We probably all want to think that our churches are welcoming. By that we mean our churches are friendly to the regulars, and when visitors come in, we greet them with a smile. Saying good morning, handing someone a bulletin, and offering to show someone around are all nice gestures that we hope makes us welcoming.
Paul told the Christians in Rome to be a welcoming church. Near the end of his letter he wrote, “Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God (15:7).” Paul’s instruction to be welcoming, though, is much more than just greeting first timers that come into the building.
First, notice that Paul said to welcome “one another.” This means he is speaking to the regulars about the regulars. One another excludes those outside the fellowship. As church members, we need to be welcoming to our fellow members, our brothers and sisters in the Lord.
But also notice that the verse begins with the word therefore; whenever you see therefore, go back and see what it is there for. This conjunction always marks a conclusion to what was said in the preceding verses. To understand the therefore, we need to back up to the first verse of the chapter, and really the previous chapter. There he wrote about spiritual maturity, and those stronger in the faith going out of their way to meet the weaker half way.
Chapter fifteen begins: “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up (v.1-2).”
This means we have to be selfless when we survey the worshippers in the sanctuary. It cannot be about us. We must remember that the reason we meet is not to have our needs met. We are there to glorify God and lift up His name. Others in the building may have some wrong ideas about things, and we may need to bite our tongue for the greater good.
The word welcome means “to take to one’s self.” It speaks of invitation and reception. To grab people and draw them in. In The Peacemaking Church, Pastor Curtis Heffelfinger said, “To ‘welcome’ is to draw someone into your fellowship and companionship, to treat them kindly, irrespective of their views on morally neutral issues.”
There are plenty of issues worth debating; there are hills worth dying on. But most of the people in our churches already agree on those nonnegotiables. The things we fight about and break fellowship over are usually morally neutral—things that really don’t matter in eternity. If we are going to have truly welcoming churches, we need to remember that being welcoming is more than just ushering visitors to their seats. We need to take each other to ourselves; we need to pull them in rather than push them away. The model, according to verse seven, is “as Christ has welcomed you.” Jesus was willing to welcome us when we were dead in our sins, so it shouldn’t be too hard for us to welcome fellow believers.
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