Barber then said he was going to “preach now,” and he subsequently read Romans 15:1-6 to attendees. The passage says:
We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The point of this passage, said Barber, is that “God has obligated you and me to accept and bear the weaknesses of people who disagree with the truth.” This weakness is spiritual, not physical; the text refers to people who thought that rejecting idolatry also meant rejecting meat sacrificed to idols.
The “dispute” described in Romans 15, said Barber, was “theological,” “ethical” and “prudential.” It centered on “what do regarding the most prominent cultural force [idolatry] that opposed the gospel and was a predominant reason why the early church wound up being persecuted.”
The topic in question in Romans 15 was not “tertiary,” Barber observed, but “very important.” Yet despite the gravity of the subject, God focused “not on the theological question, not on the ethical question, not on the cultural question. God emphasized the brotherhood question.”
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This emphasis is striking given the importance with which God treats holiness. Romans 15 does not minimize the need to do what is right but rather shows us “how very highly God values unity and mutual respect among his children.”
“I have been wrong on this question so many times myself,” Barber admitted, going on to ask why it is that Christians disobey such clear commands. He gave four reasons based on the passage, the of which is that believers often want to please themselves instead of other people. It can be enjoyable to put someone else down.
Another reason is that followers of Jesus sometimes lose sight of the fact their aim should be to build up their neighbors. Romans 15 illustrates that “sometimes you cannot please God without seeking to please men,” said Barber, adding that this idea does not involve compromising the truth but that it means consistently showing love and kindness toward others. “It’s not weakness for us to be loving in dispute,” he said. “It is godliness.”
A third reason why believers fail at edifying one another is because of embarrassment at being associated with weaker brothers and sisters. But Jesus was our example in willing to be insulted because of the company he kept. Barber alluded to the SBC’s origins as a denomination founded to preserve slavery, adding “yet Jesus is still here with us…and if Jesus can love these flawed churches and these flawed believers, then I ought to be able to do that too.”
Jesus is willing to be associated with his followers, even when their shame falls on him. “If Jesus is proud to stand alongside you, I’m proud to stand alongside you. We are brothers and sisters in Christ,” Barber said as people responded with applause.
