Sunday November 10

Today will be in Romans chapter 14, for the past two weeks. We've been in the Book of Romans in the New Testament. Matthew Mark, Luke, John axe. Romans. We're taking a break from our series to the book of a text with everything going on in with the election, in the end and anything in the world. There's so many reasons for us to be divided and as we're looking at today, there's reasons were makes it difficult. Sometimes to love people. Some people are more difficult to love than others and I was telling my boys last night. I didn't, they asked me, what I was preaching. Is there a way to turn this down? I'm not. I'm sitting. There we go. That's better. All right. I know how to use the computers and stuff, but then it's like, I don't know how to turn it to speak. Now we need to love people even if they're different than us and Leland. He's seven. He's like, well, Dad, like everybody's different than us. Like, you have to love her and I was like, that's true but something really different that I was going to, like, very different in a lot of ways. So how do you, how do we deal with that? And so we looked at last week, you know, the role of government and how we can vote and still love each other. If we disagree on how we apply biblical truth, and this, this week in, Romans 14, is really diving into that thing deeper. And and it's really crazy once we think about moving to read, Romans chapter 14, is that I grew up? I think I was very like, it has to be right or wrong. There's like no gray area. Like, that's how I thought things should be. And you know, I read the Bible that God says, this is wrong. So this is wrong. Does this is good? It's like there's a good Knievel. There's no in between, as in actual, like, Romans 14 is like, will actually there's a thing called your conscience and there's weaker and stronger in the faith and and there's things that are not necessarily sinful inherently. Send. Send, give you some examples. Have you ever heard anyone say something? Like, maybe I will start out. Maybe, cool. Maybe I know. I've heard people say that I can't believe again. This is maybe someone else cuz I'm not saying this right? Don't take this out of context, don't post this on Facebook, Josh, in the context of an example, I can't believe they claim to be a Christian and eat at McDonald's.

Don't they know what McDonald's supports has a corporation, what they give their money to don't? They know what the food is harming. Their body aren't their body's a temple and they're putting that junk into their body. How can you be a Christian to do that or maybe more seriously and maybe closer to home and is I can't believe they claim to be a Christian and homeschool their kids. They don't know that they need social interaction. You can't shelter your kids from the world. They need to be missionaries to their kids at school. How can you keep them at home all the time? Or the opposite. I can't believe. They can't claim to be a Christian and they send their kids to public school where they're being taught. All this other stuff, don't they know they're responsible for their kids and try to train them up in the face, so you can, how can go both ways. I can't believe they claim to be a Christian and voted for Trump. Don't they know his character is policies, will lead the division racism in the fall of democracy. I can't believe that you claim to be a Christian and voted for Harris. Don't know her character and her policies will lead to the legality of abortion. The breakdown of the family and kannamma collapse. Again, these are examples of what people might say. I can't believe they came to be a Christian and drink alcohol. Don't they know that many people in the church struggle with alcoholism, it's addictive. Alcohol, content is higher than it was an ancient world or on the flip side. I can't believe they claim to be a Christian and advise people not to drink alcohol, don't they know that Bible? Never forbid that it only forbids drunk in this. They're being legal if they're being Pharisees. So was can go on and on. Maybe you've heard some of these things, maybe you thought one of these things maybe you said or posted one of these things. These statements assume that the issues at hand are clearly spoken about in the Bible and you have to make a one-way or Choice, one way or the other. And if you make this Choice, that's inherently sinful, no matter what. But once you realize and maybe you talk it out loud, there could be a way where you could choose both options and if your intentions and they drew the facts and information that you're basing on, would not be inherently sinful to choose any of those. These are important issues that we need to talk about that. We need to see how the Bible applies to these things but we also realize it's Christians as people who trust in Jesus as their God savior & King, we're striving to live all of her life for God that we may come to different conclusions. On some of these we need to realize that we can agree on a truce of scripture. But disagreed, on certain areas how we apply it, we need to realize that we should not condemn. We should not hate a fella believer. When they have a different opinion on these disputable matters. That's what we talked about today in Romans 14 disputable matters. Now one opinion will likely conform to scripture more than the other but it's not necessarily inherently send to hold or act on the inferior option. The Lesser option today in Romans 14, Paul calls that one holds to the weaker position. The ones like that's not really supported