiding you, and directing you “…into all the truth…” at your particular level of understanding. That’s a personal relationship with God. May this knowledge be an encouragement to you. May it give you hope.
Romans 15:5-7
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 God, the Parent of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
Paul offers a blessing, asking God to give the readers a spirit or unity among themselves. In the twelfth chapter of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians he describes the church as the body of Christ and says that “…thought the parts are many, they form one body.” (1 Cor. 12:12) He goes on using the analogy of the different parts of the body as representational of different aspects of a church, and ends stating “…that there should be no division of the body but that all of its (different) parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” (1 Cor. 12:25-26)
We as individuals come from all walks of life, with many varying and different beliefs. Our understanding of scripture may differ from one person to another. What we can and cannot accept will be different one from another. (This is why it is wrong to judge one another.) When we come together to be church, we can focus on our differences or we can focus on our similarities. We can choose to focus on our different opinions, or we can emphasize what it is that we agree upon.
This was no truer than in the newly formed early Christian churches. There was the unlikely “marriage” of Jew and Gentile. Within Judaism alone there were several different sects. Gentiles came with backgrounds of an assortment of gods and goddesses, and some with none at all.
They discovered that the key to the fledgling church’s survival was to accept each other just as they were, setting aside their differences as best as they could, and focusing on developing a relationship with Christ Jesus. When all else failed, they followed Jesus.
They must have been doing something right. The Christian church, with its vast differences and in spite of many divisions, has managed to “Keep on Keepin’ on” for 2,000 years.
LIFE APPLICATION