Romans 14 (2017) THE PRIORITY OF SANCTIFICATION ROMANS Righteousness In our Person Our relationship with God

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1 Rmans 14 (2017) We ve cmpleted Paul s instructin n sanctificatin in chapters 12-13, s nw we re ready t tackle tw final issues n the questin f living ut ur salvatin These tw issue stand apart in that they d nt fllw Paul s structure represented by the bull s eye chart VERSE BY VERSE MINISTRY INTERNATIONAL TEACHING THE WHOLE COUNSEL OF GOD THE PRIORITY OF SANCTIFICATION ROMANS Righteusness In ur Persn Our relatinship with Gd Righteusness Amng the Church Our relatinship with believers Righteusness Befre the Wrld Our relatinship with unbelievers Decreasing Pririty Righteusness Within Sciety Our relatinship with gvernment Hw Gentiles Shw Grace t Jews Hw Jews Shw Grace t Gentiles Rmans 14 Rmans Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin. Up t nw Paul s been teaching abut hw t live ut ur salvatin accrding t a certain pririty He started with ur highest pririty, ur relatinship with Gd Then he mved t ur relatinship with the church, then t unbelievers and then t scietal institutins Each f these relatinships, represented by a ring n a bull s eye, hlds pprtunity fr us t practice hliness and further the Church s missin 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Rmans 14 2! f! 23 Each ring f the bull s eye required we place the needs f Christ abve ur wn And ur success in each ring depended n having made prgress in the prir ring S in that way Paul s system becmes a radmap fr ur effrts t live ut the salvatin we have received by grace But Paul isn t finished exhrting, because there were sme ther issues trubling the early church that deserved special attentin These issues are cvered in chapters 14 and the first half f chapter 15 They deal with the relatinship between Jewish believers and Gentile believers And the uniqueness f these circumstances requires a few minutes f intrductin The frmatin f the church during the first century invlved a grand scial experiment Never befre had Jews and Gentiles tried t assciate s clsely tgether The amalgamatin f these tw grups int ne bdy brught significant challenges We get a sense f hw great these challenges were when we read abut the experiences f the apstles In particular, the Apstle Peter struggled with the intrductin f Gentiles int the bdy At ne pint his struggles even threatened t divide the bdy f Christ It required anther apstle, Paul, chastising Peter publicly fr his failure t embrace Gd s call t the Gentiles t advance the unity f the church Paul relates that mment t us Galatians 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Rmans 14 3! f! 23 Gal. 2:11 But when Cephas came t Antich, I ppsed him t his face, because he std cndemned. Gal. 2:12 Fr prir t the cming f certain men frm James, he used t eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began t withdraw and hld himself alf, fearing the party f the circumcisin. Gal. 2:13 The rest f the Jews jined him in hypcrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypcrisy. Gal. 2:14 But when I saw that they were nt straightfrward abut the truth f the gspel, I said t Cephas in the presence f all, If yu, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and nt like the Jews, hw is it that yu cmpel the Gentiles t live like Jews? After Peter fled persecutin in Jerusalem, he set up residence in the fastgrwing church cmmunity in Antich, Syria Paul and Barnabas were already there leading the church in Antich, and by their influence the church had attracted many Gentile believers In fact, Antich was the first church lcated utside Judea As such, it was the first church t attempt a large-scale integratin f Jews and Gentiles int the same cmmunity Never befre in histry had smething like this been attempted Unsurprisingly, this integratin didn t g smthly, nt at first The difficulties were s significant that eventually it prmpted a grand meeting f apstles in Jerusalem t settle the disputes Paul and Barnabas traveled t the meeting t represent the Antich church At that cunsel all the apstles agreed that Gentiles were called int the faith and must be treated as c-equals with Jews Mst imprtantly, they agreed that apart frm a few specific cncessins Gentiles shuld nt adpt Jewish practices and law Nevertheless, Peter cntinued t struggle