Romans 15-16 Wrestling Together
Join me this morning in turning to the book of Romans, chapter 15. Today we are going to finish up the book of Romans. We have spent the last few months going through this book together, and we have seen some wonderful truths; truths that when we understand them will change our lives. And today, we want to look at Paul’s closing ideas.
When I was a boy growing up, I watched a lot of TV. And one show I watched a lot on Saturday afternoon was WWF - Professional Wrestling. Now I know that over the years that competition has gone from a sport to a choreographed theatrical presentation. But as a boy, my favorite part of wrestling was the “tag team” competition. My personal favorite was Chief Jay Strongbow - a native American indian, and his partner_____.
Now in WWF, there were always the “good” guys and the “bad” guys. And normally the bad guys would gang up on one of the good guys, stomping on him, pinning him down, but he would reach out his hand and his partner would jump in the ring to give him help. When it was Chief Jay Strongbow, he would jump in, start running from side to side, and come flying down on top of both bad guys. And you couldn’t help but cheer for the good guys who wrestled together.
Now if you’ve never realized this before, Paul was quite the sports fan. He talks in several places about sports. If Paul had a TV, you might think he’d be watching the Billy Graham special, but I think he would have had ESPN on. He talks about wrestling, foot races, boxing, olympic competition, spectators in the stands. He was a regular sports fan. And here in the close of Romans 15, Paul gives us this very idea we have started out with: we are to be tag-team wrestlers! We wrestle together! Look at 15:30 - I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. Those words “join me in my struggle” literally are the words “wrestle together with me.” Paul is calling the Christians at Rome, whom he has never met, to join him in his struggle.
And that is the key idea we want to look at today. What does it mean for us to wrestle together, to have a partnership in ministry? Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 4 - Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no-one to help him up!
There are many people who live their lives like Rambo- coming into battle all alone. Trying to do everything themselves, and then going off alone and depressed, never heard of until the next battle. But God’s desire for us was to share a partnership in ministry. Remember Jesus himself, who is God, able to do everything, chose to share his life and ministry with 12 others. Jesus sent his disciples out 2 by 2, sharing ministry. Paul, as he traveled on his journeys in sharing the gospel, also went with others who were partners with him in ministry. Barnabas, Silas, Timothy, Luke, Demas. Ministry is best accomplished as a joint effort, as a partnership.
I have shared the statistic with you before: it takes an average of 7.3 contacts with different Christians before an unbeliever will choose to follow Christ. Some people accept Christ the first time they hear the gospel. Others resist for years. But the average is 7.3 different contacts. If I have someone I am trying to witness to, it takes an average of having 6-7 other Christians come into their life as well to share the gospel.
Paul has never been to the church at Rome, but he tells them that they have a very real partnership in his efforts in sharing the gospel. Let’s see what he has to say here in these chapters. Read 15:7-9
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy. -- jumping down to vese 13:
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another. I have written to you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God.
Let’s pray. Prayer for partnership in ministry.
To review what we have seen so far in the book of Romans: Paul is sharing good news with the Romans. Here in verse 15 he says he is reminding them again of what they already know. He explains salvation - that though we are under the condemnation of our sin, God chooses by His gracious blessing to give us the righteousness of Christ to our spiritually bankrupt accounts. As a result of our choice to follow Christ, we are changed from the inside out to be a radically different person, no longer camouflaged to look like the world, but changed to be just like Jesus.
Paul has reminded the Roman Christians of this great truth, because he wants them to be able to effectively partner together with him in ministry. Good corporations train all their new employees in the basic fundamental goals, vision, and company standards so that every employee can see his work as part of the greater job of his company. (And by the way, next Sunday for anyone who is interested in coming, we’ll be having a lunch and after lunch telling you a little more about Bethel - what we believe, how we are structured, and how you can be involved in ministry with us. If you’re interested in coming, please let me know or call the office so we can plan for you.)
Paul does the same thing with these Roman believers. He helps them understand God’s plan and desire for all people to be saved. Because Paul wants them to be able to be partners together with him- to be on the same wrestling team - to wrestle together. And let me remind you this morning -- other churches in town are NOT our competion -- they are our partners, our teammates. We are working together, each in similar but different ways to accomplish similar goals. And because we ARE on the same team, Paul starts out chapter 15 with some verses we looked at last week, that talk about our need to “accept one another.” This was the wrap up to the section on Christian liberty, and you’ll remember that Paul said that we need to all learn to get along. We don’t look down on others if they have a different view on certain topics. Rather, our acceptance in spite of differences will build unity and growth for all of us. We need to learn to accept one another. Paul says,
1. We accept others as Christ accepted us. So, how exactly was that? Romans 5:8 - But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. There was nothing good or lovely about us, but God chose to love us and offer us salvation. And when you look at other believers, there are some times where you say, I don’t see a whole lot lovely about that person. I really don’t see anything that makes me want to love them or partner with them or get close to them. But following the example of Christ, we accept others because we have experienced a love and acceptance by Christ that is beyond compare.
Christ is a model for us. He made himself a servant, verse 8 tells us. In Philippians 2:5 we find this written about Jesus - Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross!
Jesus modeled being a servant for us. Paul says here in Romans 15 that Jesus was a servant to the Jews: confirming for them that all the OT promises of God ARE reliable and trustworthy. We saw that as we looked at Romans 9-11. Jesus was a servant to the Gentiles: reaching out to people who were shunned by the Jews, telling them that they also had been given the mercy of God and could receive salvation.
