I was watching a television show the other night about the advances that are taking place in personal protection devices. They showed weapons and chemical sprays and all the things have been around for some time, but the thing that caught my eye was the body armor. They started way beck in ancient times and worked their way up to today. The thing I found fascinating is that each generation eventually worked their way into a design that involved layers. We have all seen the new bullet proof vests that the police and armed forces use. Most of it is made up of relatively thin layers of different materials, none of which would give you much protection by itself. However, when you put them all together you end up with at device that will stop a bullet fired a pretty close range.
Romans 154For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
5May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
I like the book of Romans. Paul leaves absolutely no doubt about where his faith is set and how people needed to come to his Lord and Savior. It seems that Paul was just as passionate about his Jesus as he was about his position in the Jewish hierarchy. This difference is that Paul was willing to suffer incredible persecution for Jesus Christ. As he nears the end of this letter, Paul begins to speak more of the horizontal relationship between believers. He has spent a lot of time making sure they understand how to become a Christ-follower and now he is encouraging them to learn how to live like a Christ-follower.
Notice how Paul starts this passage. He tells them that everything they had earned from God's Word in the past had application in their lives in the present. God had been preparing them for this period of history since he called out Abraham. All of the lessons in the law and the hardships endured as the nation was being birthed added their endurance and their appreciation of the Scriptures. This was the only hope they had for many generations.
Paul continues in verse 5 with an admonition that is at least as relevant today as it was then. He ties it in quite well with the use of "endurance and encouragement" again, but this is no literary device. He is telling the Roman believers that they are missing a layer in their body armor. They fear God. They read the Scripture. They have even acknowledged Jesus as their Lord and Savior. So what is missing? Paul says that the missing layer is unity. In order for their body armor to be able to give them adequate protection, they must seek and cultivate a oneness with their fellow believers.
Why did Paul find it necessary to speak about unity? Because Christians have a problem in that area. We can have our best Jesus face on and talk about a brother behind his back – in the guise of a prayer request. We can come and sit in our pew (God forbid if a newbie sits in our spot) as we sing the songs and amen the preacher. Then, on our way home we are complaining about the sound or the preacher or the sermon instead of continuing our worship.
Paul puts it this way. We must have one heart – the heart of Jesus Christ. We must have one voice – the voice of the Holy Spirit continually carrying our prayers and praise to the throne of God – and helping us understand what Scripture says about how we should live. How do we obtain and maintain unity in the body? "Accept one another just as Jesus Christ accepted us." If we are busy building relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ, there will be no time for division. We will be too busy multiplying the body by lifting up Jesus wherever we go.
We serve an awesome God!!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment