Someone's Spike Strip

Romans: An Introduction and Commentary B. Christian Charity (14:13–23)

Martin Luther, who begins his treatise On the Liberty of a Christian with the words quoted above (‘A Christian is a most free lord of all, subject to none’), goes on immediately to say, ‘A Christian is a most dutiful servant of all, subject to all

Martin Luther sure was right when you think about it. Because of Jesus’ payment on the cross we are free- no longer slaves to sin. However, there is some tension as well, because while we are not slaves to anyone- we are constantly under investigation by the people around us. In fact, there are few people in this world who are as scrutinized as Christians. Think about it, you loose your temper someone calls you a hypocrite. If you drop something on your toe and say a bad word- someone is going to question your faith. Don’t give money to a particular charity or person in need? I thought that person was supposed to be a Christian! Any of these sound familiar?

I am comparing this to a spike strip today- when we take the air out of another persons opinion or conviction about God. I could tell you stories all day long of people that have abandoned the faith because of something that a Christian did to them.

Paul talks about this kind of behavior a few times in his letters, today’s passage is one of them. Paul is basing his thoughts on personal conscience- saying that many times what counts something as sin or not is not the letter of the law, but conviction of the person in the act. Let me give you an example.

Bradley wants to buy a new truck- he saves some money, does some shopping around, and finds a truck that meets his needs and is a good price. So he pulls from the dealership in a nice new truck, and he is happy. He then drives that truck to church the next Sunday where Shane sees the truck and he thinks “Man, what a nice truck! I love that truck. How did Bradley afford that truck? If he can have a truck like that, I should have one too.” He then goes to the dealership in a jealous uproar and buys a truck almost identical to Bradley’s truck. They both bought a truck, are they both in sin? Of course not.

So Paul is not calling us to stop doing things, but he is calling us to be aware of how our actions impact others and deal with grace. For example, let’s say that Bradley pulled up in that same truck, bragging about all of its features, flashing the price tag around, acting as though he was better than everyone else because of his new truck…different story right?

So, today, lets talk a little bit about when we find ourselves being someone else’s spike strip, or when we have been the spikes to someone else.

Own up to it!

Friends, I am going to be frank- you cannot be forgiven for something that you will not own up to doing. If you have harmed someone you need to admit your wrong doing. By ignoring your bad behavior all you are doing is giving Satan a playground- he loves to dance around in unresolved conflict.

In fact, did you know Jesus did not even want us to come worship if we had not confessed our wrongs that may exist between each other. says: So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. What would it be like if when you walked into church, just after you passed the greeters, on your way to your seat you were met by a Deacon or Andrew or I and we asked you “Have you done anyone wrong this week?” How would you answer today? And what if you said “Yes I have” and we said “Then you may not come to worship today, not until you have asked for that person’s forgiveness.” But friends, this is that serious.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Friends, as a pastor I am often called to help or listen to stories of hurt between families and friends, and you know what I have figured out over the last 10 years? Most of the time it is not the original offense that drives a wedge between families- it is the unresolved conflict that normally does it.

English Standard Version Chapter 5

So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25

When we are honest and transparent with one another the Holy Spirit can really work. I believe that many times we hinder the HS with our attitudes. There is a reason that says Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The healing comes when we make ourselves vulnerable enough for the Spirit to move within us.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Learn from it!

Amy Wilt is going to be proud of me using this word- Antecedent! A word we used in foster parent training. The antecedent is the thing the logically proceeded a particular action. In foster training we talked about how many times parents only try and correct behavior, but do not normally think about antecedents- what made the child have the bad behavior. Many times we set our kids up for failure because we do not think about antecedents. Let me explain, we know that one of our boys

We Christians are not always the best at learning from our mistakes. What if getting beyond the “I’m sorry” prayer we got into the “God, teach me” prayer. God teach me and show me how my behavior patterns set me up to fail and teach me new behaviors.

Let’s you new an alcoholic that walked home from work everyday for 20 years and stopped at the corner bar for a drink. This person is now trying to get sober and change their ways. What do you think would be a really practical place to start? Maybe take another route home? Right cut off the antecedent to correct the behavior.

Do not dwell on it!

Can I tell you that I HATE the word hypocrite? I think it is one of the most overused, misunderstood, and abusive words related to faith. Many of us have heard sermons about the word hypocrite from the Greek plays- the word hypocrite was used for someone who put on a mask and played a part. So many pastors have preached about play the part of a Christian and a hypocrite being someone who plays a part- well, that may be true but I would like to lift a very important aspect of the Greek actors we compare people to- they clearly knew they were playing a part. It was intentional- there was no one who “accidentally” ended up an actor. Part of my heartburn with the word hypocrite is that many times it robs grace from the person- forggetting that many times the failures of a Christian are not intentional.

So, the first thing I would say is doubled sided- for when you find yourself being harmed by a Christian’s actions or if you are the Christian who has made the mistake- give grace. Grace to them and grace for yourself. says “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” We often talk about forgiving other people, but sometimes, church, we need to forgive ourselves. You are not perfect, and neither am I. When you mess up Satan has won a battle, and when you continue to beat yourself up over your failure and relieve your shortcoming Satan continues to win! Many times we carry the burdens of the past for way to long- blaming ourselves for the fate of others.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Friends, I am going to be frank- you cannot be forgiven for something that you will not own up to doing. A few moments ago I cautioned you to not dwell on something you did wrong- but here’s the kicker, you need to admit your wrong doing. If you have hurt someone you first need to own