The Weak and The Strong Pt 8

If God’s people would take their
Bibles and turn back to Romans, specifically to the 15th chapter
of Romans. And allow me just the briefest
of review, Romans chapter 15, we find ourselves in that section
that began actually back in chapter 12, which we’ve entitled Life
with Others, where Paul is dealing with the Christian and the Christian’s
relationship with others. with believers with those who
are hateful towards them with those who are downtrodden with
those who are contrary with the civil government with everyone
in that lengthy section with the weak and the strong. And
that is where we find ourselves even still in this section that
began back in Chapter 14. verse one and continues all the
way down through 1512, we find ourselves dealing not with one
group of people, but with two, both believers, both professing
faith in Christ, one strong in the faith and the other not so. And we have talked about This
issue that Paul does mention a few things he talks about dietary
laws he talks about these days but his purpose is not to zero
on any zero in on any one issue but rather to paint some general
principles for dealing with these weaker brother issues whether
it be feast days or card playing. Card playing wasn’t a big issue
in the first century, but perhaps in some circles it is today.
And what Paul wants to do, what Paul has been doing, what we
have been considering, is this treatment of general principles
that would still be applicable a hundred years from now and
a thousand years from now as new issues arise. The issues
of our day, dancing and hair length and music and tattoos
and piercings and drinking, those may not be the same issues that
the church. Is wrestling with in centuries
to come. And those may not have been the
issues with which Paul was wrestling, but Paul is dealing with principles
we have seen thus far that Paul is providing a series of exhortations. by way of imparting these principles
to us, a series of exhortations that first of all noted that
there are going to be differences, that you can be nestled in fellowship
right next to someone who reads the same Bible you do, but comes
away with some different viewpoints. There are going to be differences,
Paul says. And the best that we can do is he focuses in on
his second exhortation, which began in verse 12. The best that
we can do is really look to minimizing the offenses. We don’t ever want
to offend intentionally anyone. We don’t ever want to cause others
to stumble in their faith. The third exhortation that we
considered, which began in chapter 15, verse one, was that there
is an exhortation not just to not offending someone, but to
actually taking the position of building them up edification. That is to be our job. That’s
what we’re to set our hearts and minds to, not just to allow
God to do the work in their life because God is ultimately the
one doing it. But we are to take an active
role in that edifying one another. And It’s only logical that what
grows out of that is an exhortation to unity. Paul has hinted at
and spoken of these things throughout the very beginning that we are
to walk together in Christ, that there is not to be this division
fomenting among the brethren in Christ. But he zeroes in on
that and he focuses in on that in chapter 15, verses five and
six. Would God’s people just consider
those verses once again? Where Paul says, Now may the
God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be
of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, that
with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul wanted the church to be
unified. Paul saw that with all these
differences, there was going to be great occasion to be disunified,
to fight, to form factions, to create, in a sense, secret and
separatistic clubs within the church. Paul says it can’t be
that way. But it wasn’t enough to just
not offend our brothers in Christ, and it isn’t enough just to try
to be unified, Paul now prays for God’s assistance, God’s divine
assistance. We began last Lord’s Day in looking
at the magnificent blessing of Christian unity. And we noted
that there were essentially five characteristics or five features
that Paul wants to dwell upon. As he tells us about this Christian
unity, we noted, first of all, that unity in the church is bestowed
as with all of God’s graces. Peter James rather says it this
way that every good gift every perfect gift comes down from
the father of lights. Everything that is good. Everything
that we enjoy everything that is inherently good. Comes down
as a gift from God’s hand and Paul says it’s no different with
The unity of God’s people, that’s a gift of God, and he basically
tails off of what he’s already said, that God is the one who
gives perseverance and encouragement. We ought to go to God and to
plead with God to persevere, plead with him for the grace
to persevere. If we are discouraged, we should
go to God and to plead with him for encouragement that we would
press on in Christ. And if there is disunity, we
should plead with God that there might be a gift from his hand.
Gift of unity, as we will see in a moment. Every good gift
comes down from God, and it’s to him that we go if we lack.
Paul acknowledged that every good gift comes from God as he
preached to the heathens, remember, when he met with all of those
idols that filled the city. There was the idol to the unknown
God and Paul zeroed in on that. And he said that God is the God
that gives to all life and breath and all things. Every good gift
comes from God. And so if there is a good. That the saints are lacking either
individually or corporately there to go to God, they are to plead
with him, and that’s exactly what Paul does. It wasn’t enough
for him to admonish the church that there would be differences.
It wasn’t enough for him to admonish the church that we are to not
offend others carelessly. It wasn’t enough for him to encourage
them to edify, build up one another. Now he goes before the throne
of grace to plead his case. To ask God himself to supply
what was lacking. The unity in the church is bestowed
as with all of God’s gifts. Secondly, we noted that the unity
in the church is not only bestowed, but it is oriented in our mental
faculties. It starts in our mind. You see,
we looked and we remembered that the scriptures paint a very grim
picture of life outside of Christ. Life outside of Christ, he says,
features minds that are blinded, indulging in desires, Feudal
things, earthly things, hostile things and fleshly. No wonder
Paul. Was fascinated by the influence
of the mind that for Paul, the mind was either a good tool in
God’s hand or it was a tremendously destructive force in the church.
Once the sinner is touched by the grace of God, places their
faith in Jesus Christ, the mind becomes God’s tool for cultivating
peace and fellowship within the church. That with one mind, as
he said in Philippians, we are to be striving together for the
faith of the gospel. Paul begins here to focus on
this concept of unity. But he says, when he says that
it’s oriented in our mental faculties and that we are with one mind, To be of the same mind, Paul
begins to point to the concept for which he’s praying, asking
God, but he’s going to press on. And we notice the third thing
that Paul mentioned, that this unity in the church is not only
bestowed, it’s not only oriented in our mental faculties, it’s
mutually required. It’s not that some are called
to cultivate unity in the church and others are not. Others can
come as they are. We are all called to cultivate
the unity of the church. Paul said it this way in this
particular passage. May the God who gives perseverance
and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one
another. That goes both ways. It’s mutually. And we noted that some of the
most beautiful words ever written were written in that fourth chapter
of Ephesians, where Paul, the prisoner of the Lord, entreated
you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you’ve
been called with all humility, gentleness, patience, showing
forbearance to one another in love. One of the great studies
of Scripture. You could begin it even this
afternoon, but I can promise you you wouldn’t finish it anytime
soon. A great study for the Saints
is a study of the one another’s in scripture. Just look up the
word. And the New American Standard does seize upon those, I think,
most effectively. You can miss a few in other translations,
but the New American Standard, if you just look up the word,
just use your concordance and find the one another’s of the
New Testament. What a great encouragement. We’re
to pray for one another, encourage one another, bless one another.
Here, Paul says, we’re to be at peace, we’re to cultivate
unity with one another, it goes both ways. Paul saw in the churches to which
he ministered some of the greatest difficulties that would come
its way came not from without, not from persecution, but from
within, from even their own people in the course of Conducting their
Christian lives, they would begin to foment these differences.
They would begin to pull apart and tear apart. They would begin
to create factions. Paul was concerned for the very
churches that he planted, even Philippians. There’s a fourth
and we left off here last Lord’s Day. And considering the magnificent
blessing of Christian unity, we note that the unity of the
church is not only bestowed, oriented in our mental faculties,
mutually required, Fourthly, it fulfills the desire of our
Savior. I mean, isn’t that enough? That
could have been Paul’s only argument. You know what? This pleases Christ.
