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Introduction

The apostle Paul has been piling one argument on top of another in his attempt to urge these Christians to get along with each other. He has appealed to the judgment seat of Christ, the sacrifice of Christ bestowed on the one you are at odds with, and the folly of slandering the very thing that you think is so good. Here he points to the example of Jesus—He who was strong bore with us, though we were weak.

The Text

“We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.7Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God” (Rom. 15:1-7).

Summary of the Text

Strength should be used for the weak (v. 1), not on the weak. Strength is not a gift that was given to you in order that you might waste it on yourself (v. 1). Every one of us (and not just some of us) should therefore use whatever strength we have in order to please our neighbor, such that he is edified (v. 2). Why? We are Christians, and we follow the example of Jesus Christ. Christ did not please Himself (v. 3). Paul then quotes Ps. 69:9, making the point that Jesus was willing to suffer insult for the sake of God (v. 3), and of course for us as well. That which was written down beforehand in Scripture was written so that through patience and comfort in them we might have hope. Hope in what? Hope that we might learn this lesson, the thing Paul is talking about right now (v. 4). God is the God of patience and consolation and so He is the one to give us patience and comfort. The God of patience and consolation can bless us by making us likeminded toward one another (v. 5) “according to Christ Jesus.” This likemindedness is exhibited by means of one mind and one mouth in glorifying God, who is the Father of Jesus (v. 6). Receiving one another, as Christ received us, is therefore the way to tune up the orchestra, so that we might glorify God with it (v. 7).

Psalm 69

As already noted, Paul quotes Ps. 69 in the course of his discussion here. This psalm contains quite a cluster of references that are referenced in the New Testament. “They that hate me without cause” (Ps. 69:4; Jn. 15:25); “zeal for your house consumes me” (Ps. 69:9; Jn. 2:17); the reproaches of those who hate God fell on Christ (Ps. 69:9; Rom. 15:3); they gave the Lord vinegar for His thirst (Ps. 69:21; Jn. 19:29-30); the rebellious Jews will have backs that will be bent forever (Ps. 69:22-23; Rom. 11:9); and Judas would lose his position among the apostles (Ps. 69:25; Acts 1:20). Jesus is the Messiah, and the Messiah lives among His people. But people mean differences, and differences mean conflict, and what are we supposed to do?

True Likemindedness

As the Bible teaches us to work and live together, it tells us to make sure to strive for like-mindedness (Rom. 15:5; Phil. 2:2; 2:20). This, interestingly, is not what our culture tells us to do—it tells us not to drink the Kool-Aid, and tells us further that we should make sure to stack every committee with divergent opinions. That is because we have come to believe that determining truth is a matter of taking averages, or of statistical analysis. But it isn’t. If we consider Paul’s teaching on the body, and the members of the body, this like-mindedness is not the same thing as birds-of-a-feather-ness. Christians are to have a like mind the same way that knees, and elbows, and tendons do— they express a common desire by doing completely different things, to the same end.

Think of different instruments in the same orchestra. You could have different instruments playing different songs entirely—cacophony. You could have the same instruments playing different music entirely—cacaphony of a different timbre. You could have the same instruments playing the same music—boring. Or you could have different instruments playing the same music—glory.

And so two counterfeits we have to deal with is commonality without distinction and distinction without commonality. But the Spirit unites disparate elements. So if we have a duty to be likeminded, and we do, and we have another duty to pull in various directions, according to our various gifts, and we do, then what could go wrong? If we are to be striving toward the same goal, and we are to do so differently, then what problems might arise? The most obvious thing would be counterfeits of each duty. The counterfeit of likemindedness is being a yes man, and the counterfeit of exhibiting different gifts is being a contrarian. And each counterfeit is poised to denounce the genuine article across the way as a counterfeit.

Reading Scripture to the Same End

Think endurance and encouragement. God gave us the Scriptures so that we might have hope. God has created us in such a way as to be able to draw strength and comfort from examples that are recorded in a story. The culmination of all such stories, of course, is the victory of Christ over sin and death. And in addition, the God who wrote those stories down is the same God who is called the God of endurance and encouragement. What He wrote into the stories He is in the process of writing into us. And what does the God who is called by these attributes do exactly? Well, He grants likemindedness.

