It really was kind of a risky proposition . . . the church. I think if it were me setting up a new world-wide institution, I’d have put in place a lot more structure . . . put in place a lot more direct oversight . . . maybe dispatched a few legions of angels to keep things lined up. But God, in His wisdom, took these sinners saved by grace . . . these once spiritually dead people who were now made alive in Christ . . . the lost but now found people . . . these people who had been brought out of darkness into marvelous light . . . God took these people, sealed them and infused them with His Holy Spirit . . . and said, in essence, “Now go be the church . . . the representation of the kingdom of heaven on earth.” All, with really very little formal organization or training . . . with a limited number of “mentors” to go around . . . heavily reliant upon the Spirit of God . . . and counting on the fact that they could be “self-regulating.”

I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness,
filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. (Romans 15:14 ESV)

There’s a number of “one anothers” in the letters of the New Testament . . . I’ve encountered a few of those already in Romans. We are to love one another and honor one another (12:10) . . . live in harmony with one another (12:16) . . . not judge one another but receive or welcome one another (14:13, 15:7). And there are ton of “one anothers” . . . a couple that come to mind are that we are to submit to one another (Eph. 5:21) . . . bear one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2) . . . serve one another (1Peter 4:10) . . . and the list goes on . . . check it out, it’s a great study. This morning it’s the “one another” in Romans 15:14 that caught my attention . . . we are to instruct one another . . . and in that sense, the church is self-regulating.

Paul had not yet been to Rome (1:9-13), yet there was a church there. Not talking about a building, but an assembly of blood-bought trophies of grace gathered together to display the manifold wisdom of God to heavenly realms (Eph. 3:10) and to bring the good news of salvation by faith to a lost city and society. And it was a thriving church . . . not a perfect church . . . but a church whose faith was “proclaimed in all the world” (Rom. 1:8). And part of that, it seems, is that they were able to instruct one another.

How important is it for brothers and sisters in Christ to be able to instruct, or as the NKJV says, “admonish” one another? God raises up gifted men and women to teach and preach in a local church . . . but God also asks “ordinary believers” to draw alongside other believers to speak a word of encouragement or admonition . . . that we might build each other up in the faith. The Roman believers were full of goodness, the result of the sanctifying work of the Spirit . . . and they were filled with knowledge, the result of the illuminating work of the Spirit . . . and so, they were to teach each other, the body-building work of the Spirit.

There’s a dynamic present when believers get together over a cup of coffee and an open Bible and share with one another what God has shown them. There’s a depth of fellowship created when a brother or sister in Christ cares about another brother or sister in Christ enough to speak a bit of truth in to their lives. It makes everyone sharper (Prov. 27:17) . . . and it’s a big part of how the body builds itself up in love (Eph. 4:16).

When I spend time in the word, it shouldn’t be just for my benefit, but for the benefit of others. Not that we get all puffed up and start preaching at our family in Christ about what they need to be doing better . . . but instead, we view the knowledge we glean through our time in the word and the instruction of the Spirit as something that might benefit someone else. We’re ready to provide a word of encouragement when it’s needed . . . able to share some insight we’ve been graced with . . . even able to humbly and gently steer someone back on track, if required.

Risky proposition, the church. But if God be for us, who can be against. And, with the Word of God before us, and the Spirit of God inside of us, we are called to, and able to, self-regulate . . . for one another’s benefit . . . and for God’s glory . . .