What Matters Most in the Christian Life?

The Book of Romans

Romans 14:10-23

Sermon by Rick Crandall

(Prepared November 26, 2021)

(Revised Mar. 23, 2023 to add Scriptures on the Judgment Seat of Christ)

BACKGROUND:

*Remember that Romans 12 marked a big shift in Paul's letter to the Christians in Rome. In chapters 1-11, Paul spelled out the truth about our terrible sinfulness and our desperate need for God's salvation. Paul made it clear that salvation can only come by God's grace through faith in our crucified and risen Savior Jesus Christ. This is the heart of the good news about Jesus. He died on the cross for all of our sins. But three days later, Jesus rose again from the dead, and now He will give eternal life to everyone who receives Him as Lord and Savior.

*But how are we supposed to live this new life we have as Christians? That's what Paul began to discuss in Romans 12. Today's Scripture gives us some more essential instructions. Let's begin by reading Romans 14:10-23.

MESSAGE:

*What matters the most in life? It's easy to forget. A dad named Glenn Adsett got a unique wake-up call on this truth. Glenn and his wife were missionaries in China when the Communists took over in the late 1940s. Glenn, his wife and their two children were placed under house arrest while they waited to hear what the Communists were going to do with them.

*Then the soldiers came one day and said, "You can return to America." They went into a wild celebration, but it was cut short when the soldier gruffly said, "You can take only 200 pounds with you!"

*The family started rushing around. They had been in China for many years. How can you limit the possessions of a lifetime to 200 pounds? They got the scales and began to argue about what to take. All four of them had their own ideas about what was most important: A typewriter, a vase, some keepsakes they treasured.

*Finally, they got it down to 200 pounds on the dot. The soldier asked, "Ready to go?" -- "Yes!" they replied. Then the soldier asked, "Did you weigh the children?" Suddenly the typewriter, the vase, and the keepsakes all became trash. They were garbage compared to the children! Glenn and his wife were strongly reminded of what matters most in life. And that's what God's Word is talking about here. (1)

1. FIRST: WE MUST REMEMBER THAT JESUS IS OUR JUDGE.

*We see this truth in vs. 10-12. There Paul began with a question and said:

10. But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

11. For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.''

12. So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.

*Paul had already given a strong warning against judging our brothers. We saw it back up in vs. 3-4, where Paul said:

3. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him.

4. Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

*Now in vs. 10-12, Paul reinforced his warning by pointing us to the real Judge, and our obligation before Him. Again in vs. 10 Paul said, "But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ."

*God's Word makes this truth clear in at least three places. For example, in 2 Corinthians 5:8-10, Paul tells Christians:

8. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

9. Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.

10. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. (2)

*Christians: "We must all 'stand' or 'appear' before the judgment seat of Christ." Paul was not talking about lost people here. He was talking about saved people. But we must understand that the judgment seat of Christ is not a judgment for our sins.

*All of our sins have been washed away by the saving blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus paid it all! He paid the full price for our sins when He died on the cross. Many Scriptures confirm this truth. John 3:18 says, "He who believes in Him is not condemned." John 3:36 says, "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life." Colossians 2:13-14 also tells Christians: "And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."

*Verse 10 here and 2 Corinthians 5:10 are not talking about God's judgment on our sins. This judgment is about our service for the Lord. And Christians: "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."

*You see, Ephesians 2:8-10 tells Christians, "By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

*What are these good works? Well, they certainly include all of our faithful, love-inspired service for the Lord in church. But our good works should go beyond walls of our church to shine for Jesus Christ. Our good works should reveal the love and goodness of God where we live, work and play.

*And "we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." Our appearance before the Judgment Seat of Christ will take place in Heaven, after the Rapture.

[1] IT WILL BE A TIME OF REWARD.

*The rewards are beyond our comprehension, but the Bible speaks of crowns we can receive. For example, in 1 Thessalonians 2:19 we see the Crown of Rejoicing. There Paul said, "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?" Then in 2 Timothy 4:8 we see the Crown of Righteousness. Paul said, "Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing."

[2] THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST WILL BE A TIME OF REWARD, BUT IT WILL ALSO BE A TIME OF REGRET.

*This is the hard truth we find in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15. There Paul talked to Christians about building our lives on the foundation of faith in Jesus Christ, and he said:

11. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

12. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,

13. each one's work will become manifest; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is.

*This fire is not the eternal fire of hell, but a temporary fire in Heaven.

14. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.

15. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

*"Suffer loss" means just what it says, to "receive damage, injury or loss." Years ago, Leonard Ravenhill explained it something like this: "Suppose my whole Christian life is worth $10,000 and I invest most of it in wood, maybe some rich mahogany. Most of my life work is made out of wood. It's very nice, but when the fire goes through it, what do you have? All you have is ashes, maybe up to your ankles, and that's all there is left.

