Acceptable & Approved

Introduction

“Well done, good and faithful servant.”

These are the words that all followers of Christ want to hear. One day all people will stand before God. And when that day comes we want to hear from Lord Jesus, “Well done good and faithful servant.”

Right church? Does anyone want to hear, “Hey you really squandered that opportunity you had!”

We want to be those who are acceptable and approved by God. Verse 18 of our text says...

Romans 14:18 “Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.”

Whoever “thus” serves Christ. Thus means, “whoever serves Christ in this way.” So we want to know this morning-what is the way of serving Christ that causes God to look at our lives and say “Well done. You are a good servant. You have been faithful with what I gave you.”

My goal this morning is for you and I to get the main point of this text deep in our hearts.

Here’s the main point: Acceptable & Approved Followers of Jesus Serve Christ, Not Self. (X2)

And as we start...

We need to acknowledge this morning that our go to, our natural flesh always wants to serve self over others. God knows this—it’s why His word—his living and active word tells us to serve others. Because you and I are prone to serve ourselves.

The whole structure of our passage this morning points like an arrow to the truth that Acceptable and Approved Followers of Jesus Serve Christ, Not Self.

Our passage this morning is called a “chiasm”. It’s called that because the structure of the passage resembles the left side of the Greek CHI, which looks like an X. Both ends of the passage point to the main point. And often you see arguments made—main point stated—and supporting arguments restated. Here’s a picture of what it looks like structurally. (show picture)

So you and I this morning are focusing in on the middle of that “X”

We want to serve Christ.

If we want to serve Christ in His body we need to do three things. I. Build Others Up (13-14), II. Love Others More Than Yourself (15-16), III. Hold High the Kingdom of God (17)

Amen, you ready?

I. Build Others Up (13-14)

Romans 14:13 “Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.”

The example that Paul is using here is a disagreement in the church between those who believed that the dietary restrictions in the law of Moses were still in effect and those who believed that all food is clean and acceptable to God.

And Paul lets us know what side he is on. In verse 14 he says,

Romans 14:14 “I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.”

Which is the right opinion.

Peter sees the same thing in Acts 10. He’s meditating on the roof and he sees a great sheet with all kinds of animals on it—clean and unclean according to the law of Moses—and God says to Peter in Acts 10:13 “And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.””

Peter says no Lord nothing unclean has ever touched my lips. And God says, don’t call undlean what I say is clean. And then Peter tried bacon and there wasn’t a problem anymore.

So eating all foods and enjoying the freedom of this is a gift from God and it is right.

So what do we do with our brothers and sisters who have a different opinion than we do? Look you do your thing and I’ll do mine? Look at the text again.

Romans 14:14 “I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.”

Ok, Paul is not saying that how we feel about the word of God makes it true or not true. Objectively one side of a theological argument is correct.

So Paul is not saying, “Well they feel like certain foods are unclean so they really are unclean. For them. But not for me.”

God’s truth does not change based on the fickleness of our feelings. Thank God.

So what is Paul saying?

These people that Paul is talking about don’t eat certain foods becasue they really believe that they are unclean. And their belief is wrong. It is what Dave’s passage two weeks ago called “weak faith”.

But for them they are convinced and so to break these food laws would violate their conscience. This is what Paul is talking about earlier in chapter 14

Romans 14:5-7 “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself.”

Listen, I believe that the Sabbath is a command for God’s people still today. I think you and your family should practice Sabbath and that God has given it to you as a gift. I’m convinced of that from Scripture.

But I’m not about to start calling families who work on Sunday into church discipline meetings.

What do we do with our brothers and sisters who hold a different opinion about the practice of our faith?

We build them up!

Our text says we decide to never put a stumbling block in front of them. We go out of our way to make sure we are not a hindrance to them.

So Paul isn’t going to say, “Come over for dinner—we’re having bacon wrapped shrimp!”

And you aren’t going to call me and say, “Hey I need you to come over and help me rake my yard.”

Instead we take the positive example of verse 19. This is where we see that Chiastic structure coming into play.

Romans 14:19 “So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.”

We seek peace and we pursue the mutual upbuilding of our brother or sister in Christ.

