This question of "receiving one another" is one that transcends dispensational

boundaries, and is an accompaniment of salvation wherever it is manifested.  The

ecclesiastical side of the matter is by no means the most important, though this aspect has

alas, often been allowed to overshadowed all others.

The word translated "receive" in Rom. 14: 1 and 15: 7 is the Greek word

proslambano, pros being the preposition "toward" or "unto", and lambano meaning

"to receive". There is, therefore, a very personal touch about the word. It is not merely

"to receive" but "to receive unto oneself". There is something warm and kindly about the

word--the very antithesis of anything formal.

Proslambano occurs 14 times in the N.T., the only occurrences in the epistles, apart

from those in Romans, being found in Philemon. The two references here indicate very

clearly the personal character of the word:

We get further light on the meaning of the word from its occurrences in the Acts. In

Acts 18:, we read of Aquila and Priscilla "taking" Apollos "unto them" (Acts 18: 26);

in chapter 27: the Apostle exhorts the famished sailors to "take" some meat

(Acts 27: 34); while in chapter 28: we read of the kindness of the barbarous

inhabitants of Malta, who kindled a fire and "received us every one, because of the

present rain and because of the cold" (Acts 28: 2). All these passages indicate

something of the intimate character of the "reception" enjoined by the Apostle.

If the reader is not acquainted with the usage of the various words translated "to

receive", and particularly of lambano and its many combinations, he should examine the

Scriptures and discover the important place that this aspect of faith holds.

In John 1: 12 the word is lambano: "As many as received Him", while in the

previous verse:  "His own received Him not", it is paralambano.  The latter

(paralambano) is used in Col. 2: 6: "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the

Lord, so walk ye in Him." When we think of all the pretty things that prevent the

reception of the believer by other believers, we should be humbled as we remember that

the Lord Himself "made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Himself

(sumparalambano) the form of a servant (literally `slave')" (Phil. 2: 7). We are exhorted,

in the context of this same passage, that this mind should be in us, "which was also in

Christ Jesus".

Each believer has "received" the "reconciliation" (Rom. 5: 11), and if each of us is

reconciled to God, surely there should be free reception of one another "as Christ also

received us". Every believer has received the "spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba,

Father" (Rom. 8: 15), and it would surely be strange if those who call upon the same

Heavenly Father should be unwilling to receive one another. It is obvious, however, that

fellowship with other believers must have some sort of touchstone, and must rest upon

something more than a merely personal feeling. The basis of all true reception is that