Bearing With Those Who Are Weak

Romans 15:1-7 (ESV) The Example of Christ 15:1 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. As I read this it struck me how different the tolerance Scripture calls for is from that of the world. Again and again we are told that we should tolerate all sorts of sinful practice in the church for the sake of unity and peace in the church. In and of itself, this call is not incorrect. There are many places in Scripture that call for us to be one and Christ and the Father are one, to maintain the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace, however, even though those calling for unity would agree that this unity should not be at the cost of the truth of scriptures, in practice that is often exactly what happens. This passage also calls of a bearing with one another. In verse one we read, “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.” In other words, those who are strong should be patient with those who are weak, and not seek to merely do their own thing. Now I am sure there are people who would say, “There, you see you who claim that this or that practice that scripture says is wrong but I do, you should bear with me in my weakness and not please yourself.” Yet, it strikes me that to say that would be to miss the point. For in context the issue is not whether a person can do something that is sinful in itself, that is something against the revealed teachings of God's will found in Scripture, but rather on debatable things. Going back to the previous chapter we find the background for the weak and the strong mentioned here. The weak are those who think something is a sin that is not. They have not truly understood their Christian liberty. The specific issue has to do with dietary laws. Although not specifically mentioned it would seem this is speaking of eating meat bought in the market place if it had been offered in the temple of the various pagan gods because of the mention of some only eating vegetables. The other option is this could be speaking of clean or unclean food as defined in the Old Testament. It does not make a big difference either way as Jesus did away with the food prohibitions. The strong are those who realize that in and of itself the meat is neither clean or unclean. The weak on the other hand are those who think it is sinful to eat that meat, and so they eat only vegetables. In other words, the weak are those who think something that is in itself not sinful, is sinful. They do not yet fully grasp their Christian liberty. With that being the case, for those who claim that we should not point out how they are going against the revealed will of God to say that we should bear with them in their weakness, is at best to turn this passage on its head. For if they are correct that they have Christian liberty to do whatever it is they do, then they would by the definition of this passage be the strong, and we who think they are sinning would be the weak who have not fully grasped our Christian liberty. Thus they would be the ones who need to bear with us, and they would be the ones who should not lead us into sin by their actions. That would be the best case, but the worst case is more likely. That is those who are advocating or living in a practice that is blatantly against what the Scriptures teach, are taking a passage that deals with questions of Christian liberty and making that liberty a license for sin. For although it is for freedom that Christ has set us free, that comes with the warning, “do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh.” If someone is living according to the flesh, then they are the weak ones, or perhaps they do not really have faith at all. So this passage in calling for the strong to bear with the weak, is not a call to compromise on the Word of God, but a call to be patient with those who do not yet understand the liberty they have in Christ. Yet, even here we need to be careful, for this bearing with those who are weak, is not what many people might think it is. The bearing with the weak is defined like this, “Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.” That is, bearing with those who are weak, does not mean leaving them where they are, it means patiently seeking to build that person up. It means seeking to strengthen them in their faith, and in how to live in keeping with that faith. This becomes apparent when we look further at the reason for this, “For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”” What we find is that Christ is both the reason for living this way, and the pattern for how to do this. He is the pattern because of what he did. He took upon himself the sins of those who believe, taking the reproach against God that they represent upon himself. He patiently bore his sufferings, so that he could save his people, and he did this so that they, by grace through faith, would be transformed into his own likeness. So in what he did, bearing the sins of his people and patiently working to transform them, he shows both the ground and the pattern for us. The ground or reason for our bearing with others is that Christ did that for us. He did not leave us as we are, but died to save us and transform us. The pattern he gave us, is one of patient love that does not capitulate to sin, but seeks to transform people to be what he has called them to be. Think of how patient Christ has been with you. Think of how he has works through the preaching and teaching of the Scriptures. Think of how he has transformed you life by his grace and Spirit. Now apply that to how you deal with fellow Christians. Not in the wrong way, thinking that you can save them because only Christ can do that, but in the right way, following the patient pattern of Jesus. The other thing we find is that working for the good of others, is based firmly in what the Bible teaches us. We read, “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.” Far from trying to find ways around what the Bible teaches us about how we should live, bearing with those who are weak seeks to make them more and more aware of what the Bible has to say. It is in the Scriptures that we find the instruction and encouragement that we all need so that we can continue to live in hope. Finally, this is all done to the glory of God. First, because we cannot do it without his grace. He must be working in all of us to bring about this sort of bearing with one another. That is why this section ends with a request to God, “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.” It is God who grants this, and so the only way we can live this way correctly is to turn to him and his grace every day. That means prayer, lots and lots of prayer. Although we have to strive to live this way, the fact that is ultimately depends on God's grace means that in the end the glory goes to him. So we do this so that God will be shown as glorious in our lives in how we treat one another. Now, with all that in mind, I hope you realize that this sort of bearing with and pleasing of those who are weak, is far from easy. In fact it is far from being what the world thinks of pleasing at all. For it will at times require not mere patience, but also admonitions, corrections, and rebukes. It requires constantly calling for others and ourselves to conform ourselves more and more to the pattern God has given in his word. It means at times encouraging people, and at other times pointing out where they are going wrong. Many of these things are not pleasant, but that is what bearing with one another is all about. It is about continuing to point people to Jesus and his Word, so that they by the grace of God and the working of the Spirit might be transformed to be like Jesus. And, it is about listening to those who seek to correct you Scripturally as well. But, it is never about compromising with sin, for that will not bring glory to God. So this section ends with these words, “Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” May I be more like this; may you be more like this so God will be glorified.