*But suppose I invest most of my $10,000 in hay or straw. Does that sound foolish? Well, people do it every day. Why? Because if you put $10,000 into hay or straw, it looks like you are getting a lot for your money. You could probably buy half the straw in Texas for $10,000, but boy you're going to have a mess when the fire gets to it. Instead of ashes to your ankles, it'll be ashes up to your nose, maybe. But that's what some lives are going to be like: wood, hay, stubble, -- then ashes.

*Now let's look at a few people who made much wiser investments: There's a man who invests his $10,000 in gold. The next man invests $10,000 in silver. And another man invests his $10,000 in costly stones. Each of the men had the same amount of 'life' to spend, but very different results. Our whole life, from the very moment we receive Christ, is going to be tested by fire. We must be very careful to make wise investments, or all that will be left is ashes." (3)

*Church, this is why 1 John 2:28 tells Christians, "Now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming."

2. WHAT MATTERS MOST IN CHRISTIAN LIFE? REMEMBERING THAT JESUS IS OUR JUDGE, AND WALKING IN THE LOVE OF GOD.

*Back in Romans 5:5, Paul tells Christians that "the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." And of course, God wants us to live by His love. That's why in vs. 13-15 Paul wrote:

13. 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.

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.

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.

*This subject came up, in part because there was a mixture of Jews and Gentiles in the early church. The Jews naturally wanted to cling to the old ceremonial ways, such as circumcision, strict dietary laws, and observing the Jewish holy days.

*The Gentile believers weren't inclined to do that, and it wasn't God's plan for His Church. So, God wanted the Jewish believers to bend over backwards to not judge the Gentile believers. But God also wanted the Gentile believers to bend over backwards too. That's why the letter sent from the Jerusalem church to Paul's mission churches included these words in Acts 15:28-29:

28. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:

29. that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.

*They were asked to abstain from the meat offered to idols, and this seems strange to us, but meat offered to idols was a huge issue in the early church. Paul dealt with this problem at length in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10. He opened 1 Corinthians 8 with these words:

1. Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.

2. And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know.

3. But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.

4. Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one.

5. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords),

6. yet for us there is only one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.

7. However, there is not in everyone that knowledge; for some, with consciousness of the idol, until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.

8. But food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse.

9. But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak.

*William Barclay explained that "when an idol worshipper sacrificed in a pagan temple, often only a small part of the meat was sacrificed. Most of the rest was given back to him to make a feast for his friends, often on the temple grounds, sometimes in his own house. The priests received the remainder, which was then sold for ordinary use." (4)

*In Acts 15, James was urging the Gentile Christians to abstain from eating meat offered to idols, not because it would cause them to lose their salvation, but because it could offend the weaker brothers. By adding this dietary restriction, God was asking the Gentile Christians to bend over backwards to keep peace with their Jewish brothers in Christ.

*Now, because of our love for the Lord and His people, God wants us to bend over backwards for each other. Even if we think it's okay to do something, we still shouldn't put a stumbling block in someone else's way.

*How could this apply to us? One example might be gambling. There is no place in the Bible where God says, "Thou shalt not go to the casino." But if one of your friends had a gambling problem, you shouldn't offer them a weekend trip to Vegas, right? Of course not, because we shouldn't do anything that could cause other people to stumble.

*God wants us to be walking in the love of the Lord. Why? -- Because that's what He always does! The end of vs. 15 reminds us just how much Jesus loves us. Here Paul said, "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."

*I need to point out that some Christians assume this word "destroy" means we could be responsible for destroying the salvation of other Christians. But if we caused another Christian to lose their salvation by leading them to eat food they considered to be unclean, then we would deserve to lose our salvation a whole lot more!

*On top of that, this false teaching cannot be true because it contradicts many other Scriptures, including vs. 4 above, which again says, "Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, HE WILL BE MADE TO STAND, FOR GOD IS ABLE TO MAKE HIM STAND." Thank God! Our Master Jesus Christ is both able and willing to make us stand! Hallelujah!

*John Gill explained that "destroy" here means "to destroy their peace, assurance, and usefulness for the Lord." And of course, God doesn't want us to do that. Jesus wants us to walk in godly love, even as He walked here on earth and died on the cross for our sins. (5)

*Jesus gave us this ultimate example of love! And God wants us to keep walking in His love, so Paul stressed this truth again in vs. 20-21. There he said:

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.

*Why does God want us to care about the weak? Because the truth is that in many ways, we are weak too. And most of all, God wants us to love the weak, because He loves the weak! Jesus Christ has completely unselfish love for us, and that's the kind of love He wants us to have for each other.

