Christian Liberty – The Example of Jesus (Romans 15:1-7)

Usually when we want guidance on a difficult task we will look for the best role model or example possible, and in these verses Paul mentions the best example we can have, indeed the perfect one, the Lord Jesus. Why do we need such an example?

Paul in this section of Romans, which runs from 12:1, is describing various features of what it means to be a living sacrifice, that is someone devoted to God. So far, Paul has spoken about spiritual gifts, living in love, and responding to civil authorities. In the passage we are looking at he is explaining how strong believers should respond to weak believers. Weak believers are Christians who have failed to grasp all the implications of Christian liberty. In particular, the ones the apostle is concerned about seem to be Jewish Christians who have not grasped that foods, previously regarded as unclean in the Levitical system, are no longer unclean in a religious way.

Of course, we should have sympathy for those weak Christians because they did not have copies of the New Testament to consult. In contrast we do, but it is not enough to have it; we also have to understand it. This raises the question as to how the New Testament teaches us. It does not spell out what we should do in every possible situation. Instead, it gives guidelines regarding how we should respond in those situations. In this passage, starting at 14:1, on responding to the weak brother, Paul gives three such principles – remember the Day of Judgement, which calls us to be careful; put other believers first, which calls us to brotherly love; and imitate the example of Jesus, which requires that we know what he did.

The obligation of strong Christians (15:1-2)

In these two verses, Paul connects living for others with imitating the example of Jesus. It is interesting to observe that he counts himself among the strong when it comes to this aspect of Christian living, an assessment that some might not have expected, given that he was a Jew who was willing to practice Jewish rituals when appropriate. He reminds his readers that Christians have obligations and here he focuses on the obligations of the strong towards the weak. Their obligation is connected to brotherly love, which should be at the centre of Christian behaviour, always with the aim of making other believers stronger in the faith.

Paul mentions that they should bear with the failings of the weak. What does he mean by ‘bear’? We can use the word with the meaning of endure, but that would not be an expression of brotherly love. Instead it means to help or to carry those who have the problem. After all, on a difficult journey, the strong usually carry the weak, and Christians are on the journey to heaven and the strong are expected to care for the weak in a spiritual sense.

The example of Jesus (v. 3)

Paul now uses a third argument in his exhortation for being careful in this area of Christian living. The other two were the reality of appearing at the Judgement Seat of Christ and the priority of building up one another. To them, he adds the third argument of following the example of Jesus and the apostle does so by quoting from Psalm 69:9, a verse that describes a divine conversation between the Father and the Son.

The verse highlights that Jesus dealt with the sins that others committed against the glory of his Father. We can see that one reason for him doing this was that he loved his Father. The love was so strong that he was prepared to do anything to ensure that his Father’s name was honoured, even being willing to become the sinbearer on the cross. He was prepared to make himself nothing in order for his Father to be worshipped. On one occasion, he explained his mission to his disciples in these words: ‘but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here’ (John 14:31).

The application to the relationship between weak and strong Christians is clear. Even as Jesus was prepared to go to the limits to bring honour to his Father, so the strong should be prepared to go to the limits to help the weak. When they do so, they please God. It is as if we can imagine the Father saying about them, ‘You are like my Son. He was concerned for my glory and you are concerned for the well-being of your family members.’

In what other ways did Jesus not please himself? We get an obvious example when he washed the feet of his disciples in the upper room. The disciples, at that time, were not in a good spiritual state, yet Jesus washed the feet of all of them. He showed no favouritism as far as their needs were concerned. If they could have been classified as strong and weak, he made no difference in treating them because he wanted to build them up.

The use of the Bible (v. 4)

It may seem at first glance that this verse seems out of sync here because Paul seems to move from dealing with a specific issue – coping with weak believers – to a general use of the Bible. We will see why he does so later on, but before we do, we should observe from his words why we have been given the Bible.

The main reason why we have been given God’s Word is that we will have hope. In the New Testament the concept of hope is usually connected to what will happen when Jesus returns. It is good for us to think about what will happen then. Many wonderful experiences will be enjoyed including the resurrection, the reunion of believers, and the renewal of the cosmos as their dwelling-place forever.

Paul reminds his readers that waiting for that wonderful future requires endurance, the determination to stay the course and not give up. And many encouragements are given to us in the Bible whether by promises or by descriptions of what will happen when Jesus returns. As mentioned earlier, we have the New Testament, but we should note that there are plenty details connected to our hope mentioned in the Old Testament. Surely Paul is calling us to feed our souls on what God has promised in order for us to strengthen our hope. It would do us good if we were to spend five minutes a day looking at biblical passages that describe our wonderful future.

