Thank you very much. Please do turn with me to the book of Romans. Romans chapter 15. Although really we will be commencing our reading from chapter 14, but in terms of the passage we are looking at this afternoon, we are really looking at chapter 15 verse 1 and verse 2. Romans chapter 14, we'll commence reading from verse 19. Romans chapter 14, we commence reading with verse 19. The Bible says there, so then, let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. for the sake of food destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. And then our text, Romans 15, verse 1 and verse 2. We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. Thank you for the opportunity that we have to meditate on it. We ask almighty God that you will be our guide and that you help us not only to understand your word, but to put it into practice. We ask this in the name of Christ. Amen. Well, if you've been with us in our evening meetings through the various internet platforms that we are using at the moment because of COVID-19, we are unable to meet in here as a congregation. If you are one of those that's been following, you know that we have been making our way through the Book of Romans in our afternoon or evening service. And right now we are in chapter 14, which is now taking us into chapter 15. And we are really considering the subject of Christian unity, especially where that unity is threatened by our backgrounds. And again, especially our religious backgrounds. And that's really what we have been dealing with so far. The point being made is that we need to give priority to the right things in the Christian church. I love the way the Apostle Paul puts it in chapter 14 and verse 20, do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Can you imagine that because of something to do with your diet, your favorite meal, God's work, God's grand redemptive work that is taking place in the context of your church should be completely frustrated so that it is literally stuck in the mud or in the sand and going nowhere, all because of food. Essentially, that's what Paul is saying here. Let's have our priorities right. Now, the last time we looked at this passage together, we were right at the end of chapter 14. We saw there, particularly in verse 23, the words, but whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. And we saw there at least three basic points. The first is that in these matters to do with practical details, to do with scruples and quowns, Where some individuals are completely persuaded they've got absolute freedom to act in a particular way, for others, they genuinely suffer from unbelief. Genuinely. This is not something they are putting up just to make your life difficult. They genuinely have difficulties embracing the freedom that we have in Christ in that area. And because of that, if they were to go ahead and engage in whatever it is that is currently being dealt with, they will experience conviction of sin. They will experience self-condemnation, which was the second point that we saw, that whoever has doubts is condemned if he is. For you, it's all right. But for that person, there is a genuine sense of a loss of peace, and he has to go before the Lord to say, Lord, forgive me. And then the third thing that we saw is the reason why. And the reason is that whatever is not from faith is sin. That's the general principle that we can apply literally in any area. that when you are going ahead to do something and the whole of your conscience is hesitating because from your background this is morally wrong, ethically wrong, it is sinful, then don't. Because if you do, you are sinning. It is not from faith. is sin. Well today we see that what Paul is urging upon the strong believers in this latter section of Romans 14 is something that's actually an obligation. It is a command that God is giving and that is that they ought to act in a way that sympathizes with those who are weak. Putting it a little differently, it is the fact that the strong, when they are, as it were, holding back their own freedoms, they are not doing the weak a favor. It's not a favor they are doing. It is their own line of obedience to God, because God is demanding this. Let's quickly read verse 1 and verse 2 again, which we are looking at. And I want you to notice this sense of obligation, which we will expound in a moment. The apostle Paul says there, chapter 15 and verse 1, we who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good to build him up. First thing, it is the fact that Christians must do certain things in their Christian lives whether they like it or not. Let me say that again, Christians must do certain things in their Christian lives, whether they like it or not. And in this particular case, the Apostle Paul is coming to those who are the strong. In other words, these are individuals whose Christian consciences enable them to engage in activities that for other people would be a stumbling block. The Apostle Paul is saying to them that whether they like it or not, they have to behave in a particular way. They have an obligation. And what is that obligation? It is to bear with the failings of the weak. It is to sympathize with the weak. It is to change their behavior for the sake of the weak. Now, I think, brethren, we need to pause for a moment to let this sink in. The reason why I'm saying we need to pause for a moment is because, as I have related to Christians, I have often found that there is a certain theology of grace that suggests that we must never do something because we ought to do it. Because if we are doing something because we ought to do it, then it is, as they often call it, works righteousness. In other words, it is you trying to be righteous before God by works, and we ought not to do so. In other words, it is counterintuitive to grace, the grace of God. is one that has liberated us in such a way