Link to Student Guide
Lesson 4
Copyright © 2006
David Chadwell & West-Ark Church of Christ
The objective of this lesson: to stress the importance of Christians showing kindness and respect for other Christians.
In this emphasis, Paul stressed two facts: (1) Jew and gentile Christians together formed a Christian community in Rome, and (2) as such they should behave as a Christian community in their actions toward each other. They were a Christian community because both groups were in Christ, not because they were identical. In truth their traditional behavior was not alike at all! Yet, with all their differences, both groups [by an act of God] were in Christ. They must treat each other as people belonging to the liberating, forgiving Christ--even if there were differences in background and traditional behavior.
Stress that it is being in Christ that makes us Christians, not conformity to a heritage or tradition. Heritage and tradition of themselves are not evil--everyone has both whether they know and acknowledge it or not. Also stress our dependence on God for placing us in Christ. We obey, but God places. It is God's opinion of us, not our opinion of each other, that is significant.
What would "treating each other correctly" look like? They actually would love each other instead of pretending to love each other. [They would love each other in absence as well as presence. It is convenient to pretend love "face to face" and be intolerant when the other person is "out of sight."] They would hate evil [not each other] and cling tightly to good. [One of the biggest confusions among Christians today is caused by improper definitions of "good" and "evil." We need to learn God's definitions instead of basing definitions on our feelings.] The two groups would genuinely care about each other rather than regard each other as "outsiders." This would involve respecting each other. Both groups would be genuinely spiritual. They would belong to God as the foremost influence in their lives. Belonging to God would motivate them to be diligent and fervent in serving God. Their joy in their hope, their good attitude in suffering, their devotion to prayer, their actively ministering to the needs of fellow Christians, and their willingness to have each other in their homes [a huge challenge in Jew-gentile association!] would visibly characterize their relationships.
Remember these were first generation Christians. They did not have local examples to follow. They were only familiar with how things were done in the Jewish community or in an idolatrous community. Nothing in Rome's society would equip them to know what Christian behavior "looked like" in a Christian community existing in Rome's environment. The values Paul stressed were not common nor appreciated in Rome's society.
These two groups of Christians would treat each other with a thoughtfulness, kindness, and respect unknown in Rome's society. This respect would have as a foundation a genuine sense of love [agape--the form of love that begins with intention rather than emotion]. Instead of being arrogantly self-seeking or self-protecting by living in isolation, they genuinely would be concerned about each other--regardless of the group that gave them their heritage.
Thoughtfulness, kindness, and respect are the essence of Christian interaction with other people. Such interaction springs from a foundation of love for God which produces this love for people.
Even in the atmosphere of a genuine Christian community, not all behavior of all Christians is godly. It was possible [even likely] that some Jewish converts would hate gentile converts, and some anti-Semitic gentile converts would hate Jews. The Jews had been banned from Rome previously [and the most recent ban made no distinction between Jews and Jewish Christians]. As noted previously, gentile Christians resented the assumptions and intrusions of Jewish Christians when they returned upon Emperor Claudius' death. In some quarters outside the church, Jews were resented by a segment of society in Rome.
Obviously, there was some ungodly behavior in the Christian community in Rome. Paul wrote his admonitions because they were needed, not as hypothetical considerations. He sought to replace inappropriate behavior with appropriate behavior. Recognize converts must grow out of ungodly behavior as they grow into godly behavior. That transformation is not automatic at conversion. That transformation involves learning and understanding. First generation Christians must learn God's perspectives and definitions.
The way to bring persecution to an end internally or externally is to refuse to allow the suffering and injustice of persecution to dictate response behavior. In a model the author uses in guidance, one can "initiate" or "react" to a provocative situation. If he/she initiates, he/she remains himself/herself by refusing to give control of "who I am" to the actions and attitudes of the provoker. If he/she reacts, he/she gives the provoker control of "who I am and what I do." The Christian who blesses rather than curses in a persecution situation refuses to allow the persecution situation to define who he/she is and how he/she acts.
Evil certainly will oppose godly behavior! To fail to prepare converts for the unexpected attacks of evil is to be careless! The person in Christ must know (a) who he/she is and (b) fervently want to be that person.
Rather than merely reacting to hurtful situations, the Christian encourages Christians who suffer. They genuinely share the joy of the happy, and genuinely cry with the distressed. Neither envy nor an angry sense of justice determines their behavior.
In the struggle between good and evil, Christians must be able to count on Christians for encouragement.
Christians genuinely respect others who are in Christ. Instead of being arrogant [Jewish background could encourage a sense of haughtiness--Paul knew that haughtiness from personal experience], they would accommodate the lowly [Jewish perspective often regarded gentiles as the "lowly"]. Christians do not exaggerate their opinions of self! There is a readily understood distinction between haughtiness and wisdom!
It is easy to be thoughtlessly judgmental and critical. People do not hold and express respect as an accidental quality. People who are respectful of others think about their words and acts, and choose both carefully. Haughtiness always is based on an exaggerated sense of self's importance.
Loving Jesus Christ results in loving God. Loving Jesus Christ also results in loving people. Love for God and people through the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ is the foundation of ethical behavior. From this foundation of godly love, consider two applications today's Christians need to understand.
Love for God is the spring board for love for people. One cannot love God Who loves people and not love people. Christians are concerned about the right treatment of others because they deeply care about God. We do what is godly in our treatment of others because it is appropriate in our relationship with God, not because others deserve our consideration.
One: attitudes toward those in Christ must be based on genuine appreciation, not a perfunctory responsibility. Christians tend to live in isolation! If we are not careful, we live the meaningful portions of our lives only among Christians. As a result, (a) we rarely share our faith with those who have little or no faith. In this society right now, faith is shared more through example than through words. It is example that creates the desire in faithless people to hear words. Also as a result, (b) those who are not part of "us" feel uncomfortable among "us." Our ineffective means of being yeast in our society (Matthew 13:33) basically says, "You come listen to us," and then makes the few who come feel ill at ease in our midst. As a community of Christians, we need to nurture the wounded and share faith in Jesus Christ with the faithless.
We let God teach us to respect Christians who are different. We do not "fake it."
Two: Godly living always has produced adversity for the godly. In the context of this physical world, there is truly a war between that which is good and that which is evil. The only means the defeated Satan has to inflict suffering on God is to cause God's people to suffer for their faith. Faith in God is expressed by the godly in the way they react to adversity as surely as by the way they initiate godly involvements/deeds. It is easy, almost to the point of effortlessness, to champion God when everything is favorable to His cause/work. It is demanding, commonly to the extreme, to champion God when everything opposes His cause/work. Never forget that it took a cross as certainly as it took a resurrection to produce eternal salvation.
Christians cannot oppose evil within or outside of their lives and not expect opposition from evil. Evil as zealously guards its domain as does God. God is greater (1 John 2:17; 4:4) but evil is powerful in this rebellious world. Place your confidence in God, but never underestimate Satan.
For Thought and Discussion
Both were in Christ.
Different students will have different lists. To me, four things that should be stressed are (1) genuine love for each other; (2) resisting evil rather than resisting each other; (3) being encouragers of other Christians; (4) behavior based on humility rather than haughtiness.
They would treat each other with thoughtfulness, kindness, and respect.
Their respect would be founded on genuine love [agape].
Not all behavior of all Christians is godly.
Refuse to allow the suffering and injustice of persecution to dictate your behavior.
Loving Jesus Christ results in loving God and loving people.
Link to Student Guide
Lesson 4