Romans 14:14-23 "Love Over Liberty"

Let’s Pray!

Good morning, Calvary Chapel Lake City!

Thank you to all of you who have been praying for John, Michelle, and Eli Butcher…

Michelle had a successful heart surgery, but don’t let up on praying for her recovery.

We have some guests today… the Grace College Women’s Soccer team… thank you for joining us today!

I pray you are blessed by the message today and think it will have relevance for you all as you enter this new school year.

This Wednesday at 6pm, we are beginning a new study in the Book of Revelation. Food at 6pm, followed by the word.

On the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays we will continue with midweek service going through Genesis.

And the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays, we will have a new format… a short 20 min teaching… a chapter overview of Revelation…

… followed by a time of group discussion for men, women and kiddos who can sit through a Bible study…

… and share observations, applications… ask questions… and have a blessed time of fellowship in the word.

I hope you can join us! Revelation is the only book with a promise of blessing for those who read and hear the words of the prophecy. Come and be blessed.

Well… let’s continue now in our Romans study. Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 14. Romans 14:14-23 today.

Our final main topic of application in Romans is that of Christian liberties.

Last time… in Romans 14:1-13 we looked at Christian Liberties…

Which are not doctrinal issues… BUT… Christian preferences… or opinions… personal convictions to which there is NO clear biblical mandate.

In Paul’s context… this was eating certain foods, and worshipping on Sunday instead of Saturday.

For us it could be what school our child attends… how we parent… holidays… dress… music… physical adornments like piercings and tattoos… substance use… Can I drink, smoke or chew? Or go with girls that do?

If we don’t exceed the biblical boundaries on these issues… like drinking, but not drunking… the issue is not sin… it’s a freedom.

And, Paul wrote some are “weak in the faith”… they have a personal conviction to restrain themselves from certain things to which the Bible does not forbid.

To that Christian, Paul instructed for them to follow their convictions, but also to not judge other believers who feel differently.

Freedoms… or liberties does not mean crossing the line into sinful behaviors… so there’s no room to judge…

God is our judge and to God we answer… on such matters.

Paul also described “the strong” (a label he gave in 15:1)…

Christians who feels free to engage in behaviors not forbidden by the Bible.

But, Paul also advises not to elevate our freedoms above the well-being of the weaker Christian… especially if our liberties cause the weaker brother to sin or fall away from the Lord.

And, Paul advises the stronger… NOT to despise the weaker… and to bear with the weaker Christian.

For God received all of us… therefore we are to receive one another.

And, most Christians are both strong and weak. We have convictions that others don’t… in some areas of life… and we feel more free in other areas.

We may grow in time… and our convictions may changes.

And we may have weak moments where we lapse back into weakness.

So, how important is it for us to bear with one another and exercise “Love Over Liberty”?… which is our message title and the focus of Paul’s teaching today.

Let’s take a look at the rest of Romans 14 now… and in reverence for God’s word, if you are able, please stand as I read our passage.

Romans 14:14–23 “I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15 Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.

19 Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. 21 It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. 22 Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. 23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.”

Praise God for His word! Please be seated.

Before discussing these verses… let’s look back one verse to V13… which is a transition verse… wrapping up the thoughts of vv 1-12 and leading into vv 14-23…

Romans 14:13 reads, “Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.”

The previous verses addressed both strong and weak Christians, but focused more on the weaker Christian and the tendency for them to judge those who operate in freedom.

And, as V13a states… stop judging or stop condemning each other.

Which suggests this must have been a tendency at the church in Rome… which is not surprising… because it happens at virtual every church and in every age.

The struggle is real… but praise God we have His guidance on this difficult subject… through His word.

Rom 13b… then shifts focus and addresses the stronger Christian and warns against causing the weaker brother to stumble and fall.

And, addressing the stronger Christian… their behavior and heart attitude… this becomes the central focus of the rest of Chapter 14.

Now… for you Bible nerds out there…

In Paul’s argument here… he uses a literary structure called a “Chiasm” where concepts are repeated in reverse order.

