Your Faith Needs Encouragement (Part 1)

By Adam Nesmith | May 5, 2021

You need other believers. Your faith needs the encouragement only other Christians can provide. And Romans 1:11-12 are some of the most encouraging verses to think about the importance of the Local Church.

A lot of times when you want to emphasize the importance of the local Church, you go to 1 Corinthians 12 with the body analogy or Hebrews which constantly emphasizes the need to gather together. But I think these couple verses in Romans where the Apostle Paul shares his heart for this Church in Rome, a Church he has never even met before, really instructs you and I about what our expectations should be for the local Church

For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you—that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.
Romans 1:11-12, ESV

What are your expectations when you come to Church? When you gather together on a Sunday, what are you coming for? What are you hoping to get out of it? Why do you attend a midweek small group? Is there a reason to prioritize taking time out in the middle of your week to partake in a men or women’s bible study?

Even more broadly, what should excite you about having conversations with fellow church members or other believers in general?

These are important questions.

A lot of people’s expectations for the local Church are not biblical. They might want to be entertained. To simply hear things they already agree with, they might never want to have their behavior and beliefs challenged by the Word.

Romans 1:11-12 is helpful for answering these questions. In this 3 part mini-series, I will start by defining some key terms in the passage, then answer some questions that come to mind, and finally give some biblical implications from the point Paul gives in these verses.

Defining key terms

“Long to see you”

This word means “to earnestly desire, to passionately long for.” In 2 Corinthians 5:2 Paul uses it to describe his desire to be with the Lord. Philippians, 1 Thessalonians and 2 Timothy all contain this word referencing Paul’s desire to be with Churches he has planted and to be with Timothy.

Interestingly, the word is also used in 1 Peter 2:2 to communicated believers should long after word. The text uses a metaphor: a baby with milk. A baby’s longing for milk isn’t a casual thing. The baby isn’t saying “I kinda would like some milk, if it isn’t too much trouble.” No, the baby strongly desires it.

So the word Paul uses in Romans 1:11 doesn’t just indicate desire for something. It also indicates the intensity of that desire. Paul’s longing to see & encourage the Roman Church is intense, like a baby longing for milk.

“Spiritual gift”

This word is “Charisma” meaning “a divine grace, a divine gift”. It points to origin of gift, namely God. Don’t immediately think of “gifts of the Spirit” when you see this word. The New Testament uses “Charisma” to describe a variety of gifts that are from God.

Rom 5:16-17-the divine gift is justification in Christ
Rom 12:6- “spiritual gifts” i.e. gifts of spirit for edification of Church
1 Tim 4:14, 2 Tim 1:6-gift of eldership/teaching

So by using the term “charisma,” Paul is highlighting where he got the gift from. In Romans 1:11-12, Paul is emphasizing faith is a divine gift from God. God is the one giving these gifts freely. The gift is not earned. Paul is saying “I have received this gift of faith from God, and I want to share it with the Church in Rome!”

This gift Paul wants to share with the Church is a divine gift, something Paul has received freely from God, namely faith.

“To strengthen you”

This word gets to the reason why Paul wants to share his faith with the Roman Church. The word means “to set fast”, “to turn in a certain direction” or figuratively “to confirm, fix.”

In the epistles it always is used figuratively: “establish and exhort you in the faith”, “so that he may establish your hearts in blamelessness and Holiness”, “establish your hearts for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”

In the Septuagint, this word “to strengthen you” is used in Exodus 17:12 where Israel is fighting a battle and Aaron has to hold Moses hands up. Aaron has to steady Moses, establish Moses, fix Moses’ hands.

Now, what is Paul strengthening or establishing for these Roman Christians? I think it is the gospel, if you keep reading Romans. The Roman Christians already believe in the Gospel. But Paul still preaches the Gospel, expounds the Gospel, argues for the Gospel because the Roman Church needs to be reminded.

Why? It is through reminding them of the gospel that Paul intends to establish them. Paul wants to remind them of the Gospel so the Church is more certain, more fixed, more established on that truth. And that goes along with what follows: Paul clarifies what he means when he says “strengthen”. It means being mutually encouraged by “each other’s faith, both yours and mine.”

