Romans VerseQuest Commentary

Essay 97: Bearing the Infirmities of the Weak

Key Passage: Romans 15:1–4

“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.” (Romans 15:1–4)

Introduction

Romans 15 does not begin a new subject so much as it drives the final nail into the argument of Romans 14. Paul has spent an entire chapter telling believers not to despise one another over doubtful matters, not to weaponize liberty, not to destroy the work of God over meat, and not to violate conscience merely because another Christian feels free. Then he turns to the strong believer and removes the last hiding place for selfishness: “We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves” (Romans 15:1). Notice who receives the heavier responsibility. Paul does not tell the weak brother to hurry up so the strong brother can enjoy himself without inconvenience. He tells the strong man to carry something. Strength in Scripture is not measured by how many rights you can exercise; it is measured by how much weight you can bear without dropping your brother. A man who boasts of strength but cannot tolerate another believer’s weakness is advertising muscle with no lifting capacity.

That cuts directly across the religion of self-pleasing. The world trains men to ask, “What do I want? What makes me comfortable? What am I entitled to? Why should I inconvenience myself for somebody else?” Paul answers the whole parade with five words: “and not to please ourselves.” There goes half the modern philosophy of life in one short clause. Christianity is not the sanctification of self-centeredness. Jesus Christ did not save us so we could spend the rest of our lives protecting our preferences with theological body armor. Liberty is real, conscience matters, truth must never be surrendered, but the strong believer has obligations beyond himself. Grace does not merely release us from bondage; it teaches us what to do with freedom. If freedom produces nothing but a louder, more sophisticated version of selfishness, the chains may be gone from the hands while the old man is still sitting comfortably on the throne.

Then Paul reaches backward into the Old Testament and says, “whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning” (Romans 15:4). That sentence ought to cure the Church of treating the Old Testament like a museum wing containing interesting artifacts but little practical use. We do not live under Israel’s law, we do not inherit Israel’s national covenants, and we do not erase dispensational distinctions to manufacture application. But neither do we throw away thirty-nine books because Moses is not our apostle. The Scriptures written aforetime contain doctrine, examples, warnings, wisdom, prophecy, history, patterns, and revelations of God’s character that instruct the believer today. Paul says they give patience, comfort, and hope. The man who neglects them voluntarily throws away the very medicine God says produces endurance. You can rightly divide the Bible without cutting most of it out of the Bible.

1. The Strong Ought to Bear the Weak

“We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak” (Romans 15:1). Paul assumes there are differences in spiritual strength among believers. Some understand liberty more clearly. Some possess better-instructed consciences. Some have walked with the Lord longer and learned truths others are still digesting. The Bible does not pretend every Christian is at the same stage of maturity five minutes after salvation. A newborn babe and a grown man are equally alive, but nobody expects them to carry the same load. First Corinthians 3 describes believers who are still “babes in Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:1), while Hebrews speaks of those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil. Growth is real. Strength is real. Weakness is real. The question is what the stronger believer does with the advantage God has given him.

Paul says he is to “bear” the infirmities of the weak. That is carrying language. Galatians 6:2 says, “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” Strength exists for service. God does not make one believer stronger merely so he can stand on a platform admiring his spiritual biceps. The man who has learned patience is equipped to bear with the impatient. The believer grounded in doctrine can help the confused. The Christian secure in liberty can restrain himself for the sake of a tender conscience. Spiritual strength that serves nobody is like a tow truck polished every Saturday but unwilling to pull a stranded car. It may look impressive in the driveway, but it has missed the reason it was equipped. God strengthens saints so they can help saints.

Bearing infirmity does not mean confirming error forever or pretending weakness is maturity. A weak conscience should be taught. A confused believer should grow. Paul is not building a permanent nursery where nobody is expected to mature because everybody is too polite to mention the bottle. Ephesians 4:14 says believers should cease being “children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine.” But growth takes instruction, patience, and time. You do not strengthen a weak leg by striking it with a cane. Likewise, you do not strengthen a weak brother by mocking him, pressuring him, or humiliating him into imitation. Bear him while teaching him. Help him while correcting him. Give truth enough time to do its work. Strength that cannot stoop is usually pride standing on tiptoe.

