Insight for Living

Guest (Male): In a culture that's obsessed with personal branding and individual recognition, the Bible delivers an unconventional message. It's one that celebrates our differences while pursuing a common purpose. And today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll dismantles the myth that unity means uniformity, that we must all think, act, and believe identically.

Instead, God intentionally designed His church with distinct talents, viewpoints, and personalities. The challenge: blending our differences for God's glory rather than our own prominence. Teaching from Romans chapter 15, Chuck titled today's message with a question: We Are One . . . Or Are We?

Chuck Swindoll: It's the goal of every pastor worth his salt to help keep the unity of the congregation. And it's the same for all who are members of that church. Speaking of that, and I turn now to God's people, verse one: We who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those who are weak, the weaknesses of those without strength, and not just please ourselves. Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good and for his edification.

Now, this needs a disclaimer because if you take just verse two, you'll spend your entire life pleasing people. And you and I know that there's more to the Christian life than that because there are some people who have no business being pleased. There are some people who are doing wrong and they want your approval. And you will find, as a person that learns to stand on his own two feet, there will be people you will have to say no to. And you won't be popular, not only with them, but with their friends and their spouse and others. But nevertheless, you must answer to Christ, not them.

Paul quotes from Psalm 69: "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me." And he puts that Psalm in the lips of Jesus. In doing what the Father pleased, He bore the reproaches of humanity. With that, he suddenly has a sidebar of insight regarding the scriptures. I love this about Paul. You'll be reading along and you're following the thought and one weaves into the other like teeth in gears, and suddenly you come to an independent statement that stands out. And here is one of them.

Look at this. Having quoted Psalm 69, he realizes the value of scripture, and so he adds: "Whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope." It's a wonderful verse. I want you to look at it. Look closer. First of all, there's an inclusive value in the scriptures. Whatever was written. Genesis, the Psalms, one of the prophets, a statement out of first or second Samuel, all the way to Malachi. Whatever was written in earlier times. And in those days they only had the Old Testament. Today it would apply to all the Bible, but back then it would be the Old Testament.

Notice not only inclusive value, but the contemporary relevance. It was written for our instruction. Look at it like this. See this sheet of paper? That represents what was written in earlier times. Over a period of about 1,500-1,600 years, the scriptures were completed and compiled. All of those scriptures are relevant to our 21st century. They are written for our instruction. What verses appeared then apply now. What promises have been preserved then can be claimed now.

Finally, notice the practical purpose. Look at this: through perseverance and the encouragement of the scriptures we gain hope. Don't you love it? Look at the practical value of that. Ultimately, the scriptures give you hope. We live in a day where people have lost hope. Depression is all around us. There is despair of life. There are all kinds of naysayers and doomsday people running around making predictions and warning us.

Perhaps some of it is worth a casual thought. But if you want to be encouraged, you don't read the morning newspaper. You read the Bible. You hear it, you read it, you study it, you memorize it, you meditate on it, you apply it, you respect it, you draw strength from it. If the Bible says it, it's going to help you. It's going to give you endurance and it's going to give you encouragement.

So read its verses and remember its stories and call to mind and study its characters and reconnect with its events and use its prayers and claim its promises and heed its warnings and obey its commands. The scriptures will keep giving you hope. Believe me, you're not going to get it from the Dallas Morning News. And if you decide the problem is the Dallas Morning News, shifting to the Fort Worth Telegram won't help you. And if you give up both and go to the Wall Street Journal, it won't help you.

What you're going to get is man's opinion, man's direction, people's predictions. But if you want hope, you're going to have to link it with the scriptures. So make it a point. Make it a point to be a woman or man of the scriptures. If it means personal study in a particular small group, get engaged in it. If it means joining Bible Study Fellowship, get into Bible Study Fellowship. If it's the men's gathering or the women's gathering, wherever the scriptures are taught, you need that to keep up your hope.

I think I have made my point. Now, verse five. Verse five is what I call a preacher's benediction. By that I mean it sounds like the end of the message, but don't let that fool you. It is a moment of praise, but there's going to be more that follows. Listen to the way it reads: "Now may the God of peace who gives perseverance and encouragement..." Sounds like a benediction, doesn't it? "Now may the God of peace who gives perseverance and encouragement..." But don't be fooled, there's a whole chapter yet to be delivered here.

I love it that he ties in with two words out of verse four. So like Paul. Through perseverance and encouragement of the scriptures give you hope. "Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another, according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you, with one voice, glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Therefore, my friends, accept one another. Accept one another. Just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.

I think I've studied this enough to know why we don't accept each other easily. It's because we are so different. We are all so different. You've heard me say it before: we're reared differently, we have different tastes, we like different colors, different foods, we like different music. We are all so different. We're at different levels of maturity. And here we are, assembled here in one place and under one roof, and we're all different. And he says: be of the same mind. Now, how can I be if that person next to me is so different?

Well, the secret, of course, is that we claim the same one in common: Christ. I've never known Christ to bring disunity in a body of Christ, in the local body. Now, those that don't want to follow Him, of course, there'll be disunity. But I mean, if Christ is the center and Christ is being glorified and Christ is the head and Christ is the model, there is unity. One doesn't come out predominant over the other.

Last Christmas, my family and I went down to hear the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in the Christmas musical that they did. It was just magnificent. And the chorale sang and it was colorful. There were children and there were people dressed like the old English group that would go to street corners and sing and all. It was just really a great evening and the music was marvelous. We listened to this symphony. We listened to the chorale.

Nobody in our family left saying, "Boy, that cellist was magnificent." We didn't go to hear the cello. There were several cellos and they were all doing a great job, but it was like one great orchestra. That's what we heard. Or in the chorale, "Did you hear that soprano? Boy, she belts it out." No, I heard the chorale. It was like one voice. In fact, they almost sang in antiphonal voice across from one another. It was wonderful.

Friends, this is the church. This is the church. It doesn't get better than this, doesn't get worse than this. This is the church. People of all ages, from all backgrounds. Some of you play trumpet. Some of us play clarinet. Some of you play piccolo. Some of you beat the drums. But we're an orchestra. Our conductor is Christ. And so as He blends us into one voice, He said be sure you're listening to the others and you're not overshadowing or underplaying. That's what He means by accepting one another to the glory of God.

And then he turns again to Christ and gives the classic example. Jesus Christ. What did He become? Because this is what it requires. Verse eight: He became a servant. You've got to have a servant's mentality to hold back your instrument, if you will. You have to have a servant's heart not to push for your way. When you're under the control of the Holy Spirit, you listen, you work with, you give, you take. You blend, you harmonize.

Christ came as a servant and who were those people for whom He came? Well, first there were the circumcision, a reference to the Jews, verse eight. And then He also came for the Gentiles, verses nine through 12. And there are even five verses where Gentiles are mentioned in each one. Think of the difference. Jews with all their traditional roots, Gentiles zero tradition, no spiritual roots. Jews with the law and all the requirements, Gentiles pagan background, mythology, no law.

Jews with tightly held views toward a monotheistic concept of God, Gentiles with polytheism and many of them with no God whatsoever. Jews with their rituals and liturgy and diet, Gentiles with none of the above. And He called us all into one body, called the church. All of us together in one church, which leads him to a benediction. Now he says, verse 13: "May the God of hope..." There he is again with our word. "...fill you with all joy and peace so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." We are filled with joy and peace and we abound in triumphant hope.

Let me tell you what happens when that kind of endurance, when that kind of peace, when that kind of hope works its way out of our love for one another. The neighbors notice. The greatest tool of evangelism is the love of believers for one another. You know that? In closing, I mean that. John chapter 13. I didn't want you to think I was doing a Pauline benediction there. John 13. Jesus is alone with His disciples. I do not hear any pages turning. Some of you are already checking into the ball game this afternoon. It doesn't start till 2:00, so turn to John 13. Okay? Let's look at it together.

