Sunday, December 8, 2019 - Romans 15:1-13 - Freedom Community Church - Pastor Rob Lloyd

Sunday, December 8, 2019 - Romans 15:1-13 - Freedom Community Church - Pastor Rob Lloyd, Battle Ground, Washington, US

Sunday Service Time: 10 AM
Sunday Service Location: 1919 SW 25th Ave, Battle Ground, WA 98604
Phone: (360) 975-9356
Email: info@freedomcommunity.church
Prayer Request: wepray@freedomcommunity.church
Mailing Address: 1400 NE 136th Ave. Ste 201, Vancouver, WA 98684

Sermon Notes:

Romans 15:1-13

Last week there was an emphasis on choosing to suspend a liberty that we might have, in order to not cause another follower of Jesus to stumble.
• And I think this is something that everyone can struggle with at some capacity. So, I believe we were challenged to examine our own willingness to suspend liberties when it would help another
• But this week, he is moving being called to even higher ground, and some might say “I’m still working on last weeks stuff”, to which I would say, “aren’t we all”.
• Yet Jesus wants us to know where He is taking us through the work of the Holy Spirit in us. And although some are already finding victory in the areas we will address today, while others are not quite there yet, these things are for every follower of Jesus and the only way to lasting unity in the church .

1 We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

Notice this is addressed to the strong. In the last few weeks we have been receiving instruction for both the weaker and stronger believers, but here its specifically calling out those who believe themselves to be the stronger (or mature) Christians. But truthfully, you and I might be more mature than some, while less mature than others. Meaning this applies to every believer, depending on the maturity level of those you’re with!
• And, to the strong or more mature, the call here isn’t to simply put up with the weaker or less mature, it’s to bear them up. So, this goes beyond our considering to suspend our liberty for their conscience, to protecting their process in Christian maturity.
• This made me think of how a father who is teaching his 7-year-old to catch doesn’t through a 50 mph ball at him simply because he can. No, he holds back so the child can grow in a safe place and I dare say even enjoy the growing process.
o Here the picture is to have the same kind of care and nurture in matters of faith regarding the weaker believer. And I dare say they should be provided a safe and enjoyable atmosphere for growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus (2 Peter 3:18).

And there is no way to do this unless we become others focused people. The actual order should be Jesus, others, then self (Phil. 2:3-4). Which means anyone who has a focus of pleasing ourselves above others is not going to be able to do what was just described. And I think this is a critical point.
• We can do the right things with the wrong motive and come out with the wrong result. For example, you can serve in a capacity even in the church, but if the motive for doing so is because you want the acknowledgement of others, or control, then 1) you would not really be serving Jesus (who is to be first), and 2) you would not be serving others (who are to be the next), 3) the service is then truly for self
• And self can even put on a good show, until others don’t acknowledge, or do as we want them to. Then the motive behind the service, and who it was for, begins to seep out.
And the bummer about this is, you can be doing great at putting Jesus first, then others, and then self, and all the sudden come to realize somewhere along the way you drifted to making self-first. And its in the way you respond to someone or something that might get your attention, signaling an adjustment of priority is once again needed (Psalm 119:59, Hag. 1:5-7). And this is true for every one of us.

2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. 3 For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.”

So now we move another step further in maturity, for not only are we called to bear up, we are instructed to build up, which is what edification means.
• And in the coming verses he is going to show us what building up the weaker believer looks like, for this is exactly the task he is engaged in for the church in Rome, and truly for all believers who will read this letter.

And as we discussed that our focus is to be Jesus first, then other and then self, now he is going to remind us that Jesus put others before His own human desires and needs. His scourging and crucifixion are undoubtedly the most selfless acts of all time, for anyone else who has died for another, has an account of their own sins and therefore, in some cases, can even say something to the effect, “I have deserved far worse.”
• But not only did Jesus have nothing in the category of sin, He also experienced the weight of every murder, every adultery, every theft or swindled person left to despair of even their own life, every child with no parent to love them…all of our junk brought on by human sin, in one singular moment.
• And what is more miraculous is the persons He died for were guilty of the same.
• So, when we understand He endured such affliction for the victims, who were also the perpetrators of sin against Him and others, we see what it means to please his neighbor more than oneself.

