Roaming Through Romans-Part 45

Nearing the end of our walk through Romans, we come to Chapter 15. In Verses 1-7, Paul deals with important aspects of relationships among God's people. He alludes to our maturity in Verse 1. (He assumes that his readers are mature. Are we?)  One indication is that we do not major on pleasing ourselves but on pleasing a brother or sister. Another indication is that strong (mature) believers bear the infirmities (weaknesses) of the weak. Moving to Verse 2, we are given the reason why we should bear these weaknesses. It is to build them up, to encourage growth toward maturity so that they, in turn, can do for others what has been done for them. Verse 3 holds up our role model. Jesus put others (including us) ahead of Himself. (Did He ever!!) He bore the brunt of reproaches on His Father and on His followers. We are to do the same! In Verse 4, he reminds us that we have numerous illustrations in the Old Testament of how God dealt with His people, how He saw them through, and the ultimate outcome. If God can accomplish so much through trials in their lives, He can certainly do the same in ours. Verses 5-6 highlight our mandate: God is patient and comforting to us, therefore be the same toward others, as exemplified by our Wonderful Lord. With mind and mouth, in harmony with God and each other, glorify God, our Savior's father! Finally today, Verse 7 conveys this thrilling reality, that Jesus received us, who have come to Him, with open arms. He did it for the Glory of God. Now, we are to do the same!   Selah! Can you imagine what living out these principles could do in our local churches today? Think of the spill-over effect on the world around those churches!   Ron

Comments

[Pastor Ron Pinkham]

Hi, Matt! Thanks again for interacting. I appreciate anything that provokes "thinking through" God's Truth. Distinctions are justified by the immediate text and also justified by the overall teaching on a given subject. For example,there are sharp differences between The "Rapture" and The "Second Coming" Another example would be between Law and Grace. Others could be cited. I don't quite get your "drift" as to I Corinthians 10. Yes, we do look at the Word through different lenses (i.e. pre-suppositions"). 55 plus years of exposure to Scripture have increasingly convinced me that understanding dispensations is the key to understanding God's overall plan for mankind. I don't ask you to agree with that conclusion. Just keep probing. All teaching is [very] important and [absolutely] deserves our full attention. The issue is not necessarily essential to the Gospel itself but I see it as essential to appreciating the whole context of the Gospel. God bless you, Matt and keep in touch. Pastor Ron