By Kent Fry
Read: Romans 15:1-13; 2 Corinthians 8:9
“We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak.” (Rom. 15:1 NRSV)
As a pastor, I once asked a couple celebrating 70 years of marriage whether they had any advice I could give to young married couples. The wife said to me, “Pastor, sometimes you just have to put up with it!”
In today’s reading, Paul calls on the strong – the Gentiles – “to put up” (“to bear,” ESV) with the weak – people of a Jewish background who had some rigid practices with which they maintained their faith (Rom. 15:1).
Paul consistently argued that it’s not the Mosaic law that makes one come into a right relationship with God; but he also encouraged the strong to build up their neighbors (v. 2).
The reason is twofold: First, believers in Jesus are to follow the example of Christ, who did not please himself (v. 3 and see 2 Cor. 8:9). A believer’s ethic flows out of the person and practice of Jesus Christ. Second, Paul’s insight from the Old Testament is that God’s saving promises began with Israel and extend to the Gentiles and the nations (vv. 8-9). Scripture is a pattern from the past that shows us hope for the future.
More than “to put up” with other believers whose practices seem rigid to us, we are to welcome one another in the one body of Christ – the church. Paul’s message of unity to the Roman church was rooted in their shared acceptance by Jesus (v. 7). How are we practicing that with other believers today?
As you pray, ask God to bring about greater Christ-centered unity as we welcome one another.
—————
Kent Fry is a retired pastor and visiting research fellow at the Van Raalte Institute in Holland. He and his wife, Joyce, are active members of Second Reformed Church in Zeeland.
Read: Romans 15:1-13; 2 Corinthians 8:9
“We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak.” (Rom. 15:1 NRSV)
As a pastor, I once asked a couple celebrating 70 years of marriage whether they had any advice I could give to young married couples. The wife said to me, “Pastor, sometimes you just have to put up with it!”
In today’s reading, Paul calls on the strong – the Gentiles – “to put up” (“to bear,” ESV) with the weak – people of a Jewish background who had some rigid practices with which they maintained their faith (Rom. 15:1).
Paul consistently argued that it’s not the Mosaic law that makes one come into a right relationship with God; but he also encouraged the strong to build up their neighbors (v. 2).
The reason is twofold: First, believers in Jesus are to follow the example of Christ, who did not please himself (v. 3 and see 2 Cor. 8:9). A believer’s ethic flows out of the person and practice of Jesus Christ. Second, Paul’s insight from the Old Testament is that God’s saving promises began with Israel and extend to the Gentiles and the nations (vv. 8-9). Scripture is a pattern from the past that shows us hope for the future.
More than “to put up” with other believers whose practices seem rigid to us, we are to welcome one another in the one body of Christ – the church. Paul’s message of unity to the Roman church was rooted in their shared acceptance by Jesus (v. 7). How are we practicing that with other believers today?
As you pray, ask God to bring about greater Christ-centered unity as we welcome one another.
—————
Kent Fry is a retired pastor and visiting research fellow at the Van Raalte Institute in Holland. He and his wife, Joyce, are active members of Second Reformed Church in Zeeland.