Imitation of Christ

This is a narrative, a story. Imitate the Christ of the narrative, not the Christ of a snapshot. We serve the living Christ, and not a frozen Christ. As Christ received you, receive the others. As Christ continues to receive you, so you also—receive them. You receiving them is part of the story.

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Introduction

The apostle spends quite a bit of time and energy on this question, and this is why we are doing the same thing. What will distract us from the those things on which God places great value? It will be those things on which we try to place high value, and all on our own authority or in our own name. But we are creatures—we need to submit to God’s set of values, and stop trying to generate our own.

The Text

“Let not then your good be evil spoken of: For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men. Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence. It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak. Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Rom. 14:16-23).

Summary of the Text

Do you believe that “this thing” of yours is the greatest? Then don’t behave in a way that makes people speak ill of it (v. 16). The reason is that the heart of kingdom values can be found in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (v. 17). The kingdom is not about food and drink—God doesn’t care what you eat. In these things— whether eating or not, drinking or not—a man who serves Christ is acceptable to God, and is not a pain in the neck to other men (v. 18). So, then, let us adjust our values, and follow the things which make for peace, and things which build up our brothers and sisters (v. 19). Important note: your particular hobby horse is not what Paul is referring to. You calling it “edifying” doesn’t make it edifying. The work of God is not to be destroyed for the sake of meat (v. 20). This means that your brother is the work of God, and not your dinner fetishes. Paul reiterates the correct position again (all things are pure), but another man can still stumble in his conscience (v. 20). Should his conscience be stronger? Sure. So give it some time to get stronger. Stop kicking it. Don’t swing your liberty around on the end of a rope (v. 21). Are you the strong-faith-boy? Great. Prove it by shutting up about it (v. 22). The man is happy who does not choke on his own liberty (v. 22). And the weaker brother should be careful not to try to rush how quickly he grows stronger (v. 23). Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin (v. 23). The Christian life can be described by rule, but it is lived by faith—not by rule.

A Deeper Right

We have already noted that there is a deeper right than being right. Paul is teaching this principle here, but he is also taking it a step or two further. Often those who are in “the right” are that right’s greatest and most tenacious adversaries. Who better to give sabbath keeping a bad name than gnat-strangling sabbatarians? Who better to give sexual decency a bad name than censorious prigs? Who better to give liberty a bad name than the libertines? Pretended friends are often far worse than staunch adversaries. Do not let your good be evil spoken of. We can misrepresent in this way our own standards of good, and we can do the same thing slanderously to God’s standards of good.

A Deeper Wrong

When someone is in the right, and is willing to destroy a weaker brother for the sake of that right, then not only is he missing the deeper right, he is embracing a deeper wrong. “Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.” Do you allow it? Well and good. Are you correct to allow it? Good, even better. Allow away. But to stop there is to condemn yourself, and to condemn yourself with something that is perfectly fine in itself. There are a great many twists and turns involved when the righteous ones choke on righteousness. It is a terrible thing to choke on.

Righteousness, Peace, and Joy

What is the kingdom about? It is not about food and drink. God doesn’t care. It is not about robes and candles. God doesn’t care. It is not about music with a back beat. God doesn’t care. It is not about buying things from corporations or not. God doesn’t care. It is not about meat offered to idols. God doesn’t care. It is about your brother and sister—God does care.

The center of kingdom life is righteousness, peace, and joy. This triad of blessings is not something that we gin up to present to God. It is God’s work in us—note that Paul says righteousness, peace, and joy “in the Holy Ghost.” This is the environment that the Holy Spirit creates in order to work in. If it is any other kind of environment, the Holy Spirit’s work is limited to conviction of sin—sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:8).

God is the only one who gets to define righteousness. Righteousness is an expression of His holy character, and is described in His law. Sin is therefore lawlessness (1 Jn. 3:4, and nothing else. We don’t get to take away, like the libertines, and we don’t get to add or substitute like the legalist. When we let God define what sin is (righteousness), and we pursue peace, just as He instructed here (v. 19), the end result is joy.

This joy is the work of God. It is not the joy of “being right.” It is not the joy of persuading people to adopt your dietary regimen. It is not the joy of seeing others proven wrong. It the joy of your salvation—your citizenship papers in the kingdom of God.

Whatever Is Not of Faith

Paul concludes this section by noting that if it doesn’t proceed from faith, then it is a sin. It is sin to eat, and it is a sin to not eat. Faith relates to a person. We cannot stay out of sin by relating all our behavior to an external rule alone. Live in the presence of God.

