WHAT REALLY MATTERS. ROMANS 15. In Romans 15, Paul begins to wind down his letter to the Christians in Rome. He has two final admonitions for them, and then he transitions to talk about his travel plans. He closes by asking for their prayers on his behalf – that God might bring him safely to Rome so that he can “find refreshing rest” in their company (15:32). It is in the less formal sections of Paul’s letters that his real heart ‘leaks.’ You can sense what is personally important to the apostle as he discusses personal matters and future plans. He also usually asks for prayer in the closing, personal sections of letters. An interesting feature of this chapter is that each of the three major sections ends with a sort of prayer/wish from Paul toward the Roman Christian community. These prayer/wishes are common in Paul. They combine a prayer to God with an exhortation (wish) to the Christians. They read as follows (NASB translation brings out the symmetry in wording): “Now may the God of perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus; that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (15:5,6). “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (15:13). “Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen” (15:33). You can tell Paul is moving toward the end of his letter. He is beginning to pronounce pastoral blessings over the Christians to whom he is writing. His formal content is winding down, and a very personal tone begins to take over.

USE YOUR STRENGTH TO BUILD UP THE WEAK. ROMANS 15:1-6. We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves. We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me.” Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled. May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 1 literally reads like this: “We who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those who are not strong . . .”. Paul reminds them that there are many in the body of Christ who are “without strength” (Greek: no dunamis) for one reason or another. They feel weak, powerless, as if they may not make it to the finish line. It is the duty of those “with strength” to “bear” (literally, “carry”) the weaknesses of those lacking strength; to encourage them and to build them up. The issue of “weakness” here in chapter 15 is broader than the “weakness” issue in chapter 14. In chapter 14 it was a doctrinal sort of weakness, a tie to past rules that no longer bind us. A “weak” person there was someone who had not yet embraced his/her full liberty in Christ. In chapter 15, Paul is referring to any form of weakness that leaves one devoid of strength. He calls those who are strong to help carry the weak.

134 A similar admonition comes near the end of Paul’s letter to the Galatian church: “Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). The word “bear” there in Galatians 6:2 is the same Greek word as the one in Romans 15:1. “Carry.” “Remove.” “Pick up and take away” one another’s burdens. The same idea is found near the end of Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians: “Therefore encourage one another, and build up one another, just as you also are doing” (1Thessalonians 5:11). The writer of the letter to the Hebrews also ended with a similar admonition: “Strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed” (Hebrews 12:12,13). This is a primary duty we have toward one another in the family of God. The strong must come to the aid of those without strength. Paul points to Jesus, our example in this regard: “For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me” (Romans 15:3). Jesus came to us and bore our burdens. He used His strength to meet our weakness. Those in the body of Christ should have similar care for one another. After all, we are the family of God, we are brothers and sisters in Christ. Those with strength should help carry the burdens of those lacking strength. Do you see someone in the Christian community who is weak? Do they have a burden, a need, a concern? Are they susceptible to sin because of their depleted condition? Are they weak due to a prolonged trial? Have they fallen down? You can share your strength with them. You can share your time, your treasure, you wisdom, your presence. You can come alongside the one lacking strength and you can breathe into them the courage needed to move forward. In our hurry-up, task-oriented society, we need to learn to slow down long enough to care about people. Here are four practical steps you might consider: 1) STOP and take a genuine interest in people. 2) ASK how they are doing … and don’t settle for their first answer – “Fine.” 3) Show COMPASSION, not contempt, for their weakness. 4) Ask how you can HELP. “What do you most need from me right now?” This brings us to the first Prayer/Wish in this chapter; a fitting ending to the admonition to strengthen one another: “Now may the God of perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus; that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (15:5,6). God is a God “of perseverance and encouragement.” The focus here is not so much on the idea that perseverance and encouragement are “attributes of God;” rather, that these are qualities that flow from God to His people so that His people can utilize these gifts in their life together. God gives to us perseverance and encouragement so that we, in turn, can strengthen, encourage and build up one another. Let us strengthen one another!

135 ACCEPT ONE ANOTHER FOR GOD’S GLORY. ROMANS 15:7-13. Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors. He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote: “For this, I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing praises to your name.” And in another place it is written: “Rejoice with his people, you Gentiles.” And yet again, “Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles. Praise him, all you people of the earth.” And in another place Isaiah said, “The heir to David’s throne will come, and he will rule over the Gentiles. They will place their hope on him.” I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Jew and Gentile in the body of Christ . . . together! We can hardly imagine how difficult that was for the early Christians to pull off. Jews and Gentiles had been strongly divided for centuries by very high ethnic, religious and cultural walls. Now, in the course of a few years, those walls had been pulled down by Jesus . . . resulting in Jew and Gentile merging into one new ‘family.’ Paul uses several Old Testament quotes in this section. He is showing that God intended all along to wed Jew and Gentile into one new family. Listen to Paul’s description of this new situation in his letter to the Ephesians: Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us. So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit (Ephesians 2:11-22). No more walls. No more exclusive groups. No more hostility. ALL are “members of God’s family. Together, we are His house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets . . . and our common cornerstone is CHRIST JESUS.” So, where do the ‘walls’ still tend to exist today in the body of Christ? Well, that’s not hard

