God Wants Us to Live Like the Lord Jesus Christ
The Book of Romans
Romans 15:1-7
Sermon by Rick Crandall
(Prepared December 6, 2021)
BACKGROUND:
*Back in Romans 12, Paul began been writing about the practical side of Christian life. And in Romans 14, he is very strong on 3 problems Christians face: Our tendency to have spiritual pride, our tendency to major on minor things, and our tendency to judge other Christians for things that really don't matter.
*For example, in Romans 14:1-4 Paul tells us to:
1. Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things.
2. For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables.
3. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him.
4. Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.
*Then in Romans 14:10-13, Paul asked:
10. But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
11. For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.''
12. So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.
13. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way.
*Now in Romans 15, Paul sums up his admonitions about how Christians should treat one another. And it all comes down to the fact that we should treat each other the same way Jesus treats us. God wants us to live like the Lord. Please think about this truth as we read vs. 1-7.
MESSAGE:
*Some people think Christianity is just about getting a ticket to Heaven. And yes, the Bible does tell us the only right way to leave the world. But it also tells us the right way to live in this world. By His grace, God wants us to live like the Lord Jesus Christ. And this Scripture shows us how.
1. FIRST: WE HAVE TO PUT GOD'S PURPOSES OVER PLEASING OURSELVES.
*This is God's message for us in vs. 1-2 where Paul said, "We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification."
*And why should we live this way? Verse 3 tells us: "For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, 'The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.'''
*Not pleasing ourselves: What a radical departure from the normal way we human beings operate! It's just the opposite from our natural hearts and habits, just the opposite from the culture of selfishness usually adored by our media. Not pleasing ourselves. It goes against the grain.
*We tend to be like the little boys who were hungrily waiting for Mom’s pancakes one morning. Kevin was 5 and Ryan was 3. Of course, the boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. And Mom saw the opportunity to teach some spiritual truth.
*She said, "If Jesus were sitting here, He would say, 'Let my brother have the first pancake. I can wait.'" Kevin immediately turned to his little brother and said, "That’s a good idea. Ryan, you be Jesus!" (1)
*Sometimes we are like Kevin, because not pleasing ourselves goes against the grain. But by the grace of God, we can do it! And God wants us to do it because it can make a huge difference in other people's lives.
*Verse 2 tells us that not pleasing ourselves can be good for our neighbors. It can help "edify" or "build-up" their spiritual lives, as they see Jesus living in us. Here is the amazing truth: You and I can make an everlasting difference in other people’s lives!
*Guy McGraw told about someone who made a difference for James Reed. I wish I knew his name, but all I know is that he was living in Tulsa when he led James and his girlfriend to saving faith in Jesus Christ. At the time, they were caught up in a motorcycle gang, alcohol, and drugs.
*As new Christians, James and his girlfriend started going to church, and they got baptized. Then they got married in the pastor’s living room. But they still struggled with the old life. They would do well for a while, then go back to drinking and drugs. Finally, the young man who led them to Jesus said this to James and his wife: "You are moving into the apartment next door to us."
*Every morning at 6 a.m. there would be a knock on the bedroom wall. And they would hear that faithful witness say, "Get up! It’s time for your quiet time. Are you up yet?" Then, at night he went over to their apartment for a Bible study to help James and his wife grow in Christ. Did it make a difference? James Reed and his wife went on to become Southern Baptist missionaries in Uganda! (2)
*Christians: We can also make eternal differences in people’s lives! That's why God wants us to choose His purposes over pleasing ourselves. And Jesus is our supreme example. In vs. 3: "For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, 'The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.'''
*Here, Paul quoted a prophetic verse from Psalm 69 about our suffering Savior. This Psalm of 36 verses was written by King David a thousand years before Jesus was born, and it gives us 9 prophesies that Jesus fulfilled. (3)
*For example, in Psalm 69:1-6 we hear the future Messiah crying out in agony to His Heavenly Father. And Jesus said:
1. Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck.