by scripture on this, applying it. Maybe he doesn't even say that they're wrong. He uses this language of weaker in the face. Interesting. We will love when I want things to be black and white. I want them to be right and wrong but Paul says there's weaker and stronger in the face and Saint Paul's time with it. The church that he talking to the people in the church or not dealing issues about McDonald's or school choice or voting issues. But they're dealing with issues about old Covenant law and will see that today they're talking about how do you apply the old Covenant law about food and what not to eat and what to eat in about holidays that you're supposed to celebrate in the old Covenant. But now we're Christians in the New Covenant and so they're trying to deal with those things. And so we're going to be looking at these five main streets. Today it's not really an outline. It's kind of like these are going to be a theme throughout all of the text. So the first truth we're going to look at is that we need to welcome the weaker uptight brother. So when Paul says the weaker brother, this is the guy that says you have to do everything a certain way you can't ever drift out. B&G doesn't want to cause any thing in question. This is this is the person in this chapter 14 that says we can't eat all this other food that we are not used to eating, the can't eat meat. We have to follow the old coming at law. This is kind of like the wood called I called the uptight brother, and he can call the weaker brother, and he needs to welcome. You need to welcome that person who welcomed at person in. All right? And then the second person to talk about is the weaker brother is uptight brother. Doesn't need to condemn the stronger. We all called a free spirit brother. You know, if somebody comes to mind. They're just free spirit. They're just like, Jesus will fix everything. We don't need to worry about the details until the weaker brother doesn't need to condemn. It like that, they don't care about truth. They just do whatever they want. So we don't need to come down that free spirit brother. Now, we need to recognize our third truth today will see that not every issue, is it disputable matter? Some people like to say well this is an issue of translation. This is an issue that, you know, Wheatley Really know and everything's Up For Debate. That's not true either. Paul is going to mention only two issues here. This is a food food laws and it'll come in it and issue holidays. I think we can apply the principle broadly to our time but I don't we need to be careful not to apply to everything where people say, well, you know, did Jesus rise from the dead is not what we're talking about. They're going to be certain truths in the Bible that are clear. And we'll, we'll look at this number for will say that he route all of this and Under the Umbrella of Jesus as the ultimate judge, not us. We're going to be tempted to say we want our law to be mandatory. We want what we think is right to be mandatory and everybody. And we're not really submitting to God's law Jesus as the ultimate judge, not us, and then finally will look at Jesus is the Fulfillment of the old Covenant. So why do they not have to follow these old Covenant laws about food and holidays is because they're pointing to Jesus in Jesus, fulfills them. So let me read Romans 14:1, and then I'll pray for us and we'll get into the text sometimes 14. One says, welcome anyone who's weak in the faith but don't argue about disputed matters. Let's bring God we need you. Now as we looked at in Romans 12, will you want to be transformed by your word and when we want to know, your will you're perfect and good. Will renew our minds today. We need to align our minds to yours and God. Do I help me preach this word and help people hear it and apply it to their lives. Accurately, we want to live our whole lives for you. Help us do that in the step today, as we hear your word preached, we pray this in Jesus name. Amen. All right, so in this first passage first one, we see that someone can be in the face. They can be a brother or sister in Christ and he calls them week in the face. They have some growing to do. And if we're honest we all have some growing to do, right? We all need to change your mind about something, you have a wrong belief, you have a long action about something, but are we humble enough to admit that sometimes we're the weaker brother. And we, we need to realize. We need, we have some learning to do. We need to adjust our conscience, to what the Bible says. We need to read the Bible Study Bible. So, we need to be humble enough to grow in some areas. And what you want your fellow brothers or sisters to welcome you and then love you, right? Would you want them just to ignore the problem or would you want them to lovingly talk to you about? Hey, this is where you're at, but I think I think you're weak in this area but there's there's a way you can grow and here's how the Bible talks to this specific issue and that's what Paul's going to do. He's going to talk to them about this issue of food laws in the holiday laws of the old Covenant. It's what we need to be patient. We need to be loving. We need to welcome those who may be weak in the faith. We don't, we don't want to avoid them. That's the Temptation. You know, we trying to seek peace and so we think all this effort to seek peace, I'm just never going to talk to them. Well, that's one way of Peace but that's not true. Peace. That's not a loving, family. Were supposed to love each other deeply and that sometimes it's difficult