[English Sermon 영어 설교]
Sunday, January 26, 2025 - Sermon by Rev. Jinkook (Danny) Sohn
Glorifying God Together (Romans 15:1-13 )
Romans Series 33rd
2025. 1. 26. 주일예배 설교- 로마서 강해 33
본문: 로마서 15:1-13
제목: 함께 하나님께 영광을
설교자: 손진국 목사
Do you believe in Jesus? What is the purpose of your life? The ultimate goal of a believer is to become like Jesus Christ. And ultimately, that brings glory to God. I hope that all of us here together will give glory to God. This is what is mentioned in the key verses today, Romans 15:5-6.
[Romans 15:5-6] May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
How can we all give glory to God together? We need to have the same mind and speak with one voice. In other words, everyone in the church must have the thoughts and heart of Jesus and speak the same words. But is that easy? Even in families, between a husband and wife, there are often differences in thinking, hearts, and words, leading to daily conflicts… Why is that? Why do we think differently? If our thinking is different, it’s natural for our words to be different as well. Why is that?
Today's passage talks about the current condition of the church and the direction the church must move toward. When we define the church, we often say that the church is a gathering of believers. So, does this mean that only believers should gather in church? No. There should also be non-believers. Our church is not a heavenly church but a church established in this world. In other words, because the church still has a mission to fulfill, there should always be non-believers among us, and a church that includes them is a good church.
Furthermore, the work of Satan, who seeks to destroy the church, often shows itself through people. Not all believers are people of strong faith. There are believers with strong faith and believers with weak faith. A church built in this world with such diverse people will always have conflicts.
Because of this, the role of strong believers in the church is, first, to discern and resist the plans of Satan to destroy and divide the church. Another important role of strong believers is to take care of the non-believers and weaker believers.
Today's message is directed particularly toward strong believers in the church. Therefore, if you think you are one of those with strong faith in our church, please listen carefully. The message is simple, and we all know it, but it’s something that, in practice, is not always easy to do.
1. Make others happy.
[Romans 15:1] We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.
As I preached two weeks ago, this verse refers to the issues of food and keeping festivals. People with weak faith still refrain from eating certain foods and observe certain festivals, bound by the law. On the other hand, people with strong faith have freedom because Jesus Christ has fulfilled the law, so they are free from such practices. Yet, those with strong faith are asked to care for the weaknesses of those with weaker faith.
Why? Because these weaknesses might cause them to stumble. In relation to this, the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 8:13, [1 Corinthians 8:13] Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.
If my brother next to me might stumble, even if I love something, I wouldn’t do it—this is the heart of Apostle Paul.
I have experienced this. In the first church where I became the senior pastor, many members enjoyed playing golf. Some people offered to teach me, and some recommended that I start playing. They even offered to teach me for free, and I was grateful. I’ve always loved sports, especially ones with small balls, like table tennis, squash, tennis, pool, baseball, and golf. I played a lot when I was in the South Island, especially when I was in Invercargill, where the days were long, and I played 54 holes a day during the summer. When I was young, I couldn't help it, so I used to go to the squash court at 10 PM and practice hitting the ball against the wall for two hours.
When I first came to New Zealand in 1995, the first things I did were bungee jumping, and I bought a car and golf clubs. Though I wasn’t great at golf, I enjoyed it. Later, when I started a business in Christchurch, I became too busy to play golf. After becoming a believer and pastor, one day I heard some church members talking negatively about a monk who played golf and a pastor who played as well. The conversation was critical, suggesting that such behavior might cause people to stumble. While golf is a popular sport here in New Zealand, if any member or non-believer felt uncomfortable with me playing golf, I decided not to do it during my time as pastor.
Let me clarify, however, that playing golf is not wrong in itself. If there are any golfers here, please do not be troubled. I know pastors who play golf and lead non-believers to Christ, or those who play it for health reasons, and I think this is very commendable.
The point here is, "Do not please yourself"—it means you shouldn't just do what you want. This applies to hobbies and also to words. We shouldn’t just speak everything we feel like saying. When there is a conflict, who should give in? The one with stronger faith. Giving in means holding back from saying whatever we want to say and accepting things even when they don’t please us.
Therefore, in verse 1, it says that strong believers should "bear the weaknesses of others"—that is, they should help and tolerate. To bear others’ weaknesses means building them up with patience and endurance. So, strong believers are not the ones who point out others' weaknesses, but those who endure for their sake.
Verse 3 talks about how Jesus behaved: [Romans 15:3] For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: "The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me."
This refers to Jesus' life. He endured insults from those who didn’t trust God, and though He was falsely accused, He bore it all without defending Himself. Despite the criticisms and insults, He persevered, carried the cross, and went to the end. A person with strong faith endures slanders and with a heart like Jesus, patiently embraces those who are weak or without faith.
Reflect on your life over the past week and apply it:
[Application] Have you pointed out someone else's weaknesses or things you didn’t like? Or, have you tolerated and tried to build them up?
