CCC Livestream - It's All About The Gospel - Romans 15:1-7
Live Worship Gathering: 1/18/2026
Preaching: Jason Purdy
Welcome One Another
Jason Purdy
It’s All About The Gospel / Romans 15:1–7
I invite you to turn to Romans 15.
We will look at verses 1-7 today.
I pray that you have been spending time before the Lord searching your heart in matters of the church covenant and in matters of Romans 14 and now moving into Romans 15.
The Bible warns us to not be simply hearers of the word, but make sure you are doers also, and what that means is you are not just learning facts but you are asking the Spirit of God to transform your heart according to his word.
I’ve had a few people say to me over the past few weeks that they appreciate these sermons on Romans 14 and now 15 and imagine they are difficult to prepare for and preach.
And I believe that the reason that is the case is that God communicates truth to us.
And it is truth that we must know, and believe, and trust in, and stake our lives and eternity on.
It’s what we call doctrine or theology: it simply means the understanding of the truth of the gospel from God’s word that we believe.
And if we had someone in our midst who says that Jesus is not God, or Jesus did not rise from the dead, or sexual immorality is not a sin, or any other thing that obviously contradicts the truth of Scripture,
Yet, if that person thought they were a Christian, we would not welcome that person in and say no problem, who am I to pass judgment, you want to lead a Community Group?
No, there is a command to us about how we respond to a person who does not hold to the truth of Christ in 2 John.
2 John 10–11 ESV
10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, 11 for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.
I praise God that He has made us a church body who loves the truth of the gospel, and the truth of God’s word, and does not waver on God’s word being without error, being the truth and nothing but the truth, and the absolute truth for all matters of life and godliness, and Jesus being the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to the Father except through him.
And because we want to be so clear on what the Bible is clear about, we are sometimes tempted to think that we can make every single matter of living life just as clear, and black and white, and the same for everyone.
But God has been warning us through Paul in the book of Romans over these past few weeks that in order to be a God glorifying, Christ-exalting people, we must understand that there are many things in life that fall in the category of opinions, disputable matters, nonessentials, matters of personal conscience.
It’s difficult for us to imagine how hard it would have been for traditional religious background Jews and pagan background Gentiles to all of a sudden be one church body together, although they were all genuinely saved through belief in the gospel.
Just imagine the guy who gives the church announcements is from a Jewish background.
“Hey church, just a reminder that next Sunday we are going to have a potluck fellowship lunch together, please make sure all the dishes are vegetables only.”
We are in the south, that would be enough to judge and despise one another right there.
I’m not making that scenario up, that was the scenario addressed in chapter 14 verse 2.
Or “Hey church, remember, in two weeks we will celebrate the feast of booths, so make sure to have your temporary shelters built to live in for a week, then us men will all travel to Jerusalem.”
What? I have to work. I’m not doing that.
The Jews are like, what are you talking about? We’ve always done it this way.
That’s the kind of scenario we read about in chapter 14 verse 5.
And we were instructed in chapter 14 that in such matters of opinion, which are many and myriad, do not despise the one who abstains, do not judge the one who partakes, do not use the matter as a stumbling block to the conscience of a brother or sister, because if someone doubts they could glorify God in a particular matter, they should not do that thing.
In other words, if you think it may be sin, and you do it anyway because other people are pressuring you to do it, for you, it is sin.
A recent example in the United States that shows us our great need for taking Romans 14:1 - 15:7 to heart is the year 2020.
Covid, masks, the election, and the race riots led us all to very strong opinions and hurt many relationships even within God’s church.
It’s no wonder God would have Paul spend this section in Romans, and a whole section in 1 Corinthians covering this topic, because we all have opinions and sometimes very strong opinions on all sorts of things, and if we do not cling to the power of the gospel in order to obey the commands of these chapters, we will not survive as a church community together, nor would any church.
Let’s read our passage as Paul continues to address these matters:
Romans 15:1–7 ESV
1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” 4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
1. Do Not Offend One Another On Disputable Matters Of Conscience
Verse 1: We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
When it comes to these disputable matters of opinion, throughout the passage, Paul contrasts those who are weak and those who are strong.
And when he uses these terms, he does not mean morally weak or strong or even spiritually weak or strong.
Instead, he means that on disputable matters of conscience, your conscience may be strong or weak in regard to that issue.
So, you could find yourself on the strong side of one issue and on the weak side of another based on your conscience.
So, here, those who come down on the strong side of an issue, meaning the side of feeling confident they can do a certain thing and please God in it,
Those who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak.
The failings of the weak means the conscience on the weak side of the issue fails to see how whatever the matter is could possibly be pleasing to God.
So, the strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak.
This is really a summary statement of what we looked at last week where the strong must never put a stumbling block in the way of a fellow believer but instead keep that matter of dispute simply between themselves and God.
Because the kingdom of God is about righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit and why in the world would you limit those things by pressing your own way on a matter of opinion?