That would have been enough. Should be enough. But this is
essentially the fourth in this series of things that Paul is
discussing with regards to the church. And if you would glance
at the passage once again, just so you pick up The way Paul says
it now made the God who gives perseverance and encouragement
grant you to be of the same mind with one another, according to
Christ Jesus. In other words, you could say
that this was after the the way that Christ lived, that Christ
was peaceable, and so we too might be peaceable, that would
be one way of looking at it. Exemplified in the way that he
lived on this earth, maybe Christ was such a peaceful, peaceable
person that we too ought to be peaceable. Is that what Paul
means when he says, according to Christ Jesus? I don’t think
so. I think what Paul’s saying here
is that not only was Christ peaceable, we know that he was, but this
is what Christ wanted most for the church. This is what Christ
had in mind for the church. This was Christ’s will and desire
for the church. God’s people that they be one. Not only is it in a in line with
his character, it was in line with his desires, his wishes.
Philippians and Philippians, which versus we looked at in
lengthy fashion chapter two, you know the passage well, Paul
just said it this way. In verse five, have this attitude,
which was also in Christ Jesus. There, Paul is arguing that all
we have to do is look to Christ and his example. But it goes
beyond that. It goes beyond to not only what
Christ did, but what Christ wanted for the church. Let me have you
turn to two particular passages. First of all, turn to Second
Corinthians, chapter five. In Second Corinthians, chapter
five, if you’re familiar with this section, it begins actually
all the way back in chapter two, carries on through chapter six.
Paul is discussing the Christian ministry, but it’s a pretty broad
brush. We all, in a sense, would find
some admonitions applying to ourselves in this. And this is
one of them. Look at verse 18. Where Paul
writes, now all these things are from God and he’s talking
about the ministry, the gospel, all the difficulties that come
with it, the joys. Now, all these things are from
God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the
ministry of reconciliation, namely. that God was in Christ reconciling
the world to himself not counting their trespasses against them.
And he has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now in
a very real way if you want to distill that down to its God
is a God of peace. He sent his son as an emissary
of peace and he has bestowed to us the ministry of peace reconciliation. God wants peace and he wants
it most cheaply in the church. We’re to go out into the highways
and byways of the world. We’re to go and to find those
who do not know Christ and to tell them about Christ. So that
they, too, may enjoy peace, peace with God first and foremost.
But if we go from a church that is torn apart from dissension
and torn apart from all of these little different factions within
the church. If we go from a church that is
not at peace. How does that affect the message
of peace that we bring? Well, the world, you know, already
the world looks at that and scoffs. It doesn’t work for you. How
does it? How do you propose that it will work for me? We’ll come back to that point
as we close this morning. But I wanted the Saints to turn
to another chapter, Chapter 17 of John’s Gospel, John Chapter
17. In John Chapter 17, this is such
a rich passage of Scripture, I had occasion Many years ago,
I started on a study of this and I thought it was going to
be a one or two day thing. I think I was in this passage
two or three months just studying, focusing, reading, meditating
on it. It is a rich passage of Scripture,
and we’re not going to even come close to doing it justice. You
can pray about this. This is an aside. It’s one of
the things I’ve already begun to mull over. Where do we go from Romans? You
know, there is an end. to the Book of Romans were coming
upon it. And I wondered, where do we go from here? And this
is one of the places that I’ve considered landing is in the
Gospel of John. Pray about that, if you would.
John, Chapter 17, what a powerful thing Christ is preparing for
the cross. In a sense, he is saying goodbye
to his apostles in an earthly sense, and he takes this occasion
to pray for them. We’ll take the prayer in full
with only the briefest of comments initially in the opening section,
verses one through five. Jesus talks about his relationship
with the father. Look at verse one. Jesus spoke
these things and lifting up his eyes to heaven. He said, Father,
the hour has come. Glorify your son that the son
may glorify you, even as you gave him authority over all flesh,
that to whom to all whom you have given him, he may give eternal
life. This is eternal life that they
may know you the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have
sent. I glorified you on the earth having accomplished the
work which you have given me to do. Now Father glorify me
together with yourself with the glory with which I had with you
before the world was. He focuses in that opening moment
as should we when we go to prayer. We should focus not on the things
that we want not on. We should focus on God and on
our relationship with him. It’s a beautiful frame for a
prayer. But having finished that, Jesus turns his attention to
his earthly friends, his apostles. Look at verse six, his relationship
with them. I have manifested your name to
the men whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours
and you gave them to me and they have kept your word. Now they
have come to know that everything you have given me is from you.
