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All Christians, weak and strong, need spiritual guidance. We need a preacher who is guided by the Word of God, and guided by Jesus Christ to give us admonition. Paul addresses these things to the church of Rome who he writes the book of Romans to.
Romans 15:14 “And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.”
Paul says he is convinced that those in the church at Rome are full of goodness, and full of knowledge. These Christians in Rome were good Christians. To be full of goodness and full of knowledge is the essence of spiritual maturity. In the preceding verse, Paul says that God fills them with joy and peace.
However, in spite of the spiritual strength of these Christians, they still needed some “straight talk” from the apostle Paul. Look at verses 15 and 16.
Romans 15:15,16 “Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of God, That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.”
In spite of all, they still needed to learn more about spiritual doctrine. No matter how far we grow spiritually, we still need to understand that we should grow and learn even more. We should never get to the point where we say, Oh I’ve heard that verse and I know all about what it means. Or, I know all there is about the Bible and religious things and will spend my life teaching others without the need to be taught myself. Remember the Pharisees and Sadducees in the New Testament? They knew the Bible cover to cover. They knew the law backwards and fowards. Yet, even these scholars were spiritually ignorant. It is impossible to fully comprehend the breadth of God’s Word. To fully comprehend the entire breadth of the Word of God is to have the knowledge and wisdom of God Himself — and we’ll never have the knowledge and wisdom to that extent while here on earth. No matter how close we are to the Lord, we can always become closer, and learn more about the Lord.
There’s an instruction to the teachers as well. Those who are in authority could possibly have the tendency to use that authority to control or manipulate others around them. There is a lot of authority given to someone who is a preacher or a teacher. Paul says in verses 18 that he will only speak of those things which Christ has wrought in Him, and he gives Christ all of the glory. We ought to do the same.
For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed,”
We should be quick to learn more about God, and quick to give Christ the credit for the work that He does through us.
To learn more about Romans 15, follow this link.
In the verses leading up to Romans 15:8, Paul instructs Christians to be united in their glorification of God the Father. This is accomplished by the reading and the studying of God’s Word.
In Romans 15:8-14, Paul explains how Jesus Christ by His ministry has made it possible for Christians to be united. Verses 8 and 9 are key verses.
Romans 15:8,9 “Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name.”
When I first read this passage, I didn’t quite understand what it was saying. I broke it down into segments and it helped me understand something great.
Jesus Christ was a minister of God. He initiated contact with sinful man through His earthly ministry (being a Minister of God). Incidentally, this initiating the contact with mankind mirrors what Paul said in verse 7.
Romans 15:7 “Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.”
Within the ministry of Christ, He accomplished several things which Paul explains in verse 8 and 9. Namely, Christ “confirmed the promises made unto he fathers”. The promises God made to those in the Old Testament were factual. When God makes a promise, you can count on it. In Christ’s ministry, He was simply the confirmation of those promises. The promises didn’t become factual upon Christ’s arrival or upon Christ’s completion of His ministry. They were factual to begin with. Christ’s ministry confirmed what was already fact.
Also within the ministry of Christ, He made it possible “that the Gentiles might glory God for his (God’s) mercy” Consider this accomplishment and what it means in light of what Paul had said in verses 5 and 6. Verses 5 and 6 says this:
Romans 15:5,6 “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.”
Verse 7 says that Christ made it possible that the Gentiles might glory God. Verses 5 and 6 says that God makes it possible for us to be united, with one voice to glorify God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ is the unifier. Christ is the embodiment of what unifies us as Christians. It is because of Christ’s ministry that we are able to be unified. Without Christ, we are not unified at all. It comes back to the definition of a Christian: being Christ-like. Christ first initiated the contact with mankind so that we may be united with God — a feat that otherwise would have been impossible. After we became Christians and are united with God, we are also united with each other through Jesus Christ.
When we come to a crossroad in our lives and don’t know which turn to take, look to the Unifier, Jesus Christ by reading God’s Word. When we do this, we will be unified through Him.
To learn more about Romans 15, follow this link.
In Romans 15:4-7, Paul instructs Christians to be like-minded one with another. Let’s review these instructions in light of the comments he had made in the previous chapter; namely, that we should “give in” to our weaker Christian brother so he doesn’t falter.
The entire goal of Paul as I see it is to encourage Christian’s to be united in their service for the Lord.
