“We Are Accepted” Romans 15:1-7

“We Are Accepted”

Romans 15:1-7

When I was a teenager, I remember someone commenting on the inconsistencies of teenagers. We spent all sorts of time talking about how we wanted to be ourselves, to be individuals, but then we’d see photos of ourselves, and we all dressed the same, wore the same hairstyles, listened to the same music—we fit in with the crowd, our individuality surrendered to the group.

It’s not hard to see what was happening. Everyone wants to be themselves, sure. But more importantly, we want to be accepted. The way we gain acceptance is to conform to the society we want to identify with.

And it hasn’t been that way just since the ‘60’s and ‘70’s. We can go back to as far as we want, and we will see people wanting to fit in so that they could be accepted.

Acceptance is an important part of who we are and what we want in life. That’s true with our spiritual walk, as well. We want to be accepted by God, so we conform ourselves in an effort to gain His acceptance. We go to church, read our Bibles, do good things,--all in an effort to gain God’s approval and acceptance.

In today’s verse, Romans 15:7, we see the Bible telling us that we are accepted by Jesus. And His acceptance of us isn’t based upon what we have done or said. As is always the case with God and His relationship, God’s acceptance is a result of what God has done to bring us into fellowship with Him.

Background

Paul’s letters are usually broken into two parts. The first part is concerned with theory, while the second part is broken down into the practice of the theory. Romans 1-11 talks about what God has done and is doing to transform us, while 12-16 teaches how we are to live out God’s directions to us.

In the particular passage we’re looking at today, Paul is wrapping up teaching on how following Christ leads us to consider those who are weaker in faith than others.

Those who are weak in the faith are the ones who may see the world in more black-and-white. Think of the weak brothers and sisters as those who look at the Bible and say we should only do things that the Bible says we can do. The stronger brothers and sisters are those who look at the Bible and say, unless the Bible expressly forbids it, we are free to do anything as God leads.

Paul’s position is that the stronger brother or sister has a duty to protect the weaker brother or sister. While we may have a greater freedom under Christ, we also have a responsibility to keep the weaker members of the fellowship from stumbling. They may still need to grow in their relationship with Christ, and the last thing we should do is hinder someone’s growth.

It’s at the end of this teaching that this passage takes place. Paul’s point is that Jesus accepts us, therefore we should accept one another.

The fact that Jesus accepts us is one of the key elements of breaking free from Satan’s lies and walking in full faith with God. Satan wants us to feel like God really doesn’t accept us, that we have to keep performing to gain His acceptance. We have to jump through all the hoops and do all the tricks, and when we fail to do so (as we all do), then God stops accepting us and we are once again unworthy of His love.

Satan has us living the lie that God’s love is conditional. He wants us to think that God only loves us when we live up to His expectations.

The truth of the matter is that God accepts us as we are. It is His acceptance that enables us to grow and become all He wants us to be.

Look at Jesus with Peter after the resurrection. As they walked along the shore after a breakfast of fresh fish, it was probably the first time Peter had been confronted with Jesus after Peter’s denial. Three times, Peter denied Jesus. Now, Jesus asks Peter three time, “Peter, do you love Me?” The first two times, Jesus uses the word agape to mean love. Agape love is an unconditional, Christlike love. The first time, Jesus asks, “Peter, do you love Me more than these?” and the second time, Jesus asks simply, “Peter, do you love Me?” After Peter responds with phileo—brotherly love, or I love you like a brother—Jesus then goes down to Peter’s level: “Peter, do you phileo Me?”

I’ve always seen this as Jesus telling Peter that He still accepted Peter, and that He would accept Peter where he was. Jesus knew what Peter was capable of and what Peter could become. The condition of Jesus’ acceptance wasn’t on Peter meeting certain high expectations that he wasn’t ready to acknowledge. Jesus accepted Peter just as Peter was.

That’s what the Bible teaches us. When God sent Jesus into the world to die for our sins, God was telling us that He willingly accepts us and brings us into His family when we acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Notice the Bible says, “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you” (Romans 15:7). The acceptance took place when Christ died for us. The fact that it’s past tense doesn’t mean He doesn’t accept us anymore. It means it happened a while back and we are still accepted by Him.

We are accepted. We belong. We don’t have to gain God’s acceptance. It’s already there, and that frees us to walk by faith, not by feelings. It also shapes the way we relate to the world around us.