We make a conscious decision that we are going to not be a stumbling block—a hindrance to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

And let me just make the point—making someone stumble doesn’t mean they just get annoyed that you disagree with them.

Being a stumbling block to someone, being a hindrance to them—means we are causing them falter in their following Christ.

Back to our examples. So I could invite someone over that believes certain foods are unclean to eat and serve them those foods. And guilt them into eating them and in doing so I am violating their consciounce. And they will struggle with what they did as sin.

And in turn they will resent me. There will be division. Hurt feelings. All because of instead of building them up as v.19 says I instead judged them for their belief and hindered them in their faith.

And this applies in so many ways. Not just unclean foods or sacred days. What are some other ways we could cause stumbling blocks in the lives of our brothers and sisters in the church?

How about politics? Listen, I think voting is important. I voted this past week. But it’s crazy how Christian people will take a candidate and attach Christianity to it. If you don’t vote for so and so you are not saved. If you did vote for so and so you are not saved!

Medical Science? There were many Christians stumbling all over each other during Covid. What you did or did not believe about masks destroyed some churches.

Facial hair? I heard this smooth faced man on YouTube give a tirade about how “beards are secular and worldly” and questioned the validity of any scruffy faced Christians. That’s not why I shaved.

We could go on and on. Friends it’s simple.

We don’t break fellowship with people over secondary issues. We don’t cause other people to stumble in their faith. Instead we build them up.

How?

Transition: So how do we fight to build others up instead of making them stumble?

II. Love Others More Than Yourself (15-16)

Romans 14:15 “For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.”

God’s holy, matchless, un-erring word says, “if your brother or sister is grieved by your freedom, you are the one who is not walking in love!”

That is so counter to our flesh. Do you like that? I don’t like that!

I’m more inclined to say...

“That person isn’t loving me well because they don’t want me to eat this meat. They are hindering my freedom.

“I hold the right theology here. I have the right opinion here. They because of their wrong belief are hindering me.”

“I..I”m…me.” Do we see a theme?

Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Ouch…the word of God is sharper than a two edged sword friends.

“I feel…my opinion…I want...”

Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

When you love someone you are willing to be inconvenienced by them. Because you love them.

This is the example Christ gave us.

Do you think it was convenient to take on flesh? Was it convenient to leave the throne of Heaven and trade it for a dirty manger in a barn?

Was it convenient to shiver, feel hunger, experience pain?

Was it convenient for Christ to be mocked and maligned—the one who created all things mistreated by his very one creation?

Were the hard headed and hard hearted disciples convenient?

Was the splintered cross convenient? Was the flesh being removed from his back convenient? Was the wrath of God poured out on him for our sins convenient?

Friends—no. Why did he do it?

John 3:16 ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Romans 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 14:15 says “do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.”

I served in a church as a youth director with Vickery and the pastor there could not stand it when people would wear their hats in the church building. He thought it was disrespectful to God and others.

God doesn’t care if I have a hat on in the church building. God doesn’t care if I pray with a hat on. I’m convinced of that, but I’m not going to destroy my brother over this.

When Paul says, “do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.” He means don’t break fellowship. Our flesh would rather destroy others rather than limit our own wants and desires.

Paul says even though it is ok to eat any food. Even though God’s Word says so. Even though I am right. If I eat pork in front of my fellow saints knowing that they think this is sin I am the one who is not walking in love.

Here comes our chiastic structure again.

Romans 14:20 “Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats.”

Friends, your freedom is not more important than the people that Christ died for. Are you willing to be inconvenienced by others? Do you love them?

We should be willing to love others more than we love ourselves. This is what is to follow in Jesus footsteps.

And we have to be careful here...

Because—if we are honest—we don’t often want to follow that Jesus.

We want to follow Jesus as he rebukes the Pharisees. We want to follow Jesus as he whips the money changers out of the temple. We want to follow bold Jesus. Righteously angry Jesus. Those are footsteps we are all too willing to follow.

“People think I’m a jerk but I’m just being bold like Jesus.” “Jesus told the Pharisees off. Jesus put holy hands on the temple money changers.”

There’s a little problem here though—you aren’t Jesus! I’m not Jesus.

Jesus is God and we are not! Jesus was only ever righteously angry without sin. He was only ever motivated by what was pleasing to the Father and what was good for others.

