Grow With Pastor Joe

“With great power comes great responsibility” said Uncle Ben. No, not the rice guy. Uncle Ben is Peter Parkers’ uncle who imparts these words of wisdom as Peter aka Spiderman begins to learn to use his newfound abilities for good. Having power does indeed come with great responsibility. There is a burden that comes with having such power and ability. One must know when, how, why, and where to exercise power like young Spiderman now had. This sort of thing is learned through experience, both failures and victories. It is best learned through time and patience. When it comes to the Christian life, each believer has been given equal positional liberty in Christ. None are more or less free or saved. However, each believer has different practical liberty in Christ. In the previous chapter of Romans, Paul addresses both “strong and weak” believers on the subject of Christian liberty and how to enjoy and exercise it. There were strong believers who had been enlightened to the extent of their liberty and were thereby more able to enjoy the fulness of it. The strong could eat or drink anything with humble moderation to the glory of God. They were free. However, they were not free to hurt their brother or cause the weaker to fall. The weaker brother is the one who isn’t enlightened to the extent of their liberties in Christ. Therefore, they could not enjoy a fulness of liberty and struggled to allow others to enjoy it themselves. Stronger and weaker believers began to discount or disregard the other, choosing to hold more onto their personal convictions than their personal connections to one another in Christ.

            Like Spiderman, we who are strong in our liberty in Christ carry the burden of liberty. It is not to be abused or cause affliction to the lives of our weaker brothers. In Rom. 15:1-7, Paul says, “¹We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. ² Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. ³ For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me. ⁴ For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. ⁵ Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: ⁶ That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁷ Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.” Here, Paul puts the burden on the stronger believer to use their liberty for the good of the church and the glory of Christ. To enjoy your liberty in Christ, you must be enamored by Christ and He must be enthroned upon your heart. We abuse our liberty and weaker brothers when Christ is not preeminent in our hearts. Liberty is only enjoyed by submitting to the lordship of Christ and it is enabled by the lordship of Christ. The Christian’s life and liberty in Christ begins and ends with the lordship of Jesus Christ. Yes, it is wonderful to be free in Jesus, but true freedom is fastened to the feet of Christ. There at Jesus’ feet we can only look up to Him. There is no abuse of freedom or of our weaker brothers when we see His nail pierced feet and hands.

            The big issue of Christian liberty that has been dealt with in the previous chapter and is being bookended in the present chapter is that the Christian is to live for the good of the church and glory of Christ. Truthfully, this theme has been seen throughout the entire practical section of Romans since Rom. 12. Essentially, the issue can be summed up this way. If you can exercise your liberty at the expense of your brother, then Christ is not yet exalted in your heart. Furthermore, we cannot exalt Christ and ourselves at the same time. The temptation for the stronger believer is to make more of their liberty than to make more of the Lord. The burden of liberty is that there is a weightiness to enjoy our freedom in Christ so that we may faithfully help others grow in their walk with Christ and that Jesus would be worshipped in unity by all believers. Today, we are going to focus on the first three verses of the chapter to see the expectations of the Christian and the example of Christ.

            First, let’s see the expectation of the Christian. Rom. 15:1-2 says, “¹We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. ² Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.” With the great power of Christian liberty comes the great responsibility of carrying the burden of it for the benefit of others. What is being put forth for the believer is not optional. It is not secondary. These exhortations are not given for you to consider, but for you to obey. Notice the word “ought.” The word is “opheilo” which means to owe something to someone. The idea is that the following expectations laid out for the Christian, especially the strong, is an obligation to obey. We have a debt to do these things for the good of the church and glory of Christ. Remember what Paul said previously? In Rom. 13:8-10 he says, “⁸ Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. ⁹ For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. ¹⁰ Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” Love is the means and motivation of the Christian life. Love is the means and motivation of our liberty in Christ. Liberty without love is not liberty. It would offer no grace to others and give no glory to Christ. The burden of liberty is first on the strong Christian and then on the weak. As C.H. Spurgeon writes about the subject, “If any course of action which would be safe to us would be dangerous to weaker brethren, we must consider their infirmity and deny ourselves for their sakes.” Now that we see the burden to obey these expectations, we will see three distinct expectations. There will be a positive, negative, then one more positive expectation to obey and observe in humble faith.

