Beyond Taking It
“Beyond Taking It”
(Romans 15:1-6, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, October 30, 2005)
Introduction: “Spirituality” and the Therapeutic Assumption
Many people in our day consider themselves “spiritual.” Yet contemporary spirituality is often undertaken solely for the therapeutic benefit that it promises. While we all would like to feel better, to settle for religion as therapy is to settle for too little. Most of us seem to want more than that.
Dr. Leon Kass and the President’s Council on Bioethics recently published a book considering some of the ethical challenges that have come with advances in Biotechnology. The book is entitled Beyond Therapy. The chapter titles in this government report are very interesting. They highlight for things that we want medicine to do for us. We want “Better Children,” “Superior Performance,” “Ageless Bodies,” and even “Happy Souls.”
While some seek these things in the creations of the pharmaceutical scientists, many expect personal spirituality to do her part. But even if an active spiritual quest can’t guarantee some objectives, the provision of basic therapy is a minimum goal for many seekers. If spirituality does not yield me pleasure, why would I bother with it?
Robert Bellah in Habits of the Heart tells the story of a Sheila Larson. Sheila claims to have her own religion that she calls Sheilaism. She calls it “my little voice.” What does the voice say? “Just try to love yourself and be gentle with yourself. You know, I guess, take care of each other. I think He would want us to take care of each other.”
When I first heard about the content of “Sheilaism,” I have to admit that it sounded secretly appealing. There is a part of this that I can relate to very well. In the challenges of life, when we feel like we can’t take it, we would like to think that therapy would give us something good. We may alternate between despair and simply trying to be tough. But when the tough veneer leads to a deadness, when your stiff upper lip has turned to stone and you are losing our ability to feel, you might like a little therapy – a little Sheilaism. You might like at least enough therapy to be able to take the perceived injuries of life with some genuine composure.
But Sheilaism has this one glaring defect for us. It is clearly not Christianity. It could not possibly explain the cross. It could not lead to radically sacrificial mercy or costly justice. Christianity takes a different path to get to something much bigger than personal therapy.
TODAY’S PASSAGE:
Romans 15:1-6 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me." 4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
CAN YOU TAKE IT?
(1) Don’t please yourself.
Immediately we see a very different instruction in the Bible. Verse one very plainly tells us that we are not to please ourselves. The Greek word translated “to please” could also be translated “to try to please.” The point is that your efforts in life can not merely be directed at your own personal pleasure. Don’t make yourself weary in trying to please yourself. Even as I say those words you may find yourself thinking something like this: “What a refreshing idea!” “What a freeing idea!” Maybe even, “What a pleasing idea” – oddly enough. Our determination to be freed from the large burden of pleasing ourselves can actually turn out to be be very pleasant.
Let me correct one possible area of confusion here. John Piper makes the case that we should tell people not to seek less pleasure, but more pleasure. What he means by this is that we were created to enjoy God, and the right choice for us is the choice of that greatest of all pleasures that can only come from Him. When we choose sin, we choose a far inferior pleasure. We should seek the better way, which is also the way of far greater pleasure. I agree with Piper entirely on that point, and I am convinced that his thought on this is very consistent with the passage before us.
What is it that God is prohibiting then? There is a baseness of living for your own convenience and for the avoidance of all pain and annoyance in the midst of a world full of sin and misery. This type of self-centered pleasure seeking is not God’s plan for you.
(2) Please your neighbor for his good.
You are told instead to please your neighbor. This brings us back to the first verse of the passage. There God tells us that there is something that we ought to do. Literally we are to carry the weaknesses of the weak. Give thought to your neighbor, and make it your pleasure to please your neighbor.
This requires some qualification. You cannot aid your neighbor in sin just because he has decided that sin is the most pleasing option for him. You must please him for his good, and for the building up of your neighbor in the good things that God has for him. To do this is good not only for him, but also for you to. It builds him up in the faith and is also best for your edification in Jesus Christ.
(3-4) For Christ did not please himself.
