Verse of the day: Romans 15:2-3 Let every one of us please his neighbor for his
good to edification. 3 For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it
is written, the reproaches of them that reproached you fell on me.
What
the Apostle Paul continues to speak of here is linked to the previous chapter
where he admonishes us to live in peace with one another, not judging each
other for our preferences. Some chose to eat meat while others did not. Some
celebrated certain holidays while others did not observe them. Those that were
weak in their faith felt that they needed to observe certain things and avoid
eating certain foods, which is not prohibited by Scripture for us as born again
believers, and was therefore their conviction and preference in their way of
living for the Lord. The Apostle clearly tells those who are stronger in their
faith to not judge the weaker brother/sister for their preferences. Instead, we
are to seek after those things that produce peace and edifies the other person
(Rm 14:19). We all have our preferences and convictions, and as long as we are
not sinning by violating the Word of God, there is no need to judge someone
because their convictions or preferences are different than our own. As a
matter of fact, the Apostle takes it a step further and encourages those of us
who are stronger in our faith to live out our convictions and preferences, by
faith, privately, between us and God, if that will help in the avoidance of
causing our weaker brothers and sisters to stumble in their faith (Rm
14:20-22). If we become stubborn in this and cause our brother/sister to
stumble, we sin against Christ, who died for the weaker brother/sister also (Rm
14:15). In today’s verses we are encouraged to put these things into practice
so that our neighbor (in this case, our fellow Christian) will be edified, and
so that the end result will be peace and unity within the body of Christ. The
Apostle also reminds us that the greatest example to follow in this is Jesus
Himself. Jesus came to carry out our Heavenly Father’s will. Jesus did not come
seeking His own will or honor, but that of the Father’s (Jn 17:5; Phil 2:1-8;
Heb 10:9). He did not come seeking His own personal wealth or comfort. Instead,
He denied Himself for the benefit of man. He did not avoid the horrific death
that He was facing, but went to the cross and fulfilled His Father’s plan to
purchase salvation for mankind (Lk 22:42). The Apostle refers to Psalm 69:9 in
respect to the reproach that Jesus endured for the wicked; those who abused the
law of God. The bottom line was that Jesus was willing to endure suffering for
the good of us all. So, we in turn must endure and put aside our own
preferences in order to allow our weaker brothers and sisters to grow in their
faith with as little stumbling as possible. We are to help and encouragement
others in their faith. We are to take up our cross daily, and put Christ’s will
in our lives first, as well as the needs of other, before our own (Lk 9:23;
Phil 2:3-4). In the end it is better to follow in the footsteps and example of
our Savior and Lord for the sake of the peace and unity He calls for amongst
His people.
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