Doubtful Disputations
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Text: Romans 15:1
Intro: The issue of the gray area has long caused unnecessary divisions amongst believers within a church, and on a larger scale even divisions between Bible believing churches. Clearly as seen here in the Scriptures, it was an issue that arose amongst the 1st century believers and it sadly remains an issue with believers unto this day. Here in Roman’s 14-15 there are are two types of believers described for us. We will see both of them in our text today... They are the believers that are “strong,” & those that are “weak”. We understand that this is not a physical description, but a physical one, and we also understand that these descriptions are opposites one to another...
I would like us to begin by considering the context of our text by quickly taking a larger view of the chapters leading up to it.
Chapter 12: Begins with our body as a living sacrifice… Then ends with overcoming evil with good...
Chapter 13: Begins with the submission to God and those things over us that are ordained by God… Then ends with loving one another...
By the time we arrive here at Chapter 14 I want to be clear that we are not talking about making an occasion for the flesh. We are not talking about feeding the flesh, but we are talking about the gray areas that so often divide believers.
I think our natural stance is to expect the worst in people and that we are sometimes afraid to deal with the gray area because we just expect them to jump head first into sin.
I want to make a statement concerning Biblical “grace”... If the grace which you cling too in this Christian life, thinks lightly of sin, or leads you into sin, then it is not Bible grace! What’s the definition of Bible grace?
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Let me couple that with the statement that many Christians have the false notion that the observation of rules or standards is what shows a stronger faith, but if we would allow the Spirit of God to deal with our hearts today Biblically, I think we will see the opposite is true.
Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Touch not; taste not; handle not; Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.
Oh, how our flesh loves rules, regulations, fastings, and bodily discipline, and we love it because it makes us feel spiritual and in our mind we think them to show just how strong we really are...
I want to be clear, I am not talking about Biblical truth… I am talking about doubtful disputation, the gray areas of our Christian life, that we hold fast too, while criticizing other believers for not holding fast to them, when they are not Bible. I’m not saying that your standards are not based upon a principle, and that is fine, but if it is not black and white, then it is a doubtful disputation.
He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
Do we see how the pharisees had an extra biblical aspect to their worship, which Christ said was not worship… but didn’t they see all of their standards and things that they did as such? There is a warning for us in this…
Do you know why this is popular amongst indipendant Baptist today? Because we think that we have within us the ability to get right with God, that by the size of my list, I will one day stand acceptable… but there is a problem, that when it is me, that is my flesh, then I did it all without ever truly humbling myself before God, and what glory for Him is there in that?
Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
We must move beyond our man made systems of worship. It may seem spiritual but it is not, nor can it be… If we think that it is our list that controls our flesh then...
Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind… (vs. 1-5)
The issues in Rome stemmed from these doubtful disputations. The disputable matter was over food, and the regarding of a day, but let’s be clear, it could have been over any gray area… Think of all the hot button issues that have come up over the years. Think of the divisions that have resulted from it. An example is Acts 15 with Paul and Barnabas with John Mark… Was their division biblical? I think how they went about it is a great example for us, but I want to remind you that Paul asks for Mark later in his ministry because he is profitable for the ministry, and God allows him to pen the Gospel of Mark. They were both persuaded fully in their own mind… I leave it at that...
Paul gives us the solution… (vs. 4) Stop judging one another… Do you realize that when you start judging another believer that you are actually judging the servant of the most holy God. Paul asks the question, “Who art thou”? When we judge a servant of God, we rob God of the opportunity to holden him up, and make him stand? Here’s what we teach them instead, that we are held up by the strength of our flesh… If every man is to be persuaded in his own mind, that means we let must let God do the convicting… After all, isn’t He more than capable? It also means that in the area of doubtful disputation, your convictions are not the same as my convictions, and that is perfectly acceptable...
2. Regardeth it unto the Lord… (vs. 6-9)
Here is where we trust God because He knows what He is doing. We also have to trust our brother’s and sister’s in Christ, that they are going to do that which is pleasing to their Saviour. Why do we question everything, and doubt people’s motives? Why do we immediately think the worst of everyone, can we see peoples hearts? Then step away from it, let God convict, let God ask the questions, let God change motives, and let God bring about actions…
In Mark 14, Jesus is in Bethany just 2 days prior to the cross.