that the only things we must do are those things that we are doing freely because we want to. And consequently, a few examples that I can throw in is the keeping of the Lord's Day. A lot of individuals no longer keep one day out of seven. Why? Well it is because there are so many other things they want to do on that day and to hold themselves back because they have to is seen as works righteousness and therefore the Lord's day has gone out of the window. Christians are doing anything they want to do on the day that God has said, one day out of seven is mine. It is for you to rest and you are to worship me. They've thrown that out of the window. Another area that has suffered is tithing. They will prefer what is called free will offering full stop. Why? Well, God says he loves a cheerful giver. And so if you are not cheerful when you are tithing, then don't tithe, they say, because it becomes works righteousness. And on and on and on they can go. In other words, anything that you begin to realize that this is an obligation then it is for the Old Testament. For us, as New Testament believers, it must be what we feel like doing. We are doing it cheerfully. And therefore, if you don't feel like going for the church prayer meeting, stay home. Stay home. Because don't feel like it's not something you're going to do cheerfully. You don't feel like fasting, don't fast. Why should you do so when you're not feeling like doing so? It's not something you're doing cheerfully. Well, what we're beginning to notice here is that the Apostle Paul believed in the fact that there are some things we ought to do as Christians. Not just weak Christians, but strong Christians as well, as an obligation. And that's what he is dealing with here. Let me quickly again put it in context so that we don't miss what's going on here. This passage that begins with chapter 15 and verse 1 is really a bit of an unfortunate starting of a new chapter. Strictly speaking, what Paul is dealing with in chapter 14 verse 1 onwards continues all the way to chapter 15 and verse 13. It's the same subject and should not have been divided by a new chapter. Chapter 15, strictly speaking, should have begun with chapter 15 verse 14, because that's Paul enters a brand new thought. So in this passage, the Apostle Paul is addressing one thing, unity in diversity. And he puts it this way, chapter 14 and verse 1. As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. In other words, Paul's chief concern is for the strong, the ones whose spiritual freedom enables them to do more than what others are able to do. And Paul is saying, when the weak are now part of your fellowship, part of your church, welcome them. Don't bring up this issue that's going to divide you. This debatable issue. Don't quarrel over opinions. Put that aside. Accept them. Have fellowship with them. These matters will be dealt with with time. So that's the main point of this chapter and a half. Now, we've already noticed that in the first section of this passage, Paul begins with the weak. His main concern will be with the strong, but he begins with the weak, and we saw that from verse 5, in fact, even earlier, from verse 2 or 3 all the way to verse 12. He dealt with the weak, and basically he was saying to them, with a hyper-critical attitude towards your brethren who are able to exercise freedom in areas where you can't. Don't condemn them. Don't criticize them. Because before their own master, they will stand or fall. Before their own master. Leave them alone. That's before God. But then, beginning chapter 14, verse 13 onwards, he is now concerned with the strong. And as you can see, that's where he spends most of his time, the strong. And the major appeal he is giving to the strong is what we find in chapter 14, verse 13. And we mustn't lose sight of that. Therefore, let us not pass judgment on one another any longer. And then he says, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. That's really the obligation he's giving to the strong. Never put a stumbling block on others. Never allow what is part of your freedom, and you have no qualms about it, but never allow that to cause other people to injure their consciences. Don't. And by the time, Paul has been arguing this point from that verse, verse 13 onwards, we've signed that. But by the time he's arriving in chapter 15, verse 1, Paul literally goes beyond reasoning. He's been reasoning all along. Do not let what you regard as good to be spoken of as evil. Do not for the sake of food destroy the work of God. He's been reasoning, but now he comes straight and puts it in a way that is saying it's your moral duty. It's your moral duty. In other words, you have no choice in the matter so even if my reasoning with you left you still saying well you know well well now I've brought you to the point where I'm saying it's not well you must you must we who are strong have an obligation an obligation The New International Version puts it a little differently, but it's really the same thing. We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, ought to bear with the failings of the weak. The word that is used there as obligation or ought to is a word that you use when you're speaking about owing somebody money, owing someone money. Let me take you to Matthew 6 where it is used, Matthew 6 and verse 12. It's really not talking about money there, but it's obviously the same idea because it's a picture language that is being used. Matthew 6, being taught about the Lord's Prayer, and I'll read verse 12. I'll read verse 12. It says there, and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. Forgive us our debts as we've also forgiven our debtors. In other words, sin is being seen as an obligation. It's something that I will have to pay for. And so now we are saying, Lord, cancel my obligation to pay you for my sin, as we have also canceled the obligation