3. WHAT MATTERS THE MOST IN CHRISTIAN LIFE? WALKING IN THE LOVE OF GOD, AND PURSUING GOD'S PRIORITIES.

*God wants us to pursue His priorities. And we can see some of them in vs. 16-19. Here Paul said:

16. Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil;

17. for the kingdom of God is not food and drink, 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.

*God is telling us here to keep first things first. So, what are God's priorities for our lives? In vs. 16, His priority is for us to have a good, useful, helpful testimony. In vs. 17, God's priority is for us to serve Christ with righteousness, peace, and joy. In vs. 18, God's priority is for us to live lives that are pleasing to God, and righteous before other people. Then in vs. 19, God's priority is for us to be peacemakers, who "edify" or "build-up" one another, helping each other grow stronger in the Lord.

*You may have never heard of "The Tunnel Tree," but it was one of the most famous trees in our country. It was a giant sequoia tree in California that was estimated to be over a thousand years old! The Tunnel Tree was 33 feet across, and thousands of people went to see it every year. You used to be able to drive through it, and they still allowed hikers to walk through it.

*Sadly, the Tunnel Tree fell and shattered during a storm on January 8, 2017. But falling like that is very rare for a giant Sequoia, even though some of those trees are over 300 feet tall, and they all have a very shallow root system. That's why you will never see a giant sequoia standing alone. Storms with heavy winds would bring all of those giant trees crashing to the ground. But it rarely happens because they grow in clusters. And their interwoven roots provide support for each another against the storms. (6)

*That's the way God wants us to be in His church: Standing together, building up one another, realizing that we all need a helping hand, and we can all give a helping hand.

*These are God's priorities for our lives, and that's why vs. 17-19 in the New Living Translation say, "The Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God. And other people will approve of you, too. So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up."

4. WHAT MATTERS THE MOST IN CHRISTIAN LIFE? PURSUING GOD'S PRIORITIES, AND SEEING THE IMPORTANCE OF FAITH.

*God wants us to see the importance of faith, and we can see it in vs. 22-23. Here Paul said:

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 whatsoever is not from faith is sin.

*Verse 22 sound like a strange thing for Paul to say: "Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God." But Paul is not telling us to stop witnessing. He is still talking about faith concerning the things we eat. This ties back to vs. 14 where Paul said, "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."

*William MacDonald explained, "I may have complete liberty to partake of every kind of food, knowing that God gave it to be received with thanksgiving. But I should not needlessly flaunt that liberty before those who are weak. It is better to exercise that liberty in private, when no one could possibly be offended." (7)

CONCLUSION:

*This is a small part of walking in the love of the Lord. But we can't begin to walk in God's love until we have saving faith in Jesus Christ. This is the faith God's Word is talking about when Hebrews 11:6 says without faith it is impossible to please God.

*Our faith must be in Jesus Christ! We must have faith in Jesus because He is the only eternal Son of God, who humbled Himself to become a man, lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins, and rose again in everlasting victory over sin and death!

*We must have faith enough to receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Then we will be born again by God's Holy Spirit, and we can begin living the way God wants us to live. So, put your trust in Jesus, and start living the Christian life. Our gracious, merciful, loving God will surely help you every step of the way!

(1) Sources:

-DEEP JOY FOR A SHALLOW WORLD by Richard A. Wing, CSS Publishing Company, 1997, 0-7880-1033-6 - Source: Sermonillustrations.com - 12072003

-From a sermon by Wayne Brouwer - Source: Sermons.com sermon "What Are You Tied To?" by King Duncan - John 15:1-17

(2) There are at least three passages in the New Testament that teach directly about the judgment seat of Christ: Romans 14:10-12, 1 Corinthians 3:10-4:5, and 2 Corinthians 5:1-10. The single verse that best summarizes these teachings is 2 Corinthians 5:10 where Paul speaks to Christians and says, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."

(3) Adapted from “The Judgment Seat of Christ” by Leonard Ravenhill

(4) BARCLAY'S DAILY BIBLE STUDY SERIES (NT) by William Barclay, Revised Edition - Copyright 1975 - First published by the Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh, Scotland - The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - "The Leadership of James" - Acts 15:13-21 - https://www.primobibleverses.com/view/william-barclay/the-leadership-of-james-acts-1513-21-7974

(6) Sources:

-Dynamic Preaching sermon - Second Sunday in February 2001

-Sermonillustrations.com - Brett Blair - 06292003

-Pioneer Cabin Tree - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_Cabin_Tree

(7) BELIEVER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY by William Macdonald - Edited by Arthur Farstad - Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville - Copyright 1995 - King Manasseh - Romans 14:1-23 - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2000-2019