Paul begins and ends his argument here warning against stumbling one another. We see this in V13b and V21.

Paul addresses food as either unclean or pure in vv14a and 20b…

And, destroying another believer in 15b… destroying God’s work in 20a.

So… it’s an interesting way to present the argument because this structure is typically found in biblical poetry.

That info will be on the extra credit question for the test later.

You get bonus points if you remember those details.

More important… and profitable for us… in our interactions with one another… is truly understanding the idea of a “stumbling block” and “cause to fall.”

Paul warns the stronger Christian not to exercise their freedoms if this will harm the weaker brother.

V13 in the NLT reads, “live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall.”

So, what’s Paul saying?

He’s obviously speaking figuratively… if someone literally trips and falls because they observe how you live your life free… there’s probably a different issue.

But, Paul is addressing a spiritual and unity issue… a stumbling and falling in the walk of the weaker Christian.

They see how you’re living… and think, “Hey I can do that too”… BUT… your freedom lived out in their life may tempt the weaker brother to sin.

Personal example… I went to a Community Church when I lived in Chicagoland.

My Pastor had a SuperBowl party… and invited my family.

They served alcohol. I justified, “If my Pastor is drinking, so can I.”

And I drank too much that night… and even worse… it helped propel my drinking going from casual to steady drinking in the season ahead.

His freedom was exercised poorly… and I stumbled.

A “Stumbling block” is one Greek word proskomma... and can be defined as an “occasion of apostasy”, an “occasion of sinning”, or a “moral stumbling.”

This is not simply when someone doesn’t like what you’re doing… this is when how we live becomes a means to induce sin.

The other key word in V13 is “cause to fall”… also one Gk word… skandalon… you can almost speak it in English… Scandal.

By def. “a stick for bait (a trap)”… “anything against which one stumbles”… metaphorically, “a cause of ruin, destruction, misery, a cause or occasion of sinning.”

If a freedom we have will lead another down a path of sin… Paul says “resolve this”… “determine this”…

Don’t live in a way that causes your brother or sister to morally and sinfully stumble and fall.

Obviously, NOT exercising freedoms is a sacrifice. Probably a bit frustrating.

“You mean… when so and so is present… I can’t (fill in the blank).”

Well… ask yourself…"If I do exercise my freedom… will it lead my brother into sin? Will my freedom influence my brother to sin?”

If the answer is yes… and we do it anyway…

Paul would say as we’ll read in V15 “you are no longer walking in love.”

Even more piercing… 1 Corinthians 8:12 “But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.”

One scholar titled sinning against Christ “the highest of crimes.”

It should break our hearts to do so.

The issue here is not a salvation issue, but an intimacy issue with God.

If our freedoms effect another person’s walk with God… we need to pause in exercising that freedom in that person’s presence.

We have liberties, but not to the extent that exercising them hurts a weaker Christians’ relationship with Christ.

God takes this personally… and as we read in V12 we all will give an account of ourselves to God at V10 the judgment seat (or Bema seat) of Christ… where Christians are rewarded or suffer loss of rewards.

God notices our dealings with one another, and we will have to answer for our actions one day.

And with all this in mind… let’s now look at our passage…

Beginning in V14… Paul displays his understanding of freedom… but also displays his understanding of the diversity of thought regarding freedoms in the church.

Romans 14:14 “I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.”

Let me tell you first what this verse is not saying…

Paul is not saying that as a general rule in life and in the world that there’s nothing unclean. There are many things that are sinful and should be avoided… many practices against holiness and God.

Be careful not to take this verse out of the context of Christian liberties.

In no way is Paul granting a license to engage in sin by saying there is nothing unclean.

What Paul is saying is that no Christian liberty is unclean.

And, notice Paul’s tone. He seems sympathetic to the stronger Christian who walks in freedom.

Paul was convinced by the Lord Jesus… which is the highest understanding… that Christian freedoms are not unclean… they are just preferences… not sin issues.

