Introduction: Peter Marshall, former chaplain of the U.S. Senate, wrote a little poem worth recalling:
    We have the nicest garbage man.
        He empties out our garbage can.
    He"s just as nice as he can be.
        He always stops and talks with me.
    My Mother doesn"t like his smell.
        But mother doesn"t know him well.   (Acceptance, Humor for Preaching. . .)

This morning we are looking at another "One Another" phrases that are given in the New Testament as examples for Believers to follow when it comes to our behavior towards other Believers.  So far we have seen that the church is just like a physical body made up of individual members, but each is required and important for the whole church body to function properly.  We also saw that we are to be devoted to one another, just like we are in our earthly families.  Last week we saw that we are to me like-minded in our focus as a church body, and the Jesus Christ set the example of how we are to think.  Today, we come to another phrase which describes how we are to related to one another, and that is we are to "Accept One Another." Romans 15:7 Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.  The word "receive" is also translated at "accept" in several Bible translations, but we"ll look at this a little closer later.

Let"s first look at the second part of Romans 15:7 to see the example that Christ set for us to follow when it comes to opening up our hearts and church to others. . .

I. Christ"s Example Of Accepting One Another (v.7b).

7b . . .just as Christ also received us. . .

- Galatians 3:26-29 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

A. Without regard to Ethnic Group.

B. Without regard to Social Status.

C. Without regard to Family Connections.

D. Without regard to One"s Personal Goodness.

2. It was total (Heb.7:24-26; John 6:37; Luke 23:34).

A. Hebrews 7:24-26 But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens;

B. John 6:37 "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.

3. It was done with both love and joy (John 3:16; Luke 15:3-7).

A. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

B. Luke 15:3-7 So He spoke this parable to them, saying: "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? "And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. "And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' "I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.

In The Whisper Test, Mary Ann Bird writes: I grew up knowing I was different, and I hated it. I was born with a cleft palate, and when I started school, my classmates made it clear to me how I looked to others: a little girl with a misshapen lip, crooked nose, lopsided teeth, and garbled speech.

     When schoolmates asked, "What happened to your lip?" I'd tell them I'd fallen and cut it on a piece of glass. Somehow it seemed more acceptable to have suffered an accident than to have been born different. I was convinced that no one outside my family could love me.

     There was, however, a teacher in the second grade whom we all adored - Mrs. Leonard. She was short, round, happy - a sparkling lady.

     Annually we had a hearing test. . . . Mrs. Leonard gave the test to everyone in the class, and finally it was my turn. I knew from past years that as we stood against the door and covered one ear, the teacher sitting at her desk would whisper something, and we would have to repeat it back - things like "The sky is blue" or "Do you have new shoes?" I waited there for those words that God must have put into her mouth, those seven words that changed my life. Mrs. Leonard said, in her whisper, "I wish you were my little girl."

     God says to every person deformed by sin, "I wish you were my son" or "I wish you were my daughter."  (Acceptance, Fresh Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching).  This is the example that Christ has set for you and me, and this is what God expects of us when it comes to welcoming or accepting others into our fellowship.

Transition: This brings us to the next important point found in the first part of verse 7. . .

II. Our Command To Accept One Another (v.7a).
1. It is a command, not an option.

7a Therefore receive one another. . .

A.  "receive," ("proslambano" {pros-lam-ban'-o}) which carries the idea of "to be accepting, to grant one access to one's heart, and to take into friendship and personal relationships."

B. This verse literally reads, "Receive one another right now and keep on receiving one another -- don"t stop doing it." (imper, pres)

2. It is to done in the same gracious way that Christ has accepted us (see the examples above).

A. Without regard to Ethnic Group.

B. Without regard to Social Status.

C. Without regard to Family Connections.

D. Without regard to One"s Personal Goodness.

Tony Campolo tells a true story of a Jewish boy who suffered under the Nazis in World War II.  He was living in a small Polish village when he and all the other Jews of the vicinity were rounded up by Nazi SS troops and sentenced to death. This boy joined his neighbors in digging a shallow ditch for their selves, then faced the firing squad with his parents.  Sprayed with machine gun bullets, bodies fell into the ditch and the Nazis covered the crumpled bodies with dirt.  But none of the bullets hit the little boy.  He was splattered with the blood of his parents and when they fell into the ditch, he pretended to be dead and laid on top of them.  The grave was so shallow that the thin covering of dirt did not prevent air from getting through to him  so that he could breathe.
     Several hours later, when darkness feel, he clawed his way out of the grave. With blood and dire caked to his little body, he made his way to the nearest house and begged for help.  Recognizing him as one of the Jewish boys marked for death, he was turned away at house after hours as people feared getting into trouble with the SS troops.
     Then something inside seemed to guide him to say something that was very strange for a Jewish boy to say.  When the next family responded to his timid knocking in the still of the night, they heard him cry, "Don"t you recognize me?  I am the Jesus you say you love." After a long pause, the woman who stood in the doorway swept him into her arms and kissed him.  From that day on, the members of that family cared for that boy as though he was one of their own.

If you call yourself a Christian, then we are expected to act like Christ, and accept all who would seek fellowship with our church " regardless of Ethnic Group, regardless of their Social Status in life; regardless of whether they are related to us or not; and regardless of their personal goodness " anything less falls short of our Lord"s command to us.

Transition: Now let look at. . .

III. The Result Of Our Obedience To Accept One Another (v.7c).

7c . . . to the glory of God.

A. God established His eternal plan of redemption to glorify Himself (Eph.1:5-6; Rom.11:36).

- Ephesians 1:5-6 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.

B. Everything God does is to His glory, and everything His children do should be to His glory too (Eph.3:20-21; Phil.2:9-11; 1Cor.10:31).

- Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

2. Failure to accept one another robs God of His glory.

Application: As Christians, we can either bring glory to God by our willingness to accept others, or we will rob Him of His glory by the way we treat others.  But before you willfully choose to take God"s command lightly consider the consequences; 2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

 Your salvation may not be in danger, but are you willing to throw away the eternal blessings and rewards of God, for the sake of selfish behavior?  When someone becomes a Christian and desires to join the fellowship of a local church, then if it is the Lord"s Church, then we must accept them and love them just as the Lord did for us!  This is what it means to "Accept One Another."

Invitation:
1. If you are a Christian and you have prejudice towards others, then you need to go before the Lord and ask Him to help you to see others as the Lord sees them.

 - Better yet, maybe you should pray and ask Him to see yourself as the Lord saw you " and then, you"ll be better able to accept others knowing how little you deserved the Lord"s mercy, grace and love.

A. He loved you enough, to die in your place, for your sins!

B. God doesn"t look upon your outside, He looks towards your heart and is willing to adopt you into His family if you will respond to His call today.

- Romans 10:9-10  that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.