RIGHTEOUSNESS + PEACE + JOY

Key Scripture

Romans 14:14–23 (NLT)

14 I know and am convinced on the authority of the Lord Jesus that no food, in and of itself, is wrong to eat. But if someone believes it is wrong, then for that person it is wrong. 15 And if another believer is distressed by what you eat, you are not acting in love if you eat it. Don’t let your eating ruin someone for whom Christ died. 16 Then you will not be criticized for doing something you believe is good. 17 For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too. 19 So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.

20 Don’t tear apart the work of God over what you eat. Remember, all foods are acceptable, but it is wrong to eat something if it makes another person stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else if it might cause another believer to stumble. 22 You may believe there’s nothing wrong with what you are doing, but keep it between yourself and God. Blessed are those who don’t feel guilty for doing something they have decided is right. 23 But if you have doubts about whether or not you should eat something, you are sinning if you go ahead and do it. For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.

In Case You Missed It… (Romans 14:20-23)

We talked a lot last week about living by your own personal convictions. The end of this chapter is really the summary of this overarching thought that Paul started at the beginning of Romans 14. It’s like the conclusion of the paper reiterating all the points you just made. Romans 14:20-23 really drives the point home. He uses the example of food for the Romans, because that’s what was relevant to them at the time. The Jewish Christians in the church had different standards and practices for food than the Gentile Christians in the church. Even though this is the example being used, the principle is not exclusive to food.

The Word of God is our standard for behavior. The words of Jesus are important here.

Mark 12:30–31 (ESV)

30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Love for God and others will help us make decisions that keep us from sin. Choosing love and life should always take priority over splitting hairs about what is technically right or wrong. If you’re searching the Bible to find a loophole that justifies your behavior, you’ve already broken the law of love. Loving God means honoring Him in everything that you do. It means avoiding any action that might offend His holiness. Loving people means setting them up to win and not flaunting your freedom to make a point.

Ultimately, this passage tells us that we are responsible to obey the Lord and do what we believe is right. That doesn’t mean we’re choosing to loosely interpret the Bible to determine what might not actually be wrong. It means we’re endeavoring to put the Word of God first place and make it final authority in our lives, and be led by the Holy Spirit on the inside of us to make the right decisions. The concluding sentence of this chapter is Paul saying that choosing to do something you believe is not right is sin.

Pick Your Part (Romans 14:19)

Romans 14:19 tells us to aim for harmony in the church. For those of you who aren’t musicians, let me define “harmony” for you. A harmonic note is a note that complements a melodic note. To give you a bit of an object lesson, I’ve invited a couple of our talented worship leaders to come and demonstrate what that looks like.

***HARMONY DEMONSTRATION***

Did you notice how they weren’t singing the same note, but it still sounded good? I’d even say it sounded better, richer, fuller than when they sang the same note. God has designed us with unique gifts, not to compete with one another, but to complement one another. We are better as a whole when we each set aside the need to be the loudest or most dominant and choose instead to contribute something as individuals that enhances the entire body.

That’s why verse 19 fits nicely into this passage about avoiding condemnation and personal convictions. When we choose to honor and prefer each other, the whole church is better. We can’t afford to let jealousy take root. If someone else is thriving, find your place in supporting them and building them up. Your time will come, but what are you going to do until it does? You can sit on the sidelines and stew, or you can pick your part and sing harmony. When you do, the whole church is better.

Any good singer will tell you that the first step in being good at harmony is listening. In order to complement one another, we have to know each other. How can I help you if I don’t know you? How can I build you up if I don’t know what builds you? In order for us to work together, we have to know each other’s strengths. We have to know how to cover one another’s weaknesses. That’s harmony, and that’s our call in the body of Christ. That means we look to eliminate conflict and competition and advocate for complementing and completing one another.

Righteous + Peace + Joy (Romans 14:17)

In order to do that, we have to major on the majors. We have to know what the Kingdom of God that we’re trying to build actually is. It’s not what you eat or drink. It’s not about the nuances of difference between your culture and mine. It’s not about your way or my way being better. By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul identifies three things that I want to discuss tonight.

Righteousness

The Greek word is dikaiosynē, which translates to “the quality of being in accordance with God’s law.”

Righteousness is right standing with God. Our right standing with Him is not based on our good works. It’s based on the finished work of the cross. It’s based on our identification with Jesus as Savior. He who was entirely righteous became sin in order for us to be free from sin.

