Romans 15: Welcoming Others as Christ Welcomed Us

Introduction

"A warm welcome is a phrase, it's a word. Who here would say otherwise?" During the worship service of October 25, 2026 at the Assemblée de Dieu de Montpellier Richter (EMR), the preacher addresses what he calls "the dilemma of welcome".

The subject is part of the church's vision for the year. It wants to be a welcoming church, and warm welcome is the first of the five values the teams have been working on since September. But the welcome the Bible asks for goes much further than a handshake or a hello: it means welcoming one another as Christ welcomed us.

The message follows Romans 15, James 2, the letter to Philemon and Luke 11, arriving at a discovery that "shook" the preacher that very morning: welcome rests on forgiveness and on compassion. He announces that he will continue with this last point in a future message.

Outline of the Message

1. A Welcoming Church, a Vision for the Year

The church's reason for being is the mission Jesus entrusted to it in Matthew 28:19-20: "Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you."
To fulfill this mission, the church gave itself a vision statement: "We want a welcoming church where everyone can discover God's love, find peace, grow in faith in Jesus, share joy and serve others with generosity."
Five values flow from it: a warm welcome, sincere love, reassuring peace, radiant joy and selfless generosity. "These are not just words", they are things to put into practice.
"A people without vision, without direction, ends up walking without restraint." The goal is to know where you want to go.

2. As Christ Welcomed Us

Romans 15:7: "Therefore accept one another, even as Christ also accepted you, to the glory of God." Paul builds on the way Jesus received us.
The Lord did not say: "You, you are handsome, you, you are beautiful, so I can welcome you." He did not look at size or origin, European, African, South American or North American. Man, woman, child, elderly person: he welcomes all who come to him.
He welcomed us by grace. We asked for nothing, we did not deserve it. Jesus gave his life on the cross "that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
He welcomed us with compassion and mercy: "Our life was broken, our life was damaged, there were cracks." The Lord took us by the hand and transformed us.
Verse 6 specifies: "all together". Welcome is not the business of leaders, pastors or those who serve on a team. It is everyone's business, including toward those who have been here for five, ten, twenty or thirty years.

3. Our Reality: the Temptation to Make Distinctions

James 2 describes a scene in a Christian assembly: a man with a gold ring and splendid clothing is given the seat of honor, while the poor man in shabby clothes is left standing or sitting under the footstool.
James is writing to Christians. In the middle of this church, distinctions were being made, and he tells them: "Watch out, is it normal to act this way?" The conclusion is clear: "if you show partiality, you commit sin" (James 2:9).
The preacher mentions the missionary world, where a simple bowl of rice brought to orphaned children is shared with joy, without making any distinction. In our Western world, there is waste, social classes, and judgments based on appearance, skin color or wallet.
"I believe the church has a message to give to this world." What unites men and women who are so different is the work and salvation of Jesus Christ on the cross.
He tells of introducing a Christian in the street by saying: "This is my brother." When the person was surprised, since their skin color was not the same, he explained: "We are together in the same church and we love Jesus." "It's extraordinary, the Christian faith. It makes us brothers and sisters in Christ."
Welcome also means attention to the oldest among us. The day before, the preacher was limping and dragging his foot. Back home, he asked the Lord to lay his hand on it, and that very morning it was much better. It reminded him that the pains of our elders are real, and that we need to know how to take someone's hand to help them up.

4. The Dilemma of Welcome: Philemon and Onesimus

The text of Philemon spoke to him "very early this morning", "like a click, like a revelation, like an anchor point". A letter of a single chapter, quick, "but how deep".
Onesimus was a slave in Philemon's house. He left, and not empty-handed. Converted through Paul, he is ordered to return to his master with this letter.
The preacher puts himself in Philemon's place: we have no good memory of Onesimus, and the first reaction would be to settle accounts. "You're back? You're going to prison."
Paul asks for something else: to receive him "no longer as a bondservant, but more than a bondservant, a brother beloved" (Philemon 1:16). The one who was once "useless to you" is now useful (verse 11). "If then you count me a partner, receive him as myself" (verse 17).
The one who arrives did wrong, but he has lived a transformation. Philemon can now look at him, no longer through the lens of condemnation, but as a brother, and take him in his arms.