because if you're spending time with them, if you're loving them deeply, you're going to figure out. They got some weird beliefs that they think things differently than I do, and so how do we come together? What we don't do it was we don't want treat them as outcasts. We don't want to block them or make fun of them for their different belief. Will you again we love them deeply, despite our disagreements on these disputable matters and so he says not to argue over these disputed matters. Knows he doesn't say again, we need to make the, we don't want to go into this kind of two ditches. We can go into We don't want to say, well, everything is a disreputable matter and we can't ever correct sin or correct false teaching. He doesn't say that. It doesn't say let people remain in this and he doesn't say not to apply the truth of the Bible or not to live in wisdom. He says, not to argue over disputed matters. These are matters of conscience. They're not clearly it explained in scripture Temptation for many today is to put, almost every Doctrine, every belief into this category B. Beautiful matters to point. There is no truth or that truth is subjective letter. We can't really know anything for sure. And while their intentions may be good, how much they like their humble, they're like, well, do we really know? But yes, we really do. Jesus was born of a virgin that he lived the perfect in his life that he died for our sins. On the cross that he rose from the dead and it send it to Heaven. Those are not disputable matters. We can't just agree to disagree on those things because if Jesus really didn't rise from the dead, for example, Christianity, everything we're doing here is a sham Jesus did realize he had to rise from the dead. So there are clear Rights and Wrongs in the Bible. Clear sins. We need to repent of With god mentioned some of those in Romans 13 to look at last week. Running 1313, is your clear with this is what we need to repent of. Not in the Corrals and drunkenness not in sexual impurity. Promiscuity not in quarreling or jealousy. These are clearly. It's clear doctrines. They're clear sins in the Bible. So what are the some of this beautiful matter that he's talking about here, looking for stew? He says, one person believes he may eat anything. While one who is weak, eat only vegetables again is in the contact with old Covenant food laws and he'll get more of that until later in the chapter, but they basically thought they could only eat certain things, but that, that was in the old, Covenant and Falls when explain how this switches into the New Covenant. And he says, the first three does one, who eats must not look down on the one? Who does not eat. And only one who did not eat. Must not judge. One, who does because God has accepted him. So another words even though there are there problem they're wrong on this disputable matter they don't they don't have to abstain from me cause I ain't your weaker in the face on this but even though you're in the right and you're the stronger brother, he calls you you can't condemn and judge make fun of or push off this week or brother and the same is true for the weaker brother. You're not to condemn the the other brother like hey why are you eating meat? You're in send his I know that's not is not a sin, it's perfectly fine to do that. So what it comes down to is the heart attitude towards the other person, you can disagree with them on this matter, but you shut me prideful or condemn them for eating to me why you should judge why you should not judge and condemn a fella believer over this matter. He says, numbers for he says, who are you to judge another household servant before his own Lord? He stands or Falls and he will stand because the Lord is able to make him stand. No worries. Remember that. God is the ultimate judge. Not you you can't make your law. The law of God, when Pete when you die you're not going to you're not going to stand in front of the judge. I'm not a judge. You're going to stay in front of God. He's the only judge you're going to stay in the front up and he's going to judge you by his law that is placed in his word that he's told us about it. So what he's talking about here is these are just beautiful matters. These are not clear right and wrong. If you don't want to eat me, you don't have to if you want to eat meat you can write that's what he's saying. You can't judge and condemn each other for doing one way or the other. So that's examples of food you'll get until more details in a second but he's also brings up this other issue holidays. It doesn't respond. Just one person. Judges one day to be more important than another day. Someone else judges every day to be the same, Let each one be fully convinced in his own mind. Turn the Old Testament. They were many festivals and feasts that where they were commanded to follow. And they have the Sabbath day that they were. It was a day of rest on Saturday and they kept it wholly again. But these were in the old, and therefore field in Jesus, they're pointing to Jesus. This is similar to the food laws in the Old Testament, probably explains this more fully in Colossians 2. He says in Colossians 2:16. He says, is the common problem in, in the Book of Romans, in Colossians, another book. So, this is a common problem. We talk again. He says, therefore, don't let anyone judge you in regard to food and drink when the matter of festival or new moon, or Sabbath day, these are a shadow of what to come. The substance is Christ. In other words, we could do a whole series on how these profillment. Sore are