The Life of a Strong Believer
Romans 15:1-13
* If you are given a choice, which would you choose, to be weak or to be strong? It’s kind of a useless question because everyone desires to be strong and for good reason. In the matter of our health we know that if our body gets weak we become susceptible to disease and an untimely death. We also know that we function better if we are strong; our minds think more clearly, our hearts have less stress, and our bodies hurt less. Candidly, it is just more enjoyable to be strong than weak. We could spend quite a while talking about this “strong-weak” issue and discuss subjects ranging from war to sports to marriage to relationships and always come back to the sincere conclusion that in anything we prefer to be strong instead of weak.
* This is also true in our Spiritual life. What person would say, “I want to be weak spiritually?” Yet Paul brings to light that there are those who are weak in their faith. Back in first 2 verses of Chapter 14 he uses the word picture of being feeble, diseased, impotent, and sick.
* When I physically see that Greek word translated to English, I think of “asthma.” This is a disease of the airways. In simple terms, the airways become inflamed and narrow which is followed by a production of excess mucus which makes it difficult to breath. The causes of this condition are generally a hypersensitivity to certain triggers. The result of asthma is that the individual is seemingly weak, fragile, and susceptible to illness.
* When Jonathon was a kid, he suffered from asthma. He wanted to play soccer. Though he did play some, we always had the inhaler close at hand because his body was so weak.
* Without hesitation I would offer that weakness is not a desired trait because it can be dangerous. Spiritual weakness can be deadly. Yet, were I to give you a quiz this morning asking you to rate your spiritual life on a 1-10 scale, how high would you score? Better yet, if God were scoring, how would you do? Would you give yourself an 8 because you’re as good as the next person? (which seems to be our mode of operation today) Or would you give yourself a 3 because you know that, compared to the expectations of our Lord, you fall short?
* As I read the Bible, it seems that we are expected to be strong in the Lord and the power of His might, that we are not to walk like the world in the futility of their minds, but rather in the love, spirit, and power of God. How do we live as a strong believer? Before I offer us the 3 helps which I see in this scripture, let me begin with a disclaimer. The life of a strong believer is not an easy life. Because of who you are, you have responsibilities, expectations, and OBLIGATIONS!! Verse one is clear, the strong are responsible for the weak. The strong are required to take the high ground. The strong are required to be selfless. It’s not for the faint of heart.
1. The Powerful Filling – VS 13 – As I read verse 13 it becomes obvious to me that Paul is offering this wish to his readers so that ALL of them may become strong in the faith. He begins with the “God of Hope” which is a great place, if not the only place, to start. Here is Paul’s prayer for us;
a. Fill Up – Look at what Paul knows that all believers need to be filled with, “Peace and Joy.” I’ll submit that these two things are in short supply in today’s culture. People want both peace and joy and cannot seem to find either. Paul says, “I want God to come in and just fill you up with what you need.” So this begs the question, “Since God has this and wants me to have it, how do I go about getting this peace and joy?” The answer is right here; we get it by believing! When God nudges our heart to offer us His great salvation and we respond to Him, He begins the filling process. Not a person here who has received Jesus in a personal way can say that they have NOT sensed and felt God’s love for them. Peace and Joy follow this sensation of knowing God’s love and God has more to give us than we could ever hold. We are finite vessels and He is an infinite God. He starts the filling process and just like your car at the gas pump, you’ll fill us but there is plenty more available. In fact, we can follow this picture.
b. Flow out – Verse 13 speaks of God filling us with joy and peace in believing so that we may “overflow with hope.” If we think about that car tank we can understand this principle. Before the automatic shut offs were required on gas pumps, I worked at a service station (remember those?) A couple of times I stuck the nozzle in the tank to wash the windshield or check the oil and when the gas tank was full, it would run over on the ground (this is probably causing global warming today). Think about what it was that ran out on the ground, it was gasoline (the very same thing which was IN the tank). The natural outgrowth of being filled with the joy and peace of the Lord is that “Glorious blessed hope” for which we await. It is not a possibility or even a probability, it is a certainty. When this hope exudes from you it will overflow on everyone who stands by. All of a sudden people are seeing us in a different light because they don’t really understand what has happened to you.
c. Fire off – In the early days of the space program, the launches took center stage in our nation. Everyone enjoys the take off. To see those tanks fire up, see the binders break away, and see the rocket jump up is exciting. The power of rocket propulsion is breathtaking. There is a more exciting power than this; it is the power of the Holy Spirit. When God fills us with all that He is, His Holy Spirit takes us residence and the supernatural becomes the natural and the extraordinary becomes the ordinary. The last words of Jesus say this, “After the Holy Spirit fills you; you’re going to receive power.” Acts 2 records this in detail. Has the Holy Spirit lost its power?
