THE STRONG & THE WEAK IN UNITY - ROMANS 15:1-13

 

Romans 15:1-3

The Strong Help The Weak

These verses are the conclusion and summary of Paul’s instructions for how the strong Christian deals with the weak one. 

First, Paul said the strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak. They are to work for the good of the weak one and build him up. This is a call for denying self by the strong. 

In support, he cites the example of Christ, who did not come to please himself. (3) Paul applied second part of Psalm 69:9 to Christ. Originally, David was saying the reproaches of those who reproach God had fallen on the David. But, Paul treats David as the forerunner and type of Christ. So, he applies it to the death of Christ. To reproach is to disapprove, criticize  and shame. 

Those who reproached God directed their reproach to the Son of God and he bore it even unto death. Since Christ was willing to be scorned for the glory of God the Father, his followers should be willing to bring glory to God by bearing the weaknesses of the weak believer even if scorned by others. The strong believers could give up certain foods the weak believers did not believe they could eat.  It will not only help the weak believer, it will bring glory to God.  

Application Of The Old Testament

15:4

The Old testament, that which was written in former days, was written for the instruction of believers in the New Covenant. Through the study of the Old Testament, New Covenant believers can gain endurance and encouragement. 

Encouragement gives up hope. The time would soon come that Roman believers would need endurance and hope.

This tells us that the Old Testament is relevant and helpful to us even if we are not bound by the law. Paul also wrote that: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work”. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Paul’s Prayer

15:5-7

Paul prayed that God, who is God of endurance and encouragement, would grant the Roman Christians harmony in living with each other so that they would be unified in glorifying God. 

We should also pray for unity in our own congregations for the same reason. Our unity will glorify God.

So, we should welcome our brothers and sisters into fellowship whether weak or strong, Roman or Jew, regardless of race or color. We do this to bring glory to God.

Christ Came To Serve Both Jew And Gentile 

15:8-13

Christ came to serve the Jews (the circumcised) by showing God’s truthfulness in keeping his promise to the patriarchs. The promise to Abraham, the patriarch, was that he wold be the father of many nations and that all nations would be blessed through him. (Genesis 17)

Paul previously discussed this in chapter 4, writing that “the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world” would come through faith. (Romans 4:13) God was truthful in saying that and fulfilled it in Christ. (8)

Christ also became a servant so that the Gentiles could glorify God for his mercy. Bringing salvation to the Gentiles and including them in God’s family allowed them to glorify God. It also fulfilled Scripture.

Paul set forth four quotes from the Old Testament to verify this. First he quotes the words of David from 2 Samuel 22:50. (9) When God delivered David from the hand of Saul, he wrote a song, or poem, that included this verse. This verse is repeated in Psalm 18:49, which is an adaptation of the poem in 2 Samuel, written to be sung by a choir. 

The second quote is from Deuteronomy 32:43, part of the Song of Moses right before his death. (10)

The third quote is from Psalm 117:1, calling for all nations (Gentiles) to praise and extol the Lord for his steadfast love and faithfulness. (11)

And the fourth and final quote is from Isaiah 11:10, saying that a descendant of Jesse, King David’s father, will come and give hope to the Gentiles.

Paul took these verses from different contexts to show it was God’s plan to bring the Gentiles into his family. He brought that plan to fruition through Paul’s ministry, including that to the Romans. 

Another Prayer

15:13

Paul concludes this section of admonishment with a prayer, asking God to fill them with joy and peace in their faith, so they can have much hope through the Holy Spirit. 

Having faith in Christ and having a relationship with God should give us joy and peace. It also gives us hope, that hope of eternal life that is given to us by the Holy Spirit who is a pledge, or guarantee, of our hope. (Ephesians 1:13-14)

IDOLATRY

 IDOLATRY MEANS TREATING AS OF ULTIMATE WORTH ANYTHING WHICH IS NOT GOD, AND LOOKING TO IT FOR SOLUTIONS, SALVATION OR SECURITY.