2. And Not to Please Ourselves

The second half of Romans 15:1 is where the flesh begins looking for an emergency exit: “and not to please ourselves.” That command reaches far beyond food disputes. Self-pleasing is one of the natural instincts of fallen man. The old nature is a little king who wakes every morning expecting breakfast in bed. It wants its way, its comfort, its recognition, its schedule, its opinions, and its privileges. The Christian life repeatedly tells that old king the throne is occupied. Galatians 2:20 says, “I am crucified with Christ.” Romans 12:1 commands believers to present their bodies “a living sacrifice.” A sacrifice that reserves the right to crawl off the altar whenever things become inconvenient is not much of a sacrifice. Paul therefore connects spiritual strength with the deliberate refusal to make self-pleasure the governing principle.

That does not mean Christians must deliberately make themselves miserable or refuse every lawful enjoyment. God “giveth us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17). Food, friendship, marriage, rest, beauty, laughter, and ordinary blessings are not sins merely because they are pleasant. The issue is lordship. Pleasure makes a fine servant and a rotten master. When pleasing yourself begins determining whether you obey God, serve others, restrain liberty, forgive, give, or endure inconvenience, pleasure has climbed into the wrong chair. The world says happiness requires arranging circumstances around yourself. Scripture says joy can flourish while self is denied. Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself” (Matthew 16:24). Modern flesh reads that sentence as if there must have been a typographical error. There was not.

This becomes painfully practical in church life. Many disputes survive not because doctrine is at stake but because two people both refuse to surrender preference. One wants the schedule his way. Another wants the music his way. Another wants recognition. Another wants control. Soon everybody is quoting verses while self sits behind the curtain pulling the ropes. Romans 15:1 cuts through the performance. Are you trying to please Christ and edify your brother, or are you trying to win? That question can end arguments faster than another thirty minutes of debate. A believer may be able to defend his preference without being able to defend his spirit. The Lord is not impressed because selfishness learned how to use a concordance.

3. Please Thy Neighbour for His Good to Edification

“Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification” (Romans 15:2). Paul is not commanding people-pleasing in the sinful sense. Galatians 1:10 settles that question: “if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” The Christian must never compromise truth, approve sin, or disobey God to keep another person happy. Paul qualifies the statement carefully: “for his good to edification.” The goal is spiritual good. The measure is edification. If pleasing a neighbor requires helping him sin, lying to him, confirming false doctrine, or withholding necessary correction, then you are not doing him good no matter how pleased he feels. A doctor who tells every patient exactly what he wants to hear may become popular right up until the funerals begin. Biblical love seeks another person’s good, not merely another person’s smile.

Edification means building. First Corinthians 10:23 says, “all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.” The mature Christian begins evaluating his conduct like a builder. Will this strengthen the wall or crack it? Will these words add a brick or knock one loose? Will exercising this liberty help that brother grow or create unnecessary confusion? Christian fellowship is not a demolition contest where the winner is the man who leaves the most rubble behind. Ephesians 4:29 says our speech should be “good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” Imagine how many church troubles would die young if believers required their mouths to pass that test before speaking. Some words are true but badly timed. Some criticisms are accurate but needlessly cruel. A hammer can drive a nail or dent the furniture. Wisdom knows the target.

Pleasing a neighbor “for his good” may therefore require doing something he does not immediately enjoy. Correction can edify. Rebuke can edify. Warning can edify. Second Timothy 4:2 commands, “reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” Biblical edification is not sentimental maintenance of everybody’s comfort zone. A wall being straightened may creak. The purpose is that it stand. The believer who truly loves another Christian wants him stronger in truth, cleaner in conduct, deeper in Scripture, and closer in fellowship with Christ. That sometimes requires yielding a preference; at other times it requires refusing to yield doctrine. Charity is not soft-headedness. It is strength aimed at another person’s spiritual good.

4. Even Christ Pleased Not Himself

Paul does not leave the command floating in abstraction. He sets Jesus Christ in front of us: “For even Christ pleased not himself” (Romans 15:3). There is the end of every Christian argument built entirely around personal convenience. If anyone possessed rights, Christ did. If anyone could have refused inconvenience, Christ could. He was sinless, holy, eternal, the Creator of all things, and worthy of every glory heaven could give Him. Yet Philippians 2 says He “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant” (Philippians 2:7). He did not cease being God; He humbled Himself. The cross is the eternal contradiction of selfish Christianity. We cannot stand beneath Calvary complaining that helping a weaker brother cost us too much inconvenience. Christ did not save us by protecting Himself.