Paul saw food as just food. He was no better spiritually based on either eating or avoiding certain foods.

And Paul… he became a Hebrew of Hebrews… a strict Pharisee… who, no doubt, kept the dietary laws in the OT…

But, in Christ, he grew in understanding… and was now convinced or persuaded that food in and of itself was not ceremonially unclean.

But, he also recognized not everyone felt that way…

Especially in the early church… there were many Jewish believers who were in process of understanding their new found freedoms in Christ…

They were learning that they didn’t need to keep the OT dietary laws anymore, but they weren’t there yet.

They were growing in Christ, but hadn’t yet matured into every freedom.

Thus, they wouldn’t understand how a stronger Christian could exercise certain freedoms, and not let it shipwreck their faith.

So… what was right for them was to listen to their conscience… to follow their convictions… even if their conscience was misguided.

Vine wrote, “Conscience alone is not an infallible guide as to the right or wrong of a thing in itself; but to act against one’s conscience, even when it is misguided, is always wrong.”

We’ll read in V23 “… he who doubts is condemned if he eats...”

If you understand something as sin, and you do it anyway… that’s wrong… for you.

Perhaps later… as understanding matures… and participating in a freedom won’t grieve or stumble you… then it won’t be sin.

But, if you doubt… don’t.

A weaker believer who goes against their conscience can bring themselves to a level of condemnation and despair that could last for…

How long? Days, weeks, months? Is it worth even hours?

How much time of being in that state is worth ignoring our conscience?

Or being an influence to prick someone else’s conscience? Is liberty worth that much?

There must have been great efforts to navigate these issues in love… in the early church… especially over the need of eating food.

What value would it be to bring a tasty bacon recipe to the lunch… and some new Jewish believer thinks it’s wrong… but is tempted and eats it… and feels destroyed inside.

Their conscience is pricked. They run back to legalism. They get a ceremonial bath… and fall right back into law-keeping to maintain their standing with God.

What value was the bacon then?

I don’t care if the dish had gourmet applewood smoked bacon… it’s not worth it.

It’s not worth the pain it caused the other believer.

Make the dish some other time and enjoy your freedom then with those who are not grieved.

A freedom that is clean in your mind, may be unclean for another.

And, scripture tells us to exercise love towards that person… over the love of freedom.

In light of this hot topic of food and ceremonial cleanliness as compared to one’s spiritual standing with God… Paul’s persuasion was eating or abstaining from food does nothing for our standing with God.

We are no more or less pleasing to God based on what we eat… which was a radical thought for Jews.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 8:8 “But food does not commend us to God [food does not bring us close to God]; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse.”

As Paul matured spiritually, he both recognized he could move free from ceremonial law…

… but in his maturation he also recognized that each Christian was in a different place in their maturation.

In 1 Corinthians 10:23-24 Paul wrote, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. 24 Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.”

What was allowable (or lawful) for Paul… was not universal truth for every Christian.

Not every freedom we enjoy is helpful or beneficial… and not all edify or build up. Your freedoms may be harmful for another Christian.

Therefore, Paul encourages to think of the good of the other person.

And, this responsibility regarding freedoms and being concerned for the other’s well-being… it falls mostly upon the stronger Christian.

Here and in Rom 14 today… the focus is upon the strong and the counsel to them is to stand down in light of their liberties.

The weak cannot step up and engage in our liberties because they consider that activity as unclean… as sinful… it harms their well-being… they cannot participate and have a clear conscience.

If they ignore their conviction… and engage… they will not walk away without injury of some sort.

And that injury may range from feeling grief to condemnation… to a stumble and fall.

But, the strong can step down and yield to the weaker conscience without harm.

And, that’s why the focus is for the strong to stand down. They do not risk harming their conscience by exercising love over liberty.

And, while that may be frustrating for the stronger… because we value our freedom…

It’s no small thing to lay down our liberties because we enjoy our freedoms.

