For Even Christ Didn’t Please Himself
1Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2Let each one of us please his neighbor for that which is good, to be building him up. 3For even Christ didn’t please himself. But, as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” 4For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that through perseverance and through encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5Now the God of perseverance and of encouragement grant you to be of the same mind one with another according to Christ Jesus, 6that with one accord you may with one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7Therefore accept one another, even as Christ also accepted you, to the glory of God. 8Now I say that Christ has been made a servant of the circumcision for the truth of God, that he might confirm the promises given to the fathers, 9and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore will I give praise to you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.” 10Again he says, “Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.” 11Again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Let all the peoples praise him.” 12Again, Isaiah says, “There will be the root of Jesse, he who arises to rule over the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles will hope.” 13Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
At Christmas every church in the world worships with joy, because it is the day Jesus came into the world to save his people from their sins. Going to church shows that we believe in Jesus, which is why the faithful, brimming with joy, offer services of thanksgiving. But we must ask whether God, who sent his only Son into the world, and Jesus, who had no choice but to leave his throne and come into the world, felt the same joy. We must not look upon Jesus, who bore all our sins and transgressions and received the wrath of God, with nothing but delight. Jesus’ atonement for our sins must never be taken for granted. Anyone who takes his atonement for granted still does not truly know God.
The day was already set when Jesus, as the Lamb, would bear the cross; in his humanity, each day of life would have been agony for him. We can scarcely imagine the pain of the outrageous mockery and slander he had to endure as he carried the cross for the sins of humanity. That God the Son should take on a human body and come into this world was itself a sacrifice. Even so, on that day he had to bear the full weight of agony and shame. God the Son, though existing in the very form of God, emptied himself, took the form of a servant, humbled himself, and became obedient to death. He bore the cross to save sinners who deserved to die, and gave himself up to lead into heaven a people weak beyond measure. It grieved the apostle Paul to see those who serve so merciful a Christ fail to love their brothers and sisters in the faith.
Romans 15:1-2
1Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2Let each one of us please his neighbor for that which is good, to be building him up.
The apostle Paul spoke of the saints as people strong in faith. He told the church in Rome that those who are strong in faith must shoulder the weaknesses of the weak as if they were their own, and take them up as their own problems. All people live to please themselves, but God’s people must not. Just as Jesus bore our sins and carried our transgressions, the strong must not criticize the weaknesses of the weak but live to please them. This is the faith of precious saints who do what is good and build others up. Sadly, the strong tend to show off their faith to the weak and lecture them, and this only stunts their growth. They too went through such a process once; if they try to drill their ideas into others as though they had done everything well from the start, they will come under God’s rebuke. The apostle Paul said that the strong ought to bear the weaknesses of the weak, and here the word “ought” means there is no choice. It means they have a responsibility to carry the burdens of the weak and to sacrifice themselves so that the church can grow well. To carry others’ burdens, we must cast off self-centered thinking. Let us lay aside selfishness, listen to the weak, and have the good character to be patient as we help set their faith on the right course. Yet however patient the strong may be, however much love they show, the weak will not grow if they make no effort. We must understand that, depending on the faith of the weak and their attitude toward the word, the sacrifice of the strong may bear fruit or may go to waste. If the strong know that whether their labor bears fruit depends on the faith of the weak, and look to God alone, they will not stumble. When they show love by the grace of Christ, those experiences build up into spiritual maturity, and for that reason God will entrust greater work to the strong.
Some people, after receiving love for many years, cast it off like a worn-out shoe, while others never forget the love they were shown and go on to show love to the weak themselves. The difference lies in the character of the one who receives, so if the strong insist on reaping with their own hands what they have sown, they may be shaken. If they pray that the love they have shared will one day take root and bear even more fruit, God will bless their labor. The weak have never sacrificed for others, so they take being loved for granted, but if they forget to be thankful, God too will withdraw that grace. If the strong never forget that they have received from God a greater love than the love they now give, they can do what is good and build others up.
Showing patient love to someone who has lived with no connection to you, simply because you are one of those who lead the work of the church, is never easy. But if you think of Jesus, who sacrificed himself without condition, you will be able to bear it. Jesus, too, did not take up the cross to please himself. Christ is wiser than human wisdom and stronger than human strength, yet he died to please God. Just as Jesus came down to the lowest place, Paul too sets an example, giving up every advantage he could have enjoyed in order to serve the weak.