We have this obligation to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.
One of the clearest examples would be you go out to dinner with a friend, they say, “Hey, I have alcohol in my past, I have committed to God to keep it totally out of my life. Would you be willing not to drink around me?”
Imagine if you said, no, sorry, I’ve been looking forward to this drink all day.
No. Don’t do that. We have an obligation to bear with one another’s weaknesses and not to please ourselves.
Verse 2: Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
What would please your neighbor and build him up in the example I just shared?
Of course, I won’t get a drink. You are much more important to me than that drink.
The truth is: in order to be disciples of Jesus and make disciples of Jesus, we must always be bearing with one another’s failings and weaknesses.
How could we ever have marriages that last past the honeymoon, healthy parent/child relationships, healthy church relationships, or any other good relationships unless we were willing to bear with one another’s failings and weaknesses?
Now notice, the command of verse 2 to let each of us please his neighbor for his good does not mean we always do for people exactly what they want us to do, and we always tell people exactly what they want to hear.
The command goes on that we must please our neighbor for their good, to build them up.
In other words, how can I respond to my fellow brother or sister in Christ in a way that honors God and helps build up their faith?
In my study for this sermon series, I have five primary commentaries on the book of Romans that I am reading through, and I very much enjoy it and get a lot out of it.
But, if I am going to choose a book to walk through with a brand new believer, I’m not going to make him read through one of these commentaries with me.
Instead, I am going to pick a simpler book about the fundamentals of the Christian faith.
Now, honestly, I am not going to enjoy reading that book nearly as much because it is all going to be stuff I could spout off in my sleep.
But it is what is best to please and build him up in the faith.
The truth is: a Christian is a very free person.
You have a lot of freedom of how to manage your time, your work, your hobbies, many things.
But, do you use that freedom to do spiritual good for others and build others up?
Our family has had many times where we have invited someone over for dinner, because we knew they either did not know Jesus, or they were young Christians, but in a tough spot.
So, we set up the dinner plan, and we have had a few times where the person would be one hour late, two hours late or whatever.
And of course, our kids are hungry, we’re hungry.
Sometimes the kids had school the next day.
It was frustrating.
And, when they finally arrived, we’ve had a time or two that they don’t even apologize for being late,
but by God’s grace, we set aside our plans and desires, we welcome them in, and we did our best to love them like Jesus.
I can guarantee you that those on the mission field lay down their rights, plans, and opinions everyday for the hope of spiritual good for those around them.
In India, if you set up a meeting with someone at a certain place, you better bring a book.
Their culture does not think about time the way ours does, so if they are two hours late, no problem.
They were just honoring the last person they had been with by not cutting them off.
Verse 3 provides the foundation and motivation for why we would bear with the failings of the weak to please and build them up, and that foundation is the gospel.
For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”
This is a quote from Psalm 69.
Jesus taught that all the Old Testament Scriptures point to him and are ultimately about him.
So, when we read in Psalm 69 that the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me, that is pointing us to Jesus.
You see, we were created by God and for God.
In other words, we were created to please God and not ourselves.
But, in living a life pleasing to God, we were going to find all of our needs met and desires satisfied in Him.
Yet, while we were made to please God, we have all sinned against God by seeking to live to please ourselves, and pursuing anything other than God expecting it will please us.
Because we rejected the very purpose we were created for, we stand as ones who have offended God and His glory.
We deserve punishment and hell for offending our very maker.
Yet, while we were sinners, in love, God sent His son Jesus.
And Jesus lived perfectly for the pleasure of God and for the spiritual good of others.
Yet, Jesus was hated, scorned, and reproached by many.
And the offense of Jesus’ life and mission led sinners to condemn Jesus to punishment and death on a Roman cross.
And Jesus suffered and died taking all the offense and reproach of our sins onto himself.
Jesus was separated from the very pleasure of God that we might be forgiven and freed to live in the pleasure of God once more.
And when you understand how far Jesus humbled himself to take your sin, your offenses, and reproach on himself for your spiritual good, you begin to be transformed to the point where you are willing to lay down your rights for the spiritual good of others.
Do not offend one another on disputable matters of conscience.
2. Find Hope, Encouragement, and Endurance As You Honor Christ Through The Scriptures
Verse 4: For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Verse 4 is a bit of a parenthesis in what Paul is writing, but the reason I believe he puts it here is that he understands that bearing with one another's failings and weaknesses in the church can be one of the most discouraging parts of the Christian life.
So, he points us to the Old Testament Scripture to remind us that every Old Testament person had flaws, failings, and weaknesses, even the greatest of them.
But, time and time again, God still uses them for his glory.
I find it extremely helpful and satisfying that the Bible, that was written over a period of 1500 years, having more than forty human authors, and written in three different languages across multiple continents is one unified story that all points to God’s glory in Christ through the gospel.
Paul frequently writes that what he is telling us is coming straight from the teachings of Jesus or straight from the Old Testament.