2. I sink in deep mire, Where there is no standing; I have come into deep waters, Where the floods overflow me.
3. I am weary with my crying; My throat is dry; My eyes fail while I wait for my God.
4. Those who hate me without a cause Are more than the hairs of my head; They are mighty who would destroy me, Being my enemies wrongfully; Though I have stolen nothing, I still must restore it.
5. O God, You know my foolishness; And my sins are not hidden from You.
6. Let not those who wait for You, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed because of me; Let not those who seek You be confounded because of me, O God of Israel.
*Jesus prayed those last words only because He was going to bear all of our sins in His body when He died on the cross for us. That's why 1 Peter 2:24 tells Christians that Jesus "Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness by whose stripes you were healed."
*Then in Psalm 69:7-9, Jesus continued to speak to His Heavenly Father and said:
7. Because for Your sake I have borne reproach; Shame has covered my face.
8. I have become a stranger to my brothers, And an alien to my mother's children;
9. Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
*Psalm 69:9 is the Scripture Paul quoted when he wrote, "For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, 'The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.'''
*You see, Jesus' greatest desire was not to please Himself, but to please His Heavenly Father. And this was crucial for our salvation, because it was the Father’s will for Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. That's why in Luke 22:42 we see Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane praying, "Father, not my will, but Thine, be done."
*There was nothing fun about going to the cross! But our Savior didn’t seek to please Himself.
*Albert Barnes explained that "here on earth, Jesus made it his great purpose to do the will of our Heavenly Father. The Lord's greatest desire was not to seek his own comfort and enjoyment, but to finish the work God had given him to do. Jesus was willing to endure whatever trials and pains the will of God might demand. He never sought to avoid them or to shrink from them.
*In his life, he never sought personal comfort, wealth, or honors. He denied himself to promote the welfare of others; He was poor that they might be rich; He was in lonely places that He might seek out the needy and provide for them. He did not seek to preserve his own life, but gave Himself up for all." (4)
*Now, Christ is the model for how God wants us to live. And by God's grace, we can do it, because the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ is living in us! But we have to put God's purposes over pleasing ourselves.
2. WE ALSO HAVE TO LET THE WORD OF GOD WORK IN OUR LIVES.
*This is the lesson for us in vs. 3-4 where Paul said,
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.
*God's Word says that all of these Scriptures "were written for our learning." And the greatest lessons we can ever learn are written in the Bible! Here we will find lessons about life and love, prophecy and promises, warnings and correction, comfort, and patience. God's Word says that all of these "things were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope."
*William Barclay tells us that this original word for "patience" is far more than we usually think of as patience. This "patience" is the triumphant capability to cope with even the greatest trials and sufferings. This kind of holy coping transforms our trials into glory for the Lord." And this kind of patience comes from the Bible.
*God gives us words to help us cope, and words to give us hope. Again, Barclay said, "The Christian is always a realist, but never a pessimist. The Christian hope has seen and endured everything. But it still has not despaired, because it believes in God. It is not hope in the human spirit, in human goodness, or in human achievement. It is hope in the power of God!" (5)
*Church: "Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness! This heaven-sent hope is an anchor for our souls, and it comes from the Word of God!
*Reuben Youngdahl was a Lutheran pastor who knew about this hope. Reuben told of a visit to Dublin, Ireland one summer years ago. That’s where he saw a sign on a friend’s desk. The sign only had two words. But Reuben was so impressed that he got one just like it for his own desk. The two words were: "But God."
*Visitors always asked the pastor, "What do you mean by those two words?"
*Reuben replied that in his hours of deepest need he was reminded to say, "But God will help." In the moments of utter despair, he could say, "But God will give me hope." In moments of loneliness, he could say, "But God is with me." When he felt insignificant and unwanted, he would say, "But God loves me!"