for others to pay us for their sins. It's in that sense that we are to understand obligation. And all of us, unless you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, but all of us have had to borrow at one stage. May have been a little bit of money, may not have been a whole lot, but we understand what it means to pay back. We understand that. If you said that I'll pay back on the 3rd of May, 2020, well, you know that today, COVID or no COVID, you must pay. You know that. It's a sense of obligation. Tonight, you shouldn't sleep without calling the person you owe and you give. Now, let's face it. Very few of us feel like paying back what we owe. We don't do it cheerfully. You know, we don't sort of go there with our favorite song and, you know, dance a little bit and give. No, no. We really wish we did not owe. this person any money. But it's an obligation. And therefore, it's the honorable thing to do, to clear your debts. Now sadly, we have too many Zambians who don't know what I'm talking about. They owe, and they are well past the date of paying back And somehow, they can still sleep. And their pillow is still soft. I honestly don't understand them. I honestly don't. But let's move on to look to the 17. Because again, we see something of an example there of what it means to have this sense of duty that makes you do something, this sense of duty. The Lord Jesus Christ was speaking about us in the world to come, and he's using picture language here. Luke 17, and I begin reading from verse 7. Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, come at once and recline at table? Will he not rather say to him, prepare supper for me? rest properly and save me while I eat and drink and Afterward you will eat and drink. I mean here's a person He's been toiling all day out there in the field as your servant. He comes home You have no sense of well, you know, he's been working Therefore I owe it to him now to rest and then forget about food No, you immediately said to him get into the kitchen quickly. I and start preparing my supper for me. And then Jesus says, does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? Of course, the answer is no. Why? Well, he goes on to tell us here. At least apply it to us now. So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, we are unworthy servants. We have only done what was our duty. Now that word duty there is exactly the same Greek word for debts. It's exactly the same Greek word for obligation. We have only done what was our obligation. So why should our master thank us? Why? Because we had to do it. Whether we liked it or not, we had to do it. It was our duty. One more example with respect to this, and it's in Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 5. This time it's to do with the priests offering sacrifice. Hebrews chapter 5, and this time it is in verse 3. The ESV uses the word obligated, so that makes life easier for us. But the thing I want you to notice again is the fact that Whether the priest felt like doing it or not, he had to do it. Hebrews chapter 5 and verse 3. Maybe let me begin from verse 1. For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sin. He can do gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Verse three, because of this, he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins, just as he does for those of the people. He is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins. So he has no choice in the matter. He can't say, well, I will offer sacrifices only for the people, as if he himself is not a sinner. No, he must offer sacrifice for his own sin. It is an obligation. Otherwise, he disqualifies himself from acting in the temple or in the tabernacle. He must do it. Well, friends, that's exactly the picture that the Apostle Paul is bringing here when he says, we who are strong have an obligation. And I think it's important that those of us who are Christians must mature beyond simply doing things when we feel like doing them. We must mature beyond that. We must realize certain aspects of the Christian faith are obligations. They are not at the mercy of your feelings a hundred times no. You must, you must, you must because God expects it of you and if you don't feel like doing it well put your feelings aside and still do it. because you owe it. It's a duty. It's an obligation. It is enkongole. It's a debt that must be paid. You have no choice in the matter. Well, in our text, what is this that the strong are obligated to do? First of all, it is to bear with the failings of the weak. Back to our text, Romans 15 and verse 1. We who are strong have an obligation. And what is that? To bear with the failings of the weak. To bear with the failings of the weak. Two quick points as we get into this. First of all, notice that the apostle Paul includes himself among the strong. He says, We who are strong. We who are strong. Now, it's deliberate that I'm capturing that. Because, see, often when a teacher is teaching, and he becomes rather hard on one segment of the congregation, the people who are listening are already thinking, okay, so on which side is he? because the understanding is that he's coming so strong and hard on this issue because he's a beneficiary concerning this matter. Well in this particular case the Apostle Paul is saying actually I belong to the strong and I'm being hard on the strong Because objectively, that's the mind of God. I'm not being biased simply because it is the other camp. I am turning on the heat under the seat, and I'm one of you sitting on that seat. I'm also feeling it, but it's the mind of God. And consequently, we are all obligated to do this very thing. And what is that? The apostle Paul is calling it bearing with the failings of the weak. Bearing with the failings of the weak. In the book of Galatians, Paul puts it a little differently, but it captures the picture. Galatians chapter six, I begin reading from verse one. Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual, you who are strong, should restore him in the spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. And then he puts it this way, bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. one another's burdens. In other words, the thing is, you should never say, it is none of my business. When your brethren are struggling over something, which for you is straightforward, it's a freedom you have. You must never say, it is none of my business. Rather, what you should do is you should move into their situation and help them along. Move into their situation and help them along. And that is what bearing, not with the weak, but with the failings of the weak, is all about. You know, our usual attitude is something like this. But why should I be encumbered by their problem? Why? Me, I'm OK. So why should I be spending so much of my time, my energy, trying to help them when it's their own endeavor, their own fault, their own weakness? Why should I? We can put it this way. Why should I give up my cherished lifestyle because of others? Why? I love to do this. I love this food. Why should I give it up for their sake? Why? In fact, I've already bought so much of it, it's filled my fridge. Why should I keep myself away from enjoying this for other people? The Apostle Paul is saying, you must. It's actually an obligation. It's part of your duty. You have no choice in the matter. It means that we must tolerate the weaknesses of others. We must also tolerate their misunderstanding of us, because the moment they get to know that as we've got no problems with this, we've got no qualms with this, their tendency will be to criticize and condemn us. And they're doing so genuinely. They're doing it genuinely. And we need to learn to bear with their weakness rather than for us to criticize them back. We should bear with them so that Together, we carry this load that they are carrying at this stage. To borrow two words that are quite similar, but they capture the issue here, is that we must not only sympathize with them, we must empathize with them. We must not only sympathize with them, we must empathize. Let me explain the difference. To sympathize with people is to feel sorry for them. Your heart is touched by the suffering that they are going through. You're genuinely touched. And you even pray for them, Lord, have mercy on them. But it doesn't affect you in terms of your own activities. It doesn't. You feel for them. You even pray for them. But you get on with your activities. To empathize is to enter into something of the experience. It is to put on their shoes. It is to feel what they feel. And consequently, you change what you are doing, how you are living in that moment because of them. You enter into their mindset, and it incapacitates you as well. It incapacitates. You cannot enjoy this activity or this food primarily because your entire being imagines how they feel, how they think about this. And so you can't. You can't. You are empathizing. Empathizing. An obvious example I can think about here is we often hear about funerals. We hear that In the Western world at the moment, people are dying in thousands. And when we hear about them, yeah, we feel sorry and we move on. We sympathize that COVID-19 has hit them in such a way and we move on. But there are times when a friend of yours, a very close friend of yours, out there in the Western world, loses. his wife or her husband to COVID. Suddenly, things change. You are still very far away. You fail to eat. You fail to sleep. You get on your knees and you cry to God. What has happened? What's the difference? Well, in one case, you were sympathizing, but now you've entered into the experience of your friend. You've got no choice but to enter into that experience because of the love relationship that you have with your friend, that you also now find it difficult to enter into activities of joy and pleasure and relaxation. You fail because of empathy, because of empathy. And what the Apostle Paul is saying here is that that's our duty, not simply to bear with the weak, but to bear with the failings of the weak, to enter into that experience, to be identified so closely with their failings that we feel sorry, we ourselves change our lifestyle so that we are one with them. That's the first side of the obligation. The second is that we are to please the weak and not to please ourselves. To please the weak and not to please ourselves. Let's look again at the second part of this one, which goes into this too. But let's read the two verses together. We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, to enter into their experience, and to carry their Lord together with them. And here it is now. And not to please ourselves. That's the other side. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good to build him up. Now, time is not with me, so we have to run through this a little faster. First of all, there's nothing wrong with pleasing yourself. There's nothing wrong. After all, it is only as you learn to love yourself that you can love others. And that's the commandment, that we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. So in that sense, there's nothing wrong with you cooking your best meal and enjoying it. There's nothing wrong with it. Nothing wrong with you putting on those clothes you like to put on and really enjoy it. There's nothing wrong. Nothing wrong with you playing the game or sport that you love to play. There's nothing wrong. Because out of that, we are learning to love others. to see that they, too, enjoy life. It's part of the blessing that God has given us in human life and living. But what is wrong is this. It is to please ourselves at the expense of others. That's wrong. That's wrong. It is now loving ourselves at the expense of loving others. And so that's what