Romans 15:1 - Meaning and Application

The apostle gives two commands here, each backed by a reason, to show that strong Christians should be thoughtful and humble toward weak ones. First, we must bear with the failings of the weak (Romans 15:1). All of us have weaknesses, but weak believers are more easily harmed by them, whether in knowledge or in grace, like a bruised reed or a smoldering wick. We should not crush them or look down on them. Instead, we should encourage them and patiently put up with their weaknesses.

If they judge us harshly or speak badly of us because of their weakness, we should still bear with them. We should pity them and not let our love for them grow cold. Their behavior often comes from weakness, and they cannot fully help it. In this, Christ dealt gently with his weak disciples and made excuses for them. We should also bear their weaknesses by sharing their trouble, caring about them, and helping strengthen them when there is a need. That is part of carrying one another’s burdens.

Second, we must not live to please ourselves, but our neighbor (Romans 15:1, Romans 15:2). We should deny our own will in view of our brothers’ weakness. Christians must not make it their aim to satisfy every small desire of their own hearts. It is good for us to check ourselves sometimes, because then we will more easily bear it when others cross us. If we are always indulged, we can become spoiled, like Adonijah. The first lesson of the Christian life is self-denial (Matthew 16:24).

Christians should seek to please their brothers. Christianity is meant to soften the heart and make us gentle, helpful, and agreeable. It does not make us servants of anyone’s sinful desires, but of our brothers’ needs and weaknesses, so far as we can with a clear conscience. Christians ought to learn to be pleasing. We should not use our Christian liberty for our own enjoyment, since it was given not for selfish pleasure, but for God’s glory and for the good and building up of others. How much better the church would be if believers tried to please one another, instead of always trying to oppose, frustrate, and argue with one another.

This does not mean pleasing others in every matter. It is not an unlimited rule. We are to please our neighbor for his good, especially for his spiritual good. We must not serve sinful wishes, encourage wrongdoing, or join in temptation. To please people that way would be to help ruin their souls, and if we do that, we are not serving Christ. Rather, we should please them in ways that help them, not for our own gain or to take advantage of them, but for their spiritual benefit and for edification, that is, for building up the body of Christ. The closer the stones are fitted together, the stronger the building becomes.

The reason is this: even Christ did not please himself. The self-denial of the Lord Jesus is the best answer to Christian selfishness. He did not seek worldly honor, comfort, safety, or pleasure for himself. He had no place to lay his head, lived by gifts, refused to be made a king, and rejected the idea of sparing himself. He did not seek his own will (John 5:30), washed his disciples’ feet, endured the hostility of sinners, and in one word, emptied himself and made himself of no reputation. He did all this for our sake, to bring us righteousness and to leave us an example. His whole life was one of self-denial and self-crossing. He bore the weaknesses of the weak (Hebrews 4:15).

Scripture also foretold this: “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me” (Psalm 69:9). Paul quotes this to show that Christ was far from pleasing himself, and instead endured the deepest kind of self-denial. This does not mean his whole mission was a burden he hated, for he was willing and joyful in it. But in his humiliation, every comfort of natural desire was crossed and denied. He preferred our good to his own ease and pleasure. Paul chooses Scripture’s own words here, because the things of God are best spoken of in the words God has given.

These reproaches fell on Christ in two ways. First, they were the shameful insults he suffered. Whatever dishonor was done to God grieved the Lord Jesus. He was troubled by hardness of heart, looked on sinful places with sorrow and tears, and counted the mistreatment of his people as done against himself: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Christ also bore great personal insults in his suffering.

Second, the reproaches speak of the sin he took on himself to satisfy for us. Many understand it this way. Every sin is a kind of insult to God, especially bold and willful sin. The guilt of such sin fell on Christ when he was made sin, that is, a sin offering, for us. When the Lord laid on him the iniquities of us all and he bore our sins in his body on the tree, they fell on him as our guarantee before God. “Upon me be the curse.” This was the deepest possible self-denial. Considering his perfect holiness, the Father’s love for him, and his constant concern for his Father’s glory, nothing could be more against him than to be made sin and a curse for us, and to have God’s reproaches fall on him, especially for people who were strangers, enemies, and traitors, the righteous for the unrighteous (1 Peter 3:18).

This gives us the reason why we should bear with the weaknesses of others. We must not live to please ourselves, because Christ did not please himself. We must bear with the weak, because Christ bore the reproaches of those who reproached God. He carried the guilt and curse of sin, while we are only called to carry a little of the trouble that comes from it. He bore the sins of the wicked in their full guilt, while we are only asked to bear with the weaknesses of the weak.

Even Christ, who was perfectly happy in enjoying himself and needed nothing from us, did not please himself. He was equal with God and had every reason to satisfy himself alone, yet he chose not to. He even bore our sins. Should not we then be humble, deny ourselves, and be ready to think of one another, since we belong to one another?

That is why we must go and do likewise, because whatever was written before was written for our learning. What is written about Christ, especially his self-denial and suffering, is written to teach us. He left us an example. If Christ denied himself, surely we should deny ourselves too, out of gratitude, good sense, and a desire to be like him. The example of Christ, in what he said and did, is recorded for us to imitate.

What was written in the Old Testament in general is also written for our learning. Paul had just applied David’s words to Christ, and this might seem like forcing the passage. So he gives a broad rule: all the Old Testament Scriptures, and even more the New, were written for our learning and are not to be treated as if they were only for private interpretation. What happened to the saints in the Old Testament happened as examples for us, and those Scriptures have many fulfillments. They were left as a lasting rule for us, written so they would remain for our use and benefit.

They are written, first, for our learning. There is much to learn from Scripture, and the best learning comes from these sources. Those are the most truly learned who are strongest in the Scriptures. So we must work not only to understand the plain meaning of Scripture, but also to learn what will do us good. We need help not only to roll away the stone, but to draw out the water, because in many places the well is deep. Practical lessons matter more than technical explanations.

Second, they are written so that through patience and the comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope. The hope meant here is the hope of eternal life. Scripture was written so we would know what to hope for from God, on what grounds, and in what way. That should make Scripture precious to us, because it is a close friend to Christian hope.

The way to reach this hope is through patience and comfort from the Scriptures. Patience and comfort assume trouble and sorrow, and that is the lot of God’s people in this world. If life were not like that, we would have no need for patience and comfort. Yet both of these support the hope that gives life to our souls. Patience produces experience, and experience produces hope, which does not put us to shame (Romans 5:3-5). The more patience we show under trouble, the more confidently we can look through our troubles. Nothing harms hope more than impatience.

The comfort of the Scriptures also supports hope. This comfort comes from the word of God, and it is the surest and sweetest comfort. It is like a down payment of the good things we hope for. The Spirit, as our Comforter, is the guarantee of our inheritance.