Welcome to the Bible Study. I'm Stephen Lawson, president of One Passion Ministries.

And each week I will teach verse by verse through the passage of scripture

so that you can better understand the word of God

and put it into practice in your life. Join me now as we look together into this

section of the Bible. So as we start I really need to begin in a word of prayer. So let's go to the Lord.

Father every time we come to your word we are mindful that this is your word it's inspired it's inerrant it's infallible

it's the very breath and word of God and so I pray that we will treat it as such with much

submission and humility and marry that with obedience. So what you have to say to us today in your word, you

continue to speak through your word. May we be quick to hear and slow to speak.

And I do pray that the Holy Spirit would be the master teacher, the primary teacher, capital

T that you would simply use me as just a tool or a means through which you would work.

So help us now to have understanding, not just even intellectually but practically how to put this to work.

We pray this in Christ's name, amen.

Okay, Romans 15, we're going to be looking at verses 1 through 4 and there's a lot here and I want to begin as always by reading the passage for us.

Again, the title of this is an appeal for unity, an appeal for

unity. And Paul writes, now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just

please ourselves.

Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good to his edification.

For even Christ did not please himself, but as it is written the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.

For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the

scriptures we might find or might have hope. We learn from these verses that not every believer is at the same place

spiritually. We are all equally justified.

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