Strong and weak. Romans 15:7-13 When people are first saved there is not a lot that they understand about the doctrine of salvation. The strong will not convince them by driving them into accepting the truth. It calls for real consideration on the part of both strong and weak. The strong can help a weak brother or sister by guiding them in the Word of God and prayer. The weak should face their need and accept the accountability that will help them to grow into the person God wants them to be.
We can let our pride keep us from giving or accepting help from others. The cost of self-denial has to be paid by both the strong and weak so that our life in Christ will be what He intends. The Lord Jesus was a minister of the Jews in His life of prayer indicating His awareness of His dependence on the Father as He persevered in the holiness of His life to please the Father and do His will. As He ministered, He accepted people for who they were. He gave value and dignity to the worth of every person and they came to trust Him. That is the template of living we are to use.
V.7. The goal of Christian fellowship is to glorify God. It is important that in spite of our personality differences and personal preferences, we strive for unity in our Lord Jesus Christ. The fact that there is diversity, enables the various gifts God gives to His people to be used for His glory, praise and service. Diversity is necessary in order to multiply the benefits and blessings God has for His people.
We have been accepted by Christ and when we accept into our fellowship of believers another person of “like precious faith,” we are able to add another note to our volume of praise and additional strength to our service for the Lord. Our Lord has brought us into a close and wonderful place of blessing. When one comes among us appreciating our Lord Jesus Christ and wanting to gather to His name alone and be obedient to His word, this can be a blessing to everyone in that fellowship.
V.8. When the Lord Jesus Christ came to earth, He came to minister to His own people the Jews, but they would not receive Him. He came full of “grace and truth,” to save His people from their sins. He came to fulfill the promises God made to His people the Jews who were His earthly people. He also came so that Gentiles would obtain the mercy of God and glorify Him. Those blessings together make a New Testament church a place there each person adds to the glory to God that unity in Christ brings. We who are Gentiles are in the number of "as many as received Him," who are made "children of God by faith in Jesus Christ." He was willing to accept us in spite of our weakness and alienation from Him. Now the strong are to accept the weak by the grace that has been shown to us.
V.9-12. These three quotations from the Old Testament looked forward to the time when the Gentiles would be included in the new covenant where there would be neither Jews or Gentiles, but the church of God, united in Christ. That has happened and the blessings of salvation by grace alone through faith is world-wide today. The quotations are from the law through Moses, the prophets through Isaiah and the Psalms through David. These ancient men of God demonstrated in words that God purposed to bless the Gentiles through the people of Israel.
The “Root of Jesse,” is a specific title of the Lord Jesus Christ whose human descent was from David the son of Jesse. Our Lord Jesus is the Messiah who was promised to Israel, born as the “Root and Offspring of David,” as our Lord said of Himself in Revelation 22:16. He is both the Origin and Offspring because He gave David life as God, and is the son of David as a man.
V.13. This prayer that concludes Paul’s exhortations that bring unity among believers, is short and specific. The foundation on which our hope as believers is built, is God Himself. The joy of eternal life and the peace that is the result of unity, comes through the power of the Holy Spirit working among us when He is neither quenched or grieved. To “abound in hope,” indicates that when we have a large view and understanding of salvation, our expectations are fulfilled by the Spirit of God sealing the promises of God in our hearts.
The sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ brought Gentiles as well as Jews into the blessings of the new covenant of grace. Unity of Christians is based on Christ Himself who has removed all barriers between differing cultures and people. When we read the word of God and act upon its truths, we realize believers are “one in Christ, one body in the Lord.” This unity happens when we take people where they are in Christ, even though their backgrounds are different.
We are not controlled by the opinions of those who are weak, nor are we allowed to overlook the needs of the weak. Those who are strong in Christ and in God’s word, may have to limit their liberty sometimes to maintain the overriding blessings of unity which brings glory to God. We are all at different stages of growth and ability in our Christian lives, but are to be united as one in Christ without partiality. Our intercession for each other levels the ground to where all stand together before our Lord Jesus Christ and praise Him for His mercy and grace to us all.
The Gentiles now have the Almighty God ministering for us in our weakness and need. Gentiles have been brought under His divine mercy and hope in the Lord Jesus Christ without the connection with the Jews. Now all of us apart from our background or personal strength can trust that the treasures of God's grace will be unfolding before us forever. God gives us the blessing of joy; He fills us with peace; He gave us the Holy Spirit who empowers us to claim these blessings in Christ. He imparts the ability to believe on Him who He sent. The facts that God reveals about us, enables us to live the Christian life with real trust. As believers, hope is a normal state for all of us, because God is the God of hope. He fills us with joy and peace when we genuinely believe in Him. Believing in the heart involves a true surrender of the will.
Romans 15:14. “And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.”