There is a very powerful Christian reason given to encourage us in this pathway. Christ went this way. He did not please himself. Paul goes on to quote from Psalm 69 and to apply those words to Jesus Christ, saying, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” If we look at Psalm 69, we see that the “you” is God, and the “me” according to Paul is ultimately the Messiah. People were against God, and the hatred and antagonism that they had for God fell on Jesus.
If you read Psalm 69 you will see the intense experiences of suffering that the psalmist describes. While the psalm is clearly speaking about the suffering of Christ upon the cross, the larger ministry of Jesus was full of the reproaches of men. As an example, consider Mark 3:1-6. Jesus heals a man with a withered hand, and the Pharisees get together to figure out how to destroy him. He was despised and rejected by men.
Was all this fun or pleasant? No. But the Apostle Paul tells us that this was recorded in the Old Testament for our comfort, that we might have hope. There is a pattern here that is for you to appreciate, and it is very clear. Christ is for you in his trials and death. Now you are to be for your extended family here in your midst. You are all to follow Christ in his great mercy as you live for the pleasure of others.
WHAT CAN GOD MAKE OF IT?
(5-6) What is the goal?
It is a wonderful thing to have peace in this extended family, but it is not the final goal. The final goal of true Christian harmony in the church is described in verse 6 of Romans 15 and in Psalm 69. It is the praise of God in corporate worship. Paul says that we are to do this with one mind and one mouth – that is what our text literally says. This is our goal, and it is greatly hampered by our unfortunate contentions. On the other hand, our united voice of worship is furthered through gospel forgiveness and unity. Sometimes we feel that we cannot take another thing. But God can lead us through the challenges even of personal contention, and He can surely make something of it. He can take the pain and work it into a harmony of praise.
POINT: The Christian life is a life of spending ourselves for the good of others to the praise of God.
Application: The Surprising Health of True Christian Spirituality
There is a great irony to the true life of Christian Spirituality. When we forsake our own self-centered therapy and devote ourselves to others, then we are actually moving along a road that will be good for our own health – a road far more healthy than the Sheila-istic faith of directly pursuing self-satisfaction.
Sheila’s little voice says, “Just try to love yourself and be gentle with yourself – He does want us to take care of each other…” We say something different. “Love your neighbor and be gentle with your neighbor – even bringing pleasure to him, especially in the church, for Christ came not to be served, but to serve, and he gave his life as a ransom for many.”
There is some of this forsaking of self that seems to happen naturally to everyone. God has made life so that the propagation of the human race through the institution of the family sends us down a pathway where self-focused convenience and avoidance of pain looks increasingly juvenile. Not everyone gets married and not everyone has children. But those who do get married will soon find that they are living with another person with real feelings to be considered. It will not do to claim that your way of living life is to live it for your own ease. Children also demand your sacrificial love. Those who get married and who have children, but live life just to pursue their own pleasures end up looking foolish, and most will see the folly and make some adjustments.
I want to urge you to consider your commitment to Christ and to this body of believers with that kind of family seriousness. Will you care about your brother here more than you care about yourself? Will you make a commitment to caring for others within this expression of the body of Christ?
To do so is actually good for you, and more importantly it facilitates our unity of worship together as we praise God with a united voice. If we will not do this together, then we will have no real commitment to sacrificial missions of gospel grace, which is where Paul is headed in the remainder of Romans 15. Without this teaching there will be no cross love. Without cross love there will be no true Christian consolation or encouragement and no real gospel hope.
What’s it going to be? Sheila-ism or Christianity?
This week I had a chance to travel with Pastor Scott Meadows to a meeting in Manchester. Scott told me some things about his own journey in the Christian faith, and since I expressed interest in our conversation, he sent me an e-mail with a fuller testimony that was wonderful to consider. I wrote him back a short note as follows:
Scott – this was very inspiring. I am very thankful to be your friend. The Lord has done great things in your life. What an honor it is to teach your children!
He then replied to me in a way that is so wonderfully Christian, and marvelously healthy:
Brother – It is kind and gracious for you to say these things. We have both been so blessed of God, especially considering how undeserving we are in ourselves. Let’s wear ourselves out for His praise!