sure. Pointing to Jesus in Jesus, we have our Sabbath rest in Jesus. He makes all things clean, so there's no food restrictions anymore. Now that don't take that and say, well, I can eat whatever I want. It does. What my doctor says like you should probably listen to your doctor but the point is there's not like a law in the Old Testament that you have to follow. You have to do these things. If you want to see, if you want to do an Old Testament Festival. I have some friends that they do like a Seder, which is like kind of like the Lord's Supper but like with the Jewish practice in it and that's fine, you can do that. But if somebody doesn't want to do that, favor meal, don't judge them and Kenzie on them if they know, they're, they're less Christian because they don't do these Old Testament festivals. Know, we don't, we don't have to you can, you don't have to the point is not to condemn or judge someone for having a different opinion on these things. When, you know, we meet on Sunday morning as a whole church to worship and remember to celebrate Jesus's resurrection that occurred on Sunday morning to thousand years ago. But there's nothing wrong at the church, wants to meet together and worship on a Tuesday night. There's nothing in the scripture that would that would negate or say that will do you wrong or sinful. I'll bring the back to the heart of the issue. What what is our intentions when were when were acting in living things out? He says in verse 6 of Romans 14, He says, whoever observes the day, observes it for the honor of the Lord who ever eat beets for the Lord. Since you give thanks to God, whoever does not eat. It is for the Lord that he does not eat any give. Thanks to God. So he goes back to the intention of the heart. Are you refraining from something? Are you doing something for God and His boring, or you worshiping him in it or you doing it for your own sinful. Pleasure is really goes. Back to the heart of the issue. What's what's more important? Whatever you do, eat meat, not eat meat. Celebrate, certain holidays, don't celebrate certain holidays. You should be doing it all for the Lord. It should be done with Thanksgiving. To God, like I said, we have two errors, we could fall into on one side. Pause addressing the fares fares to the Pharisee in which there's no room for disagreement. Everything is black and white. If you do this, this for, this is your out, but then on the other side is the person by well there's no really laws at all and we can do whatever we want. We don't have to follow the Bible. We just need Jesus. We just need love. Those are two errors that we don't want to fall into. Am I experienced watching Christians condemned? Other Christians, like, saying you are definitely in sin. How can you be a Christian if you celebrate Halloween? If you celebrate Easter, you celebrate Christmas. Don't you know that these holidays, I have Pagan background and that you're drawing up demons, and the devil and all this stuff, like they have their arguments, which part of me that I don't think you should worship the devil any day. So my, my back would be, let's call outs in, right? It's let's go outside where it is, but have freedom and doing other things. Like there's nothing wrong with dressing up as a princess and are dressing up as Spiderman and going to get candy. If you can find a Bible verse that says, that's sinful, please. I would love to know. There's nothing sinful about that. There's nothing wrong for hunting for Easter eggs, filled with candy. There's nothing wrong with giving presents on Christmas and watching. Hallmark movies. There's nothing inherently simple, in those things. Now, could someone be in sin, in in those things, for sure. Could you go to a Halloween party at your, get your getting drunk and you're being promiscuous? Let's go again. Let's call it this. In this in his drunken, this the same as promiscuity. The sand is not dressing up as whatever, right? So Christians can glorify. They can give thanks to him and all of these things and celebrating different holidays. We should talk with her brothers and sisters in Christ if they are glorifying violence and death if they're getting drunk at Halloween parties, let's correct. Those things are clearly wrong in love. Instead of just blasting. Why do people on social media or just talking in generalities? But we're split again. We're supposed to love each other, deeply as a family and part of that means talking to them about these issues. If it's against your conscience, if you, if you're not convinced according to scripture, that it's okay to give out candy on October 31st. If that is honestly I'm not I'm not making fun. Like if you have if you have something against your conscience of doing that, don't do it. Like call will talk about. If you do something against your conscience, you do something outside of faith. If you don't, think it's right, then don't do it. It's okay to stain it. So the people that celebrate these holidays. Don't judge the will be called up tight brother and don't judge, don't judge them don't condemn them. If they want up staying, they can do that. That's their freedom as well. They're not living contrary to God's law by not celebrating a holiday. Again, this is an application of the old, Covenant feasts and festivals. If you want to celebrate a feast, if you want to celebrate a holiday, you can. But you don't, you don't have to The other side of the air, someone can make this thing that everything is a disputable matter. There is no staying as long as you're doing it for the glory of God.

