Worshipping Together
Notes
Transcript
Last week we talked about Honoring Authority, honoring your neighbor and honoring God by living right.
Today we move into another area that is very difficult for us.
Honoring the Brethren ( fellow Christians)
Lets start by diving right into Romans 14
1 Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.
2 One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only.
3 The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him.
4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5 One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind.
6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.
7 For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;
8 for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.
11 For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall give praise to God.”
12 So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.
14: vs 1-12 -Honoring The Brethren
The rest of the Chapter deals with food, what you think is appropriate to eat ( specifically in this sense meat dedicated to idols or temple worship) and Holy days. (basically tradition)I will give you an illustration about that in a minute.
Just these two traditions if not dealt with were about to divide the church
A church divided cannot stand, a family divided cannot stand , a country divided cannot stand.
Division brings all sorts of problems - It is not hard to see how division is tearing this country apart.
Paul settles the matter for us. - He talks about Faith and Love.
He uses a contrast - those weak in it and those not weak in it.
Those who Paul calls weak in faith are the ones who are tenacious about their faith. You would think it would be the opposite. (EXPLAIN)
The Pharisees would be the ones who are weak in their faith. Sabbath rules were expanded to the point you wouldn’t know what you could or couldn’t do. There was no relationship in their faith.
Be very careful how you judge the brethren.
Our job is to build each other up, not tear each other down.
You should be more concerned about the account you will give before Christ than the one your neighbor has to give.
Be very careful about judging ( form a critical opinion of)( your brother. Remember we are a body and the body parts functions differently.
A few years back there was a lot of criticism
Joel Olsteen story
The world is a cruel judge to each other . Don’t you be apart of it.
How many of you remember the fall of Jimmy Swaggert, or Jim Baker scandal.
Ill - Tammy Fay Baker incident.
In regards to food. How do you handle a different culture?
Ill - Muslims Thanksgiving at the DC
They would not eat Turkey unless it was prayed over before slaughter the Halal Prayer.
I had to order them from San Francisco.
I asked my cooking volunteers if they had a problem with it and they did not.
We cooked it and served it to nearly 100 guests. It actually took the pressure off and we were able to minister to them the rest of the night.
We are to live a life of grace and Mercy, not judgement .
People outside of Christ are already judged and those in Christ we have to learn to at least get along with.
Ch 15- takes everything a step further.
Not only should we honor our brother we are to bear with them their weaknesses. It is not your way or the highway.
Lets read
1 Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves.
2 Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification.
3 For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.”
4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
5 Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus,
6 so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.
8 For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers,
9 and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written, “Therefore I will give praise to You among the Gentiles, And I will sing to Your name.”
10 Again he says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.”
11 And again, “Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, And let all the peoples praise Him.”
12 Again Isaiah says, “There shall come the root of Jesse, And He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, In Him shall the Gentiles hope.”
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Putting the welfare of others ahead of your own seems to be the theme of the first 4 verses
Question - How can we worship together when we have division - Jew must worship with Gentile and Gentile must worship with Jew?
We must break down the dividing wall of hostility between us. Just like Christ when he went to the cross - He broke down all the barriers.
Everyone is being transformed into a family, the family of God - AMEN
Individual transformation turns into social transformation . We learn to love better, have patience with one another, we bear each others burdens etc.
To make it clear this is not socialism - Marxism is socialization at the point of a rifle and without God. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out the outcome of that
There are five words that stand out in this chapter.
Perseverance - inward fortitude with great patience.
Encouragement - being consoled during times of great distress
If we do these things we will have Unity.
Scripture says in Ephesians that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Unity.
What does this mean. It means that we will have a very difficult time putting the welfare of others ahead of ours with out the Holy Spirit, if not impossible at times.
The Holy Spirit changes the heart.
Paul also sees the experience of joy as a result of the indwelling of the spirit (1 Thess 1:6; Rom 14:17; cf. also Acts 8:39). He in fact describes joy as a “fruit” of the Spirit’s presence (Gal 5:22). Love joy peace patience kindness goodness, faithfulness
Peace it isn’t an attitude it is a state of being.
Hope - If hope is fixed on God, it embraces at once the three elements of expectation of the future, trust, and the patience of waiting.
You can be without Hope in the world but you have hope in God.
Conclusion
Love Is The Answer
Scripture says Righteousness, Peace and Joy should be reflected in your life. Unity should be reflected in your actions.