So that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God...

Romans 15:1-22 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Self-denial on Behalf of Others

15 Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. ² Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. ³ For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.” ⁴ For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. ⁵ Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, ⁶ so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷ Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God. ⁸ For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers, ⁹ and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written,

“Therefore I will give praise to You among the Gentiles,
And I will sing to Your name.”

¹⁰ Again he says,  “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.”

¹¹ And again, “Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, And let all the peoples praise Him.”

¹² Again Isaiah says, “There shall come the root of Jesse, And He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, In Him shall the Gentiles hope.”

¹³ Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

¹⁴ And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another. ¹⁵ But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me from God, ¹⁶ to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁷ Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found reason for boasting in things pertaining to God. ¹⁸ For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, ¹⁹ in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. ²⁰ And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another man’s foundation; ²¹ but as it is written,  “They who had no news of Him shall see,
And they who have not heard shall understand.”

²² For this reason I have often been prevented from coming to you;

Paul begins this portion of scripture saying: “Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. ² Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification “ Again it is important that we remember that Paul is writing to believers. They may have been believers who were of different levels of maturity in their faith, many being very recent converts, but they were believers. So what Paul writes is intended for instruction in faith not to evangelize. When Paul says we ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, he is talking about those who are stronger, more mature in faith bearing up those who are weaker in faith. This is not about tolerating, accepting or supporting unbelievers in their sin. Paul ends the paragraph with:

⁵ Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, ⁶ so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

What Paul is writing about is the importance of believers, followers of Christ being unified around Christ, regardless of their religious heritage or traditions. From the Jewish perspective, you were either Jew or Gentile, so Paul uses that distinction or identification as he writes of the equality and unity of believers.

In our culture, we have many ways that we identify ourselves as Christians. One of the first distinctions was or is Catholic or Protestant. We continue to farther divide ourselves, Orthodox, Fundamental, Evangelical, Pentecostal, Charismatic etc. We then farther divide on denominational lines. Even within the denominations themselves there is farther division and separation around small points of tradition, procedure and doctrine.

Paul believed, and rightly so that followers of Christ should be unified in Christ, not divided by background or tradition. He writes:  ⁷ Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God. ⁸ For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers, ⁹ and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy.

In 1 Corinthians 1:10-13   Paul also addressed the divisions among believers.     Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. ¹¹ For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. ¹² Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” ¹³ Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

I have personally heard people say they would prefer to be identified by their denomination, than to be identified as Christian. It is true that the name  Christian has  a negative view in the eyes of many, due to the failure of individuals and the church. But it is not Christ who has failed and in the end it is only Christ who can save, not our individual works, traditions or doctrines. Jesus says:    And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself."(John 12:32)  

One of the unfortunate developments in the church that is born out of this division is the tendency to build and promote the individual faith ideology, denomination or individual church rather than building the kingdom of God. This has led to a major focus of much of the church being on membership and church growth as opposed to fulfilling the call and commission of Christ to go into all the world. In today’s text Paul says:

²⁰ And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another man’s foundation; ²¹ but as it is written, “They who had no news of Him shall see, And they who have not heard shall understand.”

Within the body of Christ, His church, we need to become unified around the truth of the gospel. Being like Paul who says:  ¹⁷ Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found reason for boasting in things pertaining to God. ¹⁸ For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me.   In 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, Paul says:

when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. ² For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. ³ I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, ⁴ and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, ⁵ so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

Our message to the world must be based on more than our programs for growth. It must be based on more that good music and an enjoyable, friendly atmosphere. Our message must be more than something to captivate and intrigue. Our message to the world must be more than just our acts of service. If it is to have any eternal influence our message to the world must be, Jesus Christ, and Him crucified, and our message, our preaching, all that we do in the name of Christ, must not be in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, ⁵ so that your(their) faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

The power of God confirms the message we speak. The power of God confirms our acts of love and service. We need to love and serve. We need to preach and share the gospel. We need to lift up the Lord Jesus Christ. But most of all what the world needs to see from the church in our day is,  a  demonstration of the Spirit and of power,  so that their faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, help me to remain focused and steadfast on the things that You have called me to. Help me to remain unified with my brothers and sisters, my fellow believers, Your church. May my testimony and my witness not be the things that I have done, but rather the things that You have done for me and through me. Fill me, empower me, that my message, my testimony, my very life might be:  a demonstration of the Spirit and of power,  so that their faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.  Amen