What Paul does next… is he provides the needed motivation for us to sacrifice for the benefit of the other… and the motivation is two-fold…

Love, and in recognition of the sacrifice of Christ.

Look again at V15 “Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died.”

If we sacrifice our freedom for another… it’s a sacrifice that elevates our love for the well-being of the other… and it acknowledges the sacrifice of Christ for them.

And, these are our high motivations to pause on practicing our freedom… yet if we don’t consider the other…

And, eat our food… meaning practice our freedoms… even when it causes harm… this would be a failure on our part.

Now… I think we could read this and think this feels a bit extreme, especially by using the word “destroy.”

I can see how a freedom could grieve another person, but to destroy them?

Is Paul saying that because I engage in a non-sinful behavior… that I may destroy (meaning “ruin”) another believer?

The potential is there. Even if we are not actively convincing the weak to engage in our freedoms…

… just our practicing our freedoms in their presence can be an influence and stumbling block to the weak.

Because if they follow our example it could lead to spiritual ruin…

Initially they may feel distress… but if they continue it could destroy or ruin their conscience and fellowship with the Lord.

It’s helpful to think about V15 in two stages. An initially grieved or hurt conscience may lead to a person’s moral destruction.

Grieve means “to distress; to sorrow; to hurt.”

And, when a weaker believer observes a liberty played out in their midst that they have a strong conviction against… it’s hard not to have feelings about what just went down.

I remember a day at Bible College in the Philippines… I had been insulted by a fellow Christian… I was also mentally thrown off because I thought I was going there to work, but surprisingly they were doing team building games that day… which is one of my least favorite things.

Perhaps you love team building, but I find most team building uninspiring… drudgery. I’m not a fan.

Yet… I yielded and the first game to be played was a game where they lined up red cups of liquid in the shape of a triangle… on either side of a board and took turns trying to land a ping pong ball in to opposing person’s cups.

Maybe some of you played that game before?

For them… it was just a game. The liquid turned out to be water and glue that they would dump on their heads.

For me… the appearance reminded me of a drinking game… which was never about casual drinking, but about getting drunk.

I and other American students… were honestly grieved by it. I think they had no idea how that game was perceived by Americans.

My mind was transported back to parties in the dark basement of a college frat house… with gross sticky floors from all the drinks spilled on it.

So, respectfully… I shared my feelings with the college Director and President… that I didn’t think that game was best for Bible College.

I didn’t go in guns a blazing… condemning them, but tried to share perspective.

And, look… if you feel grieved by someone else’s liberty… and you decide to share your feelings… pray that they would receive you, but they may not.

The former Director handled the situation terribly… and was way overreactive.

And, this can happen. I didn’t reply back or get defensive with him.

Fortunately, his boss, the College President, was kind, empathic and understanding… and because of my weak conviction… he exercised love over liberty and suggested they play other games in the future.

And hopefully he had a side conversation with his staff as well.

If someone comes to you… to share their feelings how they were grieved by your liberty… might I suggest…

This was not easy for them.

Perhaps recognize how difficult it was for them to initiate such a conversation…

And, remember Paul’s words in V1 of Rom 14 “Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things.”

… and V3, “Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat.”

Receive… don’t argue… and don’t despise. Check your heart attitude.

So, that’s a story about grieving a weaker believer. And, some of our liberties can a sensitive conscience. Be aware. That’s stage one.

In stage two, Paul goes beyond the feeling of grieving another… steps it up and writes “Do not destroy…”

“Destroy” is a word that could be rendered “ruin”… in this context it speaks of temporal ruin.

Can you imagine if I or another student at Bible College got so triggered seeing a game that resemble beer pong that one of us went back to drinking?

And, then left Bible College… and then our walk with God was destroyed either for a season or permanently?

How terrible would that be? So, Paul commands, “Do not destroy… ” (which is an imperative… a command).

So, Paul is warning the stronger… if your freedom causes distress to another believer… yet you elevate your freedom over them…

You are not walking… meaning acting in love. We have a responsibility to consider the welfare of other believers.