If stronger Christians go their own way, and do their own thing in spite of causing weaker Christians to be hindered, then the Christian body is not working as a cohesive, unified body. We achieve this like-mindedness through studying the Word of God. Consider verses 4 and 5.
Romans 15:4,5 “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:”
Paul begins in verse 4 by saying that the things in the Bible are there for our learning. We receive knowledge of God’s plan through the reading and studying of His Word. Paul says that through His Word, we will receive patience and comfort. Paul points out that God is a God of patience and consolation (or comfort). We receive this hope, patience and comfort from the Lord when we read and study His Word.
We need this patience and comfort because our journey through life, in our respect, is a long one. There are many pitfalls and opportunities for us to falter and fall into sin. In the same what a tree springs up quickly with very little root to sustain it and can be blown over easily by the wind, we are the same way as new Christians. Until we study and read God’s Word, we will tend to be discourage, blown about by the winds of doctrine. We will tend to lose our patience and fall into sin. It is only through God’s Word that we will establish these roots of doctrine that will give us comfort and patience; and this will give us the hope that Paul talks about, that we’ll continue our walk with the Lord.
In fact, we are given to be likeminded with each other. Look at verse 5 again.
Romans 15:5 “Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:”
I was a little confused when I read the phrase “grant you to be likeminded.” What does it mean when it says “grant you?” Does it mean that God gives us something? Or does it mean that God gives us as the gift? I think it is both. God through the reading of His Word, gives us a likeminded spirit. At the same time, God gave us to be likeminded. The word “grant” in this verse means to give something to someone else. Reading it like that would read “the God of patience and consolation gives you to be likeminded.” The purpose is in verse 6.
Romans 15:6 “That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
God gives us to be likeminded, so we will be united in our glorification of the Lord. God wants us to be united. He wants us to praise Him with one, united voice. Even in the face of disagreements between weaker and stronger Christians, we are to be united. It is a responsibility of the stronger Christians to initiate this unity by refraining from things which may be a hindrance for other weaker Christians.
Just as Christ has united ourselves with Him, we should take the steps to unite other Christians with us.
To learn more about Romans 15, follow this link.
I recall an acronym several years back for the word JOY. How to be joyful was to put these in this order: Jesus, then Others, then You.
Jesus should be first in our lives no matter what. He is our perfect example of how to live our lives. That is the very definition of being a Christian. Paul tells us at the beginning of Romans 15 this very thing. We ought to put others ahead of ourselves; in doing so we will be emulating the actions of Jesus Christ.
Lets look at verses 1 and 2.
Romans 15:1,2 “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.”
What Paul is talking about here is self-sacrifice. Giving of yourself for the sake of others. The first verse says we ought “not to please ourselves” or do what we want in spite of others. The next verse fills the void that normally would be there and says “let every one of us please his neighbor.” Instead of doing what pleases us, sometimes we have to do things that naturally we don’t want to do. I believe it is natural for us to do what pleases us, doing things that takes care of number one. We find it difficult to do things the opposite of what we want or what comes easy. For the sake of “edifying” or building up a weaker Christian, we ought to do what is in their best interest instead of our own.
In doing these things, we imitate Christ’s behavior. Look at verse 3.
Romans 15:3 “For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.”
Christ bore the “reproaches” or sufferings for our sake. He could have called the angels to rescue Him but He chose not to. He did this for our salvation. We are weaker than He is, and He gave of Himself to strengthen us. This is the perfect example for us to follow in our daily lives: putting Jesus first, then Others, then Yourself.
To learn more about Romans 15, follow this link.
There are some serious consequences that a Christian faces when he does things which hinders other Christians. Paul explains these in the final verses of Romans 14.
Leading up to 19, Paul explains to Christians that we ought to live our lives not only how the Holy Spirit leads us to, and how the Bible directs us, but also in such a way as not to offend other Christians. This is even the case when a fellow Christian, who may be spiritually weaker than you, is offended by an otherwise innocent act that you do. Paul tells us for the sake of this “weaker” Christian, we ought to avoid those things which may cause him to stumble.
Paul expounds on this in verse 19 through 23. Paul gives us direction in verse 19.
Romans 14:19 “Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.”