For the words you gave me, I have given to them and they received
them. And I truly understood that I came forth from you and
they believed that you sent me. I ask on their behalf, I do not
ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom you have given
me, for they are yours and all things that are mine are yours
and yours are mine. And I have been glorified in
them. I am no longer in the world, and yet they themselves are in
the world. And I come to you, Holy Father,
keep them in your name, the name which you have given me, that
they may be one, even as we are. While I was with them, I was
keeping them in your name, which you have given me, and I guarded
them and not one of them perished, but the son of perdition, so
that the scripture would be fulfilled. But now I come to you and these
things I speak in the world so that they may have my joy made
full in themselves. I have given them your word.
And the world has hated them because they are not of the world,
even as I am not of the world. I do not ask you to take them
out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They
are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify
them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent
me into the world, I also have sent them into the world for
their sakes. I sanctify myself, but they themselves
also may be sanctified. in truth. He prays for his apostles,
his closest friends on earth, those who literally would take
the gospel to the world. Jesus Christ paused before the
Father of all creation, and he prayed for his apostles. What
a beautiful prayer. But he doesn’t stop there. He
prays for you and I. Not by name. He prays for his
relationship with future believers. And it’s a prayer for unity.
Look at verse 20, I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but
for those also who believe in me through their word. That they
may all be one. Even as you, Father, are in me
and I in you, that they also may be in us so that the world
may believe that you sent me. The glory which you have given
me I have given to them that they may be one just as we are
one. I and them and you and me that
they may be perfected in unity so that the world may know that
you sent me and love them even as you have loved me. Father,
I desire that they also whom you have given me be with me
where I am so that they may see my glory which you have given
me. For you love me before the foundation
of the world. Oh, righteous father, although
the world has not known you yet, I have known you and these have
known that you sent me and I have made your name known to them
and will make it known so that the love with which you loved
me may be in them and I in them. That’s a brief overview. of some
of the most profound words that have ever been penned. It’s literally
deity interfacing with deity. The Lord Jesus Christ going before God the Father in prayer. No wonder Paul when he says that
may God grant you to be of the same mind toward one another
According to Christ Jesus, I think that’s what Paul had in mind.
Paul knew that this was this was in the deepest part of Christ’s
heart, his deepest longings and desires for the church is that
the church be one. Glance at the passage just one
more time. When it says, first of all, that
he essentially makes a prayer for unity immediately there in
verse 21, that they may all be one. He was praying for the unity
of the body of Christ, not just on a local level, although it’s
got to begin there. Look at the quality of this unity.
It’s to be like God’s. We can’t even begin to think
of dissension in the Godhead because that would literally
be the end of the world if God somehow had a breach and a faction
and a schism, the world would be over. The quality of this
unity was that it’s supposed to be like God’s, even as you
at the end of verse 21, even as you, Father, are in me and
I in you, that they also may be in us. It’s supposed to be
like God’s unity, oneness. What is the purpose of the unity?
Look at the passage again at the very end of verse 21. It
says that it is to be a witness to the world. That’s why we’re
supposed to be unified. So that the world may believe
that you sent me. A church that is fighting and
tearing each other apart is not going to be used by God in the
ministry of reconciliation. It’s not. Look at the gift of this unity,
verse 22, the gift of this unity is Christ’s glory, the fact that
we now on this perspective now see Christ having come into the
world and paid the penalty for sinners on the cross for 22 says
the glory which you have given me. I have given to them that
they may be one just as we are one and then he summarizes the
whole prayer in verses 23 and following. Paul Paul says it with four little
words that this unity is to be according to Christ Jesus. It’s
most pleasing to Christ, that the church be at peace, that
the church be one. There’s a fifth point that Paul
would point to. Fifth consideration when we think
of the unity of the church. As we mull over the magnificent
blessing of Christian unity, We see not only that it’s bestowed,
it’s oriented in our mental faculties, it’s mutually required, it fulfills
the desire of our Savior. But lastly, it enables us to
fulfill our chief end. When we are unified, we are able,
we are fitted, we are capable by God’s good grace of doing
exactly what He made us to do. What is that? Look at the passage.
