What are we willing to forsake for the sake of love?
Notes
Transcript
Review of Romans 14:1-12
Review of Romans 14:1-12
Last week we looked at Romans 14:1-12. There we discovered that Paul was addressing two primary groups of people: The weak in faith and the strong in faith.
The weak in faith try to enforce rules that God doesn’t require. They were mostly Jewish believers who abstained from eating meat and observed certain days according to Jewish customs to honor the Lord. These were believers. And although they were weak in faith they still had strong convictions; strong convictions that were not biblically informed. And since not everyone shared their convictions on these matters, the weak were also prone to pass judgment on others. Not being biblically informed was one of their primary weaknesses.
The strong in faith believed they could eat anything and did not consider one day above another. However unlike the weak in faith, the strong had biblically informed consciences. They understood the differences between the old covenant and the new covenant. The difference between law and grace. The differences between Christ and Moses. They too did what they did to honor the Lord. The weakness of the strong was they tended to despise the weak and flaunt their Christian liberties in front of them.
These two groups of believers were being encouraged by Paul to welcome one another, while being warned not to not despise or pass judgment on each other.
Last week we learned that there is a vast difference between making judgments and passing judgment. We make judgments every day and we can know people’s true character by observing their patterns of behavior, listening to their words and by how they treat others. But only God has the authority, the insight and the purity to rightly pass judgment on any human being.
And since Christ himself has welcomed these other believers, then who are we to despise or pass judgment on Christ’s servants. They will have to give an account to their own master, not us, on judgment day. There is only one true judge,.. God. And we are not Him.
So in light of this let us set aside our differences and gladly welcome one another, never forgetting who we were when God in Christ so graciously welcomed us.
Romans 14:13-23
Romans 14:13-23
Now that we have concluded our recap from last week, let us continue by turning to and reading from Paul’s letter to the Romans Chapter 14 verses 13-23.
May the Lord bless the reading and teaching of His word.
Do Not Cause Another to Stumble
13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
20 Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
Pray....
Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.
Verse 13 has two parts and is a bridge between the first and second half of Chapter 14. 13a summarizes v.v. 1 to 12 of chapter 14. And 13b introduces the key idea of verses 14 to 23. Paul begins verse 13 with the word “therefore.” So of course it is our duty to know what the “therefore” is there for. Here Paul is referencing back to the previous 12 verses. Neither the weak nor the strong are to pass judgment on one another because at the final judgment, we will all have to give an account of ourselves to God. God is the judge. We are not. Who are we to pass judgment on the one whom Christ has welcomed?
“Therefore,” in light of this, “let us not pass judgment on one another any longer.”
Now let’s look at the second half of verse 13. Paul is deeply concerned about the unity within the Christian church. Beginning in 13b he shifts his focus almost exclusively to the strong and continues to do so until the end of the chapter. He tells them.. rather than passing judgment on your brother, “decide” or “determine” never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in his way.
In the Greek, Paul uses a play on words. One scholar said you could summarize verse 13 this way: “If you are so keene on judging things, here is something to judge–how not to trip each other up!”
The strong have an obligation to see to it that the weak reach maturity. This means that the strong may have to forsake some of their freedoms they enjoy for the sake of the weak. Instead of placing stumbling blocks in front of the weak to trip over, the strong should be removing stumbling blocks from the path of the weak. The strong have biblically informed consciences. They enjoy freedoms and liberties that the weak do not enjoy. The weak are still bound to certain restrictions or rituals that God does not require. And it is the strong’s responsibility to bear with weak as they come into maturity. Even if this means forsaking some of their liberties while in the presence of the weak. Now let’s look at v. 14.
I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.
In verse 14 Paul says “I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself.” He expresses similar sentiments in 1 Corinthians chapters 8 and 10. And Jesus himself also declared all foods clean in Mark 7:19. And all the strong believers in the house and those who love bacon shouted AMEN!
But not so fast. Although in reality, all food is in fact clean, Paul goes on to say that it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. This is speaking of the weak believer’s conscience. The weak in faith have strong consciences. But in some areas they are biblical uninformed.