Keep the peace, even if you think you are right. Sometimes we may feel we are right and have a tendency to “stick to our guns” and argue our point. When the point is about something which is causing another Christian to waiver in his faith, we are to be a peacemaker, to give in and do that which edifies (builds up) these weaker Christians.
If we choose to stand our ground because we think we’re right, and come what may we’ll help others understand that there’s nothing wrong with “X”, then we are committing an act of sin in doing so. Paul says in verse 20 “…but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.” Paul uses the word “eateth” to signify doing an act which we think is right, but offends other Christians. It comes from the debate at the time about whether it was right to eat meat which had been offered to false idols. The meat was like any other meat in its physical characteristics, and by the law there was no sin in eating the meat. Some Christians took offense to others eating this meat. This leads to Paul saying that, while it is not a sin to eat the meat because of the meats sake, it is a sin, and evil to eat this meat when you know that your eating it causes offense to other Christians.
This is summed up in verse 21.
Romans 14:21 “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.”
Whether it has to do with eating or drinking, or anything else, it is good that we refrain from these things if it causes another Christian to be spiritually weakened (to stumble, to be offended, or to be made weak). There are ramifications for continuing these things in spite of weakening your fellow Christian. Paul says in verses 22 and 23 that a person who does these things “condemns himself” and is “damned”. Our relationship with fellow Christians is a serious matter to the Lord. He wants the Christian family working together as a cohesive unit to serve Him. He does not want Christians who He has made stronger to do things which cause weaker Christians to falter.
Let us heed God’s Word in this matter, caring for one another, and strengthening one another in God’s Word.
To learn more about Romans 14, follow this link.
Paul talks in Romans 14:14-18 about the elements of sin and how it relates to our fellow Christians.
All Christians struggle from time to time understanding what is permitted by the Bible and what is not. What we should do, where we should go, what we should eat and drink, and so forth. It is normal for Christians to be at varying levels of spiritual strength as we go through our lives. The point at which these two intersect (what is right and what is wrong, and the varying levels of spiritual strength) causes there to be disagreement in our quest to live a life pleasing to the Lord. If we were all of the same spiritual strength, all with equal wisdom and all equally willing to serve the Lord, this dilemma may not present itself. But we do, and it does.
Paul addresses this in verses 14 through 18, and gives us some guidance as to how to handle those situations. Let’s look at a modern example of what Paul talks about, and how he says we ought to handle it. Smoking. Is it ok to smoke or to otherwise use tobacco products? I think the use of tobacco is wrong, but for the sake of the argument, let’s use it as an example. Paul says in verse 14 that “I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself…” Tobacco in and of itself is not “unclean” as defined by the law as handed down to Moses in the book of Exodus. I’ve known Christians who were strong Christians who used tobacco. Charles Spurgeon himself smoke cigars on a regular basis. But is smoking a sin? Here’s where Paul’s guidance comes in. Paul says in verses 14 and 15 the following:
Romans 14:14-15 “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.”
Like I said before, there is nothing within itself forbidden by the law in tobacco. But if a person thinks it is a sin to use tobacco, and still does so, to him (and not necessarily others) it is a sin. That is what Paul says in verse 14: “…but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.” Virtually anything can become a sin. Satan can use some of the most innocuous things to drive a wedge between us and God. If someone thinks to himself that he’s been watching too much television, or spending too much time fishing, but continues to do these things, then those otherwise innocent things become sin in his life.
Paul then goes further. We are not only to follow our own conscience and the leading of the Holy Spirit when determining what is right and wrong, but we are to follow the guidance of our fellow Christian when we determine this. In determining how to live our lives, Paul says in verse 15 that we ought to walk charitably. The Greek word for charitably here is agape, which means a deep brotherly love. If a fellow Christian comes to you and says, “I notice you smoke tobacco and I think it is a sin”, then with an agape love for this Christian, we ought to stop using tobacco. Even if we are not persuaded that using tobacco is wrong, we ought to stop doing it, because as Paul says in verse 13, doing otherwise would put a stumblingblock or an “occasion to fall” in our brother’s way. We don’t want anything to cause our fellow Christian to fall into sin.
We may be very strong Christians, and strong Christians can handle the spiritual battle better than weaker Christians can. When we determine how to live our lives, we need to consider what others will think; will others be offended by it; will Christians weaker than us not understand what we’re doing is permitted. If we aren’t sure, then we need to err on the side of safety.