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Introduction

We are continuing on the same theme so that we might remember the importance of loving our brothers and sisters in the faith, but doing so in a very spacious context. Learning the extent of that context will be what enables us to live rightly with one another in close quarters.

The Text

“For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way. I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean. But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died” (Rom. 14:9-15).

Summary of the Text

Living and dying and everything in between is rendered unto the Lord (v. 8). And it was for this very purpose that Christ died, and rose again, so that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living (v. 9). The ramifications here are enormous. In light of the fact that Christ is Lord of both the dead and the living, do not judge your brother (v. 10). Judging him is equated with setting him at nothing (v. 10), and zeroing him out. This is identified by Paul as a bad idea, given that we will all appear before the judgment seat of Christ (v. 10). We know that we will all appear before Christ because of what Isaiah prophesied in a collation of Is. 49:18 and 45:23 (v. 11). Every knee will bow. Standing before the judgment seat of Christ is identified with each one of us giving an account of himself to God (v. 12). As we are doing so, nobody else will be craning their necks trying to hear how we are going to explain our peculiar beliefs about food allergies. Everybody will have something else on their mind. In the light of that coming judgment, our judgments of one another (on issues like this) should be set aside, with the exception of judging that we ought not to stumble one another (v. 13). Jesus Christ Himself persuaded Paul that nothing is inherently unclean, but Jesus also taught Paul that someone’s scruples about some things being unclean ought to be respected nonetheless (v. 14). If Christ died for a man, that man being your brother, then you are not to take your liberty concerning meat (or whatever) and destroy him with it (v. 15). To do so is to refuse to walk in charity (v. 15).

Foundational Charity

We have been considering some of our modern disputes and practices in the light of what Paul is teaching here. We have our debates over food, birth control, home education or day school, conventional medicine or alternative, home birthing, and so on. What should we think about these things? Again, Paul is not relativistic here. Read your Bible. Study it through. In his example of food, he is fully persuaded by Jesus Himself that no food is inherently unclean. Jesus taught him that, but Jesus also him that He is willing to let people be wrong, and that we should be willing to do the same. But remember—the person who must be right probably isn’t.

Judgment Perspective

Revelation 20:11 talks about a great white throne judgment, one that is based on the book of life and the book of deeds. Matthew 25:32-33 addresses a judgment that will separate the sheep from the goats. This judgment separates those who are in Christ from those who are not in Christ. In order to stand in this judgment, it is not necessary to have anything covering you but the righteousness of another, the righteousness of Jesus. No one could stand otherwise.

But do not conclude from this that genuine Christians will not be judged in the particulars. You are accepted into life on the basis of the obedience of Jesus Christ. But what happens in this passage? Paul says that “we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ,” and he further adds that “every one of us shall give an account of himself to God.” The central thing we will have to give an accounting for will be our petty judgments of our fellow believers—so, the Pauline advice would be, knock it off. The judgment with which you judge you shall be judged (Matt. 7:1-3). If each one of us remembered that each one of us will have to stand before God to give an accounting for how much we pestered the saints over insignificant issues, life in the body would be much improved. Just imagine yourself approaching the throne of Christ to explain to Him how Suzy over there used way too much eye liner.

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Cor. 5:10).

Lord of the Dead and the Living

If Jesus is the Lord of both the dead and the living, then this means that He is the absolute Lord of all history. Earthly kings rule over those who are alive, and once a man dies, he passes out of their jurisdiction and realm altogether. But Jesus died and rose to this end, for this purpose (v. 9). He died and rose so that He might be Lord (Paul does not say Savior here), and He died and rose so that He might be Lord of those who have died and those who are alive. His universal lordship is precisely the conclusion that Paul draws here. This makes Him Lord of history.

The section of Isaiah is a section that exalts in the Lord’s sovereignty over all the earth, and in His
intention to save the entire world. The promise that Paul quotes is Is. 45:23. The verse immediately before that says, “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else” (Is. 45:22). Paul ties this entire section together by introducing the quote with a phrase from Is. 49:18. God swears by Himself, and He swears that He will not forget Zion (v. 15). That would be impossible—He has graven them on the palms of His hands, which He did in a singularly bloody way (v. 16). God’s purposes are glorious.

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