say in a little bit of time. So what I'd like to do today is finish up some of the applications from Chapter 21 and then move into Chapter 22. So it's not ideal, but I'm kind of in a time crunch. I've been encouraged to finish up what I wanted to say on chapter 21, but I also got to get to 22. So Rex, I don't want to cause you any headaches in terms of recording purposes. I guess you could just probably put them together. But before we begin, let's pray together. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your mercies to us. Every day of our lives, they are new every morning. Your faithfulness is great. It's awesome. But we thank you most of all for your mercy and grace to us in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank you that the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all of your elect people. We praise you for this. This is the sole reason why we are here is because you have saved us and redeemed us and ransomed us. and taken us out of darkness and placed us into the marvelous light of Jesus Christ. Thank you, Father. We pray that He would be honored in our hearts and souls. We pray that as He is the Lord of our conscience, You would help us to obey Him, to know His Word, to hear His voice, and to be freed from any and all traditions and opinions and evaluations and standards of men. So help us, Lord, to be those who are truly Christ's sheep, who truly hear Him and do not follow after the stranger's voice. And we ask this in Jesus' name, amen. Okay, so the first application that we talked about last Sunday was the limiting powers or the limiting authority of government over the church. So we talked about the separation of church and state. We talked about how that's really an independent or Baptistic view of the government. That doesn't mean that God is somehow separated from politics or from our government. It just means that our government does not have the right to impose anything on us concerning the worship of God. The government needs to not meddle in the church's business. And I think we can draw right applications right from this chapter on that issue. So, let's secondly look at the unity of Christians in the church and how chapter 21 on Christian liberty and liberty of conscience addresses this issue. This chapter in the confession also helps us maintain unity in the church. Now, I think a good slogan for every church to live by is, in essentