As you're finding a seat, I invite you to take your copies of God's Word to open up with me to Paul's letter to the Romans in chapter 15. We're going to be in verses 5 through 7. Romans 15, verses 5 through 7. Our sermon is entitled, Glorifying God Together. Glorifying God Together as we continue to walk verse-by-verse through Paul's epistle to the Romans in our sermon series, God's Righteousness Revealed. Come to chapter 15. We're in verses 5 through verse 7. The text reads, May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you for the glory of God. This is the Word of God. Let us hear it and heed it. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of the Lord stands forever. A couple of weeks ago, as many of you know, I had the opportunity to travel to the country of Colombia, and we had two main purposes for that week together. One, I was working with my good friend Alvaro Rivera, and he pastors a church there in Bogota called what translates into Truth and Grace Christian Church, which is an evangelical reformed Baptist church. they have a mission up in the northern part of Colombia with an indigenous tribe called the Wayu. And so for three days, we went up there and were leading a pastor's training seminar. The whole week was filled with three hours each afternoon, and I was Tuesday through Thursday, so I taught nine classes on on the Bible, on who God is, what salvation is. And the second main emphasis is to come back and then travel with Pastor Alvaro's church to a camp to have a retreat for their own church service. And so there were about a hundred of them and we went to an old YMCA camp, very nice, up in the mountains around Bogota and had just a family retreat, church retreat with them. And I was able to teach four times for their their group. And one of the things that I taught on, they asked me to teach on, was what is the church? What is the church? And so we talked about not just defining and giving the definition of the Greek words behind church and those sorts of things, but also looking at some of the pictures, some of the metaphors that the Bible presents to us about what the church is. And there are many of them. But it takes everyday ordinary things and concepts that we can grasp, that we can understand, in order to round out the whole understanding of what it means to be a church. So we talk, for instance, about the church as the flock of God. That the people are God's sheep, the sheep of His pasture. In all of these imageries, we talked about the fact that not only is the church a flot, or God's flot, but the church is God's temple. That he has, there were different iterations of the temple, whether it be from the garden or the tabernacle to the actual formal temple under Solomon being built to now the people, we have Christ himself as the temple for a little, he tabernacled among us for a little while. And so now we see that the church itself are like living stones being built together into a holy temple of God that we are God's temple in the spirit dwells among us as his. And then we see that the church as a family, of course, even the bride of Christ, where you look at this, that we are brothers and sisters not bound by blood, but bound by the spirit of our God, communing one with another. That as a family, Christ is our elder brother, that we're adopted as sons of God, heirs of God. And then, of course, the main imagery, of course, is that the church is a body, isn't it? Where we have different functions, there are different parts, different members of our body, but we're unified, we're together. There's an organic unity to a body and not everyone It's not it's not a bunch of eyes put together and not a bunch of mouths and there's each person has its own the gifting its own function its own design to in order for the whole body to work and to function as it should and every every body part is important and so in those imagery in that imagery in those metaphors and There are two emphases in all of them. First, we see this new relationship with our Savior in each one. That as the flock of God, Christ himself is the good shepherd, the chief shepherd, the great shepherd of the sheep. The shepherd who becomes a lamb and lays down his life for us. that we see in the temple, that Christ Himself is the foundation and the cornerstone, even, on which the whole temple is built. In the family, Christ is the elder brother, Christ is the husband. In the body, Christ is the head. And so, our relationship to our Savior. But also in all of this imagery, as the church, we see our relationship one to another, to other believers, don't we? That as the flock of God, we're each We're each sheep under this shepherd, part of this one flock. We're living stones in the temple being fit together to build a holy house. We're not scattered stones laying on the ground, but we're being fit together with the spirit almost as it were, the masonry, the molding in between us. the cement holding us together. In the family, we're sons and siblings of one another. That in the body, there's a unity that's there. And so the point is clear as we look at this, that he is talking now to the church, Paul is, Enrollment 50 and talking about the unity that's needed, the harmony. of the church, the importance that we live and act in this unified harmony, one with another. And if we look at verses five and six specifically, then I want you to notice that it comes to us in the form of a prayer wish, as it were. It's both a prayer where Paul is asking God to do this among the church, but it's also a prayer where he is speaking to the church and exhorting the church as well to live in this unity. He's praying that God would do this, but also encouraging, exhorting the church to live in this way. that this is what he's praying for. