This is The Way – Devo Day 16

The Example of Christ

We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 15:1-6 (ESV)

The Apostle Paul begins this passage charging those of mature faith with a responsibility to weaker members of the body to bear their weaknesses. The strong (Paul considers himself one of them) shouldn’t use their strength to push past or destroy the immature. The idea is that the strength of the mature would cover/compensate for another’s weakness accruing to their benefit. He calls on the strong to emulate Christ and serve others “not to please” themselves.

It’s interesting that Paul, in verse 3, quotes from Psalm 69:9 describing the unjust suffering of Christ, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” Offering it as an example of Jesus refusing to please himself, instead, Jesus was so completely surrendered to the will, mission, and glory of the Father that the insults intended for God fell upon him.

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,

Romans 15:4-5

Paul then gives a brief but powerful statement of the nature and purpose of God’s Word and specifically the Old Testament Scripture for the New Testament believer. From these verses, we can derive five truths about the Scriptures, which is as true and applicable today as it was when it was written. The Jewish Scriptures, the books of the Old Testament, were all the first Christians had and Paul is arguing for their value to his contemporaries.

Purposes of God’s Word

1. Timelessly Contemporary – ” For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction.” Paul wrote these words to the believers in Rome concerning the applicability of the Old Testament Scripture to their lives. Paul is saying that the inspired Word of God is timeless and universally applicable to all generations. It was written for us too.
2. Lasting Value – “Whatever was written” (the collection) has value as the words of God to man – that “we might have hope.“
3. Points to the Messiah and the coming Kingdom – The Old Testament is the beginning record of God’s redemptive saga of the restoration of His creation. It’s why the apostles on the road to Emmaus said of their conversation with the resurrected Christ, “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27)
4. Emmaniently Practical – The scriptures “encourage” us, which nurtures “endurance” and that leads us to “hope” so that we might look past our current sufferings and trials to the assurances of future glory in eternity.
5. Divine Communication – Verse 4 says that encouragement and endurance come from the Word but verse 5 drills down further and adds that both originate in God himself and that He is the author of our hope. And God continues to this day to speak to men, women, and children through what He has spoken. That is why it is referred to as the Living Word.

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 15:5-6

Now Paul begins a prayer for the believers in Rome. That the same God that gives encouragement, endurance, and hope will give them a unity of spirit. He is not asking God for some homogenized group-think since he has already addressed the reality of stronger and weaker members on the body. The unity that Paul is praying for is found in Christ, as the head of the church. Our unity with one another is found in our unity with Christ (his mind, his heart, his mission). For the singular common purpose of worshipping God “with one voice.” Thus one mind, one purpose, and one heart is expressed with one voice in worship to God. – This is The Way

QUESTIONS TO PONDER

1. Who do you learn from and whose teaching do you sit under? How do you receive it (one-on-one, mentor, group study, class, podcast, video)?
2. Who have you helped mature in the Word and in their faith? How have you facilitated that work (one-on-one, mentoring, group study, teaching, coaching)?
3. What are the values of God’s Word to you? If it is truly valuable to you, who have you shared it with? If you have, what did you get from that exchange?
4. How has the Word of God encouraged unity between you and other like-minded believers? Have you ever been drawn into worship with other believers because of the sharing, teaching, or preaching of God’s Word? If so, what was that experience like?

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