with living arund Gentiles S when Peter later jined the church in Antich, he acted cntrary t the agreement the apstles made in Jerusalem Specifically, Peter hypcritically returned t distancing himself frm Gentile believers 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Rmans 14 4! f! 23 When Jews frm the Jerusalem church visited Antich, Peter refused t eat at the tables f Gentiles At that pint, Paul chastised Peter fr his hypcrisy Clearly if the apstle Peter struggled t accept Gentile believers, we can be sure many ther Jewish believers had the same truble And as hard as it was fr Jews t accept Gentiles, the ppsite was als true Gentile believers were equally put ff by the ddities f Jewish culture Jews were raised t bserve strict dietary restrictins and t practice unique rituals f daily life When a Jew came t faith in Christ, he r she was suddenly free frm these restrictins and culd live in new and unfamiliar ways Nevertheless, many Jews fund it extremely difficult t abandn their Jewish heritage and lifestyle practices S many first century Jewish believers cntinued in their Jewish traditins The letter f Hebrews was written t stp the mst extreme f these behavirs amng Jewish believers But these practices were bth unfamiliar and unappealing t Gentile believers Jewish zealusness made Gentiles uncmfrtable, especially if cmbined with self-righteusness r haughtiness S Gentile believers resisted integrating with Jewish believers wh maintained their Jewish traditins A key sticking pint fr unity in the bdy was Jewish insistence f never sharing a meal with a Gentile The requirement stemmed frm Jewish dietary restrictins Since a Jew culd nt eat many things that Gentiles cmmnly ate, Jews avided Gentile tables This quickly turned int a prhibitin against entering a Gentile huse r assciated with Gentiles whatsever 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Rmans 14 5! f! 23 This was the same rule Peter was fllwing hypcritically in Antich Obviusly, nthing destrys unity in a cmmunity faster than refusing t eat tgether This is human nature Even amng yung children in schl, wh yu eat with during lunch indicates which cmmunity has accepted yu S fr Jews and Gentiles in the early church, a failure t eat tgether struck at the heart f unity in the bdy Secndarily, Jewish bservance f Sabbath and feasts and ther elements f the law drve the wedge even deeper This is nt a great recipe fr unity in the bdy, which is why Paul set ut t address these issues in this letter But at this pint, we need t ask if these chapters are still relevant t ur church tday? First, there are sme places where this prblem still exists Fr example, the church in present-day Israel still deals with sme f these cncerns Fr these settings, Rmans are immediately applicable And in ther places it s becming mre cmmn t find messianic cngregatins assembling These are (stensibly) Christian gatherings that have adpted a distinctively Jewish style f wrship t appeal t Jewish believers But these grups als attract Gentile believers wh are attracted t understanding the Jewish rts f ur faith In these settings, yu find the ptential fr the same cnflict Paul was addressing in the early church And finally, fr the rest f the church, Paul s teaching remains relevant when cnsidered in a mre general way Even if we aren t dealing with differences between Jew and Gentile, we still cntend with ther differences 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Rmans 14 6! f! 23 Racial differences, natinality differences, cultural differences Believers with different cnvictin, different levels f spiritual maturity, different interpretatins f scripture These differences can lead t similar divisins and difficulties and therefre they can be reslved by applying the principles fund in these chapters S let s turn t chapter 14, and as we bserve Paul s instructin we ll cnsider it s applicatin fr the early church and fr ur situatin tday Rm. 14:1 Nw accept the ne wh is weak in faith, but nt fr the purpse f passing judgment n his pinins. Rm. 14:2 One persn has faith that he may eat all things, but he wh is weak eats vegetables nly. Rm. 14:3 The ne wh eats is nt t regard with cntempt the ne wh des nt eat, and the ne wh des nt eat is nt t judge the ne wh eats, fr Gd has accepted him. Rm. 14:4 Wh are yu t judge the servant f anther? T his wn master he stands r falls; and