So when Paul wants to tell us what grounds he has for commanding us to bear with the weak and not please ourselves,
He points us directly to the truth of the gospel, and the source of that truth in this case is a Psalm in the Old Testament.
Why? Because whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction.
That sounds very similar to what Paul writes in
2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
So, all the Scripture instructs us regarding Christ and the gospel, and it is the instruction of Christ and the gospel that grants us endurance and encouragement so that we have hope in the midst of our failings and weaknesses and the failings and weaknesses of others.
You see, Paul knew how difficult it was going to be to continue to be for these people from different backgrounds and cultures to live in unity together and at peace with one another over the long haul.
The only way it was going to work is if they consistently and continually bore with one another’s failings and weaknesses for the spiritual good of all, and that was not going to be easy.
They were going to be tempted often to judge one another, despise one another, and want to please themselves instead of welcoming one another.
So, Paul knew that He had to ground these instructions on the most powerful source in the universe, the gospel of God contained in the word of God.
I was telling Robin the other day that when I am frustrated in my faith and my circumstances and when I want to quit, the last thing I want to do is start reading the Bible, because I have walked with Jesus long enough to know that God is going to use the Bible to give me endurance and encouragement and hope to keep pressing on.
And that’s the last thing I want when I want to quit!
But, we must remain in God’s word, because through it, God grants us endurance, keeps us encouraged, and gives us hope for the day.
We also have to remain in God’s word in order to know what his clear commands are and what are the many other areas of life that fall under the realm of matters of conscience.
The greatest hope of your life and eternity is that Jesus has conquered your sin and death in order to secure eternal joy with Him.
And He who began this great work of hope in you will grant you endurance and encouragement and hope as he carries you all the way home.
Verse 4 is really a parenthesis in what Paul is teaching about walking in unity by bearing with the failings of the weak and not pleasing ourselves,
And it is a parenthesis about how trust in the gospel and trust in the Scriptures is what gives us endurance, encouragement, and hope.
It is so difficult in our church relationships, our work relationships, our parent/child relationships, and our marriage relationships to continue to bear with the weaknesses of others, while all along we are struggling with our own weaknesses and failings, yet continue to show grace for the weaknesses of others, and trust in Jesus as we continue to lay down our rights for the sake of others.
And Paul is saying, the way you persevere, the way you live to fight another day, the way you never throw in the towel and walk away from it all, is by trusting in the sacrifice Jesus made for you, and by feeding on God’s word that grants you endurance, encouragement, and hope.
Find Hope, Encouragement, and Endurance as you honor Christ through the Scriptures.
3. Welcome One Another To Live In Harmony For The Glory Of God
Verses 5 and 6 are a prayer that Paul prays for the church as they seek to live out the example of Christ in bearing with the weaknesses and failings of others in their relationships:
May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Notice that while we experience endurance and encouragement from the Scriptures, it is God who is the very source of endurance and encouragement.
For the believer, the God who is the very source of all endurance, encouragement, and hope lives within you.
And because that is true, you can live in harmony with one another.
I want you to think for a moment how harmony works in singing.
Now, some of you have a much greater music education than I do, so please bear with my weakness if I don’t say this just right,
But from what I hear and experience of harmony, harmony is when two different singers are singing different notes, but the different notes complement each other in a way that is very pleasing to the ear.
In the same way, God’s people come from different backgrounds and their consciences lead them to different conclusions when it comes to matters of conscience, but if we follow God’s commands to welcome one another and not argue over disputable matters, we may be different in some ways, but they are differences that sound pleasing to the ear of God.
Remember
Romans 14:6 ESV
6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.
Two different people doing two opposite things when it comes to a disputable matter, yet in harmony in terms of being pleasing to God.
So, may the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,
That means that when you are living in unity and harmony with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, it is as if Christ Jesus is singing along, because it is His power and His gospel work that has made it possible.
That together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God’s plan to glorify himself was not to create a people who would all be the exact same in every way - that’s called a cult.
God’s plan to glorify himself is to take a diverse people and create a unified people in Christ despite their differences.
And with one voice, we glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God’s glory is not shown best when we agree on every matter.
God’s glory is shown best when we value the glory of God and value the work of Christ in the gospel so much higher than we value any of our own thoughts or opinions, that we come together and proclaim Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord no matter our differences.
Verse 7 reiterates the command that began this whole section in chapter 14 verse 1:
Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
Would you consider how much more Jesus Christ had to lay down his rights in order to welcome you in the kingdom of God than you will ever have to do to welcome fellow believers?
Welcome one another, not because you do everything the same way.
Welcome one another, not because your conscience points the same direction on every matter of life.
Welcome one another, as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
For the very reason we exist is the glory of God.
In it, we find all of our needs met and desires satisfied.
And God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.
And it is when we are satisfied in him that we do not need others to please us, for we are safe in the pleasure of God.
Instead, we bear with one another’s failings and weaknesses and so show off the glory of God.
Let’s pray.