Now we who are strong have an obligation to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and not to please ourselves. Each one of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself.
Romans 15:1-3
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For I have endured insults because of you, and shame has covered my face. I have become a stranger to my brothers and a foreigner to my mother’s sons because zeal for your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me. I mourned and fasted, but it brought me insults. I wore sackcloth as my clothing, and I was a joke to them. Those who sit at the city gate talk about me, and drunkards make up songs about me.
Psalm 69:7-12
For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures. Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, according to Christ Jesus, so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one mind and one voice. Therefore welcome one another, just as Christ also welcomed you, to the glory of God. For I say that Christ became a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises to the fathers, and so that Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and I will sing praise to your name. Again it says, Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people! And again, Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; let all the peoples praise him! And again, Isaiah says, The root of Jesse will appear, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; the Gentiles will hope in him. Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:4-13
Give an example (i.e. Noel’s story about a runner who stopped to help another runner who falls down) of an event where everyone watching is in agreement that a particular action of kindness was the “right thing to do.” How do moments like these affect your heart? What do moments like these tell us about the nature and character of God?
Read Romans 15:1. What does it mean to be “obligated”? Why is it difficult to fulfill Paul’s exhortation that we are “obligated” to “bear the weaknesses of those without strength”?
Describe a situation where your desire to please yourself was at odds with your willingness to build up your neighbor? How does the example of Jesus (Paul says, “even Christ did not please Himself”) provide you with the motivation to push past selfish desires?
Why does it take “endurance and encouragement” to live in harmony with one another? How does this unity bring glory to God?
What are some specific action steps you can consider this week? Who needs to be built up? Encouraged? Welcomed? How can you best prepare your heart and mind to follow the example of Jesus by living sacrificially for the good of others?