he will stand, fr the Lrd is able t make him stand. Chapter 14 pens with Paul calling fr ne grup within the bdy t accept (r receive) anther grup As we ll see frm the cntext f Paul s instructins, the first grup are Gentile believers, while the secnd grup are Jewish believers Paul is asking Gentiles in the church t accept r receive Jewish believers int fellwship He wants Gentiles t shw Jews lve despite their dd and ptentially divisive cultural differences He ll ask the same thing in reverse in chapter 15 But fr nw we re lking Gentiles accepting the strange, restrictive practices f Jewish believers Paul refers t the Jewish believers as thse weak in faith T be weak in this cntext is nt a pejrative Paul is speaking in spiritual terms, in the sense f spiritual strength r maturity 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Rmans 14 7! f! 23 In physical terms, it wuld be similar t referring t a 3-year ld tddler as weak in cmparisn t a teenager When we call a tddler weak cmpared t a teenager, we re nt insulting the tddler We re simply describing the bvius differences between the tw A teenager has grwn and matured enugh t lit heavy bjects, while a tddler is nt yet capable f ding the same S naturally, we dn t expect the same things f the tddler that we might f a teenager Paul is asking the church t be similarly understanding fr thse wh are weak spiritually Paul describes Jewish believers as weak in faith in the sense that they felt a need t cntinue bserving aspects f the Law By grace Jewish believers were as free frm the Msaic Law as Gentile believers were Yet many Jews fund this transitin t big f a leap t make right away They felt uneasy abandning their previus cnvictins s abruptly S they tended t maintain Jewish dietary restrictins fr a time if nt frever This was a sign f weakness in faith, in the sense that it meant they were nt strng enugh spiritually t take advantage f the liberty they had in Christ They felt mre cmfrtable in the ld ways even as they walked in the grace f the New Cvenant Their cnscience was still grwing in its appreciatin f liberty And in the meantime they relied n the familiarity and safety f what they understd in the law Of curse, Gentile believers had n truble embrace the liberty they enjyed in the New Cvenant 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Rmans 14 8! f! 23 Gentiles had never been under the Law, s the Law held n attractin fr them, especially in light f grace Fr that same reasn, they lked dwn n thse Jewish believers wh culd nt set the law aside Sme prbably mcked r rejected these weaker believers Or even wrse, the Gentile believers might ve frced the issue by pressuring Jewish believers t g against their cnscience Paul says that the lving way fr Gentiles t accmmdate Jewish believers was t accept them int the bdy uncnditinally Welcme them despite their cntinuing bservance f dietary laws And imprtantly, Paul adds in v.1 that Gentiles weren t t accept Jews merely fr the purpse f passing judgment T accept smene fr the purpse f passing judgment means t bring them in under false pretense We act as if we receive them, when in reality we wn t truly accept them unless and until they cnfrm t ur desires That s nt true acceptance and it s certainly nt lving Nevertheless, Paul acknwledges that Jewish dependence n the Law was nt desirable He was calling fr acceptance f Jews but nly fr the purpse f unity nt fr the purpse f adpting their thelgy Paul was nt endrsing a believer s need t bserve Jewish dietary restrictins Dietary restrictins came abut as part f a Law Gd gave t Israel t serve as a temprary custdian It served t separate Israel frm the rest f the natins, maintaining their uniqueness and identity In Galatians Paul expresses it this way 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Rmans 14 9! f! 23 Gal. 3:19 Why the Law then? It was added because f transgressins, having been rdained thrugh angels by the agency f a mediatr, until the seed wuld cme t whm the prmise had been made. Gal. 3:23 But befre faith came, we were kept in custdy under the law, being shut up t the faith which was later t be revealed. Gal. 3:24 Therefre the Law has becme ur tutr t lead us t Christ, s that we may be justified by faith. Gd added t Israel the Law t help address mankind s sins It was rdained until the Messiah (seed) wuld cme The wrd until makes clear that the Law