Rejoicing with One Another in the Plan of God
Romans 15:8‑13
Let's open our Bibles tonight and look together to the fifteenth chapter of Romans, Romans chapter 15. And I want us to look at verses 7 through 13 which really are the closing of the main argument of this epistle. From chapter 15 verse 14 to the end of chapter 16 is like a postscript. Some additional things are added. The major argument really comes to its climax here in the passage before us.
Now let me just review briefly since we are going to come to some kind of a conclusion tonight, that you'll remember in chapter 1 of Romans, beginning at verse 1 and running through verse 17, Paul broke upon chapter 1 by giving a preview of what he was going to talk about. He introduces it, in fact, in verse 1 when he refers to the gospel of God...the gospel which was promised, the gospel which was concerning His Son Jesus Christ, the gospel, verse 5, which he had received; the gospel to which you were called, verse 6 and 7, that gospel; the gospel he says that he is debtor, verse 14, to preach; that he is ready, verse 15, to preach; the gospel of which he is not ashamed, verse 16, and the gospel in summary, verse 17, which is the just shall live by faith. So, in the opening 17 verses of chapter 1, he introduces his theme which is the gospel, the saving gospel of Jesus Christ.
The unfolding of that gospel then begins in chapter 1 verse 18 and the first section, 1:18 to 3:20, discusses sin. The first word of the gospel is the bad news that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Then in chapter 3 verse 21 clear to the end of chapter 11, chapter 11 verse 36, all of that is about salvation from sin in all of its richness and all of its implications. Then beginning in chapter 12 verse 1 and running to chapter 15 verse 13, the practical out‑working of that inward salvation. And we're in the section now then on practical Christian living in response to the saving work of Christ.
Now in this section on practical Christian living, we have talked about the Christian's focus on the Lord, chapter 12 verses 1 and 2, our relation to the Lord as Christians; chapter 12 verses 3 to 8, our relation to other believers in terms of using our spiritual gifts; chapter 12 verse 9 to 21, our relation to everybody and he sums up all kinds of relationships there; chapter 13 verses 1 through 7, our relation to the government; chapter 13:8 to 10, the primacy of love; and then chapter 13:11 to 14, the importance of time...the importance of time. He says the night is far spent, the day is at hand. So, we're to have then a cultivated proper relationship to God, to other believers, to everybody, to the government. It is to be permeated with love and it is to be done immediately because the time is far spent.
Then in chapter 14 we saw, beginning at verse 1 and running all the way to verse 13 of chapter 15, he discusses the relationship of strong and weak Christians. And with that he sums up his discussion of salvation and its implications.
Now in this lengthy section to which we look again, chapter 14:1 to 15:13, he gives four principles to govern the relationships between strong and weak Christians. Number one is to receive one another with understanding, chapter 14 verses 1 to 12, to receive one another with understanding. Number two, build up one another without offending, build up one another without offending, chapter 14 verse 13 through 23. Then the third principle for relations between strong and weak is to please one another with Christ as our example, that in chapter 15:1 through 7. And then overlapping verse 7, the final section, rejoice with one another in the plan of God, verses 7 through 13. Now that gives you just a brief overview of the book.
We come then to the final section of the final issue before a postscript closes off this great epistle. And in finally discussing the relation of strong and weak believers, he says we ought to rejoice with one another in the plan of God. In other words, it ought to be the concern of all believers not to struggle with each other, not to have division, not to have chaos, not to have hassles with each other, but to accept each other, to embrace each other because this is the plan of God.
And we should rejoice that it includes all of us. And again, this final section‑‑verses 7 to 13‑‑emphasizes the intended character of the church, that it is all of us being one in Jesus Christ, whether we're weak or strong, whether we're Jew or Gentile, we are all to be loved and accepted and embraced as one in Christ.
Let me read you verses 7 to 13 so you'll have it in your mind, then we'll look at it. "Wherefore receive ye one another as Christ also received us to the glory of God. 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 nations and sing unto Thy name. And again he saith, Rejoice ye nations with His people, and again, Praise the Lord all ye nations and laud Him all ye peoples. And again Isaiah saith, There shall be a root of Jesse and he that shall rise to reign over the nations in Him shall the nations trust. Now the God of hope fill you will all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit."
Now this final call for unity among weak and strong, this call for rejoicing together, you'll notice that emphasis here, verse 10 rejoice, verse 11 praise the Lord, this emphasis on praise and rejoicing because of the blending together of Jew and Gentile sums up Paul's argument regarding the weak and the strong. In order for us to look at it with understanding, I want us to see three features: the basic instruction, the biblical illustrations and what I'll call for the sake of alliteration, the benedictory intercession.