We don’t all grasp the whole of the gospel instantaneously when we come to love the Lord Jesus Christ. In light of this, consider Peter the apostle, whose Spirit filled preaching in Acts chapter 2 resulted in 3,000 conversions. Remember in Acts chapter 10 when he was on the rooftop? How he was hungry and wanted something to eat and he fell into a trance? How the heavens opened up and a great sheet was lowered down with all kinds of animals including reptiles and birds? Remember the voice that came to him saying "Rise, Peter; kill and eat?" Do you remember Peter’s response? How he said “okay Lord! Thanks a lot!” No. That's not what he said at all, was it?
In typical Peter fashion, Peter was on a rooftop standing his ground before the Almighty Himself! Saying "by no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean." And what was the response? "What God has made clean, do not call common.” By this time, Peter had been a Christian for close to 10 years, Spent 3 of those years with Christ Himself, witnessed and performed many miracles and saw countless people come to Christ. Yet according to Paul’s definition here in Romans 14, during that time, Peter’s faith would have been considered weak. And ultimately it required a dramatic confrontation from God Himself to open Peter’s eyes regarding this matter. As we learned last Sunday, being weak in faith does not mean a weak conscience. Being weak in faith simply means you have a biblically uninformed conscience regarding certain secondary issues.
Peter's conscience was strong. So strong in fact that he found himself resisting God regarding this matter of food. Peter was fully convinced that his abstaining from these foods was honoring and pleasing to God. He ignorantly abstained from eating certain foods to the glory of God. Remember we are talking about true believers here. Believers who may have been in the faith for years and are Spirit filled soul winners like Peter. So let’s be careful not to cause them to stumble or to violate their consciences. We don’t want to be the cause of unnecessary grief, otherwise we might find ourselves destroying the ones for whom Christ has died.
Let’s now look at v. 15 and 16...
For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil.
Remember in verse 13 when Paul warned the strong to decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother? Here in v. 15 he revisits and elaborates further on that premise. He is still addressing the stronger brother and letting them know that by insisting on exercising their own liberties to eat certain food, they are bringing grief or pain to their fellow believer, thereby violating the law of love. This grief that the weak experience by the stronger brother's behavior is not merely sadness or annoyance or irritation, it has to do with spiritual downfall. This could not only hinder them and cause them to stumble but could actually destroy them. Paul is warning the strong that their behavior has the potential to result in the ultimate spiritual ruin of their weaker brothers.
We must remember that love for our brothers and sisters in Christ, takes precedence over any enjoyment that we are at liberty to experience.
We must remember that love for our brothers and sisters in Christ, takes precedence over any enjoyment that we are at liberty to experience.
This does not mean that the strong must completely forgo their Christian liberties altogether. But while in the presence of their weaker brothers they must be sensitive not to tempt them to violate their convictions before they are ready. This could destroy them. Paul said in
To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.
This is Spiritual maturity: Fixing our eyes on Christ and the gospel to such a degree that we gladly become willing to give up any freedoms or liberties or rights that would hinder us from loving one another. We never want the freedoms that we enjoy to be used as a means to destroy the ones for whom Christ has died. We never want those things that God means for good to be spoken of as evil. We are all members of one another. We all belong to one Kingdom. And being members of the Kingdom of God is a far greater privilege than the mere freedoms that accompany our membership.
Now let’s look at v. 17-19.
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
Here Paul is helping the strong put things into perspective. Once again the strong have biblically informed consciences, however they place too high of a priority on their Christian freedoms.
As a result they are prone to loose sight of the kingdom of God. They are at liberty to eat or drink whatever they want. However by doing so in the presence of their weaker brothers, they cause them serious spiritual harm. This violates the law of love Paul spoke of in Romans 13:8.
The fault of the strong was that of the Pharisees, but only in reverse. “The Pharisees demanded strict adherence to the ritual law while neglecting “justice and mercy and faithfulness.” Here the strong are demanding their freedom from the ritual law at the expense of "righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."