was intended t be a temprary accmmdatin Paul calls the Law a custdian, a tutr, like a babysitter keeping Gd s peple safe until the parent came t claim the child S any Jewish believer wh understd this truth pssessed spiritual strength in cmparisn t ther Jewish believers wh didn t The strength f their faith was evidenced in their willingness t set aside dietary restrictins that n lnger applied Thse strnger Jewish Christians were willing t eat anything freely But thse wh were weak in regard t these truths will eat vegetables nly Of curse, Gentiles never had such restrictins, s it was easy fr them t lk dwn n any weak Jew, but Paul says that was wrng Interestingly, the Msaic Law didn t require Jews t eat nly vegetables S why did this becme the practice fr thse Jews wh were weak in faith? Mst likely, the Jewish believers living arund Gentiles were eating vegetables nly t avid eating anything unclean There are n unclean vegetables in the Msaic Law 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Rmans 14 10! f! 23 Fresh fruits, vegetables and grains are, in their natural unprcessed state, ksher But if vegetables are cmbined with dairy r meat (r cked in pts that have als been used t ck dairy and meat), then they take n the prperties f these ther fds S the fact that Jews felt they culd nly eat vegetables tells us smething abut the weakness f their faith But it als suggests Gentile believers were shwing n cnsideratin fr their Jewish brthers and sisters They gave n thught t hw pts and dishes were used in the preparatin f fd fr the gathering They may have prepared prk r shellfish r ther unclean fds and thught nthing f hw it wuld ffend their Jewish brthers and sisters And therefre, Jewish believers prbably felt they had n chice but t resrt t vegetarianism t avid eating unclean fd S irnically, wh had the weaker faith? The Jews wh culdn t abandn the Law r the Gentiles wh culdn t shw cnsideratin fr their weak neighbrs? Bth issues needed t be addressed t prmte unity in the Bdy And tgether, they frm tw key principles that still apply tday First we find the principle that we must endeavr t grw in ur appreciatin f relatinships with Christ It s imprtant t avid unduly burdening thers in the bdy with ur spiritual weaknesses Everyne has weakness and the bdy is here t help us But that places us under bligatin t avail urselves f that supprt s we may grw ut f that dependence Secndly, we must be prepared t accept weaker members f the bdy withut passing judgment We expect them t grw in maturity in time But in the meantime, we give them grace and patience 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 Rmans 14 11! f 23! Because in rder fr spiritual grwth t happen, they first must be part f the bdy where they can be trained and encuraged Which is why v.3 Paul says the ne with faith t eat cannt shw cntempt fr thse wh lacked the faith t eat all things Likewise, thse wh bserved dietary restrictins were nt t judge thse wh ate freely Instead, each grup must recgnize that Gd has accepted the ther already n the basis f Christ s sacrifice Our faith in Jesus Christ puts t rest these differences because Christ triumphed in all things n ur behalf Fr the Jew, Christ kept the Old Cvenant Law perfectly s that His perfectin culd be credited t the Jew s accunt by faith And fr the Gentile, Christ fulfills the Abrahamic Cvenant prmised t bless all natins f peple, bringing us righteusness apart frm the Law Fr bth grups, Christ has paid the penalty fr all sin s that neither grup finds its righteusness in wrks, whether eating r nt eating Cnsequently, Paul asks in v.4 hw we can rightly judge the servant f anther master? But faith, bth grups have becme bndslaves f Christ and serve Him accrding t His cmmands Since we cannt knw hw the Lrd is cmmanding each f His servants, hw can we judge whether anyne else is ding the right thing? Apart frm things specifically cmmanded in scripture, we shuld give each believer latitude t bey Christ as they feel cnvicted Paul reminds us that each f us will stand r fall at ur judgment based n hw we respnded t Christ individually We wn t be judged based n what smene else thught we shuld d t please Christ Paul says that Christ is able t make each believer stand 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 Rmans 14 12! f! 23 Christ knws what s best fr each f His servants S if we pay attentin t