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Scripture Reading : Romans 15:7

Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.

The question of receiving Christians may not be a problem in most places, but it may be in others. Some local congregations act like they don't want anyone coming into their fellowship, unless there is strict acceptance or agreement with the church leaders on matters of opinion regarding Scriptural things. One can place membership, but unless he follows a certain line of thinking he may actually be set aside spiritually and ignored. Still other congregations go too far the other way. From our verse it is clear that we should receive those whom Christ has received, and this automatically eliminates those whom He has not received.

How are Christians to receive?

Satan continues to do his utmost to divide the people of God. Romans 14:1 says, "Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things." The expression, "not to disputes over doubtful things" could be translated "not to decisions of doubt." In other words, receive the weak in faith, but do not start a lot of arguments with them about questionable matters such as eating of meats and observing of days. The conclusion in Romans 14:3 is that we should receive one because God has received him.

Whom to refuse?

The emphasis is nearly always on receiving one such as Phebe, in Romans 16:1, 2. Only rarely do we read whom we are to reject. In Titus 3:10, we have, "Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition." A heretic, as we know, is one who by false teaching causes division among God's people (also Rom. 16:17, 18). In 1 Corinthians 5, we read of serious sin in the early church. The last verse of that chapter says, "Therefore put away from yourselves the evil person."

He has received us

Our verse ( Rom. 15:7) says that we should receive those whom Christ has received. If Christ has seen fit to receive one, be he ever so lowly, we too should be ready to receive him. Let not past life, nationality, or social standing in any way be a drawback. Let us receive the poor, illiterate, uninstructed and unlovely. Christ has received us into the dearest and nearest relationship, into the fold, into the family, into the adoption of sons, into the closest fellowship with Himself.

Receive each other kindly

Our Lord has been so kind to each of us—should we be unkind by refusing each other? Christ has received us on the ground of mercy with no merit on our part; should not we receive others, even though there may be little merit on their part? We should also not receive in a grudging fashion, trying to compel one to accept our personal opinions regarding Scriptural things. Let us not leave the impression that we are the only ones in the whole world with the correct and right understanding about all matters, and that no one else knows anything—that truth does not exist outside our assembly. One thing is certain, it is always right to have warm hearts toward the people of God.

Not full fellowship to the lost

One might say, "What is this all about? We are glad to have even the worst sinner come to our congregation and hear the Word of God. How else will they ever obey the Gospel?" And if a group of Christians actually feel this way, then it will truly encourage even the worst to come in to hear the good news of God's salvation¹, through the death and blood of Christ. This is vastly different than granting the lost sinner full fellowship with the Lord's people. A lost sinner should not be allowed to take an active part in the service of the Lord, or to be encouraged to partake of the Lord's Supper². In some places this is no problem because no one does much of anything in the services except maybe the preacher. Others allow far greater latitude to the individual member in the services. Only devoted and faithful Christians should ever be called on to pray, lead singing, or teach.

The glory of God

When Romans 15:7 says, "to the glory of God," it means that each individual Christian brings glory to God when received by Christ. It is also to the glory of God to receive Christians into our hearts, our homes and lives. If Christians agree about Christ, it is more likely that there will be little difference on things of major importance. If we make our Lord the center and stay near to Him, the closer we are sure to be to each other. If we all truly seek to be like Him then we will get along.

Footnotes:

¹ For detailed information on salvation, see God’s Salvation in A Religion Library section of StudyJesus.com.

² For detailed information on the Lord’s Supper, see Remembering Jesus in Additional Resources section of StudyJesus.com.