Matthew Henry Commentary Romans 15:1-7

"Now we that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each one of us please his neighbor for that which is good, unto edifying. For Christ also pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell upon me. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that through patience and through comfort of the scriptures we might have hope. Now the God of patience and of comfort grant you to be of the same mind one with another according to Christ Jesus: that with one accord ye may with one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore receive ye one another, even as Christ also received you, to the glory of God." — Romans 15:1-7 (ASV)

Christian liberty was allowed, not for our pleasure, but for the glory of God and the good of others. We must please our neighbor for the good of his soul; not by serving his wicked will and humoring him in a sinful way. If we seek to please men in this way, we are not the servants of Christ.

Christ's whole life was a self-denying life, not a self-pleasing one. And the most advanced Christian is the one who is most conformed to Christ.

Considering His spotless purity and holiness, nothing could have been more contrary to Him than to be made sin and a curse for us, and to have the reproaches of God fall upon Him—the just for the unjust. He bore the guilt of sin and the curse for it; we are only called to bear a little of the trouble of it.

He bore the presumptuous sins of the wicked; we are called only to bear the failings of the weak. And should we not be humble, self-denying, and ready to consider one another, who are members one of another?

The Scriptures are written for our use and benefit, as much as for those to whom they were first given. The most learned are those who are most mighty in the Scriptures.

That comfort which springs from the word of God, is the surest and sweetest, and the greatest support for hope. The Spirit as a Comforter, is the earnest of our inheritance. This like-mindedness must be according to the precept of Christ, according to His pattern and example. It is the gift of God, and a precious gift it is, for which we must earnestly seek from Him.

Our Divine Master invites His disciples and encourages them by showing Himself as meek and lowly in spirit. The same disposition ought to mark the conduct of His servants, especially of the strong toward the weak. The great goal in all our actions must be that God may be glorified. Nothing promotes this more than the mutual love and kindness of those who profess religion.

Those who agree in Christ may well agree among themselves.