His directin, we will receive a gd judgment But if we give attentin t anther s pinins rather than Christ s directin, we nt stand we will fall This is the danger f liberalism in the Church Liberalism is taking liberty t far, ignring ur cnvictins s we may g with the crwd Liberalism results frm cmbining the liberty f everyne t arrive at a superset f privileges We abandn ur cnvictins anytime we discver anther believer wh des nt share that cnvictin Such thinking assumes that if it s gd fr ne believer, it s gd fr all believers In reality, liberalism is an abuse f liberty Everyne has a limited range f liberty that Christ has determined is best fr them individually Sme f will drink alchl r smke r play the lttery and sme will nt Sme give 10% f the mney t church, sme will give mre, sme will give less But each f us must pay attentin t ur persnal cnvictins and allw the Spirit t guide these chices Thse wh feel greater liberty must nt impse that freedm n thers thinking we knw better what they need If we press ther believers t explre mre freedm than they therwise feel cmfrtable experiencing, we cause them t sin And if we re successful in cnvincing anther Christians t g against their cnvictins in the name f liberty, we re making a huge mistake We re wunding their cnscience, as Paul explains next 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

13 Rmans 14 13! f! 23 Rm. 14:5 One persn regards ne day abve anther, anther regards every day alike. Each persn must be fully cnvinced in his wn mind. Rm. 14:6 He wh bserves the day, bserves it fr the Lrd, and he wh eats, des s fr the Lrd, fr he gives thanks t Gd; and he wh eats nt, fr the Lrd he des nt eat, and gives thanks t Gd. Rm. 14:7 Fr nt ne f us lives fr himself, and nt ne dies fr himself; Rm. 14:8 fr if we live, we live fr the Lrd, r if we die, we die fr the Lrd; therefre whether we live r die, we are the Lrd s. Rm. 14:9 Fr t this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lrd bth f the dead and f the living. Paul shifts his example frm dietary restrictins t the Sabbath day bservance, but his underlying cncern remains the same Paul says ne persn (the bservant Jew) regards ne day abve anther That ne day, f curse, is the Jewish Sabbath Jews under the Law bserved a Sabbath frm sundwn Friday t sundwn Saturday Sabbath was the high day f the week, and it came with a lng list f restrictins and bservances Obviusly, Gentiles had n such bservance, and Christians in general are nt under such restrictins nw Then in the secnd half f v.5 Paul says anther believer may regard every day alike That refers t nt bserving a Sabbath day at all, regardless f the day f the week Ntice Paul desn t cndemn r crrect such a persn he simply lists this ptin as equally valid with bserving He then adds that whichever way we chse t g, we must be fully cnvinced in ur wn mind, referring t ur cnscience Clearly Paul (and therefre Scripture) has n prblem with Christians frging a Sabbath bservance, whether a Jewish Christian r Gentile As Scripture teaches repeatedly, we are nt under Law 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

14 Rmans 14 14! f! 23 Therefre there is n requirement fr believers t hld ne day abve the rest But by that same tken, a believer may hld ne day abve the rest shuld he chse t d s Again, Christian wh grw in faith wuld be expected t abandn such bservances as they mature Nevertheless, in the meantime we must accept thse wh depend upn such an bservance The pint is that each believer be permitted t fllw his r her wn cnscience n these matters S lng as they feel cnvicted, let them live accrdingly In v.6 Paul reminds us that when we act accrding t ur cnvictins, whether n matters f fd r days f the week r whatever, we are serving Christ in ur heart This is the essence f bedience: ding what we feel cnvicted t d And the crllary is generally als true: sin is acting cntrary t ur cnvictins S Paul says the ne wh bserves a Sabbath in full cnvictin that this is hw they bey and please Christ is ding well And the ne wh desn t bserve a Sabbath day (als as a matter f cnvictin) is ding equally well Because bth are seeking t bey Christ While the Spirit will never lead us cntrary t Scripture, He may ask us t frg ur liberty at times fr ur wn gd These is nthing sinful when a Christian assuming a mre restrictive lifestyle ut f persnal cnvictin Fr example, Christians are nt required t bserve a Sabbath but that desn t necessarily mean it s wrng if a believer chses t bserve ne A Jewish believer culd feel cnvictin t cntinue bserving a Sabbath either because he hadn t been taught therwise r he didn t feel cmfrtable abandning the practice 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