Now before we look at them in specifics, just a general perspective. The call of this passage is a call for rejoicing that God in His saving plan has brought all of us together, Jew and Gentile, weak and strong, and made us one body in Christ.
Paul is no longer exhorting here in a negative way as he had earlier in this portion when he was calling us not to offend, or not cause some...someone to grieve, or not cause someone to stumble. He's no longer speaking of negatives but positively calling for us to rejoice in what God has done in making us one.
Now this is the positive aspect of unity. To have unity in the church we have to avoid certain things, make sure we don't cause someone to stumble or be grieved, or to be led into sin, or to be caused to be discouraged or distressed or to go against their conscience and therefore feel guilt and so forth and so on. But apart from just avoiding the negative, we are called to a positive attitude of rejoicing. And that's such an essential thing. Sometimes when there's conflict in the church, when there's argument and when there's bitterness between people, the key to overcoming that is not to not have that attitude, but to cultivate an attitude of joy, rejoicing and praise.
Now remember, the strong in view here, the strong are those who have the faith. Now I want you to listen to this cause it's the key to the whole passage. The strong are those who have the faith to accept their freedom from the Old Testament ceremonial law and ritual. The strong believers are those who have no concern about sabbath days, about feasts and festivals, and new moons and dietary laws, and all the external trappings of the old ceremony. They are free from that. They realize it, they believe it so they don't worry about it. They're not hung up on old religious taboos and institutions of a prior economy.
Now frankly, for the most part, you must understand this, these would be Gentiles. Did you get that? For the most part, these would be the pagans who never did have any orientation to the Old Testament law. It would be very easy for them not to have that problem. They were never subscribed in their own minds to the Old Testament ritual and law and ceremony and practice.
So for them that really was no problem at all. And so, when the text identifies the strong, it has primarily, though not exclusively, because there could be a strong Jew who got to the place where he understood his liberation, but primarily it has to do with the Gentile believers.
On the other hand, the weak are those who do not feel in their own minds the freedom from Old Testament ceremony. They're still observing the sabbath, they're still trying to keep the external laws and rituals. They're still concerned about dietary practices and new moons and feast days and all of that, and they do not believe they are free to ignore those things. So they are weak in the sense that they are weak in faith to accept their freedom. The Scripture reveals that freedom. The Apostles have articulated that freedom. But they can't quite come to believing that. And they would be generally identified with the Jews, though there might also be some Gentiles who were still holding on to some things that bound their conscience from their for...former pagan religion.
But for the most part, and you see this in this passage, it is a Gentile equals strong issue, and a Jew equals weak issue in the church in Rome. And the conflict came because the liberated Gentiles were wanting to exercise all of their freedoms and the Jews were wanting to confine everybody to Old Testament ceremony.
Now the strong were right, they did have those freedoms. The weak were wrong but Paul calls for loving understanding until the weak can be brought to the place where they have the faith to believe they're free as the others do. No conflict should exist between the two, but rather Jew and Gentile, weak and strong, as I said, mostly identifying the Jew and Gentile conflict were to be mutually rejoicing over each other and patiently, lovingly bringing each other along in unity.
Now let's look at the basic instruction, first of all, the basic instruction. It's a very simple passage. I know when I read it, a few of you had blank looks on your face because it doesn't seem to go anywhere in particular, but you'll see. The basic instruction is in verse 7, "Wherefore, receive ye one another as Christ also received us to the glory of God." Now that's the basic instruction. Wherefore, or therefore, takes us from verse 6. Since God's desire is that one with one mind and one mouth we should glorify God, wherefore we have to receive one another. Since God wants us to be one, since that's the eternal design of the church, in order for us to be one mind, that's internally, one mouth, that's externally, united...we have to receive one another. Now that doesn't mean receiving people into church membership by writing their name on a list, that means receiving them into affection, receiving them into fellowship.
It's the same verb used in chapter 14 verse 1 where almost the same point is made, "Him that is weak in faith, receive...receive." Open your arms, embrace, it's calling to communion, to mutual love. The strong receive the weak, the weak receive the strong, the Jew receives the Gentile, the Gentile receives the Jew. And as we shall see, verse 7 is vital because Jesus is the example of what it means to receive. And we'll see that in a moment.
