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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.
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