And no liberty is worth being a negative influence on another believer.

Christ died for the weaker believer. He literally gave up His life for them.

Can we not give up something as well?

Christ sacrificed his life… can I sacrifice having a beer with dinner if it would be an bad influence on another believer?

I’m sure none of us wants our name attached to someone else’s story of why they became an alcoholic… or why they stopped walking with the Lord.

You didn’t force them to drink, but did your influence encourage the pattern?

In a similar context about liberty and stumbling the weaker brother.. and foods… Paul wrote, 1 Corinthians 8:13 “Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.”

Paul was personally willing to practice what he preached.… and elevate love for the weaker brother over his freedom… over what he knew was biblically permissible.

This was quite the declaration by Paul… and it stands as a principle that embodies love for another to this day.

Paul concludes his previous thoughts in this summary sentence in....

vv16-17 “Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

“Your good” refers to the freedom you have to engage in non-sinful activities.

It’s good to have freedoms in Christ… so be wise in practicing them.

Don’t set yourself up to be criticized or slandered by persisting in practicing freedoms that grieve, stumble, and destroy other Christians.

The question Paul raises in 1 Corinthians 10:29 “Conscience,” I say, not your own, but that of the other. For why is my liberty judged by another man’s conscience?”

One scholar paraphrased this verse as follows: “Why should I selfishly display my freedom to eat the meat and in so doing be condemned by the other man’s conscience? Why should I expose my freedom to the condemnation of his conscience? Why should I let my good be evil spoken of?”

So, while you don’t need to alter your convictions to match the conscience of a weaker brother… in wisdom and love… you are to adjust your behavior in the presence of the weaker believer… so as to not influence them to fall.

Otherwise the good freedom would be unlovingly misused and would regarded as an evil thing and resented.

So, be selective as to where and with whom you practice your liberties.

Which is not hypocrisy… not with Christian liberties… that’s wisdom… and thoughtful exercise.

Enjoy your liberties, but do so wisely.

And with wisdom… with his Pastoral heart… in V17… Paul zooms out to a consider the big picture… he elevates the discussion to a higher level…

… moving past eating and drinking… to center his readers focus beyond the physical to spiritual realities that should shape and motivate our conduct.

Essentially he encourages NOT majoring in the minors of eating and drinking… of focus on freedoms… but to major in the majors…

And, he does this by addressing the kingdom of God…

Which is a huge concept, but in this context… it focuses on the present reality of God’s rule in the lives of born again believers.

Our minds and hearts should be set upon God’s kingdom in our lives, not on personal liberties.

And, Paul doesn’t leave us to wonder, what this means… he defines the kingdom of God…

First in the negative… first what it’s not… it’s not eating and drinking.

Christian living is not about being a foodie… a culinary gourmet.

The kingdom of God is much bigger then dietary freedoms.

What it is… the kingdom of God is about spiritual realities.

Practical righteousness… or right conduct… NOT “justification” in this context… but living right… reflected by obeying God’s will and right living towards others…

Peace… lit. “to join”… this refers to harmony that fosters unity rather than division.

V19 states “let us pursue the things which make for peace...” which points to mutual edification in the body.

And Joy in the Holy Spirit… which is delight that transcends circumstances… a mind-set that results from a life that abides in God’s presence.

And, let’s not forget “… the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace…” (Gal 5:22), so how appropriate to mention the Holy Spirit here.

And, Paul’s point… in all this… is that believers should prioritize these spiritual qualities and church harmony over disputes about non-essential matters.

When we live out righteousness, peace, and joy… we reflect Kingdom values… and avoid causing others to be grieved… or stumble and fall.

And, then Paul connects these matters to the believers service to Christ in V18.

V18 “For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.”

So often in Scripture, God looks not at our outside actions of rule keeping… He looks much deeper at the heart.

And, this is reflected in the attitude of our obedience.

A proper kingdom attitude of right conduct that pursues peace and joy is right on both the vertical and the horizontal.