But there is one more point made here that is vitally important and its that he qualifies pleasing our neighbor as having to be for their good.
• Which means we are not giving into things which will cause them to engage in false understandings, destructive activities or anything which will put something between them and Jesus.
• So, this is not appeasement out of cowardice or a hatred of conflict, but again to bear them up and build them up in the faith .
The condition of so much of what calls itself the church today is an absolute mess because of wrong motives in pleasing our neighbors, and that’s not what he is saying here. For first off, this is speaking of interactions between believers- the church.
• And inside the church, the foundation is to forever be what was given to us in the word.
• And to adopt theories or practice contrary to the truth in bible, believing if we somehow compromise those truths, we can atract more people to the church, will be for no ones good,
• because a lie cannot protect or spiritually build up anyone, much less save them

4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.

When he speaks of the things written before, he is referring to the Old Testament scripture. And those who have studied the OT know the patience and comfort those passages can bring to us, such as the numerous times the six verses of Psalms 23 have been recited through the ages.
• And so many have decided to view the bible as a book of restrictions, but we have learned God did not intend it to be a book of confinement but a declaration of the freedom we have in Jesus.
• And further, His intent for us in learning it is for our patience and comfort.
• Now the reason the scriptures bring hope to us is 1) not only do they remind us of Gods never failing love, and 2) that even in the trials He will always be with us, but 3) the Scriptures repeatedly remind us that biblical hope is not wishing for something that might or might not come, but it’s a guarantee of coming good.
When we live with that eternal hope, it should be a natural reflex to put others before ourselves. The problem is when we stop living biblically, patience and comfort are replaced with anxiousness and fear, and hope is exchanged for spiritual unrest.
• That’s why we must be a people of the Bible, who are constantly washing ourselves in the word (Eph. 5:26) and not the pursuits or wisdom of the world (1 Cor. 9:19).
• In our western culture this can be a challenge. For those who love the world, living by the Scriptures is impractical or even dangerous thinking.
• Yet for those who want to live in the eternal hope of God, this is the only way of thinking.

5 Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, 6 that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I don’t know if you caught that, but Paul just stopped and prayed for their/our ability to pull this off in the power of the Holy Spirit, because he is well aware, it’s going to take Gods help to live for others over self and in unity (which is now revealed as the goal). In fact, he is asking God to grant us this miraculous gifting.
• But specifically, he is praying for us to be like minded toward one another (speaking of being unified) so that we might come together in glorifying Him.

This is another reason its so important to be in the word together. I think about this often because we as a church family are all taking turns serving in various ministries, or are home sick, or are on vacation, and therefore can occasionally miss the time of worship and of studying the word together.
• This is why we type out 3-4 pages of notes each week, record the messages on our web site and broadcast the services live. Because we know when we’re all worshipping, praying and studying together the bible together, there is a unifying factor working in us.
• It causes us to purposefully be likeminded toward each other, and with one mind and one mouth join in glorifying the fulness of God in unity together!

Yet another practical “rubber meets the road” piece we need to see in the combination of these first 6 verses is 1) on one hand we have been called to bear up and build up our neighbor by being an “others focused” person, 2) and yet at the same time we are being told the only way to pull this off is to be students of the word and a people of prayer. And honestly, all of these take time in our 24 long days.
• Now some people are so invested in prayer and reading the word, they never get to ministering to others in the body of Christ.
• While others are so invested in ministry that never get to being built up in the study of the ever-lasting word of God and in communion with God or His people, because there’s always something else they need to be doing.
o So, what are we to do? Both, but in order!
• When Jesus came, He not only liberated us, He showed us how to live for God. He got his ability to minister to people by first being with the Father. Folks, we have to keep first things first, but we are also called to be about our Lords work, so fill up, pour out and repeat until Jesus calls us home.