Now, may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to
be of the same mind with one another, according to Christ
Jesus, that with one accord, you may with one voice glorify
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. That’s it. That’s the purpose, the reason
for which you were made is to glorify God. Note the way that Paul says it
with one heart and one mouth. It’s this one inward spirit,
this one purpose, this one voice. Which speaks of the unity and
harmony of our worship, and he’s not just talking about the one
hour on Sunday, he’s talking about the way that we live and
function together as Christians. It’s interesting that this word
with one accord, it’s one Greek word. With one word, with one
accord, literally with one mind that occurs 10 times in the book
of Acts, the only other time that it occurs is here in Romans
15. But in Acts, especially in the
early sections, it paints this beautiful picture of the Christian
unity that existed in the early church. Listen to just a few.
Acts 1.14 These all with one mind were continually devoting
themselves to prayer along with the women and Mary, the mother
of Jesus and with his brothers. Their prayer was one prayer.
Acts 2.46 Day by day, continuing with one mind in the temple,
breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their
meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart. They
were one church with one mind. Not a whole bunch of little factions
just glued together for convenience sake. Acts 424, when they heard
this, they lifted up their voices to God with one accord and said,
Oh, Lord, it is you who made the heaven and the earth and
the sea and all that is in them. And that’s the unity that Paul
is calling us to, that we are to have one mind. And with that
one mind and one heart and one voice, we are to do the one thing
that God has made us to do. And that is to worship. One Puritan
reformer said that worship is the most important matter with
which we have to deal. Now, some of you are already
thinking about Monday and what Monday holds and then Tuesday
and the week and all the difficulties that come. And then you’re maybe
thinking about last week and you think that, well, worship
comes easy. It’s life and all the difficulties
that come our way. Not so easy. But he said worship
is the most important matter with which we have to deal. We’ve
got to get this right. This has to be pleasing to God. Worship of God is the primary
and ultimate. There’s nothing greater that
you will ever do. Nothing greater that you will
ever do than worship Almighty God. And yet it is the most basic
thing that you can do. I remember one of the most sincere
prayers I ever heard. When I was at college I watched
a girl bow over her bread and just thank God. God thank you
for my toast. That’s it. That’s the most basic
thing that you can do as a Christian. Thank you God for my toast. It’s primary in the sense that
it’s the very least that we owe almighty God but it’s ultimate
in the sense that there’s there’s nothing greater that a Christian
can do. But when you begin to think of.
Worship. The first thing that you have
to do, especially in light of the word that he uses here, glory,
glorify, what is what does it mean? What does this word glory
mean? One described it, he said, by
glory, we understand that infinite and incomprehensible excellence
by which Christ excels all and for which he is to be honored
above all. One referred to glory as the
sparkling of the deity, the manifestation of God himself. And so as we
have seen Christ, we have seen God in his glory. Another said
the glory of God is without measure, infinite, above comprehension,
a light unto which no one can approach. Yet, as God has revealed
his son, we have seen the glory of God. It is the sparkling of
the deity. And so when you begin to say,
OK, so that’s God’s glory and Christ came in his glory and
we have beheld his glory, so says John’s gospel. How then
can we begin to glorify God? Can we bestow on Almighty God
anything? The bottom line there is when
we glorify God, we don’t give to him anything. that he lacks,
because if he lacked anything, he wouldn’t be God. All we do
is ascribe back to him. We reflect, if you will, his
glory back upon him. To recognize Almighty God for
who he is and what he’s done in all of his perfections, and
that we merely acknowledge that he is, that’s worship. One said
it this way, the glory we give God is nothing else but are lifting
up his name in the world and magnifying him in the eyes of
others. That’s what it is to glorify.
