Paul, in Romans 15, instructed us to please others rather than ourselves. This daily devotional looks at what he meant by this and how Jesus was our example in doing this.
Nuggets
- The strong disciple is not to please themselves.
- We are to teach others about God’s love for us.
- We are to imitate Jesus as He submitted to God rather than pleased Himself.
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Devotions in the Transformed to Perfection series
Paul wasn’t finished yet talking about strong disciples helping weaker disciples. He continued his instructions into Romans 15. Let’s take a look.
Let's Put It into Context #1
Here is a running list of what we’ve discussed previously.
Do We Please Ourselves?
“Now we who are strong have an obligation to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and not to please ourselves” (Rom. 15: 1 CSB)
The strong disciple is not to please themselves.
God created us to be sociable. Satan wants to tear us apart.
Satan is doing a bang-up job.
But God wants more than us having one big party down here. Thomas wrote, “This would be a poor world if we were not to lend a helping hand one to another; the strong man is to bear the infirmities of the weak.”
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Remember, Paul wrote a letter. It didn’t have chapters or verses. This discussion about strong/weak disciples would have flowed out of the previous discussion.
The message didn’t change. The strong need to help the weak by being a good example to them. Don’t just bite on them. Show them better. Help them to be better.
Paul told us we have to make a conscious decision to give up what pleases us and please others.
Lyth gave us a really good list of how we please ourselves. We set great store in our views, plans, and words — basically everything we do.
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How does this shake out? We tear others down as we build ourselves up.
That is not what God wants. He wants us to build others up.
Raleigh brought up a great point here. Paul was only talking to the strong.
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Paul didn’t say a word to the weak. He didn’t say sign up for strength training. He didn’t call them second-class citizens.
Newton felt this pleasing ourselves is caused by selfishness. He noted, “When we commit sin in most other ways we only break one of God’s commandments at a time. But when we give way to selfishness we break six of God’s commandments all at once.”
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What? You don’t believe that?
Think about it. What does the second greatest commandment say? A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Mt. 22: 39 NLT).
But look at the next verse. “The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments” (Mt. 22: 40 NLT).
If we don’t love our neighbors, we haven’t met the foundation of entire law and all the demands of the prophets. It is that important.
Others above self. That’s the ticket.
How Do We Please Others?
“Each one of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to build him up” (Rom. 15: 2 CSB)
We are to teach others about God’s love for us.
Every Tom. Every Sally. Every Elaine. No one is exempt from pleasing the neighbor.
Wesley reminded that neighbor meant everyone else. No one is exempt here, either.
Thomas brought up how diverse we are. These days the emphasis is on race and ethnicity. Thomas talked about “… character, appearance, and position.”
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No one is given a pass.
But remember, we are not talking rich/poor. We are talking strong/weak in the faith.
This isn’t a mutual pleasing fest, either. The strong are commanded to build up the weak here — teach the one who is weaker in the faith.
Think back to what we we talked about in Chapter 14.
- Lead with love
- Don’t judge
Here, we are adding tolerate another disciple’s weaknesses, encourage them, and seek their strengths.
Brewster cautioned us that pleasing our neighbor for his good is not supposed to be the grounds for our behavior. Our goal is to please God.
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Who Did Jesus Please?
“For even Christ did not please himself. On the contrary, as it is written, The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me” (Rom. 15: 3 CSB)
We are to imitate Jesus as He submitted to God rather than pleased Himself.
Sorry. I have to say it.
Hodge summed up Christianity. He wrote, “The sum of Christian wisdom is to be Christlike.”
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How was Christ? Jesus submitted to God. “When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all” (I Cor. 15: 28 NIV).
Hodge noted we want to avoid giving pain. Instead, we want to help heal what we can.
In case you are wondering, the Scripture quote is from Psalm 69: 9.
Making the Connections
Brewster reminded us what the goal of the gospel is. He wrote, “The great aim of the gospel is to raise our views and desires above this life, and furnish us with pure and powerful principles in the direction of our words and actions, far above the will of fallen man. But while it invites us to lay up our treasure in heaven, it instructs us in everything that may best contribute to bless the life of man on earth.”
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This life is secondary. God and our spiritual condition and life are primarily. So, when we say we are to please our neighbor, that doesn’t mean we are letting them remain in sin.
We are teaching them to live for God. If we are trying to redo for godliness, we need to redo our character. Burn’s list is a good list.
- Jesus as the foundation
- Faith, hope, love, and commitment as sound materials
- Grace and utility in the structure
- Perfection at the finish
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How Do We Apply This?
- We can give advice when appropriate.
- We can share financial resources when needed.
- We should always be encouraging.
- We should help others when needed.
- We need to build up our love.
- We need to increase in God’s wisdom.
- We should become more unselfish.
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In a way, this passage is just more of the same. It is talking unity and God’s superiority. That is something we need to hear many times, so we can praise Him.
Father God. You are Sovereign God. You call us to be unified. You call the strong to minister to the weak. Help us to lovingly teach them Your ways. Help the weak to grow closer to You. Amen.
What do you think?
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