One, the first positive expectation is that we who “are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak.” To bear is the word “bastazo” which means to pick up and carry weight. The word is frequently used throughout the New Testament with a wide range of uses from carrying bags (John 12:6), bodies (Lk. 7:14), water pitchers (Mrk. 14:13), a man (Acts 21:35), a cross (John 19:17), and burdens (Gal. 6:2). This is not merely to put up with another in a begrudging way. The idea is to come alongside to support the load, burden, or weakness of another. Picture a teammate helping an injured player off the field or court while supporting the weight of the injured teammate. Some Christians are bears to deal with. We shouldn’t bear down by asserting our rights, nor should we simply bear with someone as if they are a burden. The burden is on the strong Christian to bear up in selfless sacrificial love for the weaker brother. Strong believers should use their liberty to bear the burden of the weight of liberty for the weaker brother. Don’t make the weight of the Christian life heavier for a weaker Christian. This idea is also given by Paul in his testimony of forfeiting his strength and liberty to bear the burden of the weaker and to win those without Christ (see 1 Cor. 9:12-27). When it comes to the exercise of our Christian liberty, we are either burden bearers or burden builders. Living for Christ is heavy at times, but we often make it heavier for others by asserting our rights. Give grace and give the right of way to the weaker believer by bearing the burden of liberty.

Two, the negative expectation is that we shouldn’t use our liberty to “please ourselves.” The pleasure of self is rooted in pride. The word please is the word “aresko” from the root word “airo” which means to elevate or excite emotionally. Sometimes the word is used for accommodating to the opinion or desire of another. So, simply here, the negative expectation is that we wouldn’t get so worked up over ourselves and that we wouldn’t work ourselves up in light of our weaker brothers. If all we care about is our own self-satisfaction and pleasure then do we really understand the gospel, grace, and glory of Christ? The Christian life and the liberty we have in Christ is not about you! This expectation too is in the present tense meaning it should be the habitual practice of our life. The Christian life is one of humility and self-denial. To truly follow Christ this must be the case. Jesus says in Luke 9:23, “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” You can’t follow the Lord and your own fleshly lusts for pleasure at the same time. What should please the Christian most is what most pleases Christ and the very thought of pleasing the Lord Jesus Christ with our attitudes and actions. True Christian liberty freely denies self to please the church (especially weaker brothers) and Christ. The gospel calls us to not focus inwardly on ourselves, but outwardly on the good of the church and glory of Christ. The gospel demands that we take our eyes off of us. We should not assert or insist on our rights. Stronger believers must stop flexing their muscles and flaunting their liberty in the face of the weaker Christians.

Three, the second positive expectation is found in the following verse that each believer is “to please his neighbour for his good to edification.” Here, Paul addresses both the weak and strong as he says, “let every one of us.” It doesn’t matter about your level of practical maturity or liberty here. All of us are called to seek the good and growth of others. The acronym for “JOY” is often given as Jesus, others, yourself. I believe that we ought to find true joy in our liberty by focusing on the good of others and glory of Christ. If we did, then can you imagine the joy that might abide in our often joyless pews? This begins with our mindset as seen in Rom. 12:3 and Phil. 2:1-4. Our mindset and mission are motivated by the gospel, grace, and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. To “please his neighbour” doesn’t mean that we compromise the gospel, truth, or essential doctrines of the faith. Nor does it mean that we water anything down so that we don’t offend another brother or sister who has fallen into moral or sinful ditches. The idea of pleasing is that we elevate for the building and benefit of another. We can’t build on anything other than Christ and the doctrines found in the gospel. The word “good” is the word “agathos” meaning good in character, profitable, or beneficial. It is good for you to seek the good of others. It is beneficial to benefit others. Once more, Paul uses the word “edify” as he previously used in Rom. 14:19. The word “oikodome” is used to picture that the church is a building built on Jesus Christ and each of us are participants of faith in building up the church, the Body, Bride, and Building of Christ. There is no time to pass judgment upon my weaker brother when I am busy building them up and bearing their burdens.