Because I've seen this happen, is that really smart and intelligent intellectual people with phds that study, the Bible for their life like that? They are teachers and professors in classes and since Emma nerys. And colleges, they claimed that they can glorify God while they're getting high and drunk because I have a spiritual experience. Okay, so I've met people is special in the restaurant business, but I'm a Christian and I get closer to God when I smoke marijuana, I might do that even hit. That's not how you get closer to God. Just because you claim to be closer to God by doing something doesn't mean it's a good thing. Or they claim their glorifying God as long as there is mutual affection and commitment as long as there's Mutual affection as long as there's commitment to one another then you can have sex with anybody. You like, doesn't matter who it is, that's not right either. You can just claim a long as we're fine. God, I'm thanking God in this and therefore I get a God's approval. Now there's clearly right and wrong in the Bible or in your heart. You have you claim that your glorifying God when you hate someone? Because he said, well, they deserve it right? I can't, I can't hate them because they deserve it. Know, that's not right either. So, we don't want to use Romans, 14, and twist it, and misuse it to excuse, whatever sin, we want to hold onto again. Everything is it disputable matter? He really only to hear it's windy. Be careful when we apply that. But further out, we need to be transformed by the wheel to the will of God. In all things. We need to live our whole life dedicated to God. Looking for 7. None of us lives for himself. No one dies for himself. If we live, we live for the Lord and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Jesus Christ is your God. If Jesus is your king and Lord, and Savior, you belong to him, that means you can't just do, I believe whatever you want. Jesus Is Our Lord, our King, our master that includes our life here and now and in the times to come after death, Jesus has authority over all of it life and death. Because looking for us, not Jesus died and returned to life for this. He might be Lord over both the dead and the living Jesus is King over all. He lived died and rose again because Jesus is the only one who could do this but the only one who could die for our sins and be raised to life. Who are we to judge people by our own standards? Jesus is the ultimate judge looking for space. With this case, he makes a stand He says but you why do you judge your brother or sister or you? Why do you despise your brother or sister for? We will all stand before the Judgment seat of God. We have to constantly fight the Temptation that we are God. Or not God, we don't see on the judge, we don't sit on the judgement seat. Everyone will stand before the Judgment seat of Jesus. I noticed in the Spanish of the important teaching that we will all stand before. The Judgment seat of God. He's talking to the church, he talked into Believers here and that might you might be afraid and I thought Jesus died for our sins and therefore, we we won't be in the Judgment. We don't have to stand before the Judgment seat of God, that we will. But the good news is, if you're in Christ, you give an account to your account. Will be this Jesus died. You died for my sins. Jesus died. You died for my sins. I am perfectly innocent because of your blood on the cross, and your Resurrection because we all have to give an account. Will you see? There's no other way out of your punishment besides being in Christ in this final judgment and there's where where everyone will stand before the Lord and have to give an account for their life. Is rooted in the Old Testament? He says in verse 11. He says as it is written, as I live says, the Lord, every knee will bow to me. Every time we give praise to God. So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. Again, will everyone's going to give an account to take the odd, including followers of Jesus, only those who confess Jesus as Lord and Savior will be able to escape a guilty verdict. God, Jesus will either, do you say guilty or innocent on that day? And if you're in Christ, if you have faith in Jesus, he will declare you Innocent. But if you're not, if you're still in your skin, the judgment will be a judgment of guilt. I'm looking for a 13. If God is the judge of Jesus is a judge. He's the final judge, we're not. And because of that looking for 13, therefore let us not no longer judge one another The game is in the context of disputable matters, like food in the holidays. When I call people to turn from their stands and turn to Jesus, I'm falling what Jesus did. Jesus call people to repent to turn away from their sins and turn to him. I need to love him, we tell them what is sin, so they can turn away from it. Tell me someone or preaching about Sin is not judging or condemning, it has to be done in the loving Spirit of warning, because one day, they will stand in front of God. The judge. I'm not the judge. I'm just a messenger preparing you to stand before the judge. Only should we not condemn people over disputable matters because we love them. We don't want to pressure them to go against their conscience. I mentioned this before and he makes us explicit in the second half of August 13th. It says, instead instead of judging them in a condemning them, what should you do instead? Decide never to put a stumbling block or Pitfall in the way of your brother or sister. In other words, if your brother or sister thinks it's wrong to eat meat, you shouldn't invite them over to your house and be like if you're really my friend, you were going to eat this meal with me and have me before then. Knowing you know, that they think it's wrong, they do you know that they want to follow the old Covenant law on this. So this would be a putting a