The Gospels show that self-denial repeatedly. Christ endured misunderstanding, hunger, weariness, hostility, betrayal, false accusation, mockery, scourging, and crucifixion. In Gethsemane He prayed, “nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). That is not weakness. That is obedience carried to the death. Hebrews 12:2 says He “endured the cross, despising the shame.” The Lord Jesus did not organize His earthly ministry around personal comfort. He moved according to the Father’s will and the needs of those He came to save. A Christianity obsessed with convenience may use His name, but it has forgotten His pattern. The cross is not decorative jewelry for selfish people; it is God’s verdict on self-rule.

Paul then quotes Scripture: “The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.” The words come from Psalm 69:9, and Paul applies them to Christ. The reproach directed against God fell upon the Son who identified Himself with the Father’s will. Christ bore hostility that was not deserved because He stood in obedience to God. That is the pattern Paul sets before the strong believer. You may bear inconvenience, misunderstanding, limitation, or reproach while trying to help another Christian. Fine. Welcome to service. The servant is not above his Lord. If Christ bore reproach for the glory of God and the salvation of sinners, the strong believer can survive giving up a preference without issuing a martyrdom certificate to himself.

5. The Old Testament Was Written for Our Learning

Romans 15:4 makes a sweeping statement about Scripture: “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning.” Paul has just quoted Psalm 69, and then he explains why such an Old Testament text matters to New Testament believers. The passage had its historical and prophetic setting, and that setting must not be destroyed. Psalm 69 is not a random Christian diary entry written directly to the Church. Yet Paul shows that Scripture written in another time, to and about people in another setting, still instructs us. Right division does not mean right deletion. Second Timothy 3:16 says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable.” All Scripture is for us, though not all Scripture is written directly to us doctrinally.

That distinction keeps the Bible both dispensationally accurate and spiritually useful. Israel’s Sabbath covenant does not become Church doctrine because we find spiritual lessons in Exodus. Promises concerning Israel’s land do not become property deeds for the body of Christ because we enjoy reading the prophets. The throne of David does not become an invisible metaphor because a Christian can learn from the Psalms. But neither should we act as though Genesis through Malachi are sealed rooms we may glance into but never learn from. First Corinthians 10 recounts events from Israel’s wilderness history and says, “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition” (1 Corinthians 10:11). God preserved history because saints who ignore history have a marvelous ability to repeat the stupidity.

The Old Testament teaches us God’s holiness, faithfulness, justice, patience, power, judgment, mercy, and unchanging character. It shows what happens when men believe Him and what happens when they do not. Noah teaches obedience in a corrupt world. Abraham teaches faith in God’s promise. Joseph teaches providence through suffering. Moses teaches both leadership and the danger of disobedience. David teaches courage, worship, failure, confession, and consequences. Elijah shows faith against apostasy. Daniel shows conviction under pagan government. These men are not doctrinal photocopies of the Church Age believer, but God did not preserve their lives as religious wallpaper. The Scriptures are a schoolhouse, and the Christian who refuses half the classrooms should not boast about graduation.

6. Through Patience and Comfort of the Scriptures

Paul tells us what these Scriptures produce: “that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4). First comes patience. Biblical patience is not passive resignation with folded hands. It is endurance under pressure. James speaks of “the trying of your faith” working patience (James 1:3). Hebrews repeatedly connects patience with continuing faithfully when the promise has not yet been visibly realized. The Old Testament is filled with men who had to wait. Abraham waited years for Isaac. Joseph endured the pit and prison before the palace. Moses spent forty years in the backside of the desert. David was anointed king and then hunted like a criminal before he wore the crown. God seems entirely unimpressed by modern demands for overnight spiritual results.

Patience grows when Scripture corrects our timescale. We read one chapter in five minutes about events that unfolded over twenty years and then wonder why God has not fixed our problem by lunchtime. The Bible reminds us that God works across years, generations, covenants, kingdoms, and ages without ever becoming late. Second Peter 3:8 says “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” That does not make waiting easy, but it makes impatience look considerably less intelligent. We see the next bend in the road; God sees the destination. Scripture teaches the believer to remain faithful when circumstances have not yet caught up with God’s purpose. Patience is faith refusing to leave the station because the train seems delayed.

