Life Together – Week #6
Welcome One Another for God’s Glory
Life Together 2026 – Romans 15:1-14 (CGS #6)
INTRODUCTION – We’ve been looking at a few of the “one another” commands in the New Testament, and now we arrive at one of the most hopeful. The core of this passage pops up in a couple places, but it can be summarized in verse 13: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. (Rom 15:13) How do we arrive at this hope? Let’s look at the flow of Paul’s argument.
He starts by referencing the previous chapter: The strong have an obligation to bear with the weak. In chapter 14, Paul made it clear that even if you interpret your freedom in Christ correctly, that doesn’t give you the right to trample on the consciences of your brothers and sisters who interpret their freedoms differently. Here, Paul uses a shorthand: “The strong” are those who understand that “the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Rom 14:17) In other words, what you eat or don’t eat doesn’t determine your standing with God. “The weak” are those whose consciences convict them that eating meat or drinking wine dedicated to idols is evil. Paul is saying that “the strong” shouldn’t be selfish in their liberty and thus tear down or hinder the faith of “the weak,” but they should seek to build them up. When we welcome each other as Christ has welcomed us, we experience harmony with one another (v. 5). And what do we do with our united, harmonized voices? Like an enormous choir, we sing with “one voice” to glorify God (v. 6). What a beautiful picture of the church.
Verses 8-12 show us that God has always been about reaching the nations. When God called Abram (later Abraham) way back in Genesis 12, and he promised to bless Abram’s descendents–to make a great nation of them–do you remember the rest of the promise?
[2] And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. [3] I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:2–3, emphasis added)
“All the families of the earth.” That’s a big promise! In Jesus, we see that promise fulfilled. We see it briefly here, and Ephesians 2, 3, and 4 explore this concept in tremendous detail. Jesus “made us [Jews and Gentiles] both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility” (Eph 2:14). He brought near those who were far off (Eph 2:17). He revealed the mystery that “the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (Eph 3:6), so that we could be called “one body” with “one Spirit” (Eph 4:4).
But the full picture of this passage isn’t realized until verse 13, when Paul puts all the pieces together. Here’s his logic: God has always been about reaching the nations, he welcomed them into the family by the work of Christ, now you must welcome them as he welcomed you, and when we make the effort to be welcoming, we all experience God more deeply, and we are filled with “all joy and peace,” abounding in hope. Isn’t that a beautiful image? Verse 7 is the tortilla shell that wraps up this whole beautiful burrito: God is glorified when we welcome each other as Christ welcomed us.
GETTING STARTED – Discuss this question as a group: Have you ever been an outsider? How did it feel to be welcomed or unwelcomed?
IN THE WORD – Let’s dig back into the passage. It’s important to strengthen our muscles in reading God’s Word. On Sunday, we walked through the passage in the sermon. Hopefully, that helped you to see the landmarks of the passage with fresh eyes. Now, with your group, go back through it and see what God is saying to you specifically.
First, before you read the passage, take a moment to ask God’s Spirit to quiet your mind and heart and to illuminate the text to you. Second, read the passage aloud to the group. Then, follow the simple method below (O.P.A.).
Observe: Make 8-10 observations from the passage. Pay close attention to observe and note repeated words and phrases, names, places, and themes.
Principles: From your list of observations, what patterns or big ideas do you see emerging? Can you distill it down into 2-4 big idea truths?
Apply: Moving from your list of principles, it is time to apply God’s Word. Remember, we believe that God’s Word is living and active and that it can change the way we live Monday-Friday. What is one tangible way to apply a truth from your list above?
DISCUSS – Another way to approach your time together is to talk through the following discussion questions:
- What did you hear God’s Spirit say to you through the passage this week? How does it encourage you? How does it sharpen you?
- How have you seen God at work in your life this week? Have you enjoyed him? Have you heard his voice and the leading of his Spirit? Big ways or small ways.
- What responsibilities do Christians who are stronger in their faith have toward Christians who are weaker in their faith?
- Have you ever had a mentor? If so, what did you learn from them?
- How does Paul connect Old Testament promises with the work of Christ?
- What benefit do we get from welcoming outsiders? What benefit do they get?
- How are you instructing others? Have you shared your story of God’s faithfulness with anyone lately? You can start with the people in the room with you right now!