Christopher J. H. Wright, "All Our Gods Have Failed", Thermelios, vol. 8, Issue 3, (1993)

LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE, PART 4 - ROMANS 14

 

Do Not Judge

14:1-12

This passage, from 14:1 to 15:13 deals with the relationships between those who are strong and mature in the faith and those who are weak and immature in the faith.

In every congregation there are those who are strong in the faith and those who are weak. There are those who have studied their Bibles diligently for years and those who have not. Many are influenced in their beliefs by what they have been taught in the past, whether or not it is accurate. Many are influenced by the experiences of their family members

In Paul’s time, the acceptability of certain foods was an issue. Jewish Christians were influenced by the dietary laws of the old covenant. Gentile believers were influenced by the practices of their pagan religions before they came to Christ. 

In the old covenant, there were clean foods and unclean foods. Jews were not supposed to eat unclean foods. In the New Covenant, those rules do not apply. 

God taught Peter a lesson about this. Acts 10 records Peter having a vision of animals of all kinds appearing on a great big sheet. God told him to kill and eat. Peter refused because some of the animals were unclean. God told him what God has made clean, men cannot call common, or unclean. This was to prepare him to go to Gentiles and preach the gospel. 

Paul believed all foods were available for eating. He told Timothy: “For everything created by God is good and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. (1 Timothy 4:4) 

In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul said it was acceptable to eat meat offered to idols since idols are not real beings. And, here in Romans 14:14, Paul said he was convinced that nothing is unclean in itself.

Yet, some people still had problems. Some only ate vegetables, believing meat to be unclean, or bad, maybe because it may have been offered to idols. (1) Paul calls these people weak, meaning weak in the faith.

But Paul did not condemn these people for their weakness and instructed those were strong in the faith not to judge or condemn them either. (3) Likewise, the person who abstains from eating meat should not despise or pass judgment on the believer who eats meat. (3)

The reason they, and we, are not to pass judgment on those who disagree with us on these matters is that God has welcomed that person into his kingdom. He is the judge of his servants, not the fellow servants. God will uphold every believer in the faith. And God will judge all as is his right. Paul cites Psalm 22:29 for this. Eventually, everyone will bow before God and confess that he is God. (11) 

Paul also applies this to the observance of special days. (5) Some do this and others believe all days are equal. This seems to be applied to the Sabbath observance of the Jews. Paul indicates this is not required.

However, one who observes it should do so in honor of the Lord. The one who eats and the one who abstains should do so in honor of the Lord. Everything should be done in honor of the Lord. We are never independent of him in life or death. (8)

Do Not Cause Other Believers To Stumble

14:13-23

As further consideration of those who are weak in the faith, we do not do anything that will cause another believer to stumble. The weak believer should not judge the one who is strong, but the strong should avoid causing the weak one to stumble.

Paul was strong and mature in his faith and he knew that nothing is unclean for the believer in matters of food and drink. (14) Yet, he said that if a person thinks something is unclean, it is, in effect, unclean for him. For example, if he thinks meat that had been offered to idols is unclean, he should not violate his conscience and eat it. It is effectively unclean for him.

Since it is unclean to him, or he or she has doubts about it, eating will be a sin since it was not pursued by faith. 

So, the stronger or more mature believer, should protect the conscience of the weaker believer. In love, he should not sit at dinner with the weaker believer and eat something he knows would cause difficulty to him or her. He does not want to destroy the faith the weaker person because that person is still one for whom Christ died. (15) He repeated this instruction in verses 20-21. 

We must remember that the kingdom of God is not about the trivial things of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. (17) Those are the important things. We pursue those things which build up our brothers and sisters. (19) 

So, the stronger believer keeps his mature faith between him and God and not force it upon someone whose faith would be damaged by it.  

Verses 20-23 are a summary of the thoughts of this chapter. Although all food and drink are clean, we put the work of God above them and do not do anything to make another stumble because of our use of them. 

If you have the strong faith and spiritual maturity in these matters, you are blessed. (22) But, if not, and you doubt, do not violate your conscience and partake. Since you are not doing it in faith, it is sin for you. (23)  

Takeaways

Paul’s vision of the church is a body that accepts each other even with flaws and lack of understanding.

The church’s members build each other up, taking special care of the weak in the faith. 