stumbling block, a pitfall. You're pressuring your brother to do something that you know they don't feel comfortable doing now. According to the Bible, it's not simple to eat it, you know, it's not simple. But but you know that they're not there yet. So what are you do? I would say pray be patient. Teach them and love. You can strengthen your weaker brother of the proper of you that it's not. You don't have to follow the old Covenant anymore on this pray that they would change their view, but don't pressure them, you don't have to put a stumbling block or Pitfall Pitfall before them Call explains verse 14. He says, I know and I'm persuaded in the Lord, that nothing is unclean and itself still to someone who considers a thing to be unclean so that when it is unclean and this will you come just boggles my mind? Like I would just love God just to give us a whole list of this is right and this is wrong but here he says if you think it's wrong and you still do it then you been like that's what you know, it's not like it's the intention of your heart. If you think you going into a situation you're like I know this is wrong, but I'm still going to do it regardless of any ethics outside, like we can talk about the effects of the Bible on that specific action. But if you knowingly do something against your conscience, Paul says that's in, that's wrong. And so we don't want to put that stumbling block in front of somebody else. Every 15, if your brother or sister is hurt by what you eat, you are no longer walking. According to love, do not destroy, but what you eat? Someone for whom Christ died and I remember their brother sister in Christ, do you truly love them? Are you willing to give something up and maybe not? I have this argument here or maybe cook a vegetarian meal for them. If they come over again, this is in the context of this might not be anybody in here. We could apply differently but for here they were applying the old Covenant laws. And so could you give up some of your freedom for this other brother sister? So even though you're right, you know, it's like that we don't have, this is fulfilled in Jesus, but don't call someone else to go against their conscience. It doesn't were sixteen if you do that. It says, if you can get, you know, to call someone to stumble to do not let your good be slandered because basically, he's like, yeah, Josh was right, he can eat me. He's free to do that, but he basically is pressuring other people to do and he's forcing them. And he's like, look at the bigger picture. Look what are we supposed to be about? We're getting, we're getting caught up on these issues. And he says we're 17. He says for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking. Like why are we, why are we fighting about this? But we need to be about righteousness. That means we need to be about what God has said is right and wrong, right? We don't even fighting about these disputable matters in like forcing people one way or the other and condemning or judging people for these dispute will matter. We need to seek peace with people. And when you have joy in the Holy Spirit, that's what where the kingdom of God is supposed to be about. Instead of having pride and saying, my way is right in my way. Is the only right way and if you don't agree with me on everything, then you're not a Christian. What's bogus on the main things here? What is true righteousness, right? What is peace. What is joy?

Just be humble. It doesn't burst 18. Whoever serves Christ in this way, is acceptable to God, and receives human approval. So then let us pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another. So instead of seeing all the ways people are different and things that didn't get your wrong in this wrong in this, we should be looking for ways to build them up. Not to be seeking division. Now, we can't sacrifice Truth For Peace. People try to do this or like. Well, if we just say, well, we just believe Jesus, would you believe in Jesus? And they don't Define who Jesus is? They don't Define what belief means. There's a way we can be unified with so many people. Yeah, but you're at the, at the cost of Truth. You you may scicli may God in your own image when you do that to me to hold one another accountable, but we can't have the vision over. These disputable matters, not just to avoid conflict. Rochester, avoid difficult conversations, Jesus didn't avoid difficult conversations. He talked about marriage divorce, had to treat people talk about lust sexual morality murder. So these things we need to talk about. So seeking peace does not mean we don't talk about seeing our righteousness. Again, this is about this beautiful matters. He's bringing us back to these issues. In first when it's about food, he says he says, do not tarry God's work here down God's work because of food. Everything is clean but it is wrong to make someone fall. But what he eats it is good thing, not to eat meat, or drink wine, or do anything that makes your brother or sister stumble again for these disputable matters. Are you going to give something up? So that your brother sister do not fall into this sin? If you knew your action would cause someone to stand against their conscience, would you stop out of love and patience for your brother? It does a 22, whatever you believe about these things, keep them between yourself and God know, this is a difficult passage because in one hand, pause. Following his own advice. If we just read this straightforwardly, keep what you believe about these things to yourself and God because Paul is not doing that, right? He's saying you're the weaker brother. If you think that you can only eat vegetables for your the weaker brother. If you think you have to follow these Old Testament festivals so-called clearly talkin about it. So in the context it doesn't say, it doesn't say to me that you can't ever