Accepting One Another: the Sabbath, wine, and vaccines!
One Another-ing • Sermon • Submitted
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Please turn to Romans 14 and 15.
Romans 14 - 15.
And just a little confession about this passage:
I am a little nervous about this—because it is a hard passage to understand, and controversial. While I do enjoy that, I want to do my best to explain it b/c of that.
I also think this passage is such a needed passage for today and has so much relevance. why? because Paul is writing to a young church in Rome—struggling with unity. They were divided over minor issues. How do you have a unified church despite differences, especially over minor differences??
This church in Rome was struggling with how do you have a unified church when you have differences over minor things?
We are in our One-another-ing series.
Our theme verse is this — From Jesus.
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
and each week we are applying some one another passages...
we see a couple one-anothers.
let me start reading in Romans 14:1-4
1 Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters.
2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.
3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them.
4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.
6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.
7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone.
8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.
11 It is written: “ ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’ ”
12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.
let me skip to Romans 15:7
7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
don’t pass judgment — this doesn’t mean you can’t be discerning; or can’t make judgments or can’t confront over sin—Scripture calls us to do that elsewhere. the goal here is that even though we make judgments, but you are being judgmental deep in your heart. You are condemning someone and playing the role of God in their life.
and more than just don’t pass judgment—accept them. bring them in. welcome them in. they are part of the family of God.
so don’t pass judgment but accept one another—especially over minor differences.
What is going on ?
Let me give some definitions--
The weak—who is the person whose faith is weak — some people call them the weaker brother or weaker sister:
they are a Christian brother or sister - meaning they trust in Jesus and his finished work to save them. Their salvation with God is not in doubt.
not a legalist — a legalist believes you have to someone work to earn your salvation. that’s not what Paul is confronting. Paul confronts it elsewhere like the book of Galatians.
not someone struggling with sin. not someone who can’t help it.
so what is it—the weak Christian is a Christian who conscience believes something is wrong, but in reality it is not wrong.
in this context—Romans 14-15—this weak Christian is most likely someone with an OT Jewish background who became a Christian. so verse 2 talks about that-one person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. so this person with a Jewish background was used to eating or not eating certain foods based on what the OT law said like Leviticus—there were clean foods to eat according to Leviticus and unclean foods. Leviticus 11 says you can’t eat a camel or a pig (no bacon for you!) and so when a Jew came to faith in Jesus Christ—they were used to eating or not eating certain foods, they continued that, even though they didn’t have to.
why don’t they have to:
14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean.
Jesus also declared all foods clean. He said this in Mark 7:19
Mark 7:19 (NIV)
19 For it (food) doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)
So since Jesus has come, there are no more food laws—clean or unclean.
so the weak brother or sister in that context believed that even though Jesus came—you still had to follow some of these OT laws.
their conscience was uneasy in eating those food even though they could according to God’s Word.
2. The strong person on the other hand—Romans 14 and 15 later on will contrast this—is the Christian (brother or sister) whose conscience matches God’s reality. Their conscience actually matches up with what God says in his Word. so their conscience and God’s Word actually agree.
so in this context—it most likely would have been the Gentile—the non-Jew who didn’t have a background of following the OT. They had no issue with eating meat or bacon. Jesus declared it all clean.
BTW—as a Christian we don’t follow the old covenant at Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deut—why? because Jesus has come. We don’t offer animal sacrifices anymore—because Jesus is the sacrifice to end all sacrifices. We don’t go to a tabernacle or temple anymore like the OT lays out—b/c Jesus is the ultimate temple. We don’t have OT priests who have to serve between God and man—b/c Jesus is the ultimate priest—praise God! we are no longer under the old covenant Scripture says but the new covenant that Jesus brought. Now, we still learn a ton about who God is from these laws...
and whether you are the weak in conscience or the strong—look at what Paul says
3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them.
This Christian community was despising one one another. The strong—looking down on the weak, “I can’t believe they won’t eat meat or bacon.” Those weak ones.
And the weak were judging, deeply judging— “I can’t believe they are eating the meat...”