It’s accepted or “well-pleasing” by God and…

… approved, lit. “tested” meaning “approved after examination” by other people.

Exercising the fruits of the Spirit of love, joy and peace are in harmony with God… and what a blessing to others who experience those fruits.

There’s a Chapter in 1 Cor, that is often called “The Love Chapter”… 1 Cor 13.

You’ll often here the chapter recited at weddings, but the context is the importance of exercising love when using spiritual gifts.

But it’s such a great chapter in describing what love is and what’s it’s not… and so it finds it’s way into weddings as a picture of how love should be exercised between husband and wife.

And, it’s a beautiful picture.

There is one verse in that chapter that states, love “does not seek it’s own.” (1 Cor 13:5).

In the NLT it’s rendered “love does not demand its own way.”

I see relevance in that attitude in our service to Christ regarding liberties.

It’s not loving to say or even think, “I’m going to eat my ice cream, and I don’t care if you’re on a diet!”

That’s not mature. It’s selfish.

One cannot demand their own way… a my way or the highway type of attitude… with our freedoms… as this kind of attitude stands in opposition to love and to our service to Christ.

There has to be some give… some consideration… some discretion… when around others… for us to truly serve Christ and to be accepted and approved.

And this results in peace… which is something for us to pursue with other believers… as Paul states in…

V19 “Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.”

Being at peace or harmony is an aim for the church.

As is edifying or building one another up.

I like the rendering in the Complete Jewish Bible… “let us pursue the things that make for shalom and mutual upbuilding.”

Shalom is the word for “peace” in Hebrew. It is a daily greeting… and carries the idea “may you be well”…

And to be well, one must be ‘whole’ or ‘complete’, both physically and spiritually and all this is encapsulated in “shalom” as well.

And, what are the things that make for peace in our Rom 14 context?

Heart attitudes and practices that bring harmony… that don’t grieve or stumble.

That don’t tear down, but build up.

There is a place where both the strong and the weak can find harmony in their liberties… and can mutually edify.

And Paul says… make every effort to do what leads to that place.

Practice your liberties through the lens of love and pursue peace in the body of Christ.

And, continuing with a similar thought… but now phrased in the negative… and somewhat repeated though nuanced, as Paul’s structure is a Chiasm…

Paul continues in…

vv20-21 “Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. 21 It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.”

God is doing a work to build His church… and He’s doing a work in each of our lives.

Who are we to interfere with the work of God?

To compare my liberty to the work God is doing in someone… makes my liberty seem trivial.

We should all want to be in harmony with God’s work… not destroying or tearing it apart.

And, yet… whether intentionally or inadvertently… if our freedoms are more important than fellow believers… we stand in opposition to the work God is doing.

And, if the church does not get a grip on the treatment of one another when it comes to Christian liberties… and if in fighting does not stop…

The tragedy is that the great commission is injured.

I can’t tell you how many comments I see on Social Media where someone says, “And that’s why I no longer go to church.”

Which is a justification full of fallacy and against scripture, but it’s a justification nonetheless… and so often it’s targeted at hypocrisy, and abuse.

Why would any non-believer want to be part of inner squabbling?

That’s exactly what they see in the world.

I wonder… when the Ethiopian Eunuch went to Jerusalem to worship in Acts 8… what did he find?

Because Phillip finds him later heading home… looking at a scroll with nothing but questions.

Did he go to seeking truth but encountered a bunch of Pharisees fighting over what was permissible to eat?

What a tragedy it is for anyone today… if they walk into a church and find the focus to be on things that don’t guide them to Jesus and faith in Him.

The world should know us by our love… in John 13:35 “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

This was a commandment from Jesus, not a suggestion… “love one another; as I have loved you.”

When we do… our love stands as a testimony to the world. It stands in contrast to the world.

And, if we fail… tragically… the Great Commission is injured. It’s difficult to make disciples… if we cannot live as disciples.

And, another tragedy of not getting a grip on the treatment of one another when it comes to Christian liberties… is division.