“Mutually Encouraged”

This word is only used once in Bible and it is a combination of two words: one that can mean “comfort or encourage,” the other meaning “with”. So, this compound word really is well translated “mutual encouragement.” It is joint comfort, both groups are getting comfort and encouragement.

Paul isn’t just wanting to give encouragement. He also expects to receive encouragement.

So, in summary so far: Paul intensely longs to visit the Church in Rome so that both he and the Church will be encouraged by each other’s faith. This faith is a gift from the Lord, and the encouragement they receive from each other will help anchor their faith in Jesus, making it more steadfast and enduring.

Christians need other Christians so that their faith can be encouraged and can endure.

That is you see just by looking at the words in these verses. Now, to better understand the truths in these verses, there are 3 areas of further study: what encouragement is in the New Testament, how your faith can encourage another believer, and what Paul’s faith and the Roman Christians’ faith have in common.

Encouragement in the New Testament

Why is encouragement and comfort important for believers? Paul’s letters are full of encouragement for local Churches. Why is this so important?

A quick look at the New Testament reveals that Paul and the other authors were concerned with encouraging the Church. The biblical concept of a God who comforts His people was not common in the ancient world. Pagan dieties would never comfort a suffering person. After all, why would a lowly human expect a god to care about his or her personal suffering?

The Bible reveals a completely different picture. The New Testament explicitly gives a number of sources of encouragement for the Christian.

The truth encourages the Church

For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:9-11, ESV

In the context here, Paul is talking about the hope of being with the Lord forever. Then Paul says “therefore, in light of this hope, encourage one another! Build one another up!” In other words, the application, the practical response to the truth of Christ’s return is it should encourage the Church.

Paul was not communicating spiritual truth to the Church merely for their intellectual benefit, or there general awareness. The truths of Scripture should comfort and encourage the Church.

Christ encourages the Church

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
Philippians 2:1-2, ESV

The “if” clauses here are hypothetical. Paul is implying the answer. Think of this verse as saying “since there is encouragement in Christ.” Paul sees Christ as a source of encouragement. And this encouragement Christ provides is Paul’s basis for commanding the Philippians to have unity. Christ comforts His Church and is the foundation of the Church’s unity.

God encourages the Church (and the Church imitates God)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4, ESV

The source of comfort and encouragement is God. God is the one who comforts us, and part of the reason He comforts us is so we can then comfort others. God comforts those in the body so they can comfort others in the body.

Christians encourage other Christians

This comes full circle to Romans 1:11-12. Believers offer encouragement and comfort to other believers. This is actually one of the main reasons the Bible gives for believers gather together.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Hebrews 10:24-25, ESV

One of the reasons to gather together as a body is so Christians can encourage each other.

So in summary: encouraging the Roman Church was important to Paul because the source of Christians comfort matters. Paul wanted to encourage those believers who were a minority in their culture, who were facing persecution. Being a Christian in the ancient world meant sacrifice and suffering, sadness and loss.

But the New Testament is full of teaching about a God who comforts His people, especially through suffering. And God comforts His people through means. One of the main means is other Christians. God doesn’t give you superficial comforts like the world gives.

Paul knew this. Paul didn’t want to come to Rome to correct everyone or confront everyone there. He says here he wants to encourage the Church in their faith. And as I said before, Paul expects this encouragement to be mutual. Paul expects to get comfort and encouragement from the Roman Christians’ faith.

Other Christians are a God-ordained source of consolation in times of suffering.

Never let your suffering pull you away from other believers. If you do, you are cutting yourself off from one of God’s main means of comfort.

What is interesting in this text, however, is Paul says the source of the encouragement is faith. Paul’s faith is going to encourage the Church in Rome and their faith is going to encourage Paul. This leads us to the next question: how can your faith be an encouragement to someone else? I will explain in part 2 of this post.

Read Part 2 of this mini series here. You can find my other ongoing series in the “Teachings” page. If you want to listen to the sermon I preached on Romans 1:11-12, you can find it here.