Paul is challenging both sides in this--
in vs. 1—he told the “accept the one whose faith is weak.”
vs. 10—why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister, or why do you treat them with contempt?
vs. 13 — therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another.
Paul challenges both the weak in conscience and the strong.
and even though he challenges both sides—he especially challenges the strong...
And he especially challenges the strong.
14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean.
15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died.
16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil.
17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,
18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.
19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.
21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.
22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves.
23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
1. I mentioned earlier how Paul called certain people weak and strong. Paul seems to be referring to 2 extreme categories in the church. you see, the strong had the tendency to, as vs. 3 says, “despise the weak.” And rub it in their noses. They lacked grace and patience with the weak. They would be like, “come on, buddy! This food is good--it’s ok you will do this. It’s not a big deal.” and they may even look down on them. And thus the weak would feel like they have to join in even though their conscience did not support the idea.
2. And notice what Paul says about this vs. 14--“I know and I am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.” Vs. 23--“Whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” Paul recognizes that the conscience plays a vital role in our lives. That our conscience has been given by God. so when the weak person gave in to the pleadings of the strong--they would sin because their conscience did not support it. so really, the weak person in this context is someone who not only believes something is wrong when in reality it is not, but is easily swayed to join in on an activity by the strong. And the strong in this context, though they are right about what is right and wrong and act on it, they are bullying the weak into participating in something they shouldn’t! Paul gives extremes!
so what is God calling us as we one-another—In minor issues, not only are we called to not pass judgment but actually welcome each other in as family.
repeat--
in other words—don’t let minor issues divide you church.
Let the main thing be the main thing.
all through this he talks about the main thing:
3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them.
God’s accepted them—through Jesus’ finished work on the cross.
verse 4
4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
The Lord is able to make them stand—because Jesus went under the cross, took the wrath of God for sin—and now we live by the Holy Spirit—He does it.
vs. 8
8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
vs. 15—mentions that you shouldn’t destroy your brother for who Christ died!
There is more that unites us as Christian brothers and sisters than divides us.
This is a remarkable call for the weak in conscience and the strong.
so what are some modern examples of minor issues that divide Christian communities—this is where it gets fun.
and controversial...
Do you keep the Sabbath or not—Paul mentions this in vs. 5. “One person considers one day more sacred than another; another consider every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.”
now is Paul being wishy-washy— “do whatever you want!” “If you believe it—you do works for you!” no!
but it is interesting that Paul does not say you must observe the Sabbath day—especially like the OT—because they would keep the Sabbath from Friday evening to Saturday evening. Now that Jesus has come—he has freed us from that. First of all, Christians started worshipping on Sunday—because that’s resurrection day—when Jesus rose from the dead. So it changed the day. In fact, many of those Christians in that culture would probably have to work on Sunday in some way.
if you think about the 10 commandments in the OT—the only one that is not repeated in the NT---is to honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy.
why? the book of Hebrews chapters 3 and 4 talk about this—this concept of rest—the Sabbath was pointing to the kind of rest we find in Jesus. That when we give our lives to Jesus—we come to Him all who are weary and heavy laden—and He gives us rest—that is a deeper rest. and when we die and go to be with Jesus—the best rest possible will be available.
now, I know—this is a difficult for some.
some of you have grown in circles where to do any work let alone have fun on the Sabbath was forbidden, so to even hear what Paul is saying is hard. I remember growing up in Berne—if someone was mowing their yard on Sunday, people would freak out. and I think that is the kind of attitude that Paul is against. Paul would say—if you feel led to keep the Sabbath—don’t do it legalistically to earn God’s favor—but do so to the Lord and don’t look down on those who don’t observe the Sabbath like you do.
and if you do believe that all days are alike—do it to the Lord.
but I would challenge you on this side that remember God worked for 6 days and rested for 1 day—setting a sort of pattern that seems to transcend the Sabbath.
the older generation probably struggles with legalism on this—and the younger on not taking advantage of the joy of rest, worship, and ceasing from the rhythm that God wove into the very fabric of our being. older generation don’t judge the younger who view this differently, and younger generation there is something we can learn from the older generation that—there is something that God wove into the fabric of existence—6 days he worked; on the 7th he rested.
another issue is wine or alcohol
look at verse 21
21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.
amazingly the Bible doesn’t talk a lot about wine.
