Christian Responsibility.
Jeff Unsworth
Romans 15:1-3
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(A life of self-sacrifice in serving and pleasing others).
Those of us who are strong in the faith have a responsibility in Christ to bear up those who are weak. We must put what pleases us to one side and please our neighbour and try to build him up.
Paul writing to the church at Philippi.
Phil 2: 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;
4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
It is very important that those who are strong in faith ought to behave in such a way around the weaker ones, not abusing the liberty in Christ by saying one thing and doing another, the result being bad examples.
We are never to put ourselves first but consider the weakness of our brethren.
Rom 15:1 NASB Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves.
2 Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification.
It is not a case of putting up with our brother but supporting him in his time of weakness.
Paul exhorts us to look at the example of Christ, who never put Himself first.
Phil 2:5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Whenever He suffered reproach, He did it for the glory of God.
Col 3:23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,
Rom 15:3 For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “THE REPROACHES OF THOSE WHO REPROACHED YOU FELL ON ME.”
The NIV translates this verse as “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.'
Paul is speaking directly to those who are strong enough in their Christian faith that they feel secure in the grace of God, in the freedom wherewith Christ has made us free..
Galatians 5:1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
Such believers feel free to enjoy things formerly restricted for them by the law, including meat, wine, and not observing special religious days or unnecessary rules and regulations
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What this means is that these stronger Christians are not held back by the laws that were once imposed on them. They recognise that not being under the law but living under grace, means that they are free to do things that once were restricted unless it is made clear as being wrong in scripture.
Paul is saying two important things about this attitude of Christian liberty.
First, the "strong" believers are right to recognize that nothing is, itself, unclean (1 Timothy 4:4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude;).
Second, these believers should be willing to forego that freedom for the sake of those who are not yet strong enough in their faith to participate in those things (Romans 14:1–2 Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.
2 One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only.).
Paul, here is advocating that they should put pleasing their neighbours above pleasing themselves. After all, Paul now writes, they are following Christ. Christ did not please Himself in this life. He lived a life of self-sacrifice in serving and pleasing others.
In Rom 15:3 Paul quotes from Psalm 69:9, For zeal for Your house has consumed me,
And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
Paul is applying it to Jesus.
In that context, the reproaches—the mockery and criticism—of those who reproached God the Father fell on Christ. By comparison, Paul seems to be saying, strong-faith Christians should be willing to give up meat, or give up wine, or to skip the Sabbath, or any other matter of their personal freedom, for the sake of building up their weaker siblings in Christ.
We should never do or say anything that would cause someone who is weak, to stumble.
When someone first comes to faith in Christ, they tend to examine themselves and recognise things in their lives that they consider wrong as a Christian.
They may try to rid themselves of all the things that appear worldly.
For example, they stop swearing, using bad language, they lay off the drinking and smoking, they may stop sleeping around and mixing with “the wrong crowd”. Some even throw out the telly and stop playing certain types of music.
Some of these things are things that need to go. Others may be necessary for them as they begin to grow in Christ.
However, other things, such as pride, laziness, conceit, anger, malice selfishness or greed can easily get overlooked.
As they grow in grace and become stronger they begin to recognise that some of the things they thought was sin, are not necessarily wrong, unless abused.
Those who are mature in faith ought to recognise that growth in Christ does not happen overnight, but takes time.
It is up to those stronger brethren to be patient and not do or say things that would knock someone back, as it were.
A strong Christian becomes strong by exercising discernment, being skilful in telling what is good and right, or what is evil and wrong and the times when it doesn’t matter.
A strong Christian knows his own freedom in Christ and how his freedom is not to be abused, using it for licence to sin. One is not free to break the moral code but freedom should be used to help the weaker brother to grow in grace.
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