And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head. And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her. And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me. For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always. She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.
Just because it isn’t what you would do, or how you would do it, doesn’t mean God isn’t being honoured in it… Let’s praise God, instead of criticizing the servant.
3. Everyone of us shall give account of himself to God… (vs. 10-12)
Why is it that we act like we are going to stand before God and give an account for everyone else choices? Can I help us here, stop worrying about them, and worry about yourself. For one day we will all stand before the Lord and give an account of our works.
According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
How easy it is to look elsewhere rather than keep my focus here… It is a flesh tactic by the way, keep to focus off from me...
4. Judge this, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way… (13-19)
We want something to judge, we want some Bible to swing around… Here it is, look at your own actions towards your brothers and sisters in Christ. Do we realize that it is a serious thing to cause another to stumble and fall?
Hurt in our church...
But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.
How sad it is that one Christian would ever tear down another believer… Have we forgotten,
And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
5. Hast thou faith?.. (vs. 20-23)
Here is the very simple explanation to this… That the doubtful disputation is between you and the Lord. You are the blood bought purchased possession of God, you are His steward, you will be held accountable for the decision you make, so if you have doubt as to whether you should or shouldn’t do something, ere on the side of caution and don’t do it…
This whole matter is a matter of liberty but we must understand that if you want to claim the rights of Liberty then there comes the responsibility to Liberty...
Charles Spurgeon smoked cigars. And that was back before the American Cancer Society had done its work. But he smoked cigars. And he thought he had a liberty to smoke cigars. He thought that he had a liberty to use tobacco. And there is a sense in which he did. There’s really nothing in the Bible that says, “Thou shalt not smoke cigars.” It just doesn’t say that. And Spurgeon was a man mighty in the Lord.
And yet one day, Spurgeon was walking down the street, and he looked into a tobacco shop. And in that tobacco shop he saw some smoking paraphernalia. And when he looked in there he saw a sign which said: “Surgeon's Brand.” These are the cigars that Spurgeon smokes. ” And do you know what that mighty man of God said? He said, “Shall I be known for the tobacco I smoke or for the gospel I preach?” And he never smoked another day in his life… You see, he knew that he had liberty, and he knew the rights of that liberty, but he also knew the responsibility that he had to that liberty. And so, here was a man who was not living under law, but he was living under love.
6. For His good to edification… (vs. 15:1-7)
Only twice in the book of Roman’s is the word “strong” used. Once here in our text today and the other is back in Romans 4:20 concerning Abraham.
Romans 4:19–21 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
vs. 19 - “And being not weak in faith” vs. 20 “but was strong in faith” vs. 21 “being fully persuaded”This helps us have understanding when we see the word again used in Chapter 15. Let’s look at the:Weak - Romans 14:1 “Him that is weak in the faith receive ye...”
We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
The strong is not speaking of the physical, but the spiritual. It is not speaking to the list maker either, and I am not saying that you shouldn’t have a list of things that God has dealt with you about. Twice the strong are called to receive the weak, in the 14:1 and 15:7. The weak are those whose spiritual life is a list, while the strong are those whose spiritual life is Christ.
There is a difference in a relationship between someone who knows about someone and someone who knows someone...
1 John 2, John writes unto the young men, because they are strong, because they have overcome the wicked one, because the word of God abideth in them. Then John writes to the fathers because they have known Him that is from the beginning…
When I was 20 I thought I knew everything but no one would listen, now that I am almost 40 I know nothing but more and more people want to listen to what I have to say…
I used to be a man with so many doubtful disputation as standards and I was a man that would argue why you needed to have them, and how you where wrong if you didn’t. Now I simply follow the Scriptures, if the Bible says do it, I do it, and if not, then I don’t and the gray, I pray, I let God lead me, but I no longer hold everyone else to that standard. I let God hold them to the standard that He has for their life, and where they are spiritually in their life. Sometimes a weaker believer needs standards, but as God grows them, those standards are no longer a stumbling block… To that we praise God!
Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name.