*"But God" -- Those two words always tipped the scales from despair to hope, from defeat to victory, and from sin to salvation. And we find this great comfort in the Word of God! (6)
-Acts 7:9 says, "the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. BUT GOD was with him."
-In Acts 13:28-30 Paul was preaching about Jesus and said, "Though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that He should be put to death. Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. BUT GOD raised Him from the dead."
-Romans 5:7-8 says, "For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. BUT GOD demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
*And "whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope."
3. HOW CAN WE LIVE LIKE JESUS? WE MUST LET THE WORD OF GOD WORK IN OUR LIVES. WE ALSO MUST SEEK CHRISTLIKE HARMONY IN GOD'S CHURCH.
*Paul is our example in vs. 5-6. Here the Apostle lifted up a brief prayer, and said:
5. Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus,
6. that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
*Here in vs. 5 Paul was praying for us to have harmony and peace, "according to Christ Jesus." This means consistent with who Jesus is, consistent with what Jesus did on the cross for us, and consistent with what He can do in our lives.
*Verses 5-6 in The New Living Translation say, "May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, -- each with the attitude of Christ Jesus toward the other. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."
*Christians: Paul prayed for us to have harmony and peace, "according to Christ Jesus." And think how important this is to Jesus. It is one of the last commandments the Lord gave to His disciples. And it's one of the last things Jesus prayed for on the night before He died on the cross.
*In John 17:11 Jesus prayed to our Heavenly Father and said, "Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are."
*Later in John 17:20-23, Jesus said this to our Heavenly Father, "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me."
*Our harmony as Christians is extremely important to Jesus, and vs. 6 tells us one of the main reasons why: That we "may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."
4. SO, WE MUST SEEK CHRISTLIKE HARMONY IN GOD'S CHURCH. AND WE MUST RECEIVE ONE ANOTHER, JUST AS JESUS RECEIVED US.
*Paul pleaded for this in vs. 7 where he said, "Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God."
*God wants us to glorify Him with our lips and our lives. God wants us to live in ways that give Him glory, honor, and praise. And vs. 7 teaches us that one of the best ways we can give glory to God is by receiving one another, "as Christ also received us, to the glory of God." God wants us to make the effort. Go out of our way to receive each other, just as Jesus received us.
*Think about why Jesus received us: Was it because of our good looks, or those good grades we made in school? Was it because we could sing well, or hit home runs? Was it because of all of the great things we did for the Lord before we got saved? Of course not. Jesus received us, only because He loves us!
*And how did Jesus receive us? It was with mercy, grace, and sacrificial love, with kindness and compassion, and with forgiveness. Now, Jesus wants us to receive each other the same way, -- and it all goes for the glory of God.
*Tomorrow is December 7th. Many of us know that Pearl Harbor in Hawaii was attacked by the Japanese on this day. It happened 80 years ago in 1941, plunging the United States into World War II.
*The next day, President Roosevelt addressed the nation, and said that December 7th was "a date which will live in infamy." Here is something else very important President Roosevelt said that day: "Hostilities exist... -- There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger. With confidence in our armed forces, -- with the unbounded determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph. So help us God."
*Jacob DeShazer was part of the monumental effort it took to win that war. He was a bombardier who took part in one of the war's most daring missions: The "Doolittle Air Raid" on Tokyo, Japan in April 1942. It was just four months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and that high-risk raid was to retaliate for Japan's bombing.
*After the bombing raid, they flew on towards China, but they ran out of fuel, and were forced to parachute into Japanese-held territory. Jacob was captured and placed in a 5-foot-wide cell in a prison camp. He was beaten, whipped, spat upon, tortured, and forced to undergo some of the worst indignities you could imagine.
*Jacob developed an intense hatred for his guards, and all he wanted to do was to get his hands on their throats. Every day his hatred grew until it became like a gigantic mountain. His only one reason for living was to get revenge on those guards.