We seek peace and not division. 

HOW TO LIVE THE CHRISTIAN LIFE, PART 3 - ROMANS 3:6-10

Pay Taxes

13:6-7

As further obedience to the civil authorities, we are to pay taxes imposed on us by them. Paul repeats that even the taxing authorities are ministers of God. 

Jesus taught the same thing. When asked if the Jews should pay taxes to Caesar, Jesus said to “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s”. (Matthew 22:15-22)

Jesus showed that God has delegated authority to governments over some areas. But, in the things of religion and worship, God has not given authority to the government to interfere or control. 

In addition to the payment of taxes, we are to show respect and honor to those to whom it is due. We do not do this well in America. It has become common to disrespect those in authority of all types. 

Love Fulfills The Law

13:8-10

Paul instructs us not to owe anything to anyone. This may be a general instruction to avoid debt. However, it is likely an instruction to pay what you owe. Thus, it reflects verse 7 (Pay to all what is owed to them). This is particularly true of government authorities that imposes taxes and fees. 

The exception to this command is love. Paul casts our duty to love in terms of debt. We owe a debt of love to each other. This is a reflection of the command in Leviticus 19:18: “…you shall love your neighbor as yourself…”. 

This is not a command to love yourself, by the way. It is assumed that you do. But we are to love others at least as well as we love ourselves and act toward them accordingly. 

Not only is love a debt we owe to each other, it is a fulfillment of the law. (8) Look back at the Ten Commandments. (Exodus 20) You will see that the  first set of commandments concern our relationship to God. (Exodus 20:1-11) We are to worship only him, not make or worship idols, not take his name in vain, and observe his Sabbath. 

But the second group of commandments, the second “table”, concern our relationships to others. We must honor our parents. We must not murder, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, or covet. (Exodus 20:12-17) Obeying these commandments is an expression of love for each other. It is a fulfillment of the law in that it is the full measure of what it requires. (8)

Paul lists them as examples as well: do not commit adultery, murder, or theft. Do not covet. And then he threw in a general statement: “or any other commandment”. (9) If you love someone, you do not wrong them. (10)

Some consideration should also be given here to gossip. Gossip is the spreading of rumors. Most often, the rumor is false or partly false. It is often speculation, based on assumptions made by the one starting the rumor. As such, it certainly violates the command to refrain from bearing false witness. Regards of truth or falsity, the Bible condemns gossip (Romans 1:29, 2 Corinthians 2:20, 1 Timothy 5:13). 

So, don’t do it! It harms others and it harms the church. 

An extreme (and incorrect) interpretation of Paul’s statement that love fulfills the law is that Christians do not have to obey any of the commandments. All we have to do is have affection for others. These interpreters also cite Jesus’ statement that he came to fulfill the law. (Matthew 5:17)

The theological term for this position is antinomianism. The word antinomianism comes from two Greek words: anti, meaning "against"; and nomos, meaning "law." Literally, Antinomianism means “against the law.” 

Clearly, Paul was not an antinomian. He gives many lists of commands we must obey, including this passage. 

Jesus also said: “if you love me, you will keep my commandments”. (John 14:15) 

The apostle John reiterated Christ’s command twice. First, he wrote: 

“Whoever says ‘I know him’, but does not keep his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected.” (1 John 2:3-6)

Second, John wrote: “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments”. (1 John 5:3) 

So, we see the moral law as forever binding and instructional for living a holy life that is pleasing to God. This is the historical and traditional view of Protestants. It is the traditional view of Baptists. 

Chapter 19 of the 1689 London Baptist Confession maintains this view. Subsequent Baptist confessions have held this position, including the Philadelphia Confession of 1742, New Hampshire Confession of 1833, The Baptist Faith & Message 1925-2000. 

Therefore, we obey God’s commandments, not for salvation, which is by faith, but for holy living as God commanded. (1 Peter 1:15 - you also be holy in all your conduct) Our obedience is driven by love for God and people. 

It seems to be difficult for many people to find a correct perspective of the law. The extremes are legalism, where one is bound by rules and not grace, and antinomianism. 

We should avoid both extremes.