Romans 15:1-6, “Christian Unity Glorifies God.”

God is all about unity, and the most marvelous and divine example is of course

the Trinity, of which we have come into fellowship with the Father, though the Son, made effectual by the Holy Spirit, evidence by our love for one another.

The Psalmist writes (Psalm 133:1), “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!” Speaking of Israel God said (Jeremiah 32:38-39), “They will be My people and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear Me for their own good and for the good of their children after them.”

It was always God’s plan to include Gentiles (non-Jews) in His family (John 10:16), “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.”

God’s ultimate plan is that there will be one people, unified in Christ, the Apostle John gives us a future picture of this (Revelation 21:1-4), “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’”

But no place is the heart of our Lord expressed more fully concerning Christian unity than in His prayer to the Father, for us (John 17:11), “I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you, Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your name —the name you gave Me — so that they may be one as We are one.”

The Holy Spirit came upon and dwelt within the believers at Pentecost, and Peter preached a short but stirring message (see Acts 2:21, 36-40) resulting in the spiritual unity of the believers which was immediately expressed (see Acts 2:41-47).

I love the way God uses Luke to express the spiritual atmosphere in the church as it was newly birthed (see Acts 4:32-37). As the church spread out and was established in other regions and cities, agape love among the believers was continually the standard for behavior and belief among God’s people (see Galatians 3:26-28; Ephesians 4:1-7; Colossians 3:12-17).

See Romans 15:1-2... What Paul taught in chapter 14, he states again here, that the stronger brother is to come alongside the weaker brother; for Christianity is not about self indulgence or personal liberty, but about unity in the family; which means, sometimes the stronger member must bear the failings [weaknesses] of the member who is spiritually immature concerning certain cultural or religious legalisms or taboos, that are not necessarily Biblical, e.g., prohibiting certain foods, drinks, styles of music, translations of the Bible, etc., as if by partaking of these one is made unrighteous or by the avoidance of these one is made righteous.

We have not been given new life from God in order to pursue our own freedoms and seek personal liberty; but in fact we ought to be willing to give up personal comforts and liberties if it is beneficial for fellow believers, or perhaps, might influence unbelievers for Christ (see Philippians 2:1-4; 1Corinthians 9:19-23).

Paul says in Romans 15:1-2, that we are not just to please ourselves, but that we are to please our neighbor, in order to build him up, for this is good. Romans 14:19 commands us, “make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”

You may need to give up some of your own liberty or perhaps a momentary comfort, in order not to harm the conscience or spiritual well-being of another believer, for the sake of unity within the whole congregation.

God wants us to be of one mind, singular in purpose, to honor and obey God’s Word, and to worship the Lord.

See Romans 15:3-4... Even Jesus Christ, God the Son, did not come to please Himself, but to please the Father in heaven, and we are to have that same attitude (see Philippians 2:5-8). Jesus, being fully man and fully God, was clearly submissive to the Father, and He did what the Father commanded Him to do, and said what the Father commanded Him to say, always obedient, always in conformity to the character and nature of God, and to the authority of God’s Word.

All Scripture was given by God for our instruction, exhortation, encouragement equipping, training and perseverance (2Timothy 3:16-17).

2Peter 1:20-21, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were moved along by the Holy Spirit.”

It is through the God-breathed, God-authored, Scriptures that we find encouragement to persevere, to endure the trials and tribulations of this life, along with the hatred and persecution directed toward us because of Christ, without God’s Word and without God’s Spirit we would absolutely have no hope!

Psalms 42:5; 62:5; 119:49, 116, 166; 130:5 all exclaim and encourage us that our hope is in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, revealed to us in God’s Word, the 66 books of the Bible.

See Romans 15:5-6... God grants us perseverance, and so, He expects us to persevere; God grants us encouragement, and so, He expects us to be encouraged, but not only that, we are to be encouragers, so that as one people with one heart, one mind and one voice, we might glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, through the unity granted us in Him.

The prayer Jesus prayed to the Father, in the presence of His disciples, is all about unity (John 17:21-23), “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. I have given them the glory that you gave Me, that they may be one as We are one: I in them and You in Me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me.”

As Christians, we serve at God’s pleasure by the authority granted us in Christ, confirmed by God’s Spirit living in us. All the glory goes to God, the Holy Trinity: the Father is God, the Son is God, the Spirit is God, and they are always working in perfect harmony.

And that is what God wants for us, and from us, unity; in order that the world might know Him, and call upon the name of the Lord to be saved.

Those who genuinely belong to God through Christ will live in a manner that brings praise and honor and glory to God, while also encouraging one another, in order that we might bring the message of forgiveness, salvation and eternal life through Christ, to all who will listen; that they also might be one with the Father, just as we have been united with Him through Jesus Christ the Lord.

Pastor Mike <‘(((><