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony. Do you hear how he's asking God to do this? But also he's saying you need to live in harmony with one another. He's also exhorting you. And we do that sometimes, especially as preachers. We pray and we're talking to God, but we're also hoping that the church is listening. to our prayers and what we're trying to say as well. So Paul is arguing, he has been throughout the last few chapters, Paul is arguing passionately about the kind of love and unity that the church needs to show, the sincere sort of love. But as he argues passionately, he also prays earnestly for the people of God. And so as we look at this passage, I want to, I think overwhelmingly, the emphasis here is Christian harmony, Christian unity. one with another. And the first thing I want you to notice then as we talk about this Christian harmony or Christian unity, and I'm going to highlight seven things quickly. Seven is the perfect number, right? So seven things from this passage. I want to first highlight the nature of this Christian unity. that it is this Christian harmony that you live in such harmony with one another, that it's in accord, that together you may, with one voice, that you welcome one another. There is a unity, there is a togetherness, there is a oneness, there are one another's in this passage. It's an accord, it's a concord, there's mutuality, partnership, fellowship, what we call koinonia, as you know, this this partnership there. And I want you to see that this Christian harmony or this Christian unity that's being talked about in this passage is not merely organizational unity. It's not the church is not is not unified because it is a part of a unified organization, as it were, where there are structures and governing bodies. Church history proves that that doesn't work. We can't resort to some kind of lowest common denominator ecumenicalism, where we don't really believe anything, but we have this structure of worldwide churches under a certain governing body. the solution is therefore not to dissolve all sorts of denominational distinctions or anything like that. It's not organizational. But neither are we talking about this togetherness or this with one mouthpiece, with one voice speaking, that it's mere conformity to one another. This is more of a unity and a harmony in our attitude towards one another, in our affection for one another, than merely in our sentiment, merely in some sort of sentimentality where our thoughts are all the same necessarily. He's been talking about how there are disputable matters in chapter 14 how there are some stronger brothers and some weaker brothers that have differences of opinion on different matters of what to eat and what days to celebrate and different things like that. And so this is not some sort of, when it talks about this harmony, it's not unanimity of opinion. but a harmony of feeling and affection. There are, as we said, among the body of Christ, diverse gifts, different functions. There are among us distinct levels of sanctification. We're all at different stages down the road and the pathway to holiness, as we might find out. We've been saved out of different backgrounds even. We have different levels or depth of understanding of the Bible. But we are to be patient and encouraging and harmonious and love one another despite the different levels of sanctification, despite the different levels of understanding that we might have among one another. Great preacher Donald Gray Barnhouse said, we're called to be a family, but we're not called to be identical twins. And so the idea of harmony is a good word. It comes out of music, of course. And so musical harmony is a good example of what we're talking about because musical harmony is achieved and most beautiful when not everyone is singing the same note but when those diverse notes complement one another in order to make a rich, full, beautiful sound. Douglas Moos says Paul's aims is that despite our differences, we might have a common perspective and a common purpose. When we're talking about this Christian unity or harmony, there is an already but not yet nature to this. What I mean is that we as Christians who have been saved by Jesus Christ, who are all believers, who have the same hope, this one faith, one Lord, one baptism, one Father and God who is over all and in all, we are already unified. through the same spirit that we have. So we can look at Ephesians 4, 2-6. With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit. Maintain it. It means you already have it. You maintain this unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. So when we look at the church, there's already a unity that it possesses. And as we say at marriages, what God has joined together, let man not separate, right? There is a unity here, let's not be divisive. but also later on in that same chapter of Ephesians he says that we're given to equip the saints for the work of ministry for the building up of the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to mature manhood to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. So we're already unified, but there's also a greater unity that we're waiting for, that we're working towards, that we're seeking, right? There's a unity that we already possess in Christ through the Holy Spirit and a unity that we're looking for, that we're striving to maintain, that comes with maturity as we mature together and as we worship together and serve and love one another. So that together, you, you plural in this passage, not just you individually, but you plural, may with one voice, with one mouthpiece as it were, glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And that's one reason we sing together, isn't it? That with one voice, that we praise God together, that we're all saying these things and agreeing there together. So having looked then at the nature or the togetherness of Christian harmony. Secondly, let's look at the source of Christian harmony. And the source is God, isn't it? God is the source of this. He's praying to God. He's asking God to do this thing. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another. That this harmony is a gift from God. It is granted by God. He prays for it because God is the one who gives it. God is the source of this harmony. God is not only the source, but God is the only source of this kind of patience and consolation, endurance and encouragement. And he knows that God will grant it and that God will grant it abundantly. That God gives generously to those who pray in this way. That we as sinful human beings are powerless and helpless on our own. That we cannot produce this sort of Christian harmony in ourselves. That if we seek this kind of harmony in worldly ways we might counterfeit it or mask it in some way. For instance, there's a certain kind of harmony in street gangs. It's a devilish one. But there's a certain kind of acceptance that people find in street gangs, as it were. But it is not from God, and it is ultimately a counterfeit. one that will result or show itself in the lie that it is ultimately. So we're powerless. We're unable to produce this kind of harmony. It doesn't come from our fleshly efforts. It's not created by men. And I love as we look at this, That as Paul prays his prayer, what does he call God? He says, the God of endurance and encouragement. That God is called the God of endurance and encouragement. Isn't that encouraging to know? That God is the God of endurance and the God of encouragement. I don't know about you, but I need those things. because it's going to take patience and forbearance and endurance through trial and whenever we're dealing with other people and as a church we're always dealing with other people. then there's going to be endurance needed. There's going to be encouragement. We're going to be discouraged. We're going to take two steps forward and three steps back, and there's going to be a rollercoaster ride to this whole thing of Christian unity. And we're going to feel attacked at times and talked about or whatever. And so, this is not a perfect thing. The Lord is sanctifying us. We're moving together through this. But God is a God of endurance and encouragement. I want you to see that that is only true for Christians. That God is a God of vengeance. God is a God of condemnation. He is, and that those who do not know him through Jesus Christ, who have not believed in the gospel, only have the relationship with God so that He is a God that is angry at them and who is vengeful, who has condemned them and is wrathful towards them. But because of the gospel, God has not changed, but our relationship with God has changed so that because of the gospel, God is now a God of endurance and encouragement to us. a source of that to us. God is not someone where we're paralyzed with fear because of His anger towards us, but we know that He accepts us as a father does a child. And we're able to endure and be encouraged by that relationship that we have with God. This is hopeful for us. He's the source of this Christian harmony. I want you to thirdly see the instrument of Christian harmony. For that, I want us to go back to verse 4. We've just said that God is the God of endurance and encouragement, but we've seen those two words already in the previous verse. Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction that through endurance and through the encouragement of the scriptures, we might have hope. So we have hope just as we have harmony. through endurance and encouragement. God is the source of endurance and encouragement, for God is the God of endurance and encouragement. But where does this passage, verse four, say that endurance and encouragement comes? It comes from the scriptures. So that God gives us endurance and encouragement, but he uses the scriptures in order to do that. God doesn't zap you with a lightning bolt from heaven to encourage you. And, I mean, He uses other people, certainly, to encourage us, but He uses the Scriptures, doesn't He? If you find yourself where you're out of patience, and you're discouraged, and you're downcast, and you're despairing, let me tell you where to go. Go to the Scriptures. God speaks to you in the Scriptures. He is the God of endurance and encouragement, but this comes by the ordinary means of grace through prayer and the Scriptures. What is Paul doing? Paul is praying to the God of endurance and encouragement. So if you find yourself downcast, look to the God who gives endurance and encouragement. If you find yourself downcast and despairing, where do you go? To the Word of God, which is full of giving you hope. It is a Scripture's instruct us of how to endure and how to be encouraged. This is the instrument that God used in our lives. John Calvin says, God alone is doubtless the author of patience and consolation for He conveys both to our hearts by His Spirit Yet he employs his word as the instrument. This is how it comes to us. Fourthly, I want you to see the pattern of Christian harmony. The pattern. What do we see? To live in such harmony with one another in accord with Christ Jesus. So following after the example of Jesus Christ in the will and in the pattern of Jesus Christ according to what He wants and what He desires for us and what He has modeled for us. He is the pattern of this Christian harmony. If there be any encouragement of Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy, Paul says, by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord in one mind with Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not consider a quality of God a thing to be held on to, but made himself nothing. taking the form of a servant and being found in human likeness. We're to have that same mind among ourselves. So the pattern of our Christian harmony is not the Republican or Democratic platform. The pattern of our Christian harmony is not neo-Marxist or progressive ideologies. The pattern of our Christian harmony is the Lord Jesus Christ. That our mind is to be like His mind. That where we find common ground and common agreement is the thinking and the example of the Lord Jesus Christ. Which the scriptures tell us. Fifthly, I want you to look at the fruit of Christian harmony. What it looks like, what it evidences itself in, what's the fruit of this Christian harmony. And he says then in verse 7, therefore welcome one another. Welcome one another. This is what it looks like. that you not only with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord, but you welcome one another. This is what Paul has been talking about for a chapter and a half. We go back to chapter 14 at the very beginning. He says, as for the one who is weak in faith, what are we to do? We're to welcome him, but we don't welcome him just in order to argue about opinions, just in order to quarrel with him. He says, one person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. And then he says in verse three, let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has what? Welcomed him. So this idea of this theme of welcoming one another, that we might disagree with one another about some things, disputable matters, this is what Christian harmony looks like. That the strong and the weak learn how to love and live with one another in a harmonious way. How to encourage one another, how to strengthen one another. How to sanctify one another without arguing all the time. James Montgomery Boyce, as he preached a sermon on this passage, says if we go back to chapter 12 where Paul is making these various exhortations to the church, he says, as far as developing a Christian mind, Paul deals with that in two verses. As far as correctly estimating yourself and encouraging others, Paul does that in six verses. As a call to love one another, it takes 13 verses. The relationship of the church and the state he deals with is 7 verses. Right conduct before Jesus returns, again, 7 verses. But then, as far as accepting other Christians with whom you disagree, it is 35 verses. A chapter and a half that he deals with this. I think he's making a point. That this is something we have to work on. It's not easily done. Colossians chapter 3 verses 12 through 14 tell us, put on them as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another. And if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other as the Lord has forgiven you, so also you must forgive. And above all these, put on love, which binds everything together in what? In perfect harmony. Alright. Sixthly, the basis of Christian harmony. What is the basis of Christian harmony? What is our basis? Why? On what grounds do we accept one another? It is upon the grounds that Christ Jesus has accepted us and accepted them. Therefore, welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you. You've experienced the welcome, the reception, the acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ, the embrace of Christ into His family. So when we ask, why should I put up with that very disagreeable fellow? Why should I accept this person with whom I'm at odds with? In the church. Why should I do that? Because Christ has forgiven you and loved you and accepted you. And you were just as disagreeable and just as ornery and just as worthless. And the Lord has changed you and he has accepted you and embraced you. And you're not second class in him. You are brought in and welcomed and received. So the gospel then empowers our obedience. The gospel that we have been received by Jesus Christ empowers us, motivates, gives us thanksgiving that we are to then live out this command, this prayer wish to live in harmony with one another so that we glorify God. Douglas Moos says, mutual love ought to reign supremely in a church wholly composed of the Lord's well-beloved. If we are truly a family, the family of God, then we are to welcome one another as brothers and sisters, to love one another as true brothers and sisters. It doesn't mean, as you know in families, that we always get along. There are our squabbles, and yet we're called to forgive one another, to love one another, to keep the family together. Lastly, I want you to see very quickly the goal of Christian harmony. It's the goal of Christianity itself, isn't it? It's to glorify God. The glory of God is the goal. We see that in the last two verses, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you for the glory of God. Twice there in verse six and verse seven, the glory of God is mentioned. The glory of God is supreme. So, We are to try to set a goal and work together and pray together and through the encouragement of the scriptures and the patience and the comfort that comes from the scriptures are to seek to live in harmony with one another. but Christian harmony is not what's ultimate. It is not ultimate here, even though it's a goal, to transform the church into a peaceful refuge, although we want that. We want the church to be a peaceful refuge, but not because of that end in itself. We want the church to be a peaceful refuge because God is most glorified in that. God is most exalted. God is most praised in that. God is glorified through Christ's reception of you. And God is further magnified by your reception of others with whom you disagree on matters of opinion. So the goal of this Christian harmony is is that God's glory might be magnified, not because we can add glory to God, but because we can cause God to be to be praised for the way that we as Christians receive and welcome and love one another. that while the way that we love one another, they will know that we are his disciples and they will see our good works and glorify the father who is in heaven. Let's go to the Lord in prayer.