Romans 15:4
4For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that through perseverance and through encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
The Old Testament was written for those who would come to faith in the future. Scripture shows us that God is almighty, and as we watch him bring Israel out of Egypt, we can be confident about what will happen to us. That is why we must read the Bible to know his will fully. Reading Scripture makes us more like Jesus in character, breaks our sinful human nature, and enables us to overcome the forces of darkness with spiritual authority. The word itself is wisdom, and that wisdom is Jesus Christ.
2 Timothy 3:15-17
15From infancy, you have known the holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. 16Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, 17that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
The “we” in verse 1, “we who are strong,” includes Timothy. Because Timothy had learned the Scriptures from childhood, he had the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ. Through Scripture he met God the Creator and learned that man became a living soul by the breath of God, and that everything in the world is upheld through Christ. As Timothy read the Scriptures, he came to a right faith and gained the wisdom to teach the gospel to others. Reading the Bible enables us to correct false doctrine or a wrong direction in life, and because we know the truth, we are not deceived by the lies of heretics. Through Scripture, too, we can know what good works are and what righteousness is, and, taking on the character of Christ, we can be born again as people thoroughly equipped.
When the strong lead the weak, they must take great care, because whether one knows the Bible or not is a matter on which salvation hangs. When we know the Bible, we give ourselves to pleasing God and the weak rather than ourselves; without even realizing it, we become faithful to God. When Scripture forms in us a complete character, we can receive the help of the Holy Spirit, so we do not have to strain to make ourselves serve. And as we see the sufferings of the forefathers of faith in Scripture, we gain the wisdom to find the way of escape and learn perseverance as well. Scripture gives those who believe in Christ wisdom to overcome hard circumstances, and shows them the right direction for their lives. It gives hope to those who do not know what the future holds, and to those with no one to lean on, it offers God’s comfort, which the world cannot give. When we are made strong through the word, we stand unshaken on the rock of Christ and gain the wisdom to work together with the weak, sharing one purpose.
Romans 15:6-7
6that with one accord you may with one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7Therefore accept one another, even as Christ also accepted you, to the glory of God.
In the church, all of us must glorify God with one accord and with one mouth, and be united in purpose within the sacrifice of Christ. Whatever happens, we are to understand one another and not quarrel, and those who have wealth and power must not boast before those who have nothing. Those who have nothing hold their hope in God; they need not be ashamed of lacking the things of this world. Just as Jesus shared with us the glory he received from God, if we share love with the weak, the world will come to know God through our love. This is exactly what we are called to do.
In those days the church in Rome found harmony hard to achieve, because Gentiles and Jews worshiped together, and slaves and masters worshiped side by side. For such a mixed body to humble themselves and accept one another is never easy. Masters and slaves worshiping in one place and serving in the church as equals in the faith is something that cannot happen at all unless they are fully born again in Christ. That masters and slaves should worship together was a harder matter even than for the Jews, the chosen people, and the Gentiles, who had been treated with contempt, to take part in church life as equals. Even so, Paul stresses that just as Christ accepted sinners who deserved death and gave glory to God, they too must love one another.
Romans 15:8-9
8Now I say that Christ has been made a servant of the circumcision for the truth of God, that he might confirm the promises given to the fathers, 9and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore will I give praise to you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.”
The apostle Paul explains in concrete terms why, and to what end, Christ accepted Jews and Gentiles alike without distinction. Circumcision was the covenant God made with Abraham, which made it, for the Jews, a mark of privilege that set them apart from the Gentiles. Paul calls Christ a servant of the circumcision because Jesus was born an Israelite, was circumcised, and fulfilled the covenant. God’s plan was not confined to Israel; through Israel’s faith, it was to bring the Gentiles to glorify God. This is a vast grace that reaches beyond the salvation of the Jews to all the nations.