Division can creep in and grow beginning with even small frustrations… and often over freedoms.

People start to think negatively of one another...

The weaker thinks, “I know that one’s carnal to the core… he has a Christmas tree!”

While the stronger thinks, “I don’t have time for this majoring in minors and straining at a gnat!”

And we divide.

If we don’t pursue peace, division ensues. If we put our feet down in our positions… and will not yield… division results.

If the stronger exercises freedom with no regard to the weaker… and the weaker is offended or stumbled… division is likely.

If the stronger is judged by the weaker… or has a bad attitude about yielding to the weaker… division is likely.

It’s a delicate dance to have the right attitude and to not harbor resentment in this space of freedoms.

So, Paul… in many and varied ways is taking his time to flesh this topic out… so we don’t destroy the work of God.

And, so we do behave as kingdom citizens… pursuing righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Do not destroy.

And, part of coming to this place is understand. So at the end of V20… Paul educates his readers that, “All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense.”

All Christian freedoms, that have nothing to do with matters of sin… are pure… or clean… or acceptable.

They are opinions… doubtful things… you see it one way, and I see it another.

But, if one will be stumbled, they are to withhold. It’s a red light. Stop.

And, in love the Stronger as Paul writes in V21 is to lay down their liberty to help the weak not stumble… and the NKJ adds or “is offended or is made weak.”

I like the clarifying point Pastor David Guzik makes to give the stronger believer a sigh of relief.

Guzik writes, “However, we shouldn’t think that Paul would permit this kind of heart to cater to someone’s legalism. Paul speaks about the stumbling of a sincere heart, not catering to the whims of someone’s legalism. For example, when some Christians from a Jewish background were offended that Gentile believers were not circumcised, Paul didn’t cater to their legalistic demands.”

And, that’s a good point indeed.

And Paul concludes his thoughts in this chapter addressing the stronger in V22 and the weaker in V23.

v22-23 writing, “Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy [or Blessed] is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. 23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.”

Paul concludes with the principle of faith which speaks about what we believe… and in this context… again it’s our beliefs about Christian liberties.

For the stronger believer… keep your freedoms between you and God and don’t try to convert others to your belief system.

It’s not your job to force your convictions on others… and if you do… you may condemn or pass judgment on yourself… for the other believer stands before God…

They are God’s servant and ‘to his own master he stands or falls.”

You stay out of it.

Be blessed in practicing your freedoms wisely… knowing that you didn’t stumble a weaker believer in doing so.

For the weaker believer… if you doubt something is permissible and you proceed, you pass judgment on yourself.

When in doubt, don’t.

When you come to the crossroads with a liberty and you’re not sure what to do… go to the Lord in prayer.

Seek the scriptures to see if God gives you clarity on how you should proceed.

But, until you’re certain and have peace about what to do… wait upon the Lord.

Paul writes if you don’t follow your convictions and do something you believe is not right, you are sinning…

And, then you won’t enjoy yourself because the experience will be shrouded by guilt.

I like how Pastor Damien Kyle wrapped up this sermon citing that there are also some liberties that would stumble everyone… the strong and weak alike.

A liberty that… should it be known to anyone… they would stumble.

Like if you have a secret love for the song “Muskrat Love” by the 1970’s duet, Captain and Tennille.

He said that would be devastating to everybody.

I have to be honest with you… I failed to understand the reference.

I was not familiar with the song, nor the artist… so I watched them sing Muskrat Love on YouTube… and Pastor Damien was correct.

I was indeed was weakened… especially when Captain made his quirky synth sounds evoking "muskrat" imagery.

I could barely contain myself… but not in a good way.

Proceed with caution.

If THAT is your liberty… indeed… practice that in total isolation… and a sound proof room.

Are we our brothers keeper when it comes to liberties? Yes we are… and this is a good reminder.

Let’s Pray!

If you need prayer for anything, please come and pray during this last song. Cast your cares upon the Lord.

The LORD bless you and keep you;

The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you;

The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’

God bless you in the week ahead.