136 to answer. Just look around at the average church. There are ethnic walls between those of different nationalities and languages. There are pride walls between those who have fallen and those who have not. There are gender walls between men and women. There are geography walls between those in the city and those in the suburbs. There are economic walls between those who are wealthy and those who are not. There are lifestyle walls between those bound by scruples and those enjoying freedom. There are age walls between those who are mature and those who are young in Christ. There are sin-walls between those who have not reconciled over some past issue. So, what would Paul say to us, today, in our modern churches? Accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory! (Romans 15:7). Away with ALL walls. Jesus has removed ALL of them. Who are we to rebuild what HE has torn down with His blood? We are ONE BODY in Christ! And this not only applies to our one little church, but to the ONE BIG CHURCH of metro-Detroit. We cannot tolerate walls in the wider body of Christ. We need to cross old lines to build new bridges. Accept one another . . . so that God will be given glory in His Church!

MOVE THE GOSPEL FORWARD. ROMANS 15:14-24. I am fully convinced, my dear brothers and sisters, that you are full of goodness. You know these things so well you can teach each other all about them. Even so, I have been bold enough to write about some of these points, knowing that all you need is this reminder. For by God’s grace, I am a special messenger from Christ Jesus to you Gentiles. I bring you the Good News so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit. So I have reason to be enthusiastic about all Christ Jesus has done through me in my service to God. Yet I dare not boast about anything except what Christ has done through me, bringing the Gentiles to God by my message and by the way I worked among them. They were convinced by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit. In this way, I have fully presented the Good News of Christ from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum. My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else. I have been following the plan spoken of in the Scriptures, where it says, “Those who have never been told about him will see, and those who have never heard of him will understand.” In fact, my visit to you has been delayed so long because I have been preaching in these places. But now I have finished my work in these regions, and after all these long years of waiting, I am eager to visit you. I am planning to go to Spain, and when I do, I will stop off in Rome. And after I have enjoyed your fellowship for a little while, you can provide for my journey. Now Paul begins to get very personal. Here, he is speaking of his past ministry accomplishments among the Gentiles. He has preached Christ “from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum.” Illyricum was the Roman Province just east of Italy, so Paul is saying that he

137 has essentially covered the eastern portion of the Roman world with the message of Christ. What an accomplishment! On the map below you can see several overlapping lines on the center and right sides of the map. These lines represent Paul’s first three missionary journeys, on which he repeatedly traversed those portions of the Roman Empire with the gospel message. This is what he means when he says “from Jerusalem (bottom right) to Illyricum (above Macedonia).” At the time Paul wrote Romans he was probably near Corinth, in southern Achaia. He is about to head eastward to Jerusalem. You can also see the line showing his eventual trip to Rome.

The point I take away from this passage is that “geography matters” when it comes to the spreading of the gospel. Paul was very aware of where the gospel had been proclaimed and where it had not yet been spread. He had a very intentional plan to saturate his world with the good news concerning Jesus. He is planning to get to Rome for a visit; but even this is only a temporary stop on his way to Spain. “I am planning to go to Spain, and when I do, I will stop off in Rome. And after I have enjoyed your fellowship for a little while, you can provide for my journey.” His plan was to take the good news all the way to the western edges of the Roman Empire. To Paul, geography mattered, because geography represented people groups, and people mattered to Paul. It might interest you to know that this passage was important to me as we initiated the E.A.C.H. movement in Southeastern Michigan. I gathered a group of pastors together on January 27th, 2001 at OPC. I started the meeting by reading this passage from Romans 15. I briefly spoke, telling those gathered that geography does matter. Paul knew the exact boundaries of where he had ‘given everyone a chance to hear.’ He also knew the exact boundaries of where he still needed to go to ‘give everyone a chance to hear.’ I told that group of pastors that we, as Christian leaders, needed to take our own geography seriously. We needed to look at a map of our region, decide on some geographical boundaries, and determine to give everyone a chance to hear within that area. Thus was born the concept of trying to give 3.5 million people in the tri-county area a chance to hear about Jesus. Thank you, Paul, for modeling to us a passion for the souls of men and women in your world. May we have that same passion for advancing the gospel in our own world, today!

138 As Paul is preparing to go to Rome, he must make one very important stop in the other direction. He must go back to Jerusalem to take a tangible expression of love from the Gentile churches to the primarily Jewish-Christian Church in Palestine.