This is important in a discussion of what is and isn’t sin. As we depart from the old way of living, we embrace righteousness that can only be found in Him. No good deed will ever be good enough to earn right standing with God. The Kingdom of God rests on the foundation of a righteous King whose sacrifice was your invitation to citizenship.

This righteousness is a cultural indicator of which Kingdom you represent. In contrast to the food or drink that defines a culture in the world, it’s what you say and do that defines you in the Kingdom of God. What you put into your mouth says which natural kingdom you represent. What comes out of it demonstrates the supernatural King and Kingdom you claim.

2. Peace

The Greek word is eirēnē, which means the state of well-being and concord.

Issues of what defines a culture can produce a lot of turmoil. For thousands of years, it’s even resulted in wars. What defines us in this Kingdom, though, is the peace of God that transcends understanding.

John 14:27 (NLT)

27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

This isn’t a ceasefire. It’s genuine peace that only the King of Kings can give. No matter what is happening in your life, you can live at perfect peace.

Isaiah 26:3 (NLT)

3 You will keep in perfect peace

all who trust in you,

all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

We do this by focusing on God’s ways. We don’t ignore the issues of life, but we exchange thoughts of worry with thoughts of peace. “Is it love?” That’s been our question the past couple of weeks. Let’s add a new one to our list tonight. “Is it peace?” If it’s not, it’s not God, which means it’s a thought we should aim to trade for one of His. Love is the fruit of the Spirit in all its varied expressions, one of which is peace. When you’re walking in love, the result is peace.

Galatians 5:22 (TPT)

22 'But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions : joy that overflows , peace that subdues , patience that endures kindness in action a life full of virtue, faith that prevails gentleness of heart , and strength of spirit . Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless.

Philippians 4:6–7 (NLT)

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

The Kingdom of God is one of aggressive peace. Peace that guards isn’t just defensive. It holds a weapon. It attacks anything that doesn’t belong, including thoughts of anxiety, unrest, and strife that are planted by the army of a different kingdom.

2 Corinthians 10:5 (NLT)

5 We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.

There is peace available to you in your thought life. That’s the way of the Kingdom.

That also means there is peace in the thoughts that you think about one another that lead to peace in your relationships with one another.

We achieve peace in those thoughts by observing the next part of that passage in Philippians.

Philippians 4:8 (NLT)

8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Take the wrong thoughts captive and choose the thoughts that reflect truth, honor, righteousness, purity, and love.

Think those things about each other. Decide that love is the motivator in how you assess a situation and a person.

1 Corinthians 13:7 (ESV)

7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

When you are driven by love, you’ll choose to believe the best of everyone. You don’t worry about the differences between you. You don’t fixate on cultural quirks or dietary choices. You focus on the love of God. That results in a peaceful Kingdom life.

3. Joy in the Holy Spirit

The Greek word for joy is chara, which means the experience of gladness.

It’s important to note that true joy comes in the Holy Spirit. The Kingdom of God is one of joy that comes from living led by the Holy Spirit in the fruit of the Spirit, operating in the gifts of the Spirit.

Remember that one of the varied expressions of love is joy that overflows!

Walking in love results in joy that strengthens and empowers us.

“Joy is the serious business of Heaven.” - C.S. Lewis

Nehemiah 8:10 (NLT)

10 And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”

Are you feeling weak? Does it seem like life is draining you of your power? Maybe you need to release the burden and pressure and pick up the joy of the Lord.

Where do we find the joy of the Lord? In a life lived by the Spirit. What does that look like?

Psalm 16:11 (ESV)

11 You make known to me the path of life;

in your presence there is fullness of joy;

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Not just a little joy, but the fullness of joy. If you need the strength that comes from the fullness of joy in the Lord by the Holy Spirit, you need His presence. When the King of the Kingdom shows up, the burden can’t stay. The heaviness can’t stay. The sadness can’t stay. The depression can’t stay.

Invitation to Response

If you’re here tonight and you need an encounter with the King of Joy, I want to invite you to this altar. We are going to praise and shake off everything that doesn’t belong. We are going to receive the joy of the Lord in the Holy Spirit tonight. Depression is going to go. Sickness is going to go. Your new life starts tonight in the presence of the Joy-Giver!