Harmony

Series on Romans

XVIII Spiritual Unity

Text: 15:1-13

Introduction

The disagreements of Chapter 14 and the mistrust born of the dissension are still in view in the admonitions of chapter 15. In the contemporary church there are still those who are strong and those who are weak, but the practices that separate are more likely to be concerned with the watching of television, going to movies, wearing makeup, dancing, and the use of beverage alcohol, to name a few. However, in the church at Rome, and in Corinth as well, the issues were spawned by a different cultural context. In those churches and generally in the first century it was the Jewish versus Gentile perspective that fostered the dissension between the weak and the strong. Most Jews were consumed by an extreme and legalistic attention to diet, and to the observance of days. Paul was the exception and thought more like a Gentile because he was chosen to be the great missionary to the Gentiles. Paul viewed the dietary laws and the laws of festivals as fulfilled in Christ and no longer binding, but he is careful to put love and harmony above the dispute. Thus, here, he counsels love of neighbor, self-sacrifice, mutual acceptance, unity, and peace. This is also why the latter part of this passage, verses 8-12, is quotations from the Old Testament to show that it was always God’s purpose to bring together Jew and Gentile into one body, For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy, as it is written: “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to your name.” Again, it says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and sing praises to him, all you peoples.” And again, Isaiah says, “The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him.” Now, as we have seen the context of Paul’s concern, we shall learn from this passage that the unity that the Apostle desires can be achieved only through knowing Scripture, knowing your Savior, and knowing your security.

i Knowing Scripture

Unless we know what God has planned we will be unable to act in accordance with that plan. Our willingness to put others first, to please our neighbor, is taught in Scripture. Paul writes in verses 1-4, We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” 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. Here in Scripture we see the purpose of Christ and through careful study we realize that Christ was fulfilling God’s plan of the ages and we read that earlier in verses 8-12. He came as a servant to redeem one united body. He did this because he had hope for the author of Hebrews says in 12:2 that Jesus, For the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame. God’s purposes could not be fulfilled apart from the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and this is our motivation to please others and not ourselves.

II Knowing the Savior

Obviously we know the Savior from Scripture where we learn all about Him, but we also need to know Him in a vital personal union that can only come from His acceptance and that is what we have in justification, as Paul wrote in Romans 5:1, Therefore since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle writes in the same vein here in verses 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 the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. It is a formula so simple that it is bound to be neglected: love as you have been loved, forgive as you have been forgiven, accept as you have been accepted. Only this will unite the true body of Christ in hope. We should remember Jesus’ parable in Matthew 18, Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. The servant fell on his knees before him. “Be patient with me,” he begged, “and I will pay back everything.” The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. “Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.” His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, “Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.” But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. Then the master called the servant in. “You wicked servant,” he said, “I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart. Unity depends on our accepting one another in the way Christ has accepted us.

III Knowing Your Security

Note that in the concluding verse, 13, the Apostle prays a benediction upon the believers at Rome, May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps you have heard the old saying that goes something like this, “To dwell above with the saints we love, O that will be glory, but to live below with the saints we know, well that’s another story.” This is of course an attempt to satirize the many disagreements in the church by pointing out that we will get along with the same people in glory that we could not get along with here on earth. This parody is humorous because we all realize the truth behind it. Paul calls the Lord, the God of hope here because as Peter writes in his first epistle in 1:3-6, Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. When we fully appreciate our destiny together it changes our perspective and reminds us that those whom God has accepted in Christ are headed for the same glorious end whether they agree about things that are indifferent or not. If we are overflowing with hope it will bind us together as we look forward to our common prospect of life beyond the grave.