7 Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.

This verse serves to set up verses 8-13, for they will show the pattern of Gods desire for there to be unity between the Jew and the gentile. Remember when we started this letter, we learned it was written to a church comprised of Jews and gentiles who trusted Jesus, but that there were disputes in terms of their liberties. This is the very picture of the conflicts that occur in our immaturity.
• And by immaturity, I am not suggesting they failed to be engaged in growing, but rather they needed more time, experience and understanding. And that’s exactly what Paul is now giving them.
• And his call for them translates to the same call for us, and that is to receive one another in the same way Jesus received us.

Can you remember the state you were in when Jesus received you? What about after you believed? He has been receiving us each day since, because as we’ve been discussing, we didn’t instantaneously mature at salvation (as can be seen by the fact that no one of us has fully matured now).
• How do you picture Jesus receiving us? Do you see Him with that look of disgust, like a child who cannot get approval from their parent no matter their level of effort?
• Or do you see Him as the patient and affirming Father who loves to watch the growth of His children and smiles at their effort, even when its far short of full maturity?
• Just think back to the last time you were really off base in your life, not even simply by immaturity, but maybe even by foolish decisions. How did Jesus receive you afterward, when you came to Him?
o That’s how we are to receive one another.

And so now he gives us four examples from the OT to show us its always been Gods plan to unite the Jew and the gentile as one family of faith in Jesus, thus pointing us back to His desire for unity among us!
8 Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision (the Jew) for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, 9 and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: “For this reason I (David, a Jew) will confess to You (the Lord) among the Gentiles, And sing to Your name.” (2 Sam. 22:50) 10 And again he says: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people (the Israelites)!” (Deut. 32:43) 11 And again: “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples (Israelites)!” (Ps. 117:1) 12 And again, Isaiah says:
“There shall be a root of Jesse; And He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, In Him the Gentiles shall hope.” (Ps. 11:10)

There is a theme of 1) hope found in the Lord and 2) praise being given to Him in each of these verses. And it’s the Lords desire for the Jew and the gentile to come together to celebrate this hope, and to bring our praises to Him as one unified family.
• But since the problem was the disunity of the Jewish and gentile believers in the church of Rome, does this have application for us today. After all, from where we are positioned in the world, most of us honestly don’t encounter many Jewish believers. And when I do, I really enjoy the time together!
• Well the truth is often its easier to keep unity with those you don’t see very often. It’s the “absence makes the heart grow fonder” model. But how are we doing with those in the church we see regularly? How’s our unity?
• I think I’m equally amazed at the fragile nature of unity in the church on one hand, and the absolute commitment to staying united to one another in Jesus on other the other. At times it’s seems the bonds many of us share in Jesus are unbreakable, then I’m blindside by how something that didn’t go the way someone expected, can cause division almost instantaneously.
Our effort should always be in fighting for unity instead of fighting against it. There’s enough stuff in the world that causes difficulty and division. The Lord gave us the gift of the church body to be place of refuge, refreshing, maturing, and celebration. It’s as Psalm 133 says, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!... 3It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing— Life forevermore.

And now Paul prays again, because he has witnessed the difficulty of unity in the church, which our old nature (which is focused on pleasing self) and Satan himself are constantly engaged in uprooting
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.

Do you believe the church can be united in Jesus and function as the place where each of us can grow in Christ together, in an atmosphere filled with all joy and peace?
• This is Paul’s prayer for us, and I believe that through the power of the Holy Spirits working a maturing process in us, this can and should be our reality even now.
• For some reason this reminded me of a question that was asked of Benjamin Franklin when he came out from the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Someone said “Well, Doctor, what have we got- a Republic or a Monarchy?” and He replied, “A Republic, if you can keep it”.
• And far more powerful than that, we can almost hear someone saying to Jesus, “what kind of church have you given us”, and He would reply “a holy and united one”, but instead of following with “if you can keep it”, He would say, “if you abide in Me and have faith in the work I am doing in each of you!”