But first, let's note that the word "to receive" is an intense word. It is not just the simple word "to receive," but it is the word "to receive" with a strong preposition added to it which intensifies the word. It is a word which means to receive by pulling something very close to yourself. Let me illustrate it to you. Get your Bible now handy, and let's look at Mark for a moment, chapter 8 verse 32, I want to show you several scriptures very fast. And in verse 32 of Mark 8, it says, "And He spoke that saying openly," that is the Lord Jesus Christ spoke the saying about being rejected and killed and after three days rising from the dead, noted in verse 31, Jesus spoke that, "And Peter‑‑and here comes the word‑‑and Peter received,"
or literally here, "took Him and began to rebuke Him." Now this is classic Peter who pulls Jesus aside and starts to rebuke Him.
But the point you want to note is that the use of the word, and this is far and away its primary use, in fact, in a sense its exclusive use, the only other three other times, and I'll show you, it is used of eating. And I think maybe I'll take the moment I need to show you that. But its primary use and almost exclusive use is of pulling someone in intimately. In this case, it's Peter getting Jesus away from everybody else and pulling Him up to himself and then with unbelievable gall, rebuking Him. But the point is it's to pull Him aside.
In Acts 17 I want you to see the term again, because again this will enrich your understanding of it. In Acts 17 the Jews who did not believe, of course Paul is preaching in Thessalonica here, and the Jews who did not believe, moved with envy, and here comes the word again, took to themselves certain vile fellows of the worst kind. And what they did was get them to start a riot.
And again the idea is that they pulled them apart from the crowd, pulled them to themselves in intimacy and said to them the things they wanted to say. It's pulling someone very close for some kind of private conversation.
Chapter 18 of the book of Acts, again we see the same word, verse 26. And he began, this is Apollos, a great preacher of the Old Testament, eloquent in the scriptures, mighty in the scriptures it says in verse 24. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, did Apollos, whom when Aquila and Priscilla heard, they took him unto them. And here's the same kind of an idea with this word again. They pulled Apollos away from the crowd, away from the synagogue, away from the ministry into private counsel and explained to him the way of God more perfectly. And again I want you to note that this word means to pull someone very close for some very private counsel.
Then, as I mentioned earlier, in the twenty‑seventh chapter of Acts, and you don't need to turn to that, three times it is used of taking food in. Again, a very intimate kind of receiving. The term used for literally taking in food. Then in chapter 28 of Acts and verse 2, you have another use of the word, and Paul has escaped from the shipwreck and they've landed on Malta, it's called Melita, the island of Malta. They land on this island and the barbarous people, pagan people showed us no little kindness for they kindled a fire and received us, everyone because of the present rain and because of the cold.
In other words, they took them in with hospitality, brought them into a place of warmth and there was a fire prepared for them and so forth. And so it is a receiving of some intimacy.
In the little letter, the beautiful little letter that we come to know as Philemon, I want you to notice the word is used twice.
In verse 12, receive him. Paul calls to Philemon and says receive Onesimus the servant when he comes back. And then again in verse 17, if you count me as a partner, receive him as myself.
Now those are the uses of this wonderful word. It is a rich and wonderful term that means to take to your heart, to give access to you in a very personal way. And that is precisely what Romans 15 intends to say. Back to verse 7, "Wherefore, take intimately to yourself one another, take intimately to yourself one another." That's a wonderful, wonderful command. The implications of it are especially wonderful if you understand this particular text. Let me read it to you and see if it doesn't grip your heart. Matthew 10:40, "He that receives you...what's the rest of it?...receives Me. And he that receives Me receives Him that sent Me." Isn't that wonderful? When you receive another believer, you receive Christ. And in receiving Christ, you receive the one who sent Christ, even God the Father.
So, receiving your brother in Christ, though he differs from you in life style, though he may not have the same liberty that you enjoy, though he may different in some of the things he believes, and this is not an issue of doctrine, this is in spite of what they might believe, receive them intimately in love.
This was not easy in the Roman assembly. It wasn't easy for the Gentiles who were liberated, who didn't have any of the hold over from the Old Testament law, it wasn't easy for them to accept a Gentile...or rather a Jew. It wasn't easy for a Gentile who had no taboos held over from the old covenant to just open his arms for this legalistic duty‑bound Jew who was still hung up on all kinds of old traditions that he tended to look down on him and say, "Why can't you accept your freedom? And why can't you grow up?"
On the other hand, the weak Jew who was bound by the law had a very difficult time, the ceremonial law, had a very difficult time accepting a liberated Gentile. He had enough trouble accepting a Gentile period. It was a very difficult thing for him to conceive of God allowing a new inclusive brotherhood of Gentiles on equal terms with Christ with Jews, very difficult.