The strong, by causing their weaker brothers to stumble by what they eat, are loosing sight of the kingdom of God. Because we see in v. 17 that “the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking...” And this should be a warning to the weak as well. Because they too are in danger of loosing sight of the kingdom of God by focusing too much on what is being ate and drank.
Verses 17 and 18 are the central focal point of this last half of chapter 14. Here in these two verses we see the supreme goal of not only the last half of this chapter, or even this entire epistle for that matter. I would venture to say that the content of these 2 verses is the supreme goal of the entire bible and all of history and life itself!... the Kingdom of God and serving Christ all to the glory of God.
If you are a believer, you belong to the kingdom of God, an eternal kingdom that cannot be shaken. Your loyalty is to your king, Jesus Christ. Your goal in life is to obey him and make much of him. You are to do this in the midst of a world that needs him and yet hates him. Not only do they hate him, but they also hate all of his subjects. The members of this kingdom all find their unity in one man (Jesus, Christ) and one message (the Gospel). Paul, says that the Kingdom of God is “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
The Kingdom of God flows from the Gospel of Christ.
The Kingdom of God flows from the Gospel of Christ.
Prior to Christ none of us were righteous. We were neither right with God nor were we capable of doing right. Prior to Christ none of us had peace. We were not at peace with God, we did not know the peace of God and we had no real peace with our fellow man. Because we had no righteousness or peace, we were void of life and the Spirit of God, joy was an unknowable and foreign concept. But through Christ's righteous life, sacrificial atoning death and resurrection from the dead we have been brought out of the kingdom of darkness and brought into the kingdom of God. We can now experience “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” By faith in Christ and through his redemptive work on the cross, we receive his righteousness, it has been imputed to us. We are now clothed in Christ’s righteousness and we are judiciously righteous and pure in the sight of God the Father. And because of regeneration we are now free and able to live righteous lives, holy and pleasing to God. Righteousness is the state of being in proper relationship to God and the act of doing what is in agreement with God's standard. Prior to Christ, we were enemies of God. But Christ appeased the wrath of God that was due to us. He took the punishment we deserved so now because of what he did, we now have peace with God. Not only do we have peace with God, but we also have the peace of God that surpasses all understanding in Christ Jesus. And in light of this, we should also live at peace with one another. And now as a result of these realities, we experience unspeakable joy that only comes from being right with God and being at peace with God. This is only made possible through Christ and the Gospel as it is applied by the Holy Spirit, all to the Glory of God the Father. Therefore let us not forfeit the kingdom of God just to enjoy fleeting liberties that could potentially ruin our brothers. Let us not allow what is good to spoken of as evil. As the Gospel of the Kingdom is realized and lived out, our service to Christ will not only be acceptable to God but it will also be approved by men. Because we will be operating out of love for God and for others. As members of God’s kingdom, being servants of our king Jesus, what should we diligently pursue in light of all these awesome privileges we now enjoy at Christ’s expense? V. 19 tells us. We should “pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.”
Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.
In the previous verse Paul tells us to pursue what makes for peace and mutual upbuilding. Here in verse 20 he says “Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God.” So Paul is demonstrating an antithesis between mutual upbuilding (v.19) and destroying the work of God (v.20). By living Christ centered, Kingdom of God focused lives we will by necessity pursue what makes for peace and mutual upbuilding. However, if our focus gets set on our liberties at any cost, then we will sadly find ourselves destroying the work of God. Once again Paul does not agree with the weak in faith. He continues in v.20 and unashamedly says “that everything indeed is clean.” Paul is telling everybody including the weak that all food is clean. Even though the weak are wrong, Paul basically concludes v.20 by saying it is even more wrong for the strong to cause the weak to stumble by what they eat.
What is true Christian freedom? It is the freedom to forsake our liberty for the sake of others.
What is true Christian freedom? It is the freedom to forsake our liberty for the sake of others.