Living with weak believers (v. 5)

What does reference to the wonderful future have to do with how we live in the church at present with those who are weak brothers? It is not hard for us to imagine that we will need endurance to keep doing so because, at times, the demands on us will be quite difficult. Yet in addition to having endurance in this matter, there are many encouragements for doing it according to God’s Word. What are some of the encouragements?

First, we will have participated positively in the sanctification process of the weak brothers. It is our responsibility to do what we can to promote one another’s growth in grace and not to do anything to hinder it. We are all climbing the mountain of holiness together and we need help from each other, even if some of us are more competent than the others.

Second, we will have been serving Jesus as we did so. In the parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25, Jesus mentions several practices in which his followers engaged with one another. As part of his explanation, he said that whatever was done for his brothers was also done for him. We often wonder how we can serve Jesus. Here is one obvious way – help his people who for some reason are weak in a particular area.

Third, we will get a reward from Jesus for having done so. Because the believers in that prable did what they did out of brotherly love, they did not notice or recall what they had done. I suppose we do things in our families spontaneously whereas when we do them for other people we are more likely to recall them. Yet although they did not remember what they had done, Jesus will and he will reward them greatly. The stimulus of a reward from him, receiving his commendation, should cause us to want to help his people. After all, it will be a means of expressing love to the ones that he loves.

Fourth, we will see those we helped receiving a reward for Jesus. Maybe when we meet a weak Christian, we may conclude that their notions will prevent them serving Jesus effectively. Yet because we persevered with them they became very effective believers in a wide variety of ways as their witness and service developed. Think of the wonderful moment when such a person hears Jesus say to him, ‘Well done.’ And one reason why that will happen is because you took the time to help by not insisting on your freedom to do something which at that time would have stumbled the weak brother.

The desired outcome (vv. 5-7)

Paul mentions the best way for Christians to live. His words indicate that there are degrees of harmony possible among believers. For example, we could imagine that the strong and the weak should form different churches, and if they did that, they would have two churches marked by internal harmony, even although they would not be in harmony with one another.

In my Christian journey, I have experienced two church divisions, and in each of them the side that left mentioned how wonderful was the harmony now that the others were no longer there. Is that the kind of harmony that Paul has in mind here? Yet division has been the way that some churches have responded to misunderstandings and have usually felt good about it.

It is possible that Paul here is drawing the attention of his readers to the Trinity. He mentions a divine person at the start of verse 5, he mentions the second Person of the Trinity at the end of verse 5, and he mentions the first Person in verse 6. So it looks as if the One mentioned at the start of verse 5 is the Holy Spirit, and he is the One who encourages his people and enables them to persevere. Paul’s words here are in the form of a benediction, which could also indicate that he has the Trinity in mind. It could be that Paul is reminding his readers, as they exist in situations of potential disagreement, to focus on the unity and harmony of the Trinity. They do everything together, and Paul calls his readers to praise the Father together. The implication is that a failure to deal correctly with one another means we cannot praise God in harmony, and he only wants harmonious praise from his people.

Paul gives us insight here into intelligent worship. Usually, we worship the Father, and we worship him in a particular way, which is his connection to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is how God the Father wants us to think about him. I suppose we could say that the description of Jesus here is a brief summary of what the Father did for him. The Father gave him the name Lord when he ascended to heaven; the Father gave him the name Jesus when he came into our world by becoming a man; and the Father anointed him with the Holy Spirit in order to fulfil his messianic roles.

Worship of the Father is also a reminder of the doctrine of adoption, that both weak and strong believers belong to his family. Quite often in an earthly family, the children are at different stages of growth, and the younger ones who are weak may act foolishly. But if one of the mature children suggested to their father that they should remove the younger ones from the family he would be appalled. It does not please the Heavenly Father when the price of our worship is to exclude unnecessarily some of his children.

So in verse 7, Paul tells his readers, whether strong or weak, to welcome one another in the same manner as Jesus has welcomed us. He welcomed us with our defects, our misunderstandings, our little grasp of his truth. He welcomed us with the intention of changing us into his likeness in a gentle way. How good it would be if every church practised what Paul describes here, because they would be living for the glory of God and not for their own opinions!