And can we do that if the church is torn apart? Can we do that
if we’re at odds with our brother? Can we do that if we disdain
our brother because of the position he holds on some issue? Can we
do that if we neglect him and run roughshod over them and in
the conduct of our so-called area of freedom. We can’t glorify
God that way. That’s Paul’s point in this whole
exhortation. To glorify God is to esteem God
for who he is and respond accordingly and we can’t live that way. A.W. Tozer said it this way.
The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever
risen above its religion. Man’s spiritual history will
positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater
than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the
worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God. For this
reason, the gravest question before the church is always God
himself. And the most significant fact
about any man is not what he at any given time may do or say,
but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. Did
you hear what he said? Whatever you conceive God to
be like is what’s going to position you in the way that you conduct
yourself. And you can look at your behavior
as well. If you don’t care about your brother in Christ, if you
don’t care about the way that you live, if you don’t care about
maintaining the unity of Christ in the church. You’ve got a low
view of God. Great cry of the Reformation
was solo Deo Gloria. God’s glory alone. Spurgeon admonished in the strongest
terms in this regard, he said, let nothing ever set your heart
beating so mightily as to love him. And he says what the reformer
said, worship is it. Worship is the main thing. Let
this ambition fire your soul. Let this be the foundation of
every enterprise upon which you enter and your sustaining motive.
Whenever your zeal would grow, chill, make God your only subject,
depend upon it where self begins. Sorrow begins. He says we have
to be about worship. We have to be about our chief
end. It’s the chief end of man, said the Westminster catechism. to glorify God and enjoy Him
forever. We’ve got to forget about ourselves.
We’ve got to put ourselves second, even to our brother’s consideration.
Let our eyes, as one said, be fixed on God. And that’s going to be difficult,
isn’t it? In a self-absorbed society in which we live. Self-seeking
at every turn. Self-promoting. Concerned about
protecting self and self-interest. Self-indulgent. One pastor admonished, let the
child realize its relation to the father who feeds it. Let the child realize its relation
to the father who feeds it, clothes it, keeps it alive, who enlightens
and guides it, pardons and purifies it, strengthens and upholds it.
And that in all this, Christ Jesus and nothing but glowing
consciousness cry out now to God and our Father be glory forever. You see, we owe. We owe a debt
of gratitude to Almighty God for the salvation that we enjoy.
Paul says, that if we’re going to walk together in peace, if
we’re going to really worship God, those things have to come
hand in hand. That we’ve got to walk together
in peace and worship together in that peace. One pastor said it this way.
It is needful that inward harmony finds suitable outward expression. Such united praise of God will
make impossible The despising and passing of judgment and the
heartlessness which with which can cause a brother to be grieved. See, when the church. Gives itself
over to worship, to glorifying God. It is such an overwhelming
and satisfaction, satisfying sense of peace and unity. We
can’t bear to tear at the eyes of our brother. If we’re praising
God and worshiping God and honoring God as we should, as is our chief,
and there can’t be these unnecessary dissensions. I wrote these words to a friend
of mine last week. And then as I wrote it, I realized
that I was in context, it was basically born out of what I
was studying. I said, it’s the fear of God,
honestly, that enables saints to blend together in worship.
We could find 10,000 reasons not to fellowship with others,
we could find at least as many reasons to fight. But when we
suddenly realize that we’re standing before the God of the universe
in the great cause of worship, we should be awestruck and dumbstruck
and fall on our face in humble adoration. Let’s do that together. Our merciful God, we humble ourselves
before you. And Lord, we realize that we
have torn at the unity of the church in hundreds of different
ways. Thinking our way best, caring
little about the brother for whom Christ died. God, may it
not be. Show to each one of us where
we have distracted from the great cause of worship. And that’s
what we’re doing. That’s what we’re doing when
we foment these differences and drag out these arguments and
push up these issues. We’re detracting others, even
our brothers and sisters in Christ, from doing the one thing they
were designed to do. And that is to bring you worship. God have mercy on us. Grant to us the grace of unity.
It’s in Jesus’ name that we pray, Amen.