<p>15:1- see on Rom. 12:1.</p><p><i>Now we that are strong- </i>As noted at the end of chapter 14, Paul is writing specifically to those who knew the Law to be ended and who rightly felt free to eat anything.</p><p><i>Ought to bear the infirmities of the weak</i><i>, and not to please ourselves</i>- In chapter 14, Paul has defined &quot;the weak&quot; as those who could not come to terms with grace and who persisted in misinterpreting Bible teaching about food laws. In effect, they were in denial of much of Paul's inspired reasoning earlier in Romans. But he has urged these &quot;weak&quot; be accepted in the church (14:1), but not endlessly argued with. The more mature had &quot;to bear&quot; their weakness of understanding and behaviour. This is at variance to the pure Biblicist, truth vs. error scenario, where those who are Biblically in the right keep on attacking the weak and will not fellowship them. The Greek for &quot;infirmities&quot; is the word used about how Abraham was <i>not</i> weak or infirm in faith (4:19); and how the Law was &quot;weak through the flesh&quot;. Those still under the Law simply did not have the faith of Abraham. And others had been made weak or infirm by the intolerance of those who understood better than them (14:21 AV &quot;is made weak&quot;). But the strong were to accept them into the church (14:1) and carry / bear them. And this is indeed how life is in any church; there are some who will need to be carried to the Kingdom. That is how it is. And it is the serious sin of those supposedly 'strong' to refuse to carry them.</p><p>The Lord Jesus didn&rsquo;t sin Himself but He took upon Himself our sins- to the extent that He <i>felt</i> a sinner, even though He wasn&rsquo;t. Our response to this utter and saving grace is to likewise take upon ourselves the infirmities and sins of our brethren. If one is offended, we burn too; if one is weak, we are weak; we bear the infirmities of the weak (Rom. 15:1). But in the context of that passage, Paul is quoting from Is. 53:11, about how the Lord Jesus bore our sins on the cross. We live out the spirit of His cross, not in just bearing with our difficulties in isolation, but in feeling for our weak brethren. <b>&nbsp;</b>We should be able to say with Paul that we are indeed co-crucified with Him. For most of us, this co-crucifixion isn't in terms of literal pain or violent persecution for His sake. So in what terms, then, are His sufferings articulated in us? Surely, therefore, in our mental suffering with Him. Thus Paul can quote a prophecy of Christ's crucifixion and apply it to our sufferings as a result of bearing with our weak brethren (Rom. 15:1-3).</p>