Central Truth: Because Christ accepts us, we are to also accept others.

By accepting others, we:

Bear with the weak (1-4)

When I was in seminary in Fort Worth, someone told a story about a city-wide revival taking place in Atlanta. The Baptist churches in the area had joined together to present the revival, and they had brought in an evangelist from England to lead the revival.

One day, they evangelist joined several area Baptist pastors for lunch. They were in a prominent local restaurant and the waitress came around to see about drinks before ordering the meal. The evangelist looked around the table and asked, “Are there any weak brothers here?” Of course, a table of preachers, no one would admit to being a weak brother, so the evangelist, being very British, told the waitress, “I’ll have a beer.” And that’s when all the trouble started.

I’ve always liked that story, in part because it reminds me that “weakness” is relative. In England, having a pint of beer doesn’t raise any eyebrows. Having a pint in downtown Atlanta during lunch hour raises all sorts of eyebrows. And then some.

The Bible’s instructions that we bear with the weaker member is a sign of our strength, and our reason is not to show how strong we are. Rather, our reason is to please our neighbor and to build him or her up. It all comes back to the Golden Rule. When we look for ways to treat others, we are constantly reminded that we have a duty to build others up, to make them stronger. Our goal in life is not to win, but to find a way for everyone to win. In this instance, not taking the weaker person out of his or her comfort zone, but letting them come to a new awareness of God in their own time.

Paul reminds us the reason for the Bible is to teach us how to relate to one another. It is written to encourage us to endure and to gain in our hope.

Because we are accepted in Christ, we can accept the weak brother or sister not as a hindrance or a nuisance, but as someone worthy of God’s love and, therefore, worthy of my acceptance and love as well.

Have a spirit of unity (5-6)

It’s interesting that Paul here mentions unity, but as we reconsider what came before, it really fits.

If the stronger members of the fellowship were to take no consideration for the weaker members, a schism would inevitably grow between the two sides. The two sides would grow increasing apart and animosity would overtake the love that should be present.

Paul refers to endurance and encouragement because he knows that the stronger brothers need to endure the growth of the weaker ones, and at times that can be a real burden. For the most part, my children got along together as they were growing up. Sure, they had their disagreements and sometimes acted as if they didn’t like each other at all. But for the most part, they got along pretty well.

Still, there would be times when Laura or Stephen would become exasperated with Melissa, the little sister. When the kids were really young, Mel had a habit of grabbing something Laura or Stephen was playing with and running. She had a big smile on her face and was laughing, because it was her way of saying to her siblings, “Come, chase me; play with me.” Sadly, Mel’s communication skills could lead to Laura or Stephen getting angry at her. Helping Mel to grow must have been an endurance for Laura and Stephen.

Paul writes that God uses Scripture to encourage us and enable us to endure, and the same God who inspired Scripture pours out His Spirit upon us. This spirit allows us to find unity, since our quest in life is not to deal with people but to follow Christ. In following Christ, we learn how to deal with people, and as we grow together in His grace and mercy, we find ourselves working together. Watching one another grow in Christ is cause for praise and glory to God.

God’s acceptance of us as His own is reason enough to be encouraged and to endure in His grace.

Bring praise to God (7)

Why does accepting each other bring praise to God?

Go back to Jesus’ last night with the disciples. After Judas had gone, Jesus told the disciples, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so must you love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35).

Just as the act of loving one another identifies us with Jesus, so does our acceptance of one another further demonstrate that love and causes us and others to praise God.

To the Thessalonians, Paul wrote, “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody” (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12). Paul’s point is that people are watching us and, when they see our willingness to accept one another, including the weak and the outsider, there is the likelihood that they will give praise to us and to God. The praise to us is insignificant; the praise to God is all that matters.

Jesus has accepted us. We also must learn to accept one another.

Conclusion

One of the songs that came out of the Toy Story movies was, “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.” It’s a heartwarming song about how a true friend accepts and loves us for who we are and what we are.

Jesus told His disciples in the Upper Room that they were no longer His servants, but they were His friends. By accepting us, Jesus tells us that we are His friend, as well.

What more would we want in life than to be Jesus’ friend? The Bible tells us it’s not something we must aspire to. It’s already true. We are His friend. He accepts us.

Walk by faith, not be feeling.