2. Be Patient and Comfort One Another
[Romans 15:4-5] For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide, we might have hope. May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had.
What does the Bible tell us? It says that God gives us endurance and comfort so that we might have hope. Why do we study the Bible? While it’s important to gain knowledge of the Scriptures, the ultimate reason is to know God more. That is why we continue to read, study, and meditate on the Bible. Through doing this, we come to know God better, and our faith in Him grows stronger.
Who is God? God is love. What is the most important element in love? [1 Corinthians 13:4-7] Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
When we talk about love here, the first thing mentioned is "patience," and following that, it says, "it is not easily angered," "it always protects," "it always perseveres." What is this saying? It is saying that love involves being patient with one another. Even when anger rises up inside, we should not let it out but rather endure it. That is love.
What does it mean when our faith grows stronger and better? Specifically, it means becoming more like Jesus Christ. What does that look like? Just as God is patient with me, covers my faults, bears with me, and comforts me, I, too, should be patient with my neighbors, not angered, enduring and persevering in all things, and comforting others.
A child does not consider others. A child cannot bear with or comfort others. But as the child grows, he or she learns to care for others and to be patient and comfort them. When that happens, we can say the child has matured.
When a baby is born in a family, do they let the baby grow up on their own without concern? No. All the attention and care from the parents, siblings, and other family members is focused on the baby. There are constant worries about the baby’s safety, such as whether the baby might fall or swallow something harmful. The baby grows up receiving this patience and concern from the family.
Spiritually, it’s the same. A new believer, spiritually born again in Christ, also needs spiritual parents to guide and nurture them. In the church, those who have just believed in Christ and are spiritually newborn, as well as those with weak faith, should be the ones to receive the most attention and love. These people tend to speak and act according to the values of the world. They may criticize the church based on worldly views. But this behavior may seem foolish or even disrespectful to those who have experienced and known God and are spiritually mature. However, remember that they are still spiritually immature. They are still young in faith. We need to bear with them and show love, concern, comfort, and encouragement so they can grow.
In order to do this, we need to see not just the reality but the potential in the person.
Aristotle said that every person has both their actual state and their potential state. We need to see the potential of others when we look at them because that’s what Jesus did. When Jesus saw His disciples, He looked at their potential, not their actual state. Peter was reckless and quick to speak, often making promises he couldn’t keep. He even denied Jesus three times. That was his actual state. But Jesus saw Peter’s potential, bore with him, and accepted him. Eventually, after Peter grew and matured, he preached and 3,000 or 4,000 people turned to Christ. This is the potential Peter reached after growing spiritually.
When we look at one another, we should see the potential. Let us bear with one another, hoping that one day we will all mature and become spiritual giants.
Greet the person next to you and say, "I will bear with you," and "Grow to be a spiritual giant!"
[Application] Am I someone who bears with others, or do I easily become angry? Who is the neighbor that I need to care for today, and what is their potential state?
3. Accept One Another
[Romans 15:7] Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
In verse 6, it says to bring glory to God with one mind and one voice, and for that, we are told to accept one another. What does it mean to accept one another? It means there is something that does not align between us. We are different. Our thoughts, words, and actions are different because our faith is different. Those with weak faith still speak and act according to worldly standards. But should the one with stronger faith overpower the one with weaker faith? Should the weak person simply follow the strong person and abandon worldly ideas? The answer is not that simple. If we read the text carefully, we see that Paul is not suggesting this.
If we read verse 7 again, it says, “Just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” What does that mean? We were sinners, living according to worldly values and without hope. As sinners, we deserved punishment and eternal separation from God, but Jesus did not reject us. Instead, He accepted us in His love. He did not cast us aside for our worldly values but embraced us.
In the same way Christ accepted us, we must accept one another. Just as we believed in Jesus and received Him as our Savior and Lord, we must do the same within the church. Those with strong faith must love, bear with, and accept those who are still grounded in the values of the world. And those with weaker faith must not be hostile toward those with stronger faith but must embrace their love, teaching, and care.
Do I have someone who is difficult to accept by my side? How should I think about them? Consider them to be an angel God has sent to help me become more like Christ. The person who is hard for me to accept, the one who makes me upset just by seeing them, is sent by God to train me in faith to accept one another.
Look at the person next to you. They may be far away, but think of them as the person you are struggling to accept and speak with faith. "I accept you."
I pray that all the members of our church will not insist on their own way but, instead, will bear with one another, be patient, comfort each other, and accept one another, so that we will love God with one mind and one voice, love our neighbors, and bring glory to the Father. I bless you all in the name of the Lord.
[Application] Who is the angel God has placed next to me? What can I do to take a step closer to them?
하늘소망교회(담임 손진국 목사)는 뉴질랜드 오클랜드 북부 실버데일에 세워진 한인교회로 '하나님의 마음으로 사람을 살리는 교회'입니다.
Hope of Heaven Baptist Church (Senior Pastor: Rev. Jinkook Sohn) is a Korean church established in Silverdale, Auckland, New Zealand. It is a church that saves people with the heart of God.