Jesus is alone with His disciples. They're at the last meal. They've been arguing over who's going to be the greatest in the kingdom. How's that for postgraduate work, having been with Jesus for three and a half years and they want to know who's going to be out, who's going to be on top? So Jesus simply pushes back from the table, girds Himself with a towel, gets a pitcher and a bowl, and kneels down and washes the disciples' feet. It's a whole story in itself, I won't take time for it.

Look at verse 14 of John 13. I'm going somewhere with this, so link it up with me. 13:14: "If I then, the Lord and the teacher, washed your feet..." Now, before you look any further, wait, wait, look up. Before you look, what do you think would come next? If I've washed your feet, then you wash my feet, right? I mean, He's washed all of theirs, they've all got clean feet. Then if I've done that to you, then what would you do? You wash my feet. And let me tell you what. We as believers would stand in line for days to wash Jesus' feet. I'd consider it one of the greatest privileges on the planet to be able to wash His feet.

But He doesn't tell me to do that because that's easy. What does He now look... 14: "You ought also to wash one another's feet." Have you seen the other person... look at the other person's foot. No, they're all covered with shoes, you can't tell. And have you smelled? You know what it takes to wash the other person's feet? Takes humility. Stay with me. Takes humility.

When you love them, you have that kind of humility. It takes humility. Love overlooks the smell, overlooks the color, overlooks the size. Love washes feet. It's humility. Verse 21. I just got this this weekend, so it's kind of fresh off the fire. 13:21: When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit and He testified saying, "Truly, truly I say to you that one of you will betray me." That's the first time the disciples heard that at that meal. One of you will betray me.

Look closely. The disciples began looking at one another, at a loss to know of which one He was speaking. You know what that is? That's vulnerability. When you wash feet, that's humility. When you really begin to see one another as potential betrayers, that's vulnerability. That's real vulnerability. Could it be you, John? Andrew? Matthew? Peter? Judas? So all on the same level, they have finished with the thought of washing one another's feet. Now they're looking at one another.

Look now, verse 34: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another." That's called unity. Washing feet takes humility. Looking at one another on the same level takes vulnerability. When you link those two together and apply them, you have unity. Love one another. Look at 35. Here's the evangelism: "By this all will know that you're my disciples, if you have love for one another."

If my love for you is so great that I live out that love in a humble and vulnerable manner, I want to tell you there isn't a neighbor who is lost who doesn't want to know how could that guy do that? How could that be? And when you multiply that by a church our size, loving each other, working alongside each other, humble before one another, vulnerable in the midst of each other, I'll tell you the impact is such we become an enormous human magnet to the communities around us.

Don't you want to be a part of something unified? Haven't you had enough of disunity where you work? Don't answer out loud. Or maybe even where you live? Or churches you've survived through and now you've come out of? You know what this gives us? This gives us enormous hope. Hope.

My son and I walked through the new building in its current stage and I was pretty quiet a couple of three times and kind of lost in my own thoughts on that cold winter day as we stood there. I looked out over the scaffolding and the vastness of that worship center, that sanctuary that will someday be filled with people. You know what I thought? Lord, hold us together. Keep us together. Don't let me mess this up. Don't let anybody mess this up. Lord, don't let that happen.

I didn't hear any voices, I didn't hear any music, though I have to admit sometimes I do hear the pipe organ. Sometimes it just kind of drowns everything out. But I stood there and I thought: You are the God of all grace and I'm going to trust You not to let that happen. Start with me. Start with me.

Please bow your heads and close your eyes. You've heard a lot of things today and I know that a few of you, as you've listened, have begun to realize, "I think he's talking to somebody else because I'm not a Christian. I don't know about that Jew-Gentile stuff and I don't know about that vulnerability and all that stuff about unity and caring about one another. It's not the world I live in. Mine's a dog-eat-dog world where only the fit survive."

So you're the ones I have on my heart as I close. You know that life needs to be more than that, but you'll never find more than that without the help of God and a vital personal relationship with His Son, Jesus. I invite you to trust Him now. Right now. Simple prayer: Lord, I'm a sinner and You and I are separated from each other and it's going to stay like that until I...