To learn more about Romans 14, follow this link.
In Romans 14:7-13, Paul explains how we are not to judge our fellow man. When we stand before God on judgment day, it is not our fellow man that we will be held accountable for. We will, as Paul phrases it, give account of himself to God.
It is easy for us to compare ourselves to others. We have a natural tendency to do that. Many times we judge ourselves in how we stack up against others. We make a mistake when we compare our actions to that of other Christians, and determine that we are successful or not. Our standard should be that of Jesus Christ, not of our fellow man. Paul says in verses 11 and 12:
Romans 14:11,12 “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.”
In the last sentence, it says everyone will give account of himself (or themselves) to God. God will not rank people and take the top ones in how they rank against each other. Recall Romans 3:23.
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
When we are to be judged, we will be by the standard of God, and that standard is perfection. His Son Jesus met that high standard. We won’t be able to say to the Lord that we were better than our neighbor, even though in our eyes we may be. We may be better citizens; we may donate more to charitable causes. But on judgment day that won’t matter at all. No amount of good works will bring us up to God’s standard.
Paul’s main point is to refocus us on ourselves. He wants us to look at ourselves and others through God’s eyes, not our own. All Christians are servants of God. We live for Him and serve Him together.
To learn more about Romans 14, follow this link.
In Romans 14, Paul talks to Christians about judging one another. Specifically, there are people who will follow different customs and practices than we will. We are to get our direction from the Bible as to what doctrine we follow. But there are some things which the Holy Spirit will lead us to know what is right and what is not right. These are things which the Bible may be silent about, and we must rely upon the Holy Spirit to guide us in.
In Paul’s day, non-Christians offered meat to false idols. There was a debate among Christians whether or not it was alright to eat this sacrificed meat. The Bible doesn’t explicitly say that the meat was spiritually tainted or not. Some Christians took this meat and gave thanks to God for it. Other Christians, who Paul refers to as “weak” thought it was sinful to eat of this sacrificed meat.
The point Paul makes is that we are to receive one another, and have fellowship with each other even though we may carry out traditions which conflict with each other. Keep in mind that Paul isn’t talking about Biblical doctrine here. Our doctrine is laid out in God’s Word. Paul is talking about customs and practices when the Bible may be silent about.
In fact, we do not have the authority to judge one another concerning these things. Christians are all servants of God. One servant does not have the authority or position to judge another servant. The final judge will be the Lord.
Romans 14:4 “Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant?…”
We should receive those who follow Biblical doctrine, and not judge over the manner in which God’s Will is carried out. It is easy for the devil to cause a rift within a church over the smallest of things. Not often is a church divided over Biblical doctrine; it is over small things and the day-to-day operation of the church. When these things happen, we need to keep in mind that we as Christians are all part of one tree, one Christian family, all acting in unison to serve the Lord.
To learn more about Romans 14, follow this link.
In an article by Al Gore (and I hesitate to post anything by Al Gore), he says that a “globally harmonized carbon tax or a coordinated multilateral regulatory effort” is the “best chance of success” in getting control of global carbon emissions. In other words, he is proposing that a one-world regulatory agency be created which will levy taxes on countries based on their carbon emissions. Here is an exerpt from his article in the New York Times.
“But there are two big problems with this critique: First, there is no readily apparent alternative that would be any easier politically. It is difficult to imagine a globally harmonized carbon tax or a coordinated multilateral regulatory effort. The flexibility of a global market-based policy — supplemented by regulation and revenue-neutral tax policies — is the option that has by far the best chance of success. The fact that it is extremely difficult does not mean that we should simply give up.”
Will that be the means by which a new global leader will come to rise, out of the “inability” of the world to come to an emissions agreement? I for one shutter when I think of anything having to do with a one world government. In the days leading up to the rapture, these things will happen to give rise to the Antichrist, the False Prophet, and the Beast.
Link to the New York Times article.
Are we moving toward a one-world currency? A new ABC News report suggests we are.
We hear more and more about a one-world currency, and the formation of a one-world government. Here is a new story from ABC News where the head of the IMF (International Monetary Fund) proposes a single global reserve currency.
Things like this will happen more and more to set the stage for the arrival of the Antichrist, the Beast and the False Prophet as foretold in the book of Revelations.
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