2. The Persuasive Fellowship – VS 1-6 – I use the word persuasive because it would seem that in the context of the New Testament it was the connection and affection the believers had with and for one another that impressed and impacted the culture. Have you ever given any real thought to this truth? More than anything else, the first century church was teaching people how to “get along” with each other. And when they didn’t, they were called to task by Paul. Three things were to be prevalent there.
a. Bear with one another – Candidly, we don’t talk this way anymore. But in the not too distant past we would use the phrase “bear with me” which was a request for “patience.” Paul is dealing with the basic issue of selfishness. His teaches us that true Christian love is not selfish & a strong believer is not a selfish person. For the person who walks close to the Lord and is strong in his faith, ‘bearing with one another’ becomes 2nd nature because of the example set by Jesus. He demonstrated what it was to put others first and “bear” with them. It is true that on several occasions this tested the patience of Jesus (How long must I remain with you, O faithless generation) but He never gave up, let up, or backed up on people. By the way, if Jesus demonstrated patience and Paul identified patience as a fruit, it would seem to me that bearing (to put it in the vernacular –“putting up”) with people is a divine mark of a strong believer. When we “put up” with them (without the incessant complaining), it demonstrates a spiritual maturity which is largely unknown. But it doesn’t stop here.
b. Build up one another – Verse 2 can be read in part and develop another perverted way of thinking. To stop reading after the first thought is to miss the real meaning of this principle. The HCSB begins, “Each one of us must please his neighbor” but watch for the hook, “for his GOOD, in order to build him up.” Paul is repeatedly calling us to be in the business of helping to construct Godly lives. In 2 Corinthians 13 he writes, “The Lord has given me authority for building up and not for tearing down.” By the way, to tear down requires no skill whereas to construct or build requires training. Yet, Paul tells the Corinthians to “Let ALL that is done buildup the body.” The question is do I build up or tear down? God looks down & knows.
c. Bind hearts with one another – In verse 5 & 6 we hear Paul offer the prayer that God may grant agreement, a united mind, and one voice. It would serve us well to consider how persuasive the church could be if we were found united in mind, heart, and soul. Through the fall of the year thousands of strangers gather in football stadiums and make new friends very easily. Why? Because they support the same team and want the same outcome. Their hearts are bound by a common goal, desire, and focus. That is, to have a winning team. They allow small things to be small and are not side-tracked by them. This is the need of the strong believer.
3. The Passionate Focus – VS 7-12. We’ve already said the hearts of football fans are bound by a common goal, desire, dream, and FOCUS? My prayer is that instead of “rolling our eyes” when the preacher makes this comparison, we would take it to heart. The strong believer possesses this kind of passionate focus only it is about “GLORIFING GOD.” It is enough that God created us, loved us, and is simply there watching over us. These alone are more than we should need to want to express our gratitude and appreciation every day. Yet, there are more reasons & motivations;
a. For His Mercy – Verse 7 reminds us that the Messiah has accepted us to the Glory of God. This means God has shown us mercy when we deserved none. Furthermore, in the same way God has accepted us, we should accept, receive, and love one another. Truthfully, in the arrogant culture which we find ourselves, most people have difficulty seeing the mercy of God. Why? Because of the rationalization that “we are as good as the next person” or “If God grades one the curve, then I’m okay,” or the more deadly attitude, “I am too good to my wife, kids, and others for God to punish me.” Make no mistake; if you and I would get what we deserve, if we would receive justice for our actions, then we would be begging for mercy. The wages of sin is still death and it is God who sets the standard for sin and defines what sin is. We can scream at the top of our lungs that abortion is a woman’s right, but God calls it murder. We can shout that any sexual activity outside of marriage is okay, but God calls it names like “fornication”, “adultery”, “homosexuality, and most of all perversion. We can believe it is our right to have an uncontrolled tongue, but God speaks as strongly about the “gossip” as He does the murderer or adulterer. We are in great need of God’s mercy and that gives us reason to be focused.
b. For His Ministry – When I read verse 8 it reminds me of Philippians 2 which tells us that Christ emptied Himself (became unselfish) and became a man to confirmed God’s promises made to our forefathers. Jesus demonstrated “servant-leadership.” Although He never acquiesced to the wants of people, He always ministered to them by pointing them towards God the Father. His ministry is simple, yet complex. It was simple in pointing out the way to God and yet complex because it was such a life change. Please hear this, Jesus’ ministry always led to a change of life. Anyone who encountered Christ was never the same.
c. For His Mission – The mission of Jesus was to reach all people with the good news and bring them into a relationship with God the Father. Not just the Jews but also the Gentiles (us) were His target group. In other words, the mission He had and left us with. It’s not a mission for the weak but only for the strong. Based on what the scripture has to say about being strong in the faith, which are you—weak or strong.
