A Bible Chat study of Romans 15
“Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”
—Romans 15:7
Some people are weak, and some people are strong.
That is true in almost every community. It is certainly true in a community of faith. But Paul is less interested in labeling people than he is in telling the strong what their strength is for.
Strength is not permission to dominate.
Strength is not a platform from which to criticize.
Strength is not an excuse to win every argument.
Strength is a calling to uphold the weak.
Paul writes:
“We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.”
“Put up with” can sound reluctant, as if Paul were telling us to grit our teeth and tolerate difficult people. But his thought goes much further. We are to bear with one another. We are to help carry the weight. We are to make room for people who have not yet arrived where we think they should be.
Why?
Because we are not here merely to please ourselves.
“Each of us must please our neighbor for the good purpose of building up the neighbor.”
There is the higher purpose: building up the neighbor.
What Is Your Strength For?
We sometimes pounce on the weak with our opinions.
They are struggling to believe, to find their place in God’s purpose, to discover some definition of themselves in God, and to understand their calling. Then we begin scratching at an area of weakness or prodding a point of contention. We start sanding the rough spots of their growing edges before those edges have had time to grow.
We discourage them with our quarreling. We crush their spirits with our compulsion for absolute accuracy over every fine point.
It is as if we do not believe that the One who began a good work in them is capable of completing it.
Paul says that we should embrace a spirit of welcome, especially toward those who are weak in faith.
Is the weak one welcome in our community?
Is the beginner welcome?
Is the person with unfinished theology welcome?
Is the person who has stumbled repeatedly welcome?
Is the person who asks uncomfortable questions welcome?
And when that person leaves our Bible study, worship service, discipleship session, class, or conversation, what do they carry away?
No one should walk away believing, “I cannot grow.”
No one should walk away thinking, “I am only a miserable failure in the Christian life, so I might as well quit.”
No one should walk away without hope.
Correction has a place. Instruction has a place. Paul himself writes boldly. But Christian correction is meant to restore, strengthen, and build. It is never meant to humiliate, crush, or display the superiority of the person doing the correcting.
Christ Did Not Please Himself
Paul points to Jesus:
“For Christ did not please himself.”
Jesus absorbed hostility. Insults fell upon him. He was despised, rejected, beaten, and crucified. He did not use his strength to protect his own comfort. He gave himself for others.
That is the pattern.
The strongest person in the room should be the person most prepared to serve.
The most mature believer should be the person most willing to make room.
The person with the deepest knowledge should be the person most capable of teaching with patience, gentleness, and hope.
Paul reminds us that the Scriptures were written for our instruction so that, through steadfastness and encouragement, we might have hope. We receive that encouragement, and then we become encouragers. We discover hope, and then we hold hope out to others.
The Word of God is not a box of stones for throwing at people. It is a source of steadfastness, encouragement, and hope.
Paul pauses to offer a blessing:
“May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Harmony is not uniformity. A choir does not sing in unison all the time. Different voices sing different notes, yet they produce one song.
Paul envisions Jewish and Gentile believers, strong and weak believers, mature and developing believers, glorifying God with one voice.
That is not something human beings manufacture by forcing everyone to become alike. It is a gift God creates among people who are learning to live in accordance with Jesus.
Roll Out the Welcome Mat
Then Paul says:
“Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”
Welcome.
You can almost hear two words within it: well and come.
Come close.
Come in.
Come as one whom Christ is already seeking, loving, and inviting.
We do not welcome people because they have passed our examination. We welcome them because Christ welcomed us.
We do not welcome merely to make our congregation friendlier. We welcome for the glory of God.
Christ came as a servant within Israel to confirm God’s promises to the ancestors. Yet the promise did not end there. The nations were invited to glorify God for God’s mercy.
Paul gathers passages from the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms:
“Rejoice, O gentiles, with his people.”
“Praise the Lord, all you gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him.”
“The root of Jesse shall come…in him the gentiles shall hope.”
The nations are being welcomed.
The circle is expanding.
God is rolling out the welcome mat and placing the word of welcome on our lips, in our hands, and within our embrace.
So Paul offers another blessing:
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Not merely possess hope.
Not ration hope.
Not protect a small private supply of hope.
Abound in hope.
Overflow with it.
Let hope spill over into the lives of frightened people, struggling people, questioning people, weak people, forgotten people, and people who have not yet heard that they are welcome.
Continue with the WELCOME study guide, Paul’s seven marks of missional and entrepreneurial ministry, personal and group reflection questions, and a closing prayer.