15 Rmans 14 15! f! 23 But if we ask such a persn t g against his cnscience, we re asking that Christian t sin We re erding their cnfidence in their cnvictins We re training them t ignre their internal spiritual cmpass, which is a dangerus precedent Fr example, if a Christian is cnvinced that Christ expects him t bserve a Sabbath even thugh Scripture desn t require it then he must act as his cnscience directs T act cntrary t what he believes Christ wants is an intent t sin, even when it s nt actually sin If we cnvince this Christian that is the best curse, we give them cause t dubt all their cnvictins this is nthing if nt unlving After all, ur gal shuldn t be getting peple t agree with ur viewpint n any matter f liberty Our gal shuld be in helping all believers becme mre bedient t Christ In vs.7-9 Paul says n Christian lives fr himself r dies fr himself, but we exist t serve (that is, t bey) Christ T live r die is Paul s way f referring t the tw perids f a believer s existence spent serving Christ T live refers t the time we serve Christ with ur earthly life nw While t die refers t ur passing frm this life int ur eternal existence, where we will cntinue t serve Christ frever in glry S regardless f whether we re living here r in eternity, we are suppse t serve Christ, nt urselves S we need t leave ther believers t serve Christ as He has called them t d s withut ur interference Dn t try t make ther believers serve yur cnvictins Or serve the pastr s persnal agenda Or serve the church s prgrams and pririties 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

16 Rmans 14 16! f! 23 Paul s nt talking abut crrecting anther believer engaged in sin we re talking abut matters f liberty The general principle underlying Paul s teaching is dn t make yurself anther Christian s Hly Spirit We cannt assign ur cnvictins t anther Whatever the Lrd has placed n ur heart cncerning liberty and varius practices f the faith is fr us alne Barring specific scripture t cntrary, anything anther believer des by faith and cnvictin is prper and must be respected And especially in cases where anther believer s cnvictins fall shrt f enjying all the liberty they have available in Christ, be careful Dn t insist that their cnvictins are wrng they re nt Instead, patiently instruct the believer in scripture s that ver time they will grw strng enugh t enjy liberty Fr example, if a believer feels a cnvictin t abstain frm prk, we shuld respect that cnvictin thugh we knw it t be unnecessary We accmmdate them in lve by aviding serving prk arund them And we say nthing t make them feel unwelcme r disrespected fr their cnvictins We dn t flaunt ur liberty by pulling ut a ham sandwich in frnt f them And we certainly dn t try t fix their prblem by pressuring them t abandn their cnvictins Instead, we accept their cnvictins, seeking t maintain fellwship withut judgment Then we patiently instruct them frm scripture We dn t necessarily seek ut teaching specifically n the issue f prk, again trying t frce the issue We simply teach the whle cunsel f Gd s wrd testing that the Lrd will grw their appreciatin f Christ and grace 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

17 Rmans 14 17! f! 23 As the persn grws in the grace and knwledge f their Lrd, Jesus Christ, they will begin t mature And in that spiritual grwth they will eventually find their cnvictins changing t better align with scripture S in ther wrds, we dn t teach believers t ignre their cnvictins We teach believers the Bible s that the Hly Spirit may change their cnvictins In v.9 Paul says that s why Christ died and rse again, s that He culd be Lrd ver thse wh are being saved and ver a peple fr all eternity His death means even nw, as we live in a sinful bdy, ur service t Christ in faith is acceptable t Gd We dn t have t wait t reach eternity t serve Christ And we d that nw by beying the cnvictins he puts n ur heart And ur service wn t stp when we die it lives n eternally because we have eternal life made pssible by Christ as well But human nature, especially in