Paul being one of the strong not only forgoes his liberties for the sake of the weak’s conscience, he also chooses not to openly rebuke them, even when he is absolutely right and they are completely wrong. Paul is not only strong in faith, he also exhibits the highest level of spiritual maturity. The point Paul is making in verse 21 is that the strong should not put anything in a weak brother’s way that would tempt them to violate their conscience and cause them to stumble into sin. Once again remember the warning Jesus gives to anyone who would cause one of these little ones to stumble… millstone around neck… cast into the sea… not good.
At this point I believe we need to clear up at least one common misunderstanding about Christian liberty.
Sin is never a Christian liberty.
Sin is never a Christian liberty.
First, let's define sin. Sin literally means “to miss the mark.” In other words we are aiming at Christ, and the glory of God. Anything that would cause us to miss our target, is sin. Also according to John the apostle, “sin is lawlessness.” So as we are aiming at Christ and God’s glory, we are also aiming at living righteous and upright lives before God and man. According to
The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
Through the years I have known professing Christians who justify all sorts of sinful behaviors in the name of Christian liberty. Some examples might be music that is sensual or clearly has an anti-Christian message, the use of foul language, drunkenness, using recreational drugs, sex outside of marriage, watching unwholesome movies or TV shows, pursing the world and its shiny trinkets, viewing porn all in the name of Christian liberty. And these are just a few common outward behaviors. What about gossip or slander or greed? But... it's just literature, but... it's just entertainment,... but... it's just art, but it relaxes me, and just because I get drunk sometimes doesn’t make me a drunkard, but... I love him. But,... but,... but!
But... what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? But…what about
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Let us not deceive ourselves. Sin of any kind is never a Christian liberty. Our aim is to please God and point others to Christ. Remember, we are to confess our sin and turn away from it. By agreeing with God about our sin struggles, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all of our unrighteousness. But when we attempt to justify our sin, God’s sees right through us. We are not fooling anyone especially not Him. Let us not use Christian liberty as an excuse to indulge in things, that deep down, we know displease God.
Let's now look at v.22
The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves.
In v.22 Paul is making a clarifying statement regarding the previous verse. The strong still have the freedom to eat and drink whatever they please. And these liberties they enjoy are right and good. When Paul says keep (the faith you have) between yourself and God, he does not mean to shut up and never to discuss controversial matters. Instead he is telling the strong to avoid practicing their liberty in situations that could cause spiritual harm to others.
This theme of passing judgment has been constantly present throughout chapter 14. However, previously it was always in the context of passing judgment on others. Here Paul says “Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves.” So now Paul transitions from an outward passing judgment of others to an inward passing judgment of self. As we read earlier in 1 Timothy 1:5 the aim of our charge is 3 things: 1. love that issues from a pure heart and 2. a good conscience and 3. a sincere faith. If these three are our aim, then we are blessed and we have no reason to condemn ourselves. However according to v.23
But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
Paul finishes out chapter 14 with these final thoughts. If the weak eat meat apart from faith, then they will stand condemned before God. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. This is not only a warning to the weak. As we have seen so far, the strong will also be held accountable if they tempt the weak to violate their consciences and cause them to stumble into sin. There is a general theological principle that applies to us all. Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
In light of this let's take a moment to ask ourselves the following questions: am I really operating from a place of love? Does this love issue from a pure heart? Do I have a clear conscience?Do i have a sincere faith? Am I passing judgments on others? Am I despising others? Am I doing anything that might cause my brother stumble?
Now for some inspired final thoughts
Now for some inspired final thoughts
Okay, we have completed our walk through Romans 14. I hope it has been as beneficial to you as it has been for me. And the time has now come for me to provide a brief summary of what all that has just been taught. However I am convinced that Paul has already graciously done this for us. At the beginning of chapter 15 he seems to provide a sufficient summary of chapter 14. So let's finish up with some inspired thoughts from Paul, an Apostle of Christ, Jesus. Let’s finish by reading 15:1-7
Romans 15:1-7
Romans 15:1-7
We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
Amen?