the Apostle Paul is addressing here when he says, and not to please ourselves. What he means really there is he's pleasing ourselves at the expense of the weak. He says, no, no, no, no, no. That's totally unchristian. It must not happen. We must never allow personal pleasure to be at the expense of other people. In fact, as believers, our entire disposition in life must be for the good of others. We must want to be the servants of all. The Apostle Paul puts it that way, doesn't he, in 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 33. I hope I'm correct. Yeah. First Corinthians 10 and verse 33. I begin reading from verse 31. So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Then he says, give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the Church of God. Exactly the same point is dealing with here. That my lifestyle must not cause either Greeks or Jews or anybody else to stumble. Listen to his own example, verse 33. Just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many that they may be saved. Paul is saying that's who I am. I have sacrificed my freedoms so that I may please everyone in everything. I'm a servant of all. And friends, that's simply fulfilling the second greatest commandment, which is to love your neighbor as yourself. That's all it is. It is that I want others to be happy, to be blessing God and worshiping God when they are with me, rather than cursing God and cursing me in the process. I want to be a blessing to them. Back in our text, this aspect of not pleasing myself, but pleasing others, Paul gives the goal, the purpose. And he says this. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up, for his good to build him up. In other words, I want those around me to be making spiritual progress because I'm among them. Or as he had put it earlier in chapter 14 and verse 19, so then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. Let's pursue that. Things that allow an atmosphere of peace, an atmosphere of upbuilding, mutual upbuilding, that I can be a means of blessing to others. Well, brethren, let me quickly close this passage by saying this, that we have seen that Christian sympathy is something God commands us to do. It's an obligation. It's not a favor we are to do to others. We are to modify our lifestyle so that other people can be at home, in our presence, can listen to us when we are teaching. And consequently, we can grow together. Now, as I was preparing this message, I thought of one area of application which Paul is not thinking about at all here. But it's nonetheless a relevant application. And it's in the area of ladies and fashion. Ladies and fashion. Because the attitude of the world is always, it's your life. That's the attitude of the world. It's your life. Why should men determine how women dress? Why? You can dress however you want. So if you're in front of a mirror and you like the way you are looking, you can go out there. And even if in the process you are causing people to lust, that's their problem. you like the way you are looking. So if your breasts are halfway in the open, I like the way I'm looking. If people around are having difficulties and now having to look at the ground all the time, that's their problem. That's the attitude of the world. That's the teaching of the world. It is definitely not biblical teaching. What we are learning here is quite different. And it is this. Are your brothers stumbling? Are they? Are they genuinely stumbling because of your dressing? Often it looks like undressing. But anyway, it's still called dressing. Because of your dressing, are they honestly confessing, maybe not directly to you, but at least to the church leaders, that we are stumbling? We are being caused to burn with lust because of the way the sisters are dressing. Well, then what should you do? Don't appeal to your feelings. What should you do? What is your obligation? Well, this text speaks into it. Bear with them. Yes. Bear with their weakness. with the failings of the weak. Bear with them. Enter into sympathy, or better still, empathize with them. Put yourself, dear sisters, in their shoes. And then do something about it. Now that's not the teaching of the world. The teaching of the world, as I said, is why should men determine the way we dress. That's the teaching of the world. The teaching of the Bible is they are your brothers. And the way you dress should enable you to be in a context where you are seeking to please them. for their good, so that you would be able to build them up as well. Not you are sitting in a Bible study in a circle, and they can't look straight because they keep seeing what they shouldn't see. So they're all the time, they're even failing to listen properly to what's being taught. No. We ought to apply this. even to that area. Don't bring a church's ministry to a halt just because of a piece of cotton that is sitting in your wardrobe. Don't! That's really what Paul is saying here when he says, don't for the sake of food destroy the work of God. If it means half your wardrobe has to be shut out, well and good for the purpose of pleasing the brethren, for the purpose of the good of the church, for the purpose of having an atmosphere of mutual upbuilding. So this principle can be applied in many ways, in many ways. I thought I should just apply it in that area. Ultimately, we should learn to be servants of one another. That's what this is all about. And as we shall be seeing next week, that's exactly what Jesus did. God the Son did not make his own comforts, his own pleasures the priority. He gave up the greatest place in the universe to come and sympathize with us, and empathize with us, to be in our shoes so that we can be lifted up. If Jesus can do it, leaving the whole of heaven, we should be able to leave a lot of other things for the sake of the children of God. Let's aim to emulate him. Let's aim to be servants.