Or, Endurance and Encouragement Unto Exaltation
Scripture: Romans 15:1-6
Date: November 12, 2023
Speaker: Sean Higgins
Back at the beginning of the application part of Paul’s letter, he told “everyone among you not to think of himself more highly then he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned” (Romans 12:3). It’s part of altar-living, actually, to live by faith, and not to put on bigger ski-boots than your skis can handle. We’re now starting into chapter 15, still talking about application for altar-living, and still talking about living by faith.
One way to measure your sober judgment on the strength of your faith is by what your strength does. It’s really cool that a man thinks his faith is big stuff because he can drink wine, but is he being patient with his brother whose conscience can’t? It’s preferable to be strong, Paul saw himself as strong, and he described the work of the strong as building up others rather than tearing down, or even just distancing from. In other words, if you’re so strong, why isn’t there more peace in your relationships? By God’s grace, the strong are strong in order to endure, and the greater true strength of faith in a body there is, the more harmonious the life of singing.
We show strength not because we all agree, but when we love one another through disagreements, especially about disputable things, as we’ve been considering since the start of chapter 14. The right approach here is not “Who cares?!” We are told to care, to be fully convinced, and that whatever doesn’t come from faith is sin; living by faith isn’t laissez faire. Loving right rights is righteous, that’s the fruit of faith, the obedience of faith. And as we care more, we care rightly, we keep the top care at the top, loving and serving and pleasing our brother.
The instructions about getting along continue into the first couple paragraphs of Romans 15. Verses 1-6 not only give a summary exhortation about strength, but a Scriptural example, and a prayer-like expectation.
A parent is not only supposed to be the mature one when there’s a problem, the parent is supposed to help his kid learn the right way to handle the problem, for the whole family’s benefit. So also in the church family.
We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. (Romans 15:1–2 ESV)
This strong and weak are different words than in chapter 14, but the idea is the same. Some are more able to enjoy more things by faith, they are the strong. Obligation is an intriguing teaching; in this relationship the strong have an assigned function, they are answerable for their part.
The job is to bear with the failings of the weak . But this is a different use of “bear” than how we often think of “putting up with,” just enduring what is unpleasant from another person. That sort of “bearing with” is the bottom floor expectation. The obligation here is to “pick up and carry” as to a better place. The strong hold the line for the weak, in the places where the weak are weak. The strong are the load bearing walls for the house.
The second part of the obligation is not to please ourselves . Tyndale translated it as “not to stande in our owne consaytes,” in modern English: “not to stand in our own conceits,” where we let our ego and our self-regard for our preferences take precedence.
Verse 2 redirects the pleasing impulse. Each of us (strong and weak, with carry-over expectations mostly to the strong) the neighbor(brother) should please , and that for his good and toward edification. It’s good for our brothers to be strong, and for us to help them be strong. Strength sustains the weak, and strength begets strength.
Strength also satisfies the weak. On this obligation of pleasing, it doesn’t mean taking a survey, it doesn’t mean the weak is in the Seat of Power, it doesn’t mean the weak one immediately sees it as for his good. All of this requires wisdom and love, and nerve. Avoiding isn’t building either. But in what way can the able-ones defer for the good of the unable? There’s an example of what this looks like in the next verse.
If Paul had already written Philippians (which he probably didn’t for another 5 years), he could have quoted himself about the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5-11). He still looks to the ultimate example.
For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Romans 15:3–4 ESV)
There’s actually an extra conjunction at the start of verse 3, not just for but “For even/also” (καὶ γὰρ). Christ’s example isn’t jammed in where it doesn’t belong.
A couple things really beg for some attention here. In reading the Gospels, would you say “Christ aimed to please His neighbor?” That’s not how I’d put it, yet Paul said, Christ did not please himself . We’re supposed to be looking at Christ’s life as a model for our motivations. But then look at the explanation of what it meant that Christ didn’t please Himself, and who He was aiming to please: ** but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”**
It’s a quote from Psalm 69:9. It’s a David song, and applies in its context to David first. Zeal for the LORD’s house consumed David, and later was obviously applied to David’s Son, Jesus (John 2:17). And because of David’s trust in the Lord, he took the brunt of complaints from men who did not trust the Lord.
In a greater way Jesus pleased His neighbors by taking their shots, and in His case, to the point of humble death as a servant in sacrifice. He didn’t just do whatever others said that they wanted, but what was for others good, and at the greatest cost.
Paul justifies his application of the Psalm to the Messiah like he justifies application of all the inspired Scriptures to us as believers. I’m not Jesus, or David, or Moses, or Abraham, or Rahab, or Rebekah, or Samson, or all the others time fails us to tell of (see Hebrews 11:32ff). God knows we’re not Jesus, and yet He calls us through His Word to learn how to live like Jesus and the obedient saints.
We get instruction , teaching, from the things written beforehand, the Scriptures . From that teaching we get endurance , the ability to remain under a burden; patience is fine, but the better sense is fortitude. From that teaching we get encouragement , or comfort. It’s heavy, it hurts, but the Word gives hope .
Big Q: hope for what? For the hope that when we seek to please Christ as we love one another, He will help us and increase our harmony, even when people are acting like incapable babies.
Strength for the fight of faith? Strength for salt and light and witness (see Romans 15:9ff)? Strength for good works? Yes, and amen, and the Scriptures teach us strength for getting along with each other.
A benediction, a prayer, part of Paul’s vision of hope as informed by the Scriptures.
May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5–6 ESV)
When we talk about God’s attributes, we should include His endurance and His encouragement ; He is the “God of endurance and encouragement.” And when we think about why the world is the way it is, and we acknowledge that the ultimate end for which God created the world is for His glory to be known and rejoiced in, then we should sit for a bit with the reality that for God to show off His infinitely excellent endurance He’ll have ordained a lot of parts of the story we’d rather skip. Endurance is inverse to skipping, the antithesis of quitting.
He also is the God of encouragement, of consolation, of comfort.
This God has given His Word, and through that Word He gives unity in worship. We have one-another harmony , or we are “of the same mind” (NASB), a shared-thinking according to Christ” With the purpose for same-minded and one-mouthed glorifying God.
If we’re going to be jealousable (Romans 11:13-14), we can’t be jealous of one another. If we’re going to build one another up, bitterness and suspicions (let alone backbiting, or frontbiting) must be constantly rooted out.
Be strong and strengthen others, enduring and encouraged by the Scriptures, unto hopeful and harmonic singing as worshippers of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
If your home WiFi was out, how quickly would you move to troubleshoot to fix it? Your expectations are on the “work” part of network. Beloved, God is increasing the stability and strength of His signal to the world. We, as brothers, are the signal. So work and live and grow in harmony.
May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5–6 ESV)