Yours in the gospel, D. Scott Meadows
(Romans 15:1-6, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, October 30, 2005)
Introduction: “Spirituality” and the Therapeutic Assumption
Many people in our day consider themselves “spiritual.” Yet contemporary spirituality is often undertaken solely for the therapeutic benefit that it promises. While we all would like to feel better, to settle for religion as therapy is to settle for too little. Most of us seem to want more than that.
Dr. Leon Kass and the President’s Council on Bioethics recently published a book considering some of the ethical challenges that have come with advances in Biotechnology. The book is entitled Beyond Therapy. The chapter titles in this government report are very interesting. They highlight for things that we want medicine to do for us. We want “Better Children,” “Superior Performance,” “Ageless Bodies,” and even “Happy Souls.”
While some seek these things in the creations of the pharmaceutical scientists, many expect personal spirituality to do her part. But even if an active spiritual quest can’t guarantee some objectives, the provision of basic therapy is a minimum goal for many seekers. If spirituality does not yield me pleasure, why would I bother with it?
Robert Bellah in Habits of the Heart tells the story of a Sheila Larson. Sheila claims to have her own religion that she calls Sheilaism. She calls it “my little voice.” What does the voice say? “Just try to love yourself and be gentle with yourself. You know, I guess, take care of each other. I think He would want us to take care of each other.”
When I first heard about the content of “Sheilaism,” I have to admit that it sounded secretly appealing. There is a part of this that I can relate to very well. In the challenges of life, when we feel like we can’t take it, we would like to think that therapy would give us something good. We may alternate between despair and simply trying to be tough. But when the tough veneer leads to a deadness, when your stiff upper lip has turned to stone and you are losing our ability to feel, you might like a little therapy – a little Sheilaism. You might like at least enough therapy to be able to take the perceived injuries of life with some genuine composure.
But Sheilaism has this one glaring defect for us. It is clearly not Christianity. It could not possibly explain the cross. It could not lead to radically sacrificial mercy or costly justice. Christianity takes a different path to get to something much bigger than personal therapy.
TODAY’S PASSAGE:
Romans 15:1-6 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me." 4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
CAN YOU TAKE IT?
(1) Don’t please yourself.
Immediately we see a very different instruction in the Bible. Verse one very plainly tells us that we are not to please ourselves. The Greek word translated “to please” could also be translated “to try to please.” The point is that your efforts in life can not merely be directed at your own personal pleasure. Don’t make yourself weary in trying to please yourself. Even as I say those words you may find yourself thinking something like this: “What a refreshing idea!” “What a freeing idea!” Maybe even, “What a pleasing idea” – oddly enough. Our determination to be freed from the large burden of pleasing ourselves can actually turn out to be be very pleasant.
Let me correct one possible area of confusion here. John Piper makes the case that we should tell people not to seek less pleasure, but more pleasure. What he means by this is that we were created to enjoy God, and the right choice for us is the choice of that greatest of all pleasures that can only come from Him. When we choose sin, we choose a far inferior pleasure. We should seek the better way, which is also the way of far greater pleasure. I agree with Piper entirely on that point, and I am convinced that his thought on this is very consistent with the passage before us.
What is it that God is prohibiting then? There is a baseness of living for your own convenience and for the avoidance of all pain and annoyance in the midst of a world full of sin and misery. This type of self-centered pleasure seeking is not God’s plan for you.
(2) Please your neighbor for his good.
You are told instead to please your neighbor. This brings us back to the first verse of the passage. There God tells us that there is something that we ought to do. Literally we are to carry the weaknesses of the weak. Give thought to your neighbor, and make it your pleasure to please your neighbor.
This requires some qualification. You cannot aid your neighbor in sin just because he has decided that sin is the most pleasing option for him. You must please him for his good, and for the building up of your neighbor in the good things that God has for him. To do this is good not only for him, but also for you to. It builds him up in the faith and is also best for your edification in Jesus Christ.
(3-4) For Christ did not please himself.
