Paul’s masterclass on brother-keeping

Let’s review the biblical theme of brother-keeping as  developed so far:

• If Cain had been a proper brother-keeper, things would have been so different. The first recorded sin after the Fall was a murder, an attack on the image of God. And it was not just murder, but fratricide. If there’s a hierarchy of egregiousness, the killing of a brother by a brother must be right up there. Think of it: the only people available for Cain to murder were immediate family members, and kinship was not enough to stop him in his tracks.
• Israel was a nation of brothers.
• God’s law stipulated that people with no brothers (foreigners, widows, orphans) should be protected and cared for, as though the nation were their brothers.   
• Jesus reinforced the concept in the account of Lazarus and the rich man and His parable of the good Samaritan.

It’s against this backdrop that members of Christ’s church are written of as being brothers and sisters. 

But before we get into that, it’s important to reiterate why brother-keeping is a vital component of the pro-life ethic. Since it was a failure of brother-keeping that led to the first violation of the sanctity of human life, God had to reinforce the idea that not only must brothers refrain from killing each other, but also so concern themselves with helping them maintain life. 

Bringing brother-keeping into the Church Age adds a new dimension without negating previous responsibilities. As we will see, the Apostle Paul insists we are also responsible for each other’s spiritual lives. Our care for each other in the Body of Christ should at least be as substantive as God expected of Old Testament saints.

Romans 14:1-15:7 could be called Paul's masterclass on New Testament brother-keeping. He described who our Christian brothers are, and defined a good brother much in the same way as Jesus defined a good neighbor. As Romans 14:17 says, the kingdom of God is a family—not an army or political machine. 

What is a Christian brother?

If we ask, in a lawyerly manner, “Who is my brother?” we sound as though we’re hoping to minimize the scope of brotherhood, much as the lawyer in Luke 10:29 tried to place limits on neighborliness. It’s always best to focus on what makes me a good brother (or sister). Key to being a good brother is understanding the basis of brotherhood:

►Christian brothers (and sisters), weak and strong, are equally accepted by God (Rom. 14:1-3). 

►Each one belongs to God the same way you do—through the blood of Christ (Rom. 14:8,15).

►A Christian brother is one for whom Christ died (Rom. 14:9).

►Christians exist to serve Jesus—not to become enslaved to the convictions of other believers… even those who are stronger in faith (Rom. 14:4,18).

►A brother may be weak in faith, but God is at work in them—as He is in those with strong faith. He is capable of making all of us stand (Rom. 14:1,4, 20; 15:1).

No review of biblical brother-keeping is complete without a discussion of Christian brotherhood. And no discussion of Christian brotherhood is complete without a look back at what it means to be a brother-keeping in the Old Testament. 

Am I a good brother or sister?

We can’t choose who our Christian brothers and sisters are… much as we can’t choose our own natural siblings. But we can all improve as brothers and sisters. How? In Romans 14:1-15:7 we’re given a series of DOs and DON’Ts for Christian brotherhood:

►Do accept your brothers and sisters, even when they’re weak in faith (Rom. 14:1, 15:7). This command begins and ends the passage. Every church has people with whom we might choose to avoid… but we must learn to accept them all.

►A corollary to acceptance is not judging brothers, particularly along lines of our own standards for ourselves (Rom. 14:1,10,13). We simply don’t have the capacity or skills for thorough, just, or infallible judgment of another. We have blindspots, and sometimes fail in the very things about which we judge another! God is the righteous  judge with perfect standards. Judgment is not our job. As verse 13 says, if we’ve been judging others, it’s time to stop.

►Do be fully convinced in your own mind about your own behavior, with thankfulness for the insight you’ve been given, but don’t turn these convictions into rules for other people. Do assume they also have insight from God (Rom. 14:5-6,22)

►Do live for God (Rom. 14:7-9), which is everyone’s job. 

►Do not regard a brother with contempt (Rom. 14:3,10-12). This by-product of judgment is an offense worthy of condemnation. Weaker brothers and sisters are warned with an equal degree of severity as those with fewer scruples (the strong).

►Do not place obstacles or stumbling blocks in the path of a brother (Rom. 14:13-14). Contempt would certainly be an obstacle to growth, and extra-biblical demands could trip up anyone. This is why we need to walk alongside our brothers and sisters, to help each other spot obstacles and surmount stumbling blocks.

►Do not hurt (or destroy!) your brothers and sisters in Christ, but do love them (Rom. 14:15-20). Humility is key.

►Do deny yourself for the sake of brothers and sisters (Rom. 14:21-23). Are you willing to forego something you’re free to do so as not to harm another? Can you lay rights aside as Jesus did? 

►Do bear with the weaknesses of those without strength (Rom. 15:1). Yes, some are weak, but they ought not be left alone. They need us to help carry their load. Both strong and weak will grow by it. 

(I’m guessing the designations “strong” and “weak” are somewhat arbitrary in Paul’s mind; readers are more likely to place themselves in the “strong” category because they hold strong and strict convictions, but Paul seems to say that could be a sign of weakness.)

►Do pursue peace and the pleasure and edification of others (Rom. 14:19, 15:2-4). Soothe frictions. Build up rather than tearing down. Teach the word without ulterior motives or an agenda. As Paul said in Philippians 2:4, “do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” 

The bottom line is showing we really belong to Jesus by increasingly becoming more like Him in love, forbearance, and self-sacrifice. The right question to ask is, “How brotherly am I?” 

There’s room for everyone to grow in faith and brotherliness. As Jesus said to the lawyer, “Go and do likewise” (Lk 10:37). 

More on brother-keeping from the other apostles

The New Testament epistles contain many other passages about brother-keeping: 

Romans 12:10-13, 16:17; 1 Corinthians 1:10-11, 5:11, 6:5-8, 8:12-13, 11:33, 14:26; Galatians 5:13, 6:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-10, 5:14, 5:25-27; 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 3:13-15; 1 Timothy 5:1-2, 6:2; Philemon 1:16; Hebrews 13:1; James 2:15, 4:11, 5:9, 5:19; 1 Peter 1:22, 2:17, 3:8-9; 2 Peter 1:7; 1 John 2:9-11, 3:10-17, 4:20-21, 5:16; 3 John 1:5. 

Briefly, we keep up our responsibility for the spiritual lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ through faithful fellowship, consistent exhortation, and loving care for physical needs. Good brother-keeping is in our attitudes toward one another, our speech, and in how we handle prickly social problems and contentious issues. Christians truly are their brothers’ keepers. 

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! It is like fine oil on the head, running down on the beard, running down Aaron’s beard over the collar of his robes. —Psalm 133:1-2

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Image credit: God sends Aaron to meet Moses in the desert, Marc Chagall (c. 1966), fair use; https://www.wikiart.org/en/marc-chagall/god-sends-aaron-to-meet-moses-in-the-desert