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Romans 15:1-6
The Apostle Paul begins his benediction of the letter to the Church at Rome in chapter 15. He sums up his “gospel” as many have referred to his letter to the Church at Rome with reminders of what he has been teaching us throughout this letter. He reminds us in Romans 15:1 to look out for the needs of one another in the Church and to do so in a truly caring manner, not as to be condescending. In Romans 15:2-3 he reminds us to put our neighbor before ourselves as is the mind of Christ Jesus in which we are to be representing in our Christianity. Jesus is our great example to follow as He exhibits the greatest love of all as He died for us that we may be set free from sin and eternal death through His sacrifice for us all. Paul quotes Psalm 69:9 to support Christ’s sacrifice for us, and then explains that the Scriptures are to be for our learning and guidance. In Romans 15:5-6 Paul encourages through the patience and comforting of God that those of the Church at Rome would pull together and glorify God, “with one mind and one mouth” (Romans 15:6).
This is a command to love and support one another as Christ Jesus loves and supports us all.
This is a promise that the Scriptures are for our guidance and learning.
This is an example of the love that God has for each of us that we too should reflect to others – in Christ Jesus.
We, as Christians, and what I mean as Christians are those who have opened their hearts to Jesus and confessed our sins to Him. That we have asked of His forgiveness for our sins and repented of sin, meaning that we have experienced a change of direction in our lives from living in the sinful nature to living a new life in our salvation in Christ Jesus. That we have asked with a sincere heart and attitude to God for the saving gift that He offers us through the death of His one and only Son Jesus who died on the cross to pay for our sins. That we now strive to live according to pleasing Him. That we, as Christians, are putting into action our faith in Jesus to truly be the body of Christ Jesus today – that we are striving to live through our faith in Him as He teaches us and guides us through His Holy Spirit. We, as Christians, are to live as the Apostle Paul teaches us in his letter to the Romans, to be reflections of Christ Jesus to all those around us, and especially to our brothers and sisters in Christ in support of one another in building each other up in our faith in Christ Jesus. To do this we must rely on our faith in Jesus to help us each day to shun the fiery darts of Satan that we may truly stand tall – in Christ.
Dear LORD,
It is tough for us to truly be the people that You would have us to be as Satan continually throws his fiery darts at us. Sometimes, it seems it is all we can do to keep our faith in You, let alone being an example for others. But that is when You make us the strongest as we learn that through our weaknesses You will carry us through as we keep our focus and faith on Jesus. Please help us to overcome our personal issues with one another and have a heart and mind that is reflective of Jesus in loving You first, and loving our neighbor as ourselves as Jesus teaches us in Matthew 22:37-40 as this ties the Law and the Prophets together – in Christ. In Jesus name I pray, amen.