SHARE YOUR RESOURCES WITH THE NEEDY. ROMANS 15:25-29. But before I come, I must go to Jerusalem to take a gift to the believers there. For you see, the believers in Macedonia and Achaia have eagerly taken up an offering for the poor among the believers in Jerusalem. They were glad to do this because they feel they owe a real debt to them. Since the Gentiles received the spiritual blessings of the Good News from the believers in Jerusalem, they feel the least they can do in return is to help them financially. As soon as I have delivered this money and completed this good deed of theirs, I will come to see you on my way to Spain. And I am sure that when I come, Christ will richly bless our time together. Paul’s plan was threefold: 1) Go to Jerusalem and present the church there with a large financial gift from the Gentile churches. 2) Go directly from Jerusalem to Rome. 3) Go all the way west to Spain after visiting Rome. God’s plan for Paul was very different. As the book of Acts tells us, he was arrested in Jerusalem, kept in prison for several years, and eventually transported to Rome as a prisoner of the State. Little did he know when he wrote this letter how difficult the journey ahead would be! Concerning the financial offering for the Jerusalem Church . . . the situation demanded it. The Jerusalem Christians were suffering under severe economic duress because of persecution, and being put out of jobs. Paul, therefore, felt a huge burden to help the Jerusalem Church (the ‘Mother Church’ as it were) in this desperate time of need. You can read in more detail about Paul’s work in collecting this offering. 2Corinthians chapters 8 & 9 are fully devoted to the subject of the collection of this offering. By studying this section of 2Corinthians, you can learn a great deal about giving. Paul is essentially writing to the Corinthians admonishing them to have a generous offering ready when he arrives . . . since the believers just to the north in Macedonia and Achaia had prepared a lavish offering in a time of their own poverty! Today, in the wider body of Christ, there is extreme dis-equity in terms of financial and material resources. One portion of the Church is very well off, while another portion is hurting badly. We cannot close our eyes to these realities; rather, we must be open to God’s promptings and seek to define partnerships where we can share resources with those in need. At Oak Pointe Church, I am glad that we have formed partnerships in areas where the needs are greater, and where the body of Christ needs our assistance in advancing their mission. Let us keep our hearts in tune with the Spirit of God as HE prompts us as to where HE wants HIS resources channeled. We are managers; He is the owner. Paul said this to a group of wealthy Christians: “Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good

139 foundation for the future so that they may experience true life” (1Timothy 6:17- 19). Paul’s final request in this chapter is for PRAYER as he seeks to take risks for the mission to the world. He knows there is possible danger of persecution awaiting him in Jerusalem.

PRAY ABOUT ALL OF YOUR PLANS. ROMANS 15:30-33. Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join in my struggle by praying to God for me. Do this because of your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit. Pray that I will be rescued from those in Judea who refuse to obey God. Pray also that the believers there will be willing to accept the donation I am taking to Jerusalem. Then, by the will of God, I will be able to come to you with a joyful heart, and we will be an encouragement to each other. And now may God, who gives us his peace, be with you all. Amen. His specific prayer request is that he would be rescued from those in Judea who wished to harm him, and that he could make it to Rome “with a joyful heart.” God does not always answer our prayers just the way we would like Him to. Paul was arrested and imprisoned in Judea by those who opposed the gospel. When he did journey to Rome, he was a prisoner . . . and the ship crashed at sea! He was stranded with the other passengers on the Island of Malta . . . where he was bitten by a poisonous snake! Finally, after many, many trials, Paul made it to Rome. The will of God rarely plays out as we envision it The final Prayer/Wish of chapter 15 is precisely what we need as we journey forward into the unknown. “Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen” (15:33). God gives us His peace as we journey with Him through life. If we are determined to be living sacrifices to Him (12:1); if we are determined to follow His will for our lives; if we are truly willing to trust God’s heart . . . then His peace will be with us, regardless of the circumstances we might find ourselves in. Paul knew the peace of God because He knew that God makes no mistakes with His servants. There are only good works for us to walk in, prepared by God in advance (Ephesians 2:10). Life is a journey that God controls, not us. So, once we have covered our steps in prayer, the peace of God goes with us. As Paul wrote to the Philippian church: Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6,7). As one old hymn put it so well: Oh, what peace we often forfeit, Oh, what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry, Everything to God in prayer. Do you submit your future plans to the Lord in prayer? This is the only way to know the peace of God – to know that whatever does happen is God’s answer to your prayers.

140 We have seen ‘what really matters’ to a man like Paul. The health and unity of the body of Christ matters. The progress of the mission matters. Caring for the poor matters. And living in the center of God’s will matters (no matter what that looks like). Compare these matters to your own list of ‘what really matters.’ I hope there are some similarities between your list and Paul’s. Of all the characters in the New Testament, God gave this man the space to write 13 letters to be included in the Scriptures! God knew this man had not only good theology, but also a good heart . . . a heart that the Holy Spirit allowed to ‘leak’ in the more personal sections of his letters . . . and a heart worth imitating by all who follow in his footsteps. As Paul himself wrote: “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ” (1Corinthians 11:1). What mattered to Jesus shaped Paul’s life. What mattered to Paul should shape your life.

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