CrossGroups Connection Guide

Today’s Scripture Focus: Romans 15:4-13

Today we finish up our journey through Romans. Last week, we focused on the beginning of chapter 14, in which Paul warns the “weaker” brothers and sisters (those who kept kosher dietary laws and Jewish religious festivals) not to judge their fellow Christians. In the rest of the chapter, Paul equally warns the “strong”. These are the Christians who are mature enough in their faith to not worry whether certain food or drink is forbidden. With this maturity comes responsibility. The strong must neither flaunt their eating habits, provoking the weak, nor try to convince them to eat non-kosher foods, thus violating their own consciences. Instead, those who eat non-kosher should just do so quietly and privately until the weak grow in their faith.

In the Roman Empire, those with power had access to unlimited pleasure, while the weak existed to please the strong. Paul reverses this in Romans 15. Those strong in faith must not be weak in love. They must not use their strength to seek their own pleasure, but that of their weaker neighbors. This is what Christ did for God (by taking the “insult” of the cross) and the Romans. All the Old Testament (the only scripture the Romans used) pointed to the suffering Christ. Paul’s prayer for the Romans is that Christ, revealed in scripture, would be the means God used to give unity to the various Roman house churches. He’s not interested in conformity and consensus on non-essentials, but unity in purpose and spirit in glorifying God.

15:7-13 conclude not just this appeal for unity, but the body of Romans. Paul has demonstrated decisively in this letter that a) Christ died to save the Jews, proving God’s faithfulness, and b) Christ died to save the Gentiles, proving God’s mercy. Paul summarizes this truth with a list of scripture quotations, proving this was God’s plan all along. In rabbinic style, Paul selects passages from the three major portions of Jewish scripture – the Law (Deuteronomy 32:43 in Romans 15:10), the Prophets (Isaiah 11:10 in Romans 15:12), and the Writings (Psalm 117:1 in Romans 15:11). Paul concludes with a prayer – one that shows that as Jews and Gentiles believe together, rather than fight, they might overflow with joy and peace, rather than sadness and strife.

The balance of Romans makes up a traditional closing to one of Paul’s New Testament letters. Beginning in 15:14 he basically picks up where he left off with the greeting portion of the letter in 1:15. He restates and expands upon his plans to visit Rome, and then travel on to Spain, once he has delivered the offering he has collected to Jerusalem – a project that has taken many years to complete. He asks the Romans to assist him in this plan, diplomatically requesting staff, provisions, and money once he arrives. He recommends they receive Phoebe, possibly the woman delivering the letter to the Romans, and closes with various personal greetings, taking a little longer to do this than in other letters he writes, probably because he hadn’t actually been to Rome.

Romans is a beautiful summary of the power of Christ’s love. We celebrate that love and power on this Easter Sunday.

• Go around the table and share prayer requests. Have someone lead in prayer.

• Let everyone who would like to share anything exciting from their week.

• Did anyone do last week’s assignment? What was the result?

• Ask these three questions. Let as many answer each one as they would like.

1. Paul has a lot to say in Romans 14-15 about observing special days. Why is it good to set aside Easter to celebrate the Resurrection?

2. Is there anything in today’s scripture that especially speaks to you?

3. What questions would you like to ask about today’s scripture?

• Go over this week’s assignment (below). Commit to work on it together.

Today’s Sermon

Key Truths –

• Roman response to Resurrection = love.

• Our response to Resurrection = love.

• God’s response to Christ’s love = glory.

• God’s response to our love = glory.

This Week’s Assignment –

Take ten minutes every day to respond to God’s love by expressing your thanks and praise.

CrossGroups Connection Guide

Today’s Scripture Focus: Romans 14:1-12

This week we’ll be reading Romans 13 and 14. These chapters continue the final section of Romans, which deals with the practical implications of the righteous life. Chapter 13 begins strangely, and its first seven verses are some of the most ignored or abused in history. Paul tells the Romans to submit to the government! What does this have to do with a life of sacrificial love? We have to constantly remind ourselves of Paul’s ultimate goal: Spain. Recent tax rebellions in Rome from non-citizens had brought the hammer of civil authority down. Paul wants the Roman Christians focused on the mission at hand, not trying to get out of tax obligations. Paul is not supporting the wicked oppression of the empire but common civil law.

Under the hospitality/patronage currency of the day, common citizens only did favors if they could get something in return. Everyone tracked who “owed them one.” This was especially relevant in the Roman church, as returning Jewish Christians would have relied on the kindness of their Gentile counterparts to re-establish their life. Paul decries this system. Christians should serve one another out of genuine love, not customary obligation. Paul uses a baptismal hymn of the day to remind the Romans of who they are – people of the daylight. In ancient culture, the time just before sunrise was the perfect time to work. The new Day is getting ready to dawn, and Christians must wake up and get to work!

Today we focus on the first half of chapter 14. Paul is winding down now, and getting to the very real issues creating tension in the Roman church. With so many observant Jews returning to Rome, the ever present issue of kosher dietary laws was causing problems. Some of the returning Jews would have been horrified to find certain meats on the table during the Lord’s Supper. Paul calls their faith “weak” because rather than rely on grace alone, its grace + diet. This in itself isn’t sinful, but it inevitably led to the weak judging the “strong” (those who gave no consideration to kosher law). While Paul admonishes the weak to not pass judgment on the strong, he also strongly urges the strong to accept the weak, in spite of their judgment.

Another issue of concern involved Sabbath and religious festivals. Should Christians worship on Saturday, or Sunday, or every day? Were Gentiles required to keep the Jewish feasts? Were Jewish Christians required to continue keeping them? Rather than give an answer, Paul tells everyone to decide for themselves under the Lordship of Christ, and accept that other believers may arrive at a totally different answer. Christians were not to waste time engaging in debate over these issues. If Jesus was Lord over their very life and death, He was surely Lord over their diet and calendar! Since every Christian equally belonged to God, they should lovingly trust each other into God’s hands.

Today we’ll take a look at CrossViewed differences of conscience.

• Go around the table and share prayer requests. Have someone lead in prayer.

• Let everyone who would like to share anything exciting from their week.

• Did anyone do last week’s assignment? What was the result?

• Ask these three questions. Let as many answer each one as they would like.

1. Do you have friends with whom you totally disagree on one issue (politics, religion, parenting, etc.)? How do you handle your disagreement? Do you spend time debating your “side”, or just avoid the topic?

2. Is there anything in today’s scripture that especially speaks to you?

3. What questions would you like to ask about today’s scripture?

• Go over this week’s assignment (below). Commit to work on it together.

Today’s Sermon

Key Truths –

• Roman Christians disagreed on practical matters.

• We find the same thing in today’s church.

• God knew the heart of every Roman.

• God knows our hearts as well.

This Week’s Assignment –

Someone in this church today couldn’t disagree with you more about what it means to practice faith. Rather than focus on how wrong that person is when they come to mind, thank God for their faith, and pray for God to bless them.