Ephesians 5:18 says “Don’t get drunk...” don’t be controlled by wine but instead be filled with the Holy Spirit
interestingly Jesus’ first public miracle—in John — was turning water into wine at a wedding. wine becomes a symbol of the new covenant—of the joy that we have and will have with our bridegroom Jesus being married to him. It is a symbol that Jesus is preparing the ultimate marriage feast for us his bride with him the bridegroom—and there tons of OT passages that say the wine will flow freely as a symbol of the joy that we will have with Jesus.
so take all that into consideration—the Bible is not against wine or alcohol, it’s against getting drunk, being addicted to it or controlled by it.
i. So if you are convinced and believe it is not wrong to drink, you are certainly allowed to do so, not getting drunk, but don’t pressure those who think it is wrong to join in with you because their conscience can’t handle it, thus you are weakening their conscience and destroying them into sin.
you may choose to abstain because you know your brother or sister has been an alcoholic in the past--and you don’t want to tempt them. You may even say, if you are with someone else, “do you mind if I drink?” all because you care about your brother and sister in Christ. because you love them.
ii. And if you do believe it is wrong, you are called not to pass judgment on your Christian brother or sister who does drink occasionally.
iii. It might be helpful to understand that there is a spectrum along this strong and weak labels that Paul said. I think it’s helpful to point this out--because you may, “Well, Pastor Rick, I am offended. Are you saying I am weak if I believe it is wrong or don’t drink alcohol!”
1. For some of you, you know that it is not wrong to drink alcohol--but you choose to not to engage in it nor make others engage-maybe for a variety of reasons--because you don’t want to face the possibility of alcoholism--or you know many who are alcoholics. Perhaps before you knew Jesus Christ you were caught up in a lifestyle of being an alcoholic, and I would agree with you--don’t drink! But you would not be exactly defined as “strong” or “weak” as Paul says here--you are in another category.
2. For some of you, you may think that it is wrong to drink or at least questionable, but you choose not to make others follow your view. You are not really offended if others drink--but you would not be defined as “weak” or “strong” as Paul says. You are in another category completely.
This issue of wine in particular has the tendency to be blown out of proportion. I love how one of my professors put it, Dr. Carson: - “Now this passage is often abused in some conservative circles. So, it’s less so today than 30 years ago, but today still in some circles, (some Christians may say--“I don’t think you should drink any alcohol and if you do, you will be offending me. So I Corinthians 8 (or Romans 14) says you mustn’t do it because you would be offending me.” Now most of the people who have said things like that to me really don’t have weak consciences. They’re control freaks. They’re legalists in the worst possible sense. And so I inevitably say in that case, “Do you think that no Christian can drink? That a person who drinks is not a Christian or can’t be a Christian? Do you think it’s essential to be a teetoler to be a Christian? (teetoler - a person who never drinks alcohol)” And if they say, “Yes.” I say, “Pass the Port!” And I’m not being a smart aleck. Because the Word of God will not allow anyone or anything to jeopardize the exclusive sufficiency of Jesus. It’s not Jesus plus being a teetoler.
Legalistic Christians are not weaker brothers, they are sinning brothers and they need to be confronted. Typically, good meaning Christians cater to the antics of the Legalistic Weaker Brother because they are good at heart and they don’t want to offend them, but that is not what Paul is talking about here--he is talking about those with a weak conscience--because they are not well-formed, not well-instructed--they could be hurt and led astray.
other issues that if we had time to talk about that divide (but don’t necessarily apply to weaker or stronger):
—issues of minor doctrines—when is Jesus coming back or how?
—sometimes issues of parenting can divide—how you parent, how much or style of discipline you give, educational choices—if we are not careful—those can divide a congregation
—worship styles can divide a congregation—and musical expression. which always has baffled me...yes I get that music is very personal—but I wonder—someday when we are around the throne of God worshipping Him people from every tribe, tongue and nation—are we going to quibble about musical preference? Lord, is there a contemporary service or traditional service? (BTW — the songs of the 80’s and 90’s we have not done some of those songs in ages!)
