Accept One Another. The Bible is a powerful source that provides us with guidelines and principles to live by. It encourages us to show acceptance, kindness and love to one another. Acceptance of others can be difficult and challenging, but it is essential in living out a life that glorifies God. Learn how to Accept One Another in this message.
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Accept One Another
Story about how to accept one another
In my first church we had something incredible happen time and time again. People who thought they knew the church told me it was stuck up and snobby and too old. But I knew it better.
What consistently happened was a young couple would start attending. They get involved in some way and in time theyâd come to me to get their baby baptized.
Iâd tell them âWe donât baptize babies we bless and dedication them?â
âWhatâs the difference?â they would ask.
Baptism is for believers. It for people who have said with their mouth âJesus is Lordâ and who have believed in their heart God raised him form the dead. Itâs an outward sign of what has already happened inwardly.
âSo whatâs a baby dedication?â theyâd ask.
A baby dedication has 3 parts. The first, you commit to raising the baby so itâs easy for them to say Jesus is Lord when theyâre old enough. The second is those gathered agree to help you raise you child in a way that it becomes easy for them to say Jesus is Lord when they are old enough. The third is a blessing. Jesus took the little ones in his arms and bless them and we can bless them in Jesusâ name. Itâs something real and tangible and itâs something we can do even if youâre not ready to say you want to raise them to make it easy for them to say Jesus is Lord.
Most times parents wanted the full deal.
So then weâd get back to baptism somehow and theyâd realize theyâd never been baptized as believers. So Iâd tell them we can do both the same day. And theyâd always get excited and Iâd get excited. Then Iâd remember I need to take down information and as I took it down Iâd realize they didnât have the same last name.
So Iâd ask them about that and realize they arenât married yet.
They have been in the church for six months or more. They had been involved and likely served and nobody thought to ask if they were married.
So weâd marry them the same weekend that we baptize them and dedicate their kids.
And it wasnât anything I did that made this âdry, stuffy, old churchâ accept people for who they are and love them them into the kingdom.
I guess I did teach that âpeople needed to belong before they believedâ but that church at that time got it and they ran with it.
I can remember 7 or 8 couples that this happened to. The last one, whoa, was that fun. The whole side was filled with unchurched gang members. It was one of my last service before we moved to New Zealand and I was lamenting to God the whole time.
The situation Paul addressed in Rome
The church in the new testament was volatile. It met in homes. There was no Bible codified yet. Most of the new testament is written because of problems going on in the church.
When Paul wrote to Rome he address an issue he heard about. That there was division because some people only ate vegetables and others ate meat, because meat was offered to idols. Some people thought the idols were nothing. Other people wanted to leave their old life behind. In the middle of it, they were treating each other like âIf Iâm right, you have to be wrong and I know Iâm right.â
What we read was Paul telling them âWe need each other more than we need to agree.â
How do we accept one another?
ACCEPT
A - Abandon Judging Rom. 14:1-4
C - Care more about people than you care about being right. Rom. 14:5-6
C - Choose to do what is best for everyone. Rom. 14:13; 19-21, Rom. 15:1
E - Empower them to do whatâs right. Rom. 15:2
P - Perceive and receive Godâs help. Rom. 15:5
T - Trust Christ has accepted you. Rom. 15:7
A - Abandon Judging
Stop the judging
Who are you to condemn someone elseâs servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lordâs help, they will stand and receive his approval. Romans 14:4 NLT
Have you ever felt judged and accepted at the same time?
We need to judge rightly, but we canât condemn. Allow others to be different.
Accepting includes making others feel they belong.
âIn essentials unity. In non-essentials liberty. In all things charityâ
Am I judging rightly?
C - Care more about people than you care about being right.
Give room for differences of opinion on disputable matters.
Romans 14:5-6 In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable. Those who worship the Lord on a special day do it to honor him. Those who eat any kind of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who refuse to eat certain foods also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God.
We need each other more than we need to agree on everything.
Can I care more about others than I do about being right?
C - Choose to do what is best for everyone.
Rom. 14:13 So letâs stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall.
Rom. 14:19-21 So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up. Donât tear apart the work of God over what you eat. Remember, all foods are acceptable, but it is wrong to eat something if it makes another person stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else if it might cause another believer to stumble.
Rom. 15:1 We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves.
Some call it being an adult. But Iâve met too many adults who only look out for their own interests. Itâs maturity to look out for others interests.
Do I look out for others interests or just my own?
E - Empower them to do whatâs right.
Help them to do whatâs right
Rom. 15:2 We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord.
Itâs the Holy Spiritâs job to convict of sin, not yours. When they ask for help, give it to them. Remember itâs the kindness of God that leads us to repentance. Help them to do whatâs right. Wait for them to ask for help to do whatâs right.
Am I helping others to do whatâs right?
P - Perceive and receive Godâs help
God helps us.
Rom. 15:5 May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus.
This is not â5 steps and be a more accepting personâ, Itâs one step, thatâs to keep in step with Holy Spirit. He empowers us to accomplish every good work prompted by faith.
This isnât in our own power and ability. Itâs His power we need in us. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is alive in you.
Am I relying on Godâs help?
T - Trust Christ has accepted you.
Accept as Christ as accepted you
Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. Rom. 15:7
What does accept mean?
Philemon 1:17 So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome meâ (NLT).
The word âwelcomeâ ĎĎÎżĎÎťÎąÎźÎ˛á˝ąÎ˝Ď (proslambano) is the exact same word and has the exact same meaning as âacceptâ ĎĎÎżĎÎťÎąÎźÎ˛á˝ąÎ˝Ď (proslambano) in Romans 15:7
Accepting one another is to receive another person with special concern and care and value.
Accepting others is welcoming them into your life as you would treat someone who is important in your life.
You didnât have to change before Christ accepted you. It was his acceptance of you that allowed you to change. We have the same role with each other. As we accept each other because Christ has accepted us, we have the grace to allow each other to become more and more like Jesus.
Do I accept others like Christ has accepted me?
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Conclusion of How to Accept One Another
The world has changed a lot since I was a young pastor. I donât know if thereâs a lot of young couples who want to raise their kids in church, even if they never were. Instead we have people that God loves that donât feel welcomed in church gathering.
Most of them donât think like we do or act like we do. Most of us donât know what pronouns to use for them. Yet make no mistakes, Jesus died for them like he died for you. He did it make a way for us to be with him now and for eternity.
I donât know if theyâd ever come to the doors of a church. But they donât turn down real gestures of friendship and they will not be someoneâs project.
What if we were to have them into our homes and serve them food theyâd appreciate? What if theyâd become our friends and teach us things as theyâd maybe learn from us?
What is God asking you to do to show you accept others just as Christ has accepted you?