tight knit grups, is t expect cnfrmity T an extent, cnfrmity in the bdy f Christ is a necessary and healthy expectatin But in cases f spiritual maturity, it s a dangerus expectatin When mre mature believers expect less mature, weaker believers t act as they d, we re prmting liberalism and hurting ur brther r sister Paul raises that cncern next Rm. 14:10 But yu, why d yu judge yur brther? Or yu again, why d yu regard yur brther with cntempt? Fr we will all stand befre the judgment seat f Gd. Rm. 14:11 Fr it is written, As I live, says the Lrd, every knee shall bw t Me, And every tngue shall give praise t Gd. Rm. 14:12 S then each ne f us will give an accunt f himself t Gd Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

18 Rmans 14 18! f! 23 If we demand cnfrmity t ur standards, we re judging a brther T ften we hear peple thrugh arund the statement dn t judge me claiming that the Bible prhibits judging ne anther That s true in certain cntexts and very untrue in thers In matters f sin and righteusness, the bdy f Christ is abslutely called t judge ne anther Paul says it plainly that we are t judge members f the bdy in matters f right and wrng t ensure gd behavir Cr. 5:12 Fr what have I t d with judging utsiders? D yu nt judge thse wh are within the church? 1Cr. 5:13 But thse wh are utside, Gd judges. Remve the wicked man frm amng yurselves. We are t remve the wicked frm amng urselves And this will require judging sin where it exists in the bdy On the ther hand, we are never t judge anther believer n matters f persnal liberty Paul says this here in Rmans and elsewhere Cl. 2:16 Therefre n ne is t act as yur judge in regard t fd r drink r in respect t a festival r a new mn r a Sabbath day Cl. 2:17 things which are a mere shadw f what is t cme; but the substance belngs t Christ. N ne may judge us n things f liberty like fd, drink Sabbath day bservance, etc. 1Cr. 10:28 But if anyne says t yu, This is meat sacrificed t idls, d nt eat it, fr the sake f the ne wh infrmed yu, and fr cnscience sake; 1Cr. 10:29 I mean nt yur wn cnscience, but the ther man s; fr why is my freedm judged by anther s cnscience? Furthermre, Paul says that n man may judge him in matters f persnal cnscience The same is true fr every believer 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

19 Rmans 14 19! f! 23 S a believer s chices and decisins may be judged when these chices are a vilatin f scripture and cnstitute sin But when the matter invlves persnal liberty, n ne may be ur judge Christ alne judges us fr ur cnvictins, because Christ alne sets thse cnvictins And He alne will judge us fr whether we beyed them Can yu think f times when yu acted cntrary t yur cnvictins yet yu weren t sinning necessarily? Yu still felt sme guilt, didn t yu? Yu still regretted yur decisin, even thugh thers arund yu were ding the same thing That s a mment when yu sinned against yur wn cnscience We dn t want t encurage ther believers t act in that way Here s why nt nly will their judgment befre Christ be impacted But s will yur judgment! Paul says at the end f v.10 that we all stand befre the judgment seat f Christ This mment is an evaluatin fr reward, nt fr the assignment f punishment We all will face this mment with sme regrets But the grace f Gd is greater than ur sin, s in frgiveness and mercy we will receive a reward But we dn t want t send thers much less urselves int that mment with any mre baggage than necessary Irnically, we might think we re ding smene a favr by cnvincing them t enjy a prk chp when they resist But in reality, we re hurting their future judgment because we re leading them t sin 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

20 Rmans 14 20! f! 23 And we re hurting ur wn judgment t, because we re sinning in cnvincing them t g against their cnvictins Rm. 14:13 Therefre let us nt judge ne anther anymre, but rather determine this nt t put an bstacle r a stumbling blck in a brther s way. Rm. 14:14 I knw and am cnvinced in the Lrd Jesus that nthing is unclean in itself; but t him wh thinks anything t be unclean, t him it is unclean. Rm. 14:15 Fr if because f fd yur brther is hurt, yu are n lnger walking accrding t lve. D nt destry with yur fd him fr whm Christ died. Rm. 14:16 Therefre d nt let what is fr yu a gd thing be spken f as evil; Rm. 14:17 fr the kingdm f Gd is nt eating and drinking, but righteusness and peace and jy in the Hly Spirit. Rm. 14:18 Fr he wh in this way serves Christ is acceptable t Gd and apprved by men. Rm. 14:19 S then we pursue the things which make fr peace and the building up f ne anther. Rm. 14:20 D nt tear dwn the wrk f Gd fr the sake f fd. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil fr the man wh eats and gives ffense. Rm. 14:21 It is gd nt t eat meat r t drink wine, r t d anything by which yur brther stumbles. Instead, let s make a gal f help nt hurting thers in their wn pursuit f bedience t Christ Make it easier fr peple t receive a gd reward at the judgment mment Wrk n remving bstacles t their bedience Dn t make things harder A stumbling blck is any hindrance that causes a believer t sin But the imaginary is deep than that In literal terms it means causing smene t cease walking with Christ T cease listen t Him in their cnvictins, t cease seeking t please Him S anything that leads a believer away frm walking with Christ is a stumbling blck 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

21 Rmans 14 21! f! 23 Althugh there is nthing unclean t a Christian, as Paul says in 14, it must be a matter f persnal cnvictin Paul says he was cnvinced t that truth, but he als says there will be thse in the bdy wh are nt s cnvinced And that persn must d as they feel cnvicted in matters f liberty But if take the issue f fd and use it t lead smene away frm their cnvictins, we are their stumbling blck even thugh eating is nt a sin We have hurt a brther n accunt f fd, smething wrthless and temprary Fd supprts ur physical bdy, a temprary vessel that we eventually leave behind S wuld yu sacrifice an eternal utcme t achieve a limited earthly utcme? That s nt shwing lve t yur brther r sister Ultimately, ur missin is t build the Kingdm f Gd by recruiting citizens and training them t be ready t serve in that place And the way t achieve thse gals is nt fund in questins f fd r drink, eating r drinking Paul says in v.17 We achieve ur missin by pursuing and furthering the pursuit f righteusness, peace and jy in the Hly Spirit Righteusness refers t resting in the saving faith we ve received by faith, nt by wrks Peace refers t fllwing ur cnvictin with a cnscience untrubled by pressure t cnfrm And jy in the Hly Spirit means knwing we have pleases Christ by ur bedience These are ur pririty fr urselves and every believer Thse wh live this way are acceptable t Gd and apprved by men 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

22 Rmans 14 22! f! 23 Gd is pleased and thers in the bdy f Christ will respect us fr living accrding t ur cnvictins We can all respect thse wh live by cnvictins We have little respect fr thse wh say ne thing and d anther Furthermre, we may find it necessary at times t restrict ur wn liberty t accmmdate the weakness f thers In v.21 Paul says it is gd t abstain frm fd r drink that ffends r tempts anther if it hlds ptential t undermine their eternal judgment That s what s at stake here Yu re nt just trying t make them feel better r avid a bad mment Yu re prtecting them against a bad judgment Paul summary s his argument in vs Rm. 14:22 The faith which yu have, have as yur wn cnvictin befre Gd. Happy is he wh des nt cndemn himself in what he apprves. Rm. 14:23 But he wh dubts is cndemned if he eats, because his eating is nt frm faith; and whatever is nt frm faith is sin. Rule #1: in whatever faith yu have, hld t it as a matter f cnvictin befre Gd Dn t let liberalism cmprmise yur cnvictins Dn t apprve things yu dn t truly feel free t enjy Fr in ding s, yu cndemn yurself befre Gd Rule #2: if yu have dubts but press ahead anyway, yu are sinning even when the act itself is nt specifically sinful Because t act cntrary t faith is itself sin S we can t fall back n liberty as an excuse fr ur willingness t ignre cnvictins We are still cnvicted 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

23 Rmans 14 23! f! 23 And Rule #3: lve fr ur fellw brthers and sisters requires we accept their cnvictins withut passing judgment Dn t persuade them t walk away frm thse cnvictins Dn t act insensitively s as t stumble them Rather, supprt their bedience while teaching them s they might mature their cnvictins Next week we examine the ther side f this cin: Jewish believers accepting Gentile believers int their bdy 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.