talk about these things between people. I mean it's going on, people going to know whether what about your actions, what you're going to do instead it seems to me that it is talking about acting with Integrity before. God, keep these things between yourself and God like if you only God could see you. Even act with Integrity, even if he was only one, right? So act in accordance with your faith, it would mean something along those lines at the end of the day, he said, he says, blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But whoever down stands condemned, if he eats because he's eating not from face and everything, that is not from faith is sin. So he can clear this final extrication a reminder to the weaker brother if you still think something is wrong. Woody's disputed matters and it goes against your conscience. Don't do it. Now your conscious could be wrong. Like he said, he's basically arguing, you can't eat meat if you want but if for whatever reason you think that you can't, if you're not there yet abstain from

He says, if it's not done in faith is sin, which means if you can't do something to the glory of God and faith and don't do it. Now, this verse doesn't mean that you can't have any doubts, it doesn't mean you can't have any questions about God or the Bible, how to live? A rumor is the context of do you have? Can you do this? This thing in face? Can you do it with a good conscience? Remember we are constantly learning and being transformed and so you're going to have some doubts, you going to ask questions about things. If you don't have any doubts or questions about things, I mean I would I would challenge you. Maybe you're not reading or learning about in applying the Bible to your life because we're always going to be challenged in a Life by the word of God. And you can remember, this is in the context of the speed of matters. The old Covenant laws about eating different thing celebrates during holidays. Now, however, as I opened the sermon, I think we can apply this principle to other disputable matters. Now, there's going to be a line where we have to say what's a disreputable matter and was clearly wrong was clearly sin and that's why we have to have conversation. Just want to have a family discussion to talk in love, but the point I was making is we want to seek peace, you don't want to hate your brother and sister for having a different opinion. So, if we go back to the truth at the beginning, that we looked at today, How can you welcome someone in your eyes? Use you view them as uptight, they got too many rules. They don't let their kids do anything, whatever. How can you welcome them in? Can you honestly say, are they? Are they in San in some way and if you honestly can say I hate, they're not following this scripture. Wooden the loving thing to do. Would befriend them and slowly learn maybe their intentions, and then slowly teach them about this truth, and how they're not applying at truth of the Bible. I gave you truly think they're in sent, right? Wouldn't you want them not to be in sin anymore instead of just avoiding or number two? Think of the person in your mind. That's the free spirit, man. They they do. It doesn't mean that they have any laws. They do things like they don't care about any any culture-bound or anything. So be careful not to condemn them but maybe they do need to be brought along. Maybe there are some things that they say well this is just a disputable matter in Black Will know what scripture is pretty clear on that issue. But done in love, done in the context of relationship. I guess not everything, not every issue, is it disputable matter again, Paul specifically here, talkin about food and holidays, but it like you said in the last verse anything not done in faith is sin. So I think there is a principle that we can apply here. And ultimately, this goes back that Jesus of the ultimate judge, not us, because we can be tempted to say. This is what I think is, right? This is my law and then say everyone has to follow my law, but that's not what we need to do. We know Jesus is the ultimate judge and finally look to Jesus day, he's the Fulfillment of the old Covenant. We look to him as our Sabbath rest, we look to him as his cleansed us completely from Santa's is pictured him cleansing. The food and old Covenant laws. To all have room. And the ways we can grow. Who are we humble enough to look at the scriptures and apply it to our lives. Let me pray for you. Got a, thank you for your word. Now, we're dealing with similar things. Me a two thousand years ago. Where we still have our sin tendencies. God removing us any sins of Pride, but we want to condemn other people or hate people. God help us to love them.

Despite our different differences, even if they're difficult. let us run towards those difficult people not run away from

That helped us to speak the truth in love. Have these good important conversations because we want to match all life with you. God, that we would be open to someone coming into our lives and speaking to her into our lives got that we would be open to advice that we would ask for help then we would ask people that we love and look up 22. Hey, what do you think about this issue? What is the buy? What do you think? The Bible says about this issue? That we would genuinely listen and not be prideful. And we pray this as your church. We want people to come here and see that we are humbly depending on you. Not setting our own agendas, our own preferences opinions, but we're seeking after you and that would be a witness to the world. If something's different. Jesus, is not just some profit or teacher that he is the Son of God, that he can bring people together that are different on so many levels, the worst United Around, Jesus, That's our prayer today. I pray these things in Jesus name, amen.

I hope you will stay and find.