            Second, we must see the example of Christ. Rom. 15:3 says, “For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.” If anyone had the right to please themselves and do what solely benefited Himself, it was the Lord Jesus. He is the only one pure enough to do so without sin, yet it pleased Him to come in grace for our good and His glory. When we say that Christ is an example, we must be careful to not merely see Jesus as a good example to follow. False religions today do this, but we must remember that Jesus is not just a good man with good morals standing as a good example for others to imitate. Jesus is Lord. He is the means and motivation to selflessly bear the burden of others for their benefit. We see this clearly in Phil. 2:5-11 which says, “⁵ Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: ⁶ Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: ⁷ But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: ⁸ And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. ⁹ Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: ¹⁰ That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; ¹¹ And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” To follow the example of Jesus in bearing the burden of liberty, we must make sure that we understand the person and work of Christ seen fully in the gospel. In the gospel, Christ bears the burden of our guilt to bestow His grace so we may behold His glory. He comes alongside to truly bear the weight of our sins, transgressions, iniquities, and even our sufferings and sorrows (Isa. 53). He is the beast of burden that carries the weight of the sin of the world to the cross (1 Pet. 3:18). He is the burden bearer that we cast our cares on (1 Pet. 5:6-7). He is the one who bears the weight of the yoke of the believer who sustains us throughout our life (Mt. 11:28-30). He is a great burden bearing High Priest who felt the weight of our burdens because He took them into His own bosom (Heb. 4:14-16). C. H. Spurgeon again writes of Christ that He, “took the most trying place in the whole field of battle; He stood where the fray’ was hottest. He did not seek to be among His disciples as a king is in the midst of his troops, guarded and protected in the time of strife; but He exposed Himself to the fiercest part of all the conflict. What Jesus did, that should we who are His followers do, no one of us considering himself, and his own interests, but all of us considering our brethren and the cause of Christ in general.” All that pleased Jesus in His person and work was to declare the Word of God, do the work of God, and display the will of God in the world. Jesus is the fulfillment of Ps. 40:8 which says, “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.” Further examples of Jesus choosing not His own pleasure, but the pleasure of the Father through the benefiting of others can be found in John 6:38 or Luke 27:39-46 as Jesus yields completely to the will of the Father. His whole being and work was for the good of others as He lived and died as a substitute, sacrifice and savior for all who come to Him in repentance and faith. As Paul shows us that Christ is the ultimate example and motivation to bear the burden of liberty, he quotes the Old Testament scriptures. Specifically, he quotes Ps. 69:7-9 which says, “⁷ Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face. ⁸ I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children. ⁹ For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.” This would be fulfilled in John 2:11-25 where John also notes that the disciples attributed Ps. 69:7-9 to Christ’s Temple cleansing and bearing the reproach of man. We’ll see the importance of the relationship of the scriptures, both Old and New Testament writings in the life of the believer in Rom. 15:4-7 next week. There are two uses of reproach in verse three. Paul uses “reproaches” (oneidismos) and “reproached” (oneidizo). The idea is that Jesus faced unjust violent verbal assault, abuse, and accusations. This is seen throughout His entire life and ministry. Even today He is railed against by heathen. Christ gladly faced reproach unjustly. He was hated, mocked, and reviled by many. Why should we experience anything better? Furthermore, Christ is our example in that we should be willing to suffer for righteousness’ sake and deny our own selves pleasure for the good of others, even our enemies. 1 Pet. 2:21-25 says, “²¹ For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: ²² Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: ²³ Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: ²⁴ Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. ²⁵ For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.” Christ is the example and motivation to do not what pleases us, but what is best and beneficial for our brethren.

            Ps. 133:1 says, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” I wonder, are we dwelling together in unity? Are we building up the body by bearing burdens or are we breaking down the body by being burdens? We will struggle with the exercise of our liberty and unity in the local church as long as we are more in love with our liberty than the Lord. Until we become more infatuated with our redeemer than we are with our personal rights, then we will continue to disregard and disparage one another. Can we honestly say that we are growing in Christlikeness in our relationships with others? Perhaps we need to ask ourselves, what kind of church would our church be if each member was just like me? We need less of us and more of Jesus. We must have Christ enthroned in our hearts and be enthralled by the gospel, grace, and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.