Sermon 1/25/04 am

Jim Huskey, Sundry Lessons From Romans 15

We coming near the end of our series of lessons from the book of

Romans. Today we're looking at the fifteenth chapter. As we noted

as we began our study and as we got to chapter 12, the first eleven

chapters have to do primarily with doctrinal matters. Chapter 12 on

through the end of the book has a lot to do with everyday christian

living. We noticed that in particularly chapters 12, 13, 14.

Paul began chapter 15 this way, "We then that are strong ought to bear

the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every

one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. For even

Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of

them that reproached thee fell on me." Rom. 15:1-3.

There are a lot of folks in the world, and quite a few of them in the

Church, that take a philosoophy that says 'it ain't nobody's business

what I do.' Well, there is a major flaw in that reasoning. No man

lives to himself and no man dies to himself. We don't live in a

vacuum, we're not isolated from the world. We into contact daily with

multitudes of people, whether we realize it or not. Therefore, Paul

said we have a responsibility to those folks. Of course, I realize in

verse 1 of chapter 15 he is looking primarily at relationships within

the Church. Those that are strong, he said, ought to bear the

infirmities of the weak. We talked a little in chapter 14 about that

same principle, that we must take into consideration the other fellow.

Some folks' vocabulary as far as their actions and attitudes are

concerned are very limited to "I", "ME", "MY". Paul said, however,

that we've got to bear the infirmities of the weak, that is, the STRONG

have to do that. I guess the weak won't do that. But the strong do

that. James, remember, wrote in James 3:1 "My brethren, be not many

teachers, knowing that we have shall receive the greater condemnation."

The King James version says "masters", the American Standard version

says "teachers". There is a responsibility that goes with opportunity

and knowledge and maturity. That responsibility involves other people.

In particuar, here, he made reference to the fact that it involves

those who are weak.

Then Paul pointed out that our main goal in life is NOT to please

ourselves. A lot of folks haven't learned that, either. It's 'what

"I" want, what "I" like, what "I" don't want and what "I" don't like.'

The mature individual, however, particular the mature christian, gets

outside himself/herself and takes into consideration the needs of other

people.

There's a broad theme in Romans 15, so if I gave a title to this

lesson today I guess it would be Sundry Lessons From Romans 15. But

this is where Paul began and he came back to it that in verse 7 we are

to receive one another as Christ also received us. "Wherefore receive

one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God." There

should not be the barriers in the Church that may be found in the world.

We've mentioned several times that the ground is level at the foot of

the cross. We're all on equal footing there.

There's another interesting lesson. I'll probably spend a little more

time on this because there is so much misunderstanding about it. In

verse 4 Paul said, "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were

written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the

scriptures might have hope." The things that were written aforetime

were the Old Testament scriptures. Because of the fact that we do not

believe we live under the Old Testament today, there are a lot of folks

who say 'Well, you just don't believe the Old Testament.' Well, no,

much to the contrary. We believe it to the very fullest and what's more

important, I believe, we understand something of the purpose for which

it was given and that it was never given to be a permanent law. There

are so many passages that point that out. In particular, Jeremiah 31

is one of the interesting ones, and one of the reasons I chose that one

is because the Bible is its own best interpreter. The apostle Paul,

in the Hebrew letter, quoted directly from Jeremiah 31 when he talked

about the fact that the old law, the old covenant, with all its

trappings was taken out of the way, was done away, was nailed to the

cross. What Jeremiah said was this, "Behold, the days come, saith the

Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and

with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with

their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out

of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an

husband unto them, saith the Lord; but this shall be the covenant that

I will make with the house of Israel; after those days, saith the Lord,

I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts;

and will be their God, and they shall be my people." Jer. 31:31-33.

In Hebrews chaptes 7, 8, 9, the author there went into great depth to

show that there was a new priesthood, and a new priesthood made

necessary a new covenant, then he pointed out that, "In that he saith,

A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and

waxeth old is ready to vanish away." Heb. 8:13. The passage from which

he quoted as he began that discussion is Jeremiah 31 beginning about

verse 31, which is the one I was just quoting. The Old Testament was

given for a temporary law, particularly the law of Moses. Now the

apostle Paul, in the book of Galatians, gave us just a little bit of

insight of that in chapter 3. Verse 23 reads, "But before faith came,

we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should

afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring

us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that

faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster." What did you

say? The law was our schoolmaster to get us to Christ, but once faith,

that system that was revealed, was come, we are no longer under the

schoolmaster. I don't suppose our understanding of that principle is

helped by the usage of the term "schoolmaster". We would think of a

schoolmaster as a principle or superintendent, because that's the was

we use that concept. That was not the case in the Old Testament.

Remember, a lot of the kids in that day and time, when they went to

school, they literally WENT TO SCHOOL. They didn't come home every

afternoon. They stayed until the end of the quarter, etc., or whatever

system they used then, until that course was finished, then they were

brought home. The schoolmaster was the person who took them from home

and delivered them to the teacher. That's a little different concept

than we think of when we talk about a schoolmaster in our language,

but that's what the original term meant. We would compare him to the

bus driver I guess, who picks the child up in front of the house and

carries him to the school. He's responsible for getting him from the

point where he is to the point where he needs to be. Well, now that's

what Paul said the law was. It was responsible for getting man from

the point where he was to the point where he needed to be. Where did

he need to be? Christ !!!! Well, the law was designed to bring man

to that point. Remember Jesus himself, while he was here upon the

earth, would say, 'All that's written in the law, the paslms and the

prophets conerning me must be fulfilled.' It was, before his death.

Remember his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane? 'I have finished

the work Thou gavest me to do.' So it was done. But again, if one

believes the Old Testament and the things that are stated therein,

then he has to understand that it as never designed to be permanent.