Then Paul speaks of “comfort of the scriptures.” The comfort is not sentimental flattery. Scripture comforts by telling the truth about God. David can say, “The LORD is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1). Isaiah can declare God’s power and faithfulness. Jeremiah can write from ruins and still say, “Great is thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:23). The historical books show God preserving His purpose despite human failure. The prophets show that rebellion does not cancel His sovereignty. The Psalms give language to grief without surrendering hope. Biblical comfort does not pat a man on the head and tell him nothing hurts. It tells him that pain is not sovereign, God has not disappeared, and His Word remains true when feelings fall apart. That is comfort with bones in it.

7. That We Might Have Hope

The end of Romans 15:4 is “that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” Hope in the Bible is not the weak uncertainty people express when they say, “I hope it does not rain.” Christian hope rests upon God’s promise. Titus 2:13 calls the coming of Christ “that blessed hope.” Romans 5 connects hope with the love of God shed abroad in our hearts. First Thessalonians 4 comforts believers concerning the dead in Christ by revealing the Rapture and then says, “Wherefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:18). Biblical hope has words beneath it. It is not wishful thinking floating over a fog bank. God spoke; therefore the believer expects.

The Old Testament strengthens hope because it records promises God kept under circumstances that looked impossible. He told Noah judgment was coming, and it came. He promised Abraham a seed, and Isaac was born. He told Israel He would deliver them from Egypt, and Pharaoh’s army ended up beneath the sea. He promised David a kingdom, preserved the royal line through repeated human disaster, and ultimately brought forth Christ according to the flesh. He foretold judgment on nations, and history watched the verdict arrive. Again and again Scripture demonstrates that time does not weaken God’s promise. Men forget. Nations collapse. Empires vanish. God keeps talking as though He intends to be believed—and history keeps vindicating Him.

Hope then changes how the strong believer bears the weak. If you believe God is still working in your brother, you can be patient with him. If you believe Scripture has power to instruct him, you do not have to manipulate him. If you know Christ is conforming His people to His image, you can bear temporary weakness without treating it as permanent failure. Hope looks at an unfinished believer and says, “God is not finished.” That is not an excuse for sin or stagnation. It is confidence in the sanctifying work of God through truth. The strong brother does not carry the weak because he expects weakness to be eternal. He carries him because he expects grace, truth, time, and Scripture to do what bullying never could.

Conclusion

Romans 15:1–4 shows us what spiritual strength actually looks like. “We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.” Strength bends down. Strength carries. Strength restrains itself. Strength thinks about another believer’s edification before its own convenience. The world calls a man strong when nobody can make him yield. Paul calls a man strong when he is able to yield himself for another’s good without yielding truth. That is a much higher standard. Any stubborn man can insist on his rights. It takes grace to possess rights and voluntarily set them aside because somebody else needs help. The strong Christian is not the fellow who always gets his way. He is the fellow who can lose his preference without losing his peace.

Christ is the pattern: “For even Christ pleased not himself.” That sentence ends the debate. When self-pleasing begins demanding the throne, look at Calvary. When inconvenience feels unbearable, look at Christ. When bearing another believer becomes tiresome, remember who bore your sins in His own body on the tree. We are not asked to duplicate His atoning work; that belongs to Him alone. But we are commanded to follow His mind of humility, obedience, service, and self-denial. The cross does not merely tell us how we were saved. It tells saved people what selfless love looks like when it has flesh and blood on it.

And Paul leaves us with the Scriptures: “whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning.” Read them. Believe them. Learn the distinctions God put there, and learn the lessons He preserved there. Let Scripture teach patience when waiting grows long, comfort when suffering grows heavy, and hope when circumstances grow dark. Do not gut the Old Testament to prove you can rightly divide, and do not confuse Israel with the Church to prove you appreciate the Old Testament. Use the Book the way God gave it. Learn from Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Elijah, Daniel, the prophets, and the Psalms while standing firmly in the doctrine given to the body of Christ. Strong believers become stronger by carrying others, and weary believers endure by feeding on Scripture. God gave us both responsibilities in four verses, and neither one leaves much room for a Christian who intends to spend his life pleasing himself.