(6/21) A People of Hope - Grace Group

A People of Hope Passage: Romans 15:1-4
Question: In the past, how would you describe the life of a strong Christian? What made them strong?
Rom. 15:1 ¶ We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
Some cross references:
1Th. 5:14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.
Rom. 14:1 ¶ As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. Gal. 6:2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Question: What stands out to you about these verses?
Rom. 15:4 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.
Rom. 15:5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,
Rom. 15:6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul summarizes the entirety of the Old Testament, “that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” God’s word is designed to lead us to hope. A hope that is centered on Christ and who Christ is for us. We hope in Christ’s ability to cleanse us from our sins, be our advocate before the Father, and one day safely bring us home to live with him in our new country. We can conclude from what Paul is writing in this section of Romans that those who are strong are the ones finding their “endurance” and “encouragement” because of their hope in Christ.
The “weak in faith,” or the “fainthearted,” are those who have either lost this hope or something has distracted them from it. Paul describes a very different kind of community then we see today. When people show up to church and their lives are full of problems because their hope is in this world, they are often given what I call “Christian isolation tactics” to straighten themselves out. They need to discipline themselves in Bible reading, prayer, and mediation so that they might grow in maturity. Paul tells the mature Christians to “bear with the failings,” to “admonish...encourage...help the weak.”
Rom. 15:2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
Rom. 15:3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”

It will require us to sacrifice our desires and comfort at times to care for each other. But when you think about what you are providing, an eternal hope, the sacrifice seems to fade into the background. Our goal is not to conform them to a set of rules but to lead them to rest in Christ. To find a hope that gives us “endurance” and “encouragement.”
Question: According to Romans 15:1-4, what do you see now as the purpose of being a strong Christian?
Question: What are your thoughts about Paul’s instructions on how the church should function?
Question: What are some ways we can improve on how to carry burdens in our church?
Praise, Prayer and Confession:
• What can you offer to the Father in praise?
• What is a sin you need to confess?
• What is a burden we can carry?
• What can we take to our Father in prayer?