If it is God’s plan to be praised by the Gentiles, then as we offer God our praise and thanksgiving in worship today, we can see that his plan has been fulfilled. The apostle Paul quotes Psalm 18:49, “Therefore I will give thanks to you, Yahweh, among the nations, and will sing praises to your name,” to show that the Gentiles praising God is God’s plan. In verse 10 he also quotes Deuteronomy 32:43. “Again he says, ‘Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people’”: these words come from the song of Moses, a prophecy that the Gentiles would praise God together with the people of Israel. It is a prophecy that by God’s grace the Gentiles would be raised up to serve God together with Israel. Paul is saying that the Gentiles did not suddenly come to be saved after Jesus came; God had already planned their salvation. This is exactly why the Jews must not look down on the salvation of the Gentiles but praise God and rejoice together with them. The salvation of the Gentiles was God’s plan from the beginning, and the Jews must acknowledge that the Gentiles are God’s people just as much as they are.
Romans 15:11
11Again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Let all the peoples praise him.”
Psalms 117:1
1Praise Yahweh, all you nations! Extol him, all you peoples!
This passage assumes that Israel and all the nations will enter the Kingdom of God. If we are a people who will enter God’s Kingdom together, we must live in harmony. Paul delivers this word on the premise that the problems arising because Jews and Gentiles, masters and slaves, are now worshiping side by side in the church can be resolved once they know God’s will. The grace given to the Gentiles and Jews who will enter God’s Kingdom was given to make them praise the Lord as equals. Heaven is a place entered without distinction, regardless of race, wealth, or church office, through faith in Christ. The Kingdom of God is a world utterly different from this one, a lovely place of nothing but peace and rest. It is where God’s people become one as they lift their praise toward the throne. When those who showed love on this earth offer their praise to God, how beautiful they will be!
Romans 15:12
12Again, Isaiah says, “There will be the root of Jesse, he who arises to rule over the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles will hope.”
So it was said that Christ, who springs from the root of Jesse, would come so that Jews and Gentiles might become one. Isaiah declares that the Gentiles would set their hope on the Messiah, and in doing so he made it plain that the Gentiles are included in God’s plan of salvation. Had the Jews understood the Old Testament, they would also have known that the salvation of the Gentiles was foreordained, and they would not have despised the Gentiles. Because every prophecy was fulfilled through Jesus Christ, who was foreordained before the ages and came according to plan, not only the Jews but the Gentiles too have come to have hope in Christ. The Old Testament reveals that although God called Israel first, he planned to save the nations through them. God’s plan never changes and is always fulfilled; that is how Jesus, born a descendant of Jesse, became the hope of all humanity.
Romans 15:13
13Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is working with us to carry out to perfection, until the last day, the work of salvation that God planned and Christ accomplished. Those who lived by faith in Old Testament times hoped for the day when the Messiah would come. Now, knowing that Christ has come, we who live in New Testament times must work with the Holy Spirit to save more souls.
John 15:7,11
7If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you. 11I have spoken these things to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be made full.
Jesus said that to restore our relationship with God, we must always be full of joy, peace, and hope. To be filled with joy, we must grow through the word. Even when we try to live according to God’s will, it is not easy, because we must fight against evil spirits. So we must depend on the Holy Spirit, and strive, by his power, to have joy, peace, and hope in faith. The Holy Spirit stands ready to help us, but if we make no effort, we cannot receive his help, and without it we cannot be changed. I hope you will remember that those who, in faith, fight with every ounce of strength against their own righteousness can enter heaven.
Through Scripture we know that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit watch over us with care and help us until we pass through the gate of heaven. God, who has prepared all this for us, has told us to love our brothers and sisters; if we fail to do so, we are spurning his grace. When we come to understand the word through Scripture and have a faith filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, we can fulfill the calling to care for our brothers and sisters. The heaven you long for has already come into your hearts. Just as Christ carried out the work given him in order to please God, may you too have a faith that seeks to please God alone. God is guarding your faith to the end, so if you rely on the Holy Spirit with thankful hearts, you will overflow with hope in Christ. When those further along in faith walk with God joyfully, it shows the weak the way to heaven plainly; that is wisdom. So I hope you will always live to bring joy to God and to others. May you love as Christ has loved you, always receive God’s commendation, and become treasured saints who save others by the wisdom of the Spirit. Such people are the strong; such people are blessed.