Particularly when these Gentiles had no regard for Old Testament ceremony, no regard for the sabbath, no regard for the dietary laws, no regard for any of those traditions. They appeared to be guilty of abusive license. To the Gentiles, the Jews appeared to be guilty of a lack of trust and a lack of faith, and so the potential for conflict was very great. But they both needed to understand the principle of verse 7, and that is to take into personal intimacy each other, accepting them the way they are.
You see, what we've been saying all along is one of the most devastating things that happens in the church is when people set up criteria by which they will receive each other. And if you don't meet that criteria, you're shut out. That's devastating in the church. We need to see what the meaning of this whole passage is and receive each other.
Now let's talk a little more about that as we look at the next part of verse 7. "Receive one another as Christ also received us." Now that's our pattern. You want to know what it means to receive one another? Here we're going to find out. He is our pattern. When He said in Matthew 11, "Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me," He was telling us that we ought to not only learn of His gospel, but learn of His character and learn of His approach to things. He is our model. In Ephesians 5 it gets very specific, actually at the end of chapter 4. It says, verse 32, "Be kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you, be ye therefore followers of God as dear children and walk in love as Christ also loved us and has given Himself for us and offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor."
Be tender hearted, be kind, be forgiving, be loving, be sacrificial to each other, just like Christ has been to us. He received you, didn't He? Were you worthy of it? Did He receive you because you were so wonderful? Did He look all around the world and say, "John MacArthur, you're irresistible? I just want to take you in because you're so attractive." Not at all. He received us. Luke 15:2 says, "He was condemned as one who receives sinners." I love that. They said He receiveth sinners.
Now if Christ has received us unlovely, sinful when we hated Him, when we hated God, when we were deep in our sin, if He did not refuse to love us, if He did not refuse to embrace us, if He did not refuse to forgive us, to call us His friends, to call us His children, to call us His brothers, to enter into an eternal fellowship with us, to live within us, to empower us, to call us to assist Him in the development of His Kingdom, if He did not refuse to do that, but rather received us, shall we not receive each other?
Now listen carefully. When a Christian refuses to receive into his heart another Christian, he is saying‑‑in effect‑‑I know Christ receives the worst of sinners, but I require more, I have a higher standard. Are you more holy than He is? Can He be friends with people not worthy of your friendship? Can He receive people that are just not good enough for you and me?
Blasphemous thought, is it not? So, put it in perspective, folks. For those in the body of Christ to refuse to open their hearts in love to each other is to say I know that Christ does that, but He doesn't understand my standards. Blasphemous thought, blasphemous thought. He's our pattern.
Now he's not telling us, Paul is not telling us that there is some real equality in the qualitative essence of these two compared things, that is us and Christ, for no human sacrifice to receive another person can even come close to the sacrifice of Christ who received sinners. But the illustration still stands.
As He received those who were unworthy, so we must receive each other. He receives us, we receive others. Put it in perspective. Your failure to open your heart to some other believer because you resent something about them is an affrontery to the Christ who received you. And if we place restraints on our love to each other, we are violating the principle taught in the passage and we are violating the example of redemptive action in the person of Christ Himself.
Furthermore, the reason is given is why He did it. Verse 7, He received us...for what reason?...what's the reason?...to the glory of God...to the glory of God. And that's the same reason for which we are to receive each other. We do it because God is glorified when we do it, because it reflects the love of Christ shed abroad in our hearts, because it is His expressed will, it brings Him praise. My prayer for the church is that we might know this kind of attitude. I hear all the time, and so do you, all kinds of little squabbles among Christians. People set off against other people, people condemning other people, not only within a local church but among churches and among those who name the name of Christ who want to fight and pick and poke at each other and grieve and wound each other, rather than with open arms to receive each other, understanding that there will be differences in our understanding of Christian freedom, but that is not a cause for division.
I am reminded of Matthew 10:24 when I think about the fact that Christ set the example. Do you remember what it said? The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. You remember that? The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord, Matthew 10:24. And if Christ received sinners, then we ought to receive each other.
Now specifically, let's ask a question: how did Christ receive sinners? Or better, how does He? Let me give you four answers to that. First of all, and you might want to jot these down, I think you'll find them helpful. First of all, Christ receives men gladly. That's basic. He receives men gladly. It is not with reluctance, but gladly.