You and I in a split second can take righteous anger and turn it into sinful anger. You can’t see into the hearts of men. You didn’t breath life into this world. You don’t sustain it.

Don’t see Jesus in the Bible exercising Godly authority and use that as an excuse to love yourself more than others. Don’t use it as an excuse to destroy your brother or sister in Christ.

Good rule of thumb. Leave anger and vengeance to a perfect God and consider others as more important than yourself.

You and I are better off imitating the humble, gentle, long-suffering Jesus?! Amen?

Transition: Now what I don’t mean to say here. And what our text is not saying is that there is no room for discussion. For discourse. For godly disagreement. There is. I try to convince you all the time that you should see the scriptures in a certain way. But there is a right way to do it.

Look at v. 16. This is part of loving others more than yourself.

Romans 14:16 “So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil.”

Part of loving others as more than ourselves is not sullying good things with poor behavior.

This one is simple. When you are right and act like a jerk no one cares. When you are right and act like a jerk the good that you are right about will be considered evil.

People who hold right opinions poorly cast a negative light on the right thing they believe by their wrong behavior.

If Paul wants to convince a brother in Christ that they are free in Christ to enjoy all foods the worst thing he could do is act in such a way that they regard what is actually good as evil.

Romans 14:21 “It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.”

Don’t do anything our text says that would cause them to stumble.

Colossians 4:6 “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”

Patience—long suffering—consider others as more important than yourselves.

This is how we serve Christ. This is what is acceptable and approved behavior before our God.

Transition: So if we want to serve Christ we build others up, we love them more than ourselves and we....

IV. Hold High the Kingdom of God (17)

Romans 14:17 “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

When we are caught up in serving ourselves we make secondary things the main thing.

When we are caught up in serving Christ we are aware that Christ and His kingdom is most important.

Dave asked us. Who is most important? And the answer is…Jesus.

The kingdom of God is about Christ.

It is a kingdom of righteousness. His people have been bought with his righteousness. It is the very righteousness of Christ that atones for our sins. And in turn we are called to be a people of righteousness.

It is a kingdom of peace. In the kingdom of Christ we have peace with God. All of our sins have been paid for.

1 Peter 2:24 “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”

Romans 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

In turn we are a people of peace. Jesus says blessed are the peacemakers. We consider others as more important than ourselves. We decide not to be a hindrance or stumbling block to any of our brothers or sisters in Christ. We strive for preac in the body of Christ.

It is a kingdom of Joy. True joy belongs to those who have been saved by Christ.

Romans 8:37 “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

There is nothing in all of creation that can separate us from the love of God!

Our salvation is sure. The guilt of our sin has been removed.

We strive to be acceptable and approved in our behavior because in Christ we are already accepted and approved as the covenant people of God!

Here, I want to invite you. If you’ve never trusted in Christ as your savior—today is the day of salvation for you.

Jesus is for you. God knows all your sin and he knows the terrible weight of it too.

He knows because he bore it on the cross.

Will you lay down your life and trust the great lover of your soul. Will you come to Christ today for salvation and rescue from the guilt of your sin?

Is there anybody here who wants to be saved today?! Come and talk to me after the service.

Friends—Christ’ kingdom is filled with those who have been saved by Christ. We are His ambassadors.

If we are to be good ambassadors then we must hold high the kingdom of Christ!

We must not wait to start living in that holy kingdom—while we are on the pilgrim road we must reflect the goodness of our God among the people of God.

As we seek to love those who Christ’ loves we build them up, and consider them more important than ourselves.

In this the kingdom of Christ is shown—not to be a kingdom of our opinions—our preferences—our self-centeredness BUT instead it is shown to be a kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy.

Romans 14:18 “Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.”

Who ever thus serves Christ in this way is acceptable to God and approved by men.

Conclusion

Well done good and faithful servant.

Church I want to hear those words. Do you?

If we want to live a life that is acceptable to God and approved by those around us then we must fight all the temptation to live self-serving lives.

We must decide daily to build up others.

We must love others more than we love ourselves.

We must hold high the kingdom of God that lasts forever.

One day every eye here will close in death. And then they will open in eternity fixed upon the face of Christ. What words will come from his lips as he responds to you?

Let’s pray