*Then one day a Bible was brought into that prison. It was passed around, and finally got to Jacob. He began to read it, and he gave his life to Jesus.
*Jacob got saved! And he later explained it this way: "The Bible says that if we believe in Jesus in our hearts, we'd be saved. Boy, when I read that and they were threatening to cut our heads off at any moment, I just felt like I'm free. -- I'm ready to die, (ready) to do whatever God wants me to do."
*In that prison camp, Jacob also came across the words of Jesus that said, "Love your enemies." Those words melted the mountain of hatred inside of Jacob, and he was filled with the joy of Jesus Christ. From that point on every time he was tortured, beaten, whipped, or harassed, he would just simply pray, "Lord, help me to love my enemies."
*When the war was over, Jacob realized that God wanted him to go back to Japan, not to seek revenge, but as a missionary to tell them about the love of Jesus Christ.
*The story of Jacob's salvation was so compelling that it was printed in a little gospel tract. And one day in a Japanese train station, DeShazer handed this tract to a man named Mitsuo Fuchida. He didn't know that Mitsuo was on his way to a trial for his wartime role as the commander of Japanese forces that attacked Pearl Harbor.
*It was a miracle that Mitsuo even survived the war. On August 5th, 1945, he was in Hiroshima attending a military conference, when he was suddenly called back to Tokyo. The very next day, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
*When Mitsuo got that tract, he was dejected, even suicidal. But he read Jacob's story. Then he got hold of a Bible, and Mitsuo got saved too! Then God called Mitsuo to preach the gospel. Before his death in 1976, he led many people to Christ, both in Japan and the United States. And those two former enemies had become friends! They received "one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God"! (7)
CONCLUSION:
*Now God wants us to live like the Lord Jesus Christ! Let's ask for His help, as we go back to God in prayer.
(1) "Ryan, you be Jesus" - David Holwick illustration # 4506 - SOURCE: Email - TITLE: "Jokes for the Soul" - AUTHOR: From Linnea Tideman - DATE: 1/15/1999 - TYPIST: David Holwick
(2) SermonCentral sermon "Getting Along in Gods House" by Guy McGraw - Romans 15:1-13
(3) Adapted from Shalach.org - Source: "Got Questions - Your Questions. Biblical Answers" - QUESTION: Which psalms predict the coming of Jesus Christ? https://www.gotquestions.org/Psalms-Jesus-Christ.html
(4) Adapted from: ALBERT BARNES' NOTES ON THE BIBLE by Albert Barnes - Published in 1847-85 - Romans 15:3 - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2000-2019
(5) Adapted from BARCLAY'S DAILY BIBLE STUDY SERIES (NT) by William Barclay, Revised Edition - Copyright 1975 - First published by the Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh, Scotland - The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - "The Marks of The Fellowship" - Romans 15:1-6 - https://www.primobibleverses.com/view/william-barclay/the-marks-of-the-fellowship-romans-151-6-8121
(6) "Visiting Hours Are Over" by C. Thomas Hilton, - THE CLERGY JOURNAL, May/June 1994, p. 17 - Source: Sermons.com
(7) Sources:
-"From Pearl Harbor to Calvary" by Mitsuo Fuchida - http://www.biblebelievers.com/fuchida1.html
-Sermons.com "With Malice toward None, With Charity for All" by James Merritt - Matthew 5:43-48
-"Mitsuo Fuchida: A Forgotten Story of Faith" - http://www.christiantreasury.org/content/mitsuo-fuchida-forgotten-story-faith
-"They Turned the Tide" by Robert F. Howe, SMITHSONIAN magazine, August 2002, p. 24) - Sermons.com illustration - 01/19/2003
-"Mysterious Ways" - Ephesians 1:11 - July 19, 2005 - Found at http://www.preceptaustin.org
-Houston Chronicle, Sept. 30, 1990, book review of God's Samurai, Gordon Prange - Source: Raymond McHenry - Topics: Forgiveness - History - Transformation trigger