Look for a moment at Luke chapter 15, and let's just see a brief illustration of this in Luke 15. I mentioned verse 2, but let's flow on beyond that a bit. "Then drew near unto Him all the tax collectors and sinners to hear Him." Wonderful congregation to preach to, any preachers dream. "And the Pharisees and scribes murmured and said, This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them." What a commendation, huh? They thought it was a condemnation, but it was a commendation. "And He spoke this parable unto them saying, What man of you, having a hundred sheep if he lose one of them doesn't leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness and go after that which is lost until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders rejoicing." And you can underline that word "rejoicing", "And when he cometh home he called together his friends and neighbors saying to them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you that likewise, joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repents more than over ninety and nine righteous persons who need no repentance," self righteous people.
No, the point is, when a sinner comes and the Savior receives a sinner, he is received gladly...gladly. Not reluctantly. We're not storming the gates of heaven pleading to be received. We're not begging God to receive us. He does it eagerly. He cries out, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent unto you, how oft I would have gathered...gathered you as a hen gathereth her brood, but you would not." How many times I wanted to take you and receive you but you refused. And we hear Him say, "Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." And He cries out for those who will come. He says, "If any man thirst, let him come and take of the water of life freely." And He says, "I am the light of the world, he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness." He cries out, "You will not come to Me that you might have life." And even on the cross He says, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." No, Jesus receives people gladly. He receives the sinner gladly. It isn't with reluctance, it isn't condescension, it is that for which He came and with outstretched arms He embraces the sinner who comes to Him. He says in John 6, "Him that cometh unto Me I will under no circumstances cast out."
So, our fellowship should be the same. When we receive one another it should be with gladness, not with condescension, not with reluctance. I remember when I was in the south in Mendenhall, Mississippi, a pastor of a church there, white fellow, opened his heart to teach the Bible to a black man. And I remember driving by the church and seeing the sign, "Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest," this was the sign in front of the church. A black man came who was heavy laden and who was laboring and who needed help. And this pastor began to disciple this black man and the church told him to stop because he was creating a racial problem.
And the pastor continued to do it and so he couldn't buy gas at the gas station, groceries in the grocery store, cancelled his insurance policy, they harassed his children. This is at the church that says, "Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." And finally he had a total nervous breakdown, they put him in a hospital in Jackson, Mississippi. And the second day he dove out of the third floor and killed himself. I was...extreme trauma, I don't know all of the dynamics that made him take his life, I can't know what built up all of that and I do not commend what he did, obviously, it's a tragedy of tragedies, but it's illustrative of the fact that we can have a theology and can even hold it out as if it's the identifying mark of our fellowship, and in our hearts be living something in the exact opposite realm. We are to receive one another, not reluctantly, not condescendingly, but with gladness, with gladness.
Secondly, Christ not only receives sinners with gladness but he receives sinners in spite of their sin. He receives them in spite of their sin. They don't have to clean up their act first. God doesn't say, "Look, if you can get your life cleaned up I'll take you." No, that's heresy. Not for a minute do we believe that there are some pre‑salvation works which man can do for himself to make him receptive....uh, receivable, if you will, to make him acceptable to Christ. He receives sinners in spite of their sin. That's the beauty of grace, that's the wonder of Christ's attitude. Go back to Matthew and back to the house, many tax collectors, many sinners sitting down and Jesus is there. The Pharisees say, "Why is your master eating with tax collectors and sinners? And Jesus says, The ones that are well don't need a physician, but they that are sick‑‑that's sarcasm‑‑ these men know they're sick, go and learn what that means, I'll have mercy and not sacrifice, I am not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." He came for those who were sinners.
He receives them in spite of their sin, not because they clean their act up.
In Mark 2 we find Him again in the parallel passage with the same thing, it's repeated there. We find the same kind of thing in Luke 5; Luke 6, Luke 7, Luke 18, as the publican and the sinner, the publican and the Pharisee are in the temple praying and the Pharisee thinks everything is right and he says, "I thank God that I'm not as other man...I fast and I tithe and I do everything I'm supposed to do. The sinner's pounding on his breast, won't even look up to God, and he says, God, be merciful to me a sinner." Now who has God received in Luke 18? Does He receive the Pharisee who thought his life was right, who prayed all the time and fasted all the time and gave his tithe all the time, or does He receive the sinner pounding on his breast?
Well, Jesus said the sinner went home justified rather than the other. He receives sinners in spite of their sin, though they're sin‑stained and depraved and despairing of righteousness and helpless and ignorant and guilty and vile, when they come they are received. And that's what Paul said in Romans 5:8, that while we were yet sinners, God commended His love toward us.