—how you spend money or not...
—right now, a big issue is Covid responses and restrictions. In our congregation we have the gamut of responses from very pandemic conscience to not. and as much as our community and county would love to just move on and not think about the pandemic, it is a reality. It is a reality for our health workers on the verge of burn out or frustration. it’s a reality for our school to wrestle with. It is a reality for decision makers in our community. and it is a reality for you who have to had to quarantine or maybe have been sick—we have even had some folks in the hospital. so I take this issue very seriously, sensitively.
as we apply Covid views to Romans 14 AND 15 I think it is hard to apply the weak and strong labels to either side—they don’t fit like they do with the issues like Sabbath or wine. b/c if you are more pandemic conscience—does that make you weak in faith? and the other side the strong? I don’t think so. b/c I know plenty who are Covid conscious and doing so out of the Christian motivation of love. and even if we applied these categories—then this passage would say the responsibility would be on the strong to adjust to the weak.
but this passage does apply in that I think God’s Word challenges us to remember —that the people we may disagree with in our own church—are brothers and sisters in Christ. Don’t let your pandemic view bully the other side; don’t let it harbor ill will in your hearts. be careful what you post on social media—b/c I have yet to see someone change their view over what is posted on social media. don’t play the role of God—that is condemning them in your heart—if someone does not live the way you are living and choosing to respond to the pandemic; first calm down, pray for them, and if the Lord leads, engage them in a civil dialogue.
My biggest concern as a pastor through all this — while certainly I don’t want anyone to get sick or in the hospital—I have seen so many torn relationships over Covid. torn marriages, friendships, torn churches, communities. as brothers and sisters in Christ, we can disagree quite a bit over this, and still have some brotherly and sisterly love, affection, prayer, not condemning, accepting one another as Christ accepted us.
conclusion:
Don’t over-worry about offending someone, nor are we to fight over these issues.
The biggest responsibility falls on the strong—to bear with the weak.
this doesn’t mean you can’t correct or help improve their view (we are called to that—) and even though Paul agreed with the strong—all foods are clean—you don’t have to follow the Sabbath a certain way, or
Keep the main thing the main thing — Keep Jesus and the Gospel central—that’s what unites us:
a. This passage is filled with doctrine.
b. Vs. 14: 6-9 - Christ and who he is -- we do everything to God --because Christ lived and died for us. BTW -- Paul brings up a great test --if you are not sure if something is a sin or not--ask, “Will this glorify God or not?”
c. Vs. 14:10-11 - God will judge us ultimately -- we have enough to worry about--who are we to judge people over issues that are minor?
d. Vs. 14:15--Christ died for the brother that you are looking down upon
e. 15:1-3 - Christ is our example--he did not please himself--he did not boss his away around people--but did everything for the glory of God.
4. the vision is Romans 15:7
7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
Christ He had all sorts of reasons to not accept us into His family.
but he willingly laid down his life on the cross.
He did this because our sins separate us from a holy God who loves us. sin is major. we weren’t separated from God for minor issues but major sin.
and yet Jesus who knew no sin—took all of the punishment for our major sin on Himself on the cross. He took the punishment in our place—bearing the wrath of God.
He did this, so that if you and I cast our sin on Jesus, confess it, and turn from it, and trust that Jesus paid it all. we will be welcomed in. not just not judged—but welcomed in as dear and precious family.
if that transforms our hearts…we will be the kind of church
a. Where the weak are not passing judgment on the strong
b. Where the weak are coming to know what the Bible says--and their consciences are freed
c. But where the strong make concessions for the weak out of love (even though they knew that God permits them to do the other course of action)
d. Where we keep minor issues as minor; and make the main thing the main thing--about Jesus Christ and his good news.
e. All of this to the glory of God.
f. Surely the world would know that we are Christ’s disciples then, if we love one another and accept one another in this way!