5. A Welcome That Matches What the Lord Expects

This scene reminds the preacher of the parable in Luke 11:5-10. A friend arrives from a journey in the middle of the night, and the one who receives him has "nothing to offer him". He goes out into the night to ask another friend for three loaves, so that the welcome matches the need.
As with Philemon, we must welcome "by raising the level": he is no longer a slave, he is a brother. "Beyond Paul, it is above all how Jesus would want things to happen."
Here is the dilemma: "Lord, what do you expect of me?" The Bible says to welcome as the Lord welcomed us, "not the way the President of the Republic or the mayor would do it". "The bar is high."
The answer is in the parable: "keep asking, and it will be given you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened to you" (Luke 11:9). If our heart desires to welcome and care, God gives what is necessary.
The preacher mentions the multiplication of the loaves: facing the crowd, the disciples have only a few loaves and a few fish, and the Lord says that is enough. "The provisions come from God", but we must give with what he places at our disposal.

6. God's Way: Forgiveness and Compassion

"Welcome rests on accepting the other." You can only welcome someone if you accept them, and you cannot accept them if you hold a grievance against them.
Welcome as Christ wants it "can only be of quality to the extent that there is no preconception in my heart". It is not just a handshake or a hello: it is accepting the other without animosity or resentment.
"Welcome involves forgiveness." God welcomed us because he forgave us in Jesus Christ. Nothing in us could please him. Forgiveness must therefore be "a lived, sustained, preserved reality" in the Christian's heart.
Forgiveness demands a certain vulnerability. Philemon will have to speak to Onesimus: "What you did may have hurt me, it's true that we didn't get along, but you are my brother and I want to take you in my arms." It is hard, but "forgiveness with a surge of compassion and mercy is what gives a quality welcome".
Compassion is "suffering with". The preacher dwells on the Hebrew word yada, which he presents as the word for compassion and which also means "to know". It is found in Genesis 3:5, "God knows", then in Exodus 2:25, where the Louis Segond renders it this way: "God looked on the children of Israel, and had compassion on them." In Exodus 3:7, the LORD says: "I know their sorrows." "Compassion rests on the fact that I know."
"Welcoming the other starts with doing for the other what I would want done for me", because I know the sorrows of human life. "The other is you at one time or another, in one trial or another circumstance."
The Lord identified with us: he left glory, took on a human body, wept, walked, was hungry and thirsty; "the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head" (Matthew 8:20). He welcomed those who came to him because he knew their sufferings.
In the closing prayer, the preacher asks not to be like the elder son in the parable of the prodigal son, who refuses to receive his brother, but like the father who runs down the road to meet him (Luke 15:11-32).

Key Takeaways

Christ welcomed us without making distinctions, by grace, with compassion. This is the model for our welcome.
Welcome is not the business of leaders alone: it is everyone's business, "all together".
Showing partiality based on appearance, rank or origin is a sin that James denounces within the church itself.
Welcoming like Jesus means seeing the one who returns no longer through the lens of his past, but as a brother: the bar is high, and God supplies the resources.
There is no true welcome without forgiveness, and compassion is born from knowing the other's pain.

Personal Application

When someone arrives in your church, do you consider welcome to be the business of others or your own?
Do you catch yourself looking at the appearance, social class or origin of the people you meet before welcoming them?
Is there an "Onesimus" in your life, someone who wronged you and whom you struggle to receive as a brother or sister?
What grievance or preconception do you need to hand over to the Lord so you can accept the other?
Who around you is going through a trial that you know yourself, and to whom could you offer a word of encouragement this week?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What does it mean to welcome one another "as Christ welcomed us"?

The Lord welcomed us without making any distinction: man, woman, child, elderly person, whatever our origin or appearance. He did it by grace, when we did not deserve it, with compassion and mercy. Romans 15:7 asks us to follow this model, all together, and not only leaders or welcome teams.

What is the dilemma of welcome in the letter to Philemon?

Onesimus, Philemon's former slave, had left, wronging him. Converted through Paul, he comes back. Philemon might want to settle accounts, but Paul asks him to receive him no longer as a slave, but as a beloved brother. The welcome asked for matches what Jesus expects, and the bar is high.

Why is forgiveness at the heart of welcome?

You can only welcome someone if you accept them, and you cannot accept them while holding a grievance against them. God welcomed us because he forgave us in Jesus Christ. To welcome others, forgiveness must therefore be a lived and sustained reality, accompanied by grace, mercy and compassion.