How To Live & Work Together (Romans 15:1-7)
How Can you talk about snow in August – To make a point.
1. Snowflakes are beautiful – yet a force to be reckoned with.
2. They can shut down major cities – beautiful landscapes.
3. Provide pleasure on ski-slope, snowmen, snowballs.
4. All because: “They Stick together”
Theme: How can we live and work together in the body of Christ? In Romans 15:1-7 the Apostle Paul gives us some insight.
Verse 1=”We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves.”
Right away there are two things Paul shares with his readers.
1. Those who are strong spiritually are to help the weak.
2. We are not on the same level spiritually, so instead of losing our patience, and becoming severely critical and judgmental, we need to show long-suffering toward those who are not as mature.
Ill. Have you as a parent ever lost patience with your child and asked him or her “When are you going to grow up?”
And then they do, and we wish that we had the time back.
(Spiritual maturity takes time)
Verse 2= “Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.”
1. Why are we involved in power struggles: Competition?
2. Why be like the world and climb the ladder of success?
3. Paul says there is to be none of that. Than what?
4. Edification is to be the focus of the members
Ill. Why do we like sugar or salt in our diet? Because they compliment our food. They make it taste better.
Encouragement compliments the body of Christ, and helps the members to want to progress in their spiritual development.
Verse 3= “For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on Me.”
1. Paul here quotes Psalm 69:9 – the attitude of Messiah.
2. Jesus did not come to earth for His benefit, but for ours.
“Out of the ivory palaces, into a world of woe, only His great eternal love, made my Savior go.” We have and example to follow.
Verse 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.”
1. It is a comfort to have the teachings & example of Christ.
2. We can imitate His humility, love, & servant-hood.
3. We are operate by principle, not by passion=peace
Ill. Have you ever tried to put some together without the instructions? That’s what the world is doing without the Bible.
There is comfort & hope in knowing we have a guide to help us have direction. Especially in our relationships.
Verse 5=”Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus.
1. The goal of our Christian Fellowship – to be like-minded.
2. We are all different – Personalities & abilities.
3. Even though we differ, we are to strive to be like Christ.
4. To answer Q. How am I like Christ to you? You to me?
5. The more low-minded we are like Christ, the more like-minded we will be in Christ. (Apply the Scriptures)
Verse 6= “that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1. The key to having one mouth, is to have one heart.
2. Together we life the Lord up for the world to see.
3. When the world of sin and immorality looks at our fellowship, they will say: “Wow, they really mean it when they say they love, God, and value Him over everything in this whole world.” (The love of God is seen in fellowship)
4. It’s not just said with our lips, but with our lives.
Verse 7= “Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.”
It can go either way, and it does. Prejudices from both the weak, and the strong Christian. Weak- inferiority, Strong- pride, ego.
1. No matter where we are in our Spiritual development, we are to accept each other in Christ. We must remember where we were, when Jesus found us, and delivered us. Jesus was kind to us.
2. The only way we can have, what God has to offer, is that Jesus says we can have it. If Christ receives us, how can we be un-kind, and not accept each other with the same grace?
From 200 miles above Earth, Chris Hadfield, Canadian astronaut and commander of the International Space Station, joined in song with a group of students in a studio on Earth. Together they performed
“Is Somebody Singing,” co-written by Hadfield and Ed Robertson. One phrase of the song caught my attention: “You can’t make out borders from up here.”
Although we humans draw many lines to separate ourselves from one another—national, ethnic, ideological—the song reminded me that God doesn’t see such distinctions. The important thing to God is that we love Him and each other
(Mark 12:30-31).