There is a very powerful Christian reason given to encourage us in this pathway. Christ went this way. He did not please himself. Paul goes on to quote from Psalm 69 and to apply those words to Jesus Christ, saying, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” If we look at Psalm 69, we see that the “you” is God, and the “me” according to Paul is ultimately the Messiah. People were against God, and the hatred and antagonism that they had for God fell on Jesus.
If you read Psalm 69 you will see the intense experiences of suffering that the psalmist describes. While the psalm is clearly speaking about the suffering of Christ upon the cross, the larger ministry of Jesus was full of the reproaches of men. As an example, consider Mark 3:1-6. Jesus heals a man with a withered hand, and the Pharisees get together to figure out how to destroy him. He was despised and rejected by men.
Was all this fun or pleasant? No. But the Apostle Paul tells us that this was recorded in the Old Testament for our comfort, that we might have hope. There is a pattern here that is for you to appreciate, and it is very clear. Christ is for you in his trials and death. Now you are to be for your extended family here in your midst. You are all to follow Christ in his great mercy as you live for the pleasure of others.
WHAT CAN GOD MAKE OF IT?
(5-6) What is the goal?
It is a wonderful thing to have peace in this extended family, but it is not the final goal. The final goal of true Christian harmony in the church is described in verse 6 of Romans 15 and in Psalm 69. It is the praise of God in corporate worship. Paul says that we are to do this with one mind and one mouth – that is what our text literally says. This is our goal, and it is greatly hampered by our unfortunate contentions. On the other hand, our united voice of worship is furthered through gospel forgiveness and unity. Sometimes we feel that we cannot take another thing. But God can lead us through the challenges even of personal contention, and He can surely make something of it. He can take the pain and work it into a harmony of praise.
POINT: The Christian life is a life of spending ourselves for the good of others to the praise of God.
Application: The Surprising Health of True Christian Spirituality
There is a great irony to the true life of Christian Spirituality. When we forsake our own self-centered therapy and devote ourselves to others, then we are actually moving along a road that will be good for our own health – a road far more healthy than the Sheila-istic faith of directly pursuing self-satisfaction.
Sheila’s little voice says, “Just try to love yourself and be gentle with yourself – He does want us to take care of each other…” We say something different. “Love your neighbor and be gentle with your neighbor – even bringing pleasure to him, especially in the church, for Christ came not to be served, but to serve, and he gave his life as a ransom for many.”
There is some of this forsaking of self that seems to happen naturally to everyone. God has made life so that the propagation of the human race through the institution of the family sends us down a pathway where self-focused convenience and avoidance of pain looks increasingly juvenile. Not everyone gets married and not everyone has children. But those who do get married will soon find that they are living with another person with real feelings to be considered. It will not do to claim that your way of living life is to live it for your own ease. Children also demand your sacrificial love. Those who get married and who have children, but live life just to pursue their own pleasures end up looking foolish, and most will see the folly and make some adjustments.
I want to urge you to consider your commitment to Christ and to this body of believers with that kind of family seriousness. Will you care about your brother here more than you care about yourself? Will you make a commitment to caring for others within this expression of the body of Christ?
To do so is actually good for you, and more importantly it facilitates our unity of worship together as we praise God with a united voice. If we will not do this together, then we will have no real commitment to sacrificial missions of gospel grace, which is where Paul is headed in the remainder of Romans 15. Without this teaching there will be no cross love. Without cross love there will be no true Christian consolation or encouragement and no real gospel hope.
What’s it going to be? Sheila-ism or Christianity?
This week I had a chance to travel with Pastor Scott Meadows to a meeting in Manchester. Scott told me some things about his own journey in the Christian faith, and since I expressed interest in our conversation, he sent me an e-mail with a fuller testimony that was wonderful to consider. I wrote him back a short note as follows:
Scott – this was very inspiring. I am very thankful to be your friend. The Lord has done great things in your life. What an honor it is to teach your children!
He then replied to me in a way that is so wonderfully Christian, and marvelously healthy:
Brother – It is kind and gracious for you to say these things. We have both been so blessed of God, especially considering how undeserving we are in ourselves. Let’s wear ourselves out for His praise!
Yours in the gospel, D. Scott Meadows
posted by Pastor Magee at 10:30 AM
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