And so for both Jews and Gentiles, Jesus showed God’s great plan and desire for the salvation of all people. And when we understand God’s great salvation, it gives us HOPE. Here in verse 13 Paul takes a breath to give an exclamation of praise to God. He says, May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
When we understand salvation, we develop HOPE. Hope is the confident expectation we have that our God WILL work for us, based upon His character. We know our God and His faithfulness, His love and compassion, and we learn that we CAN trust Him. And notice here that Paul tells us 3 things that hope brings.
First, hope brings us JOY - when we know that our God is at work, that He IS involved in our lives, we can rejoice, for we know He will bring about that which is best for us. Rom. 8:28 - And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. The bible tells us in Nehemiah 8:10 - the joy of the LORD is your strength. When we have hope, we will have joy.
Second, hope brings peace. Those without hope are often the angriest, most despairing, most depressed people. Because they have nothing to live for. But when we have hope, we can be at peace, because no matter how difficult the situation we find ourselves in, we know that our God is working for us.
And the third thing Paul says here in verse 13 is that hope brings more hope. The more we exercise hope in our hearts, the more our hope will grow. Just like an athlete working out in a weight room. The more you lift the weights, the more weight you will be able to lift. When we live in hope, God keeps building more hope in our lives.
So, Paul has taken a little rabbit trail, but now he comes back to this idea of partnership in ministry. First, we are to accept others as Christ accepted us. Secondly,
2. We are to see the best in others. Look at verse 14 - I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another. Here Paul is writing to Christians he has never met, and notice his words. He says he is conviced that they are full of goodness: this is an internal attribute. It is character. He first of all affirms them in who they are. Secondly, he talks about them being complete in knowledge: this is what they know. And third, he says they are competent to instruct one another: this is what they can do. Paul affirms them in who they are, what they know, and what they can do.
So now comes the hard question. Who have you affirmed lately? Who have you told that you believe in who they are, that you see good character qualities in their life? Who have you affirmed lately about their knowledge, about what they know? Who have you affirmed lately about what they do, about the way they serve? It is easy for us to criticize and complain -- to tell others what we DON’T like about them. But how easy is it for us to encourage and complement?
Paul says in Philippians 2:3 - Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
Then Paul goes on in verse 17 to set another beautiful example for us. He says, Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done. Paul says, the only thing I can boast of is what GOD has done through me. He doesn’t take any credit for the churches he has started, the many who have come to faith in Christ. He gives all credit to God. And so also
3. We give all glory and praise to God. One of the reasons we so often struggle in getting along, and accepting one another, and affirming one another, is that WE want to have the glory and praise. We want others to give us “strokes” - to tell us how wonderful we are. But a true servant, a true partner in ministry, seeks to give GOD all the glory for anything that is done. And then Paul goes on to give us another reminder about our wrestling together:
4. We seek to bear one another’s burdens. Down in verse 25, Paul tells the church at Rome that he is hoping to come visit them, but that right then he is on a mission to help the believers in the church at Jerusalem. He writes: Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the saints there. For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings. So after I have completed this task and have made sure that they have received this fruit, I will go to Spain and visit you on the way.
The church at Jerusalem had led the way in starting many other churches. But now they were struggling. They experienced great persecution and they were very poor. And so Paul has taken up a collection from the churches in Greece. We saw this when we looked at the book of 2 Corinthians together.
The principle that we come away with is this: we need to have a concern for the needs of one another. That was the pattern of the early church. In Acts 4:33 we see this: With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
In the early church they cared for the needs of one another. In Galatians 6:2 Paul tells us, Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ.
So, let’s ask another hard question. Right now there are many people who are hurting, struggling, going through difficult times. What is it that you can do to help them shoulder the load? How can you give them help, encouragement, and blessing? Maybe you say, I don’t have a lot to give financially! But maybe you could make a phone call, send a letter or email, pray with them, let them know you care. This Tuesday we will be having our food distribution. You could come help us pass out food. Why do we do it? To show the love of God in a practical way. How is God leading you to help a brother or sister in need?
5. We work together for common goals. This brings us back to the verse we looked at in the beginning. Look down at 15:30 - I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. Paul is continuing on his travels, but he tells the Christians at Rome that they can partner with him. They can’t go with him, but they can pray. Paul saw their prayer as great partnership in ministry. In the same way, we have a great opportunity in partnering with others in reaching people in places we will never go to, people we will never see. Down on the south hallway we have missionary letters giving you updates and prayer requests for our missionaries. Ask yourself, when is the last time you took a missionary letter home and prayed for that missionary? We put them there when we get them, but often when we get new updates I notice that not many of the old updates were taken.
I just received an update from Rolland and JoAnn Smith in Texcoco, Mexico yesterday. There is a terrible flu epidemic in Mexico City right now. They are safe, but they need your prayers. Other missionaries we support need your prayers. Other missionaries we don’t support, but you know -- partner in ministry by praying for them.
But in chapter 16 we see there are some who CAN do more. Paul lists greetings to those who have been actively involved in partnering in the ministry work. He talks about many fellow workers. He lists many who took a step beyond just praying.
That leads the question: What can you do to be part of the ministry at Bethel? Yes, you can pray. But you can do so very much more. Let me offer a few examples:
• Saturday at 10:30 we will meet to go door to door inviting others to church.
• maybe you can invite your neighbors, friends, co-workers to church with you
• find a ministry at the church you can serve in. Maybe you can play the paino, help with AWANA, mow the lawn, clean the church. Look for a practical way to serve.
And then Paul closes out in 16:26 by reminding us all what the goal is: so that all nations might believe and obey him. The good news of the gospel is for all people, but it is only good news if they have heard and believed. God’s desire is for all nations to believe, and so we work together, we wrestle together, we partner together in ministry so that all can hear the gospel and some will be saved. May God give us all a heart to partner together for the sake of the kingdom of God. Let’s pray.