Remember what Moses, the giver of the law, said? "I will raise them

up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put

my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall

command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not

hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require

it of him." Deut. 18:18,29. So Moses realized there would come someone

after him and the responsibility of the people would be to hear him

and no longer Moses. I don't know anywhere that's better illustrated

than in the transfiguration. Do you remember when Jesus took Peter,

James and John up into a mountain apart from the others and was

transfigured before? In Matthew 17, verse 1 beginning, we read,

"And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James and John his brother,

and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, and was transfigured

before hem; and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was

white as the light. And behold, there appeared unto them Moses and

Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus,

Lord, it is good for us to be here; if thou wilt, let us make here

three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

(Now he put Jesus first in that group.) While he yet spake, behold a

bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold a voice out of the cloud,

which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear

ye him." Matt. 17:1-5. Well now wasn't the work of Moses and Elias

important? Yes, it was, absolutely!!!! Wasn't what they said true?

Absolutely!!!!! Well why would Peter be out of order then in saying

'Let's honor all three, let's built a tabernacle to each one of them'?

Because God said "..This is my beloved son,....hear ye him." In

other words, there was a time when they were to hear Moses, there was

a time when they were to hear Elias, but that time "ain't no more."

Now they were to him God's Son. "....hear ye him."

So Paul said, "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were

written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the

scriptures might have hope." What do you mean by that, Paul? Well,

did you ever hear of those three boys in the Old Testament by the name

of Hananiah, Azariah and Mishael? Now we don't know them so well as

Hananiah, Azariah and Mishael. We know them better as Shadrach,

Meshach and Abednego. Where is that story recorded? In the Old

Testament. It was written aforetime (book of Daniel). Well, how

can we draw comfort from that? Well, let's look at the story. What

happened? The king declared, through the encouragement of some of

his underlings who were jealous, that everyone would have to bow down

and worship him and his image that had been made of him, so in other

words they were worshipping the king, but they were to bow down to

his idol. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego understood that God said

don't make any graven images, don't have any other gods and don't

serve them and don't bow down to them. So Shadrach, Meshach and

Abednego said 'We don't do it.' But the law said they were going into

the fiery furnace if they didn't. 'Well, we'll go to the fiery

furnace.' You're going to burn up. 'No, we aren't. We believe God

will take of us, but even if he doesn't, he still said don't worship

the idol, so we aren't going to worship it.' And they didn't. These

kids can tell you what happened. Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego were

thrown into the fiery furnace, but did you notice they weren't the

ones who got singed. Remember what happened to those who threw them

in? Do you know what else happened? They didn't get burned at all.

Know what else happened? When the king looked in the furnace he said

'I thought I put three men in there; I see a fourth one and he looks

like the Son of God.' Well, what do you learn from that? Well, we

learn for one thing the awesome power of God, that he can do the

things he's promised to do. We learn for another thing that there are

blessings that come from doing what God has said do. Well, that's

what Paul said, wasn't it, that we through patience and comfort of the

scriptures might have hope. That's why he said they were there.

Oh, you remember the promise God made to Abraham concerning his seed

and the land he would give him? Abraham was wandering as a stranger

in that land when the promise was made. It would be 430 or more

years before they would actually come into the land of promise, the

offspring, his seed, and inherit the land. Not the hordes of Egypt,

nor the Ammonites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, etc. who dwelt in the

land - nothing could prevent God's bringing them into the land and

fulfilling the promise he had made to Abraham. Well, isn't that what

Paul said in Romans 15:4, "...that we through patience and comfort of

the scriptures might have hope." That's the reason they are there.

That's the reason they are valuable. They served their purpose to

get man up to the point of Christ, but they're still important, they're

still valuable. Why? Because they give us hope. When we read the

lessons that are there, when we see those principles illustrated, Paul

said we have hope.

Then there is a third interesting note in this 15th chapter. Paul,

himself, was the minister of Christ, verse 16 beginning, to the Gentiles.

"That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles,

ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles

might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. I have therefore

whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to

God. For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ

hath not wrought by me to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed,

through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God

so that from Jerusalem, and rond about unto Illyricum, I have fully

preached the gospel of Christ. Yea, so have I strived to preach the

gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another

man's foundation. But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of,

they shall see; and they that have not heard shall understand."

Rom. 15:16-21. I don't know if you realize the impact of that statement

where Paul said he had preached the gospel from Jerusalem to Illyricum,

but some day get you a map of the Old Testament world that shows the

journeys of Paul and start way down here in Judaea at Jerusalem, on

up through Syria, Cilicia, Cappadocia, Pontus, Galatia, over into Asia,

on up into Thracia, over into Macedonia, into Achaia, up to Illyricum,

just across the sea from Italy. At the time Paul wrote this, he still

had not been to Rome, all way up through all this area, all way

around, all way up here on the map. He did it when means of travel

were crude, you either walked, rode a camel or donkey, or pulled in

a chariot of some sort or in a boat powered by sails. So much of the

time would be spent in travelling, yet Paul said he had preached the

gospel from Jerusalem to Illyricum. It's well said that Paul probably

did more for the cause of Christ than any other being save Jesus,

himself, as he strove to spread the message. Why? because he was

convinced that man was lost without it. So, as he would later write,

he became all things to all men that he might by all means save some.

Those are some sundry lessons from the fifteenth chapter of the book

of Romans. Tonight we'll try to tie up our study as we look at some

things said at the end of the sixteenth chapter and mention a few

folks named in the early part of the chapter, and see how Paul brought

it all neatly together himself, going all way back to the very first

chapter, about the third verse and coming right back to it as he

concludes, saying 'this is why I did this.'