Romans 15 - The Power of Encouragement!
15 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. 3 For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” 4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. 5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, 6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
As Paul moves toward the end of his letter to the Romans, he gives more guidance on how those in the church should treat each other. There are two directions in our relationship to God. One is vertical. This is our personal relationship with God. Paul taught much in the beginning of this letter about how we go about repairing the broken relationship we had with God because of our sin. Our relationship with God was characterized by fear and shame. Fear of judgment, and shame because of our sinful nature.
But the gospel that Paul has so vehemently preached is that God sent Jesus to make up for where we were lacking. We owed a debt to God due to our sin that we could not pay. Jesus paid the debt for our sin on the cross. As we believe in faith in what Jesus did for us, by becoming our righteousness, we are "justified" or "made right with God". This faith we received as a gift so that none of us could boast about earning it or deserving it.
Once our vertical relationship with God was restored, we were free to forgive others of their sins against us, just as God had forgiven us all of our sin. But not only did God call us to forgive as we have been forgiven, but also to love as Jesus loved us. Jesus made a choice to love us, and a choice to lay down his life for us. Paul says we should have this same attitude that Jesus had for others. He teaches them that they need to pay special attention to those among them who were "weak".
This is not referring to physical weakness, but spiritual weakness. It also had to do with spiritual maturity. In the context of what Paul has been teaching, the immaturity had to do with being unnecessarily burdened by keeping the Law. Naturally this affected more Jews than Gentiles, having come from the law based Old Testament.
But instead of looking down on fellow brothers and sisters because of their immaturity, Paul says they ought to bear them up.
This goes against the whole tenor of our times, which counsels people to “look out for number one” and despises those who live lives of real sacrifice for the sake of others. Yet, undeniably Paul points the way to true happiness and fulfillment in life – get your eyes off of yourself, start building up others and you will find yourself built up. - Guzik
The weak might be someone who carries unnecessary guilt from past sins. They haven't completely received the grace of God yet, to the point of being free from the condemnation the devil still tries to plague them with. Oftentimes because a person like this has not received true freedom in Christ, they get discouraged and go back to old habits, which even makes them feel more guilt! It is a viscious cycle, and the devil loves it, because the person does not feel worthy to pursue the calling God has for them. Nor, do they ever experience true peace!
The other important word Paul uses is "encouragement". Literally the word means to, "come beside and give courage to". Encouragment is one of the most important spiritual gifts given to the church. While we are each called to encourage one another, there are certain people who have been given the supernatural spiritual gift of "encouragement".
I know there are many times in my life that I am so grateful that God put encouragers in my life, when I was ready to give up on myself, or counted myself " as not worthy of God's grace".
Where do you need to be encouraged? Do you have an encourager?
Who did you need to encourage today? Might God be leading you to pick up the phone and call this person and ask them how they are doing? Possibly pray for them if they need it?
Jesus, we thank you that you created the body of Christ to be a place where we give each other encouragement. Sometimes we will be a in a place to give it, and sometimes we will be in a place where we need it! Thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit, who always encourages us. We are reminded of the passage, "He (the Spirit of Christ) who began a good work in You, will be faithful to complete it! Amen.
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