Chapter 15
Verses 1-13
The first seven verses sum up in a few and weighty words the instruction we have had in the fourteenth chapter regarding the “strong” and the “weak.” May we ponder them deeply!
“But we ought, we that are strong, to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves” (Rom. 15:1 JND). How apt the Word of God is! The “strong,” more intelligent in the truth of God, are not because of that to look down upon the “weak;” indeed they ought to bear (carry) their infirmities, and not to please themselves. This would be to enter into the feelings of the weak, the very opposite of despising, or making little of them. In Galatians 6:2, there is a somewhat parallel passage:
“Bear ye one another’s burdens (weights), and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
There it is not a question of “strong” and “weak” brothers, but of Christians walking together in brotherly love. How deep must be the interest of our God in His people, since He has given us to know full well what will please Him in our ways. And remember, dear young Christian, that you have not only His written Word for your guidance, but a new and divine nature is yours; and the Holy Spirit indwelling you is the power whereby God may be glorified in your life.
“Let every one of us please his neighbor with a view to what is good, to edification” (Rom. 15:2 JND).
There is no room for selfishness here, is there? But perhaps you are saying,
“And, who is my neighbor?”
The answer is very simple; it is found in the meaning of the Greek word here, and in the New Testament generally translated “neighbor.” The word means “one that is near” and as the Apostle is in these scriptures writing about believers, it is clear that the “neighbor” here, is any Christian with whom one may come in contact.
The third verse brings us to the Pattern and Example, our blessed Lord. It is most interesting to trace in the epistles the references to Himself where Christian conduct is the theme; for examples, turn to Ephesians 5:2; Philippians 2:5; Colossians 3:13; 1 Peter 2:21. Is there anything that could operate with equal power on your heart in view of the first two verses of our chapter, as that Christ did not please Himself as He passed through the world? Never did He seek His own comfort; always the good of others.
The quotation in the third verse is from the 69th Psalm, written by David for his Lord when He should be crucified, to express that which He felt in view of His entire rejection by His earthly people, the Jews.
The fourth verse, like 1 Corinthians 10:11; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Luke 24:25-27, and other passages, bids us to not neglect the Old Testament, from which, in the light of the New, we can learn much.
“Whatsoever things were written afore-time were written for our learning” (instruction), it is plain, means, that the whole of the Old Testament is intended of God for the prayerful study of His children, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
“That we, through patience (really, endurance) and comfort (or more exactly, encouragement) of the scriptures might have hope.”
Here we pass beyond the limits of the Old Testament to take in the New Testament also, for “the scriptures” includes both.
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable...that the man of God may be perfect...”
So reads 2 Timothy 3:16-17, but in our chapter in Romans, it is that we shall endure and be encouraged through the reading of and meditation upon the Scriptures to the end that the Christian hope may be a known reality in our souls.
O, how important it is that young Christians shall know the Word of God! Do not neglect its daily reading, with earnest prayer for the blessing of it to your soul.
In the 5th verse God Himself is made known as the source of endurance and encouragement: He knows the needs of His children, and is ever ready to supply them. With His help the “weak” and “strong” will be like-minded one toward another, according to Christ Jesus; thus with one accord, with one mouth, to glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
“Wherefore,” in verse 7 is it said, “receive ye one another, according as the Christ has received you to the glory of God.”
He has received the strong as well as the weak, to share in the glory of God, and I should receive my weak brother as I myself have been received.
It will be seen that the whole subject we have been examining in chapters 14 and 15, relates to those who are sound in the faith. All cannot be received either to the Lord’s Table or into believers’ homes, for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ cannot be linked with what is contrary to Him, the Holy and the True (1 Cor. 5); nor should His saints tamper with evil (2 John 6-11). Other scriptures throw further light on the subject of receiving persons to the Lord’s Table.
Romans 15:8-12 sums up what we have been looking at in chapters 9, 10, 11, and more widely, with regard to God’s dealings with the Jew and the Gentile, His Son having come into the world.
“For I say that Jesus Christ became a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises of the fathers; and that the nations should glorify God for mercy...” (Romans 15:8-9 JND). To the Jews, or to their forefathers, God had made promises; they will be accomplished to the full. To the Gentiles He had made none; mercy was for them. The quotations of Romans 15:9-12 are taken from Psalms 18:49; Deuteronomy 32:43; Psalms 117:1; Isaiah 11:10.
In Romans 15:13 the closing clause of the 12th verse, “in Him shall the Gentiles trust” (or hope) is applied to the believers at Rome -
God being seen as the source of their hope, as in the fifth verse, He is revealed as the source of the believer’s endurance and comfort or encouragement.
“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost.”
Joy and peace in believing, and abounding in hope; these are among the Christian’s gifts from God; have you proved their reality? Joy, peace, hope; these are what the world seeks, but how often the joy runs out, and the peace is broken, and hope dies, because founded upon something here below!
It has been truly said that if the Christian had only his life down here, his situation would still be far better than that of the unbelieving, Christ-refusing man or woman, because he has an inward spring of joy and peace, and hope, founded on the solid rock of the Word of God. But the Christian looks on with desire, with longing, into the unmeasurable ages, of an eternity to be spent with his Saviour and Lord, in the assurance, given him in that Word of God, that fullness of joy and peace will only be his—blest though his present portion is—when in heavenly body, and in heavenly scenes, he will be in the company of the Man who died for him. The Holy Spirit gives the believer power to enter into and abide in these present and eternal blessings.
(To be continued, D. V.)