Am I My Brother’s Keeper?
(A sermon preached by the Rev Dr Jeffrey Khoo on 6 September 2009 at True Life BPC)
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“We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God” (Rom 15:1-7).
Introduction
As Christians, are we our brother’s keeper? Like it or not, we are! No Christian is an island or a lone ranger. When a person becomes a Christian, he becomes a member of God’s family, the spiritual body of Christ, and the community of saints. As such, we are not only accountable to Christ the Head of the Church, but also responsible for one another as children of God, to build one another up in the most holy faith to the glory of God. By doing so, we fulfil the great commandments of God which are (1) to love the Lord our God with all our being, and (2) to love our neighbour as ourselves (Matt 22:37-39). Jesus went on to say, “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matt 22:40). In other words, these two commandments on love sum up all the moral injunctions and requirements as found in the Holy Scriptures.
How are we to love our fellow believers? The Apostle Paul tells us how in Romans 15:1-2, “We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.”
Strong and Weak
Not all are equal or the same in the church. There are those who are strong and there are those who are weak. That was why Paul exhorted the strong “to ear the infirmities of the weak.” The strength spoken of here is not physical but spiritual strength. The spiritually strong are those who are strong in faith, mature in the Scriptures, and full of knowledge and wisdom through the constant meditation and application of God’s Word. The weak on the other hand are those who are young in the faith, recent converts who are still drinking the milk of God’s Word and not able to partake of the meat yet. They are still in the process of growing in their faith, knowing more about Christ, and learning how to apply God’s Word in their life. The strong and the weak are described in Hebrews 5:13-14, “For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”
Those who are still babies in the faith, the weak ones, are most vulnerable spiritually speaking, for they are easy targets of the devil who desires more than anything else to shake their faith, cause them to doubt the Word of God, and if possible cause them to walk away from the Lord. That is why the Bible warns us to be sober and to be vigilant “because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet 5:8). And if you know something about the animal kingdom, the predators seek their prey, they zero in on the weak, the sickly, or the young. And that is why those who are strong in the faith are told to protect the weak, and work with them so that they might become spiritually strong in due time.
How do we go about doing this? Paul says the strong “ought to bear the infirmities of the weak” (Rom 15:1). The word “bear” here is significant. It is from the Greek word bastazo which means to “carry.” It has the idea of a mother carrying her child in her womb. It has the sense of shouldering a burden, of supporting the weak. It is not just toleration—to bear with someone, but support—to bear him up. To those who are spiritually weak, we support them with words of encouragement and words of instruction. We want to show that we care for their spiritual wellbeing and health. If they are absent in church, we will want to call them to find out how they are doing and encourage them to return to church. We want to lend them a listening ear if they are struggling in their spiritual life and see how we can counsel them with God’s Word and offer to pray for them. We should actively encourage the young in faith to pursue the study of God’s Word intensively and systematically by attending Sunday School, Fellowship Bible Studies, and FEBC night classes. The teachers who are mature in the faith and able to discern true from false, right from wrong, are to gently and patiently instruct the weak from the inspired Word of God which “is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim 3:16-17).
Now, those who are young or weak in their faith must know that there are no short cuts to spiritual growth. There is no royal road to learning God’s Word. That is why Peter tells the young believer, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Pet 2:2). The young in faith must have this strong craving and yearning to learn, to thirst and hunger for God’s Word. I see this in the FEBC night classes. We have over 200 from 34 different churches in Singapore coming night after night after a hard day’s work to study God’s Word. This is a good sign. It is hard work to study God’s Word but very rewarding. The students find their lives changed by the transforming power of the Word of Truth and the sanctifying ministry of the Spirit of Truth. But for the Word of God to bear fruit in our lives, we must have a humble spirit or attitude. If the weak or young in faith are proud to think that they know it all already, and despise and even criticise those who are more elderly or mature in faith, they will not learn, they will not grow. They will become their own stumbling block. As our late founding pastor, the Rev Timothy Tow, says, “We must receive God’s Word humbly like the valley, and not proudly like the mountain.” 1 Peter 5:5 says, “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.”
Not Pleasing Ourselves
Paul went on to say that we bear the infirmities of the weaker brethren, “not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification” (Rom 15:1-2). What does it mean that we ought not to please ourselves? It means two things. First, it means that we ought not to be our brother’s keeper for selfish reasons or with selfish motives. Our helping of others must be sincere and selfless without thinking of our own comfort or benefit, but only of others. Many a time, we help others only because we want something back from them. It is like, “I do this for you, but now you owe me.” Philippians 2:4 tells us, “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others,” and 1 Corinthians 10:24 says, “Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth.”
Second, it means we do not treat our weaker brethren with a self-righteous spirit or self-promoting attitude. In the world this is a very common practice: Put others down in order to make yourself look good. This should not be the behaviour of Christians. This should not be the case in the church. The reason why people do such things is because of the pride of life—they want position, power, popularity or the praise of men. We should not use people as tools for our own selfish gains.
The Lord Jesus Christ is our perfect example of how to help others with a selfless and sacrificial spirit. Verse 3 says, “For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.” 2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us likewise, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” Matthew 10:45 says, “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
Those of us who have reached a high level of spiritual knowledge and maturity should desire that all others attain to the same level of spirituality as we have as quickly as possible. The Christian race is not a competition where only one wins; it is a race that everyone wins, and the Christian must run in such a way that everyone running with him will reach the finishing line all in first place. Those who are struggling along, not keeping pace, not as fit or as fast as we are, we should not condemn, deplore and disgrace, but rather encourage, support, and help along the way so that they do not lag behind.
Let us not be like the self-righteous Pharisees who sought to condemn and destroy all sinners. Take for example the woman who was caught in adultery in John 7:53-8:11. The Pharisees brought her to Jesus to seek her death. Jesus saved the woman from the bloodthirsty Pharisees and convicted them all of their sins. They were all equally guilty. When the woman was left alone, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (John 8:10-11). Do note that Jesus was very gentle, patient and kind to the common folk—the lambs and sheep. He wanted them to live not die. But for the religious leaders and teachers who were supposed to be shepherds of the flock but were actually false prophets and hirelings—wolves in sheep’s clothing, the Lord Jesus had only severe words and condemned them for their hypocrisy. That was why the Apostle James warned, “My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation” (Jas 3:1).
Unity
The good fruit that comes out of such sacrificial and selfless love for one another is unity and harmony in the church. When the strong lovingly support and teach the weak, and the weak humbly submit to and follow the strong according to the Scriptures, the church will grow towards like-mindedness, having the same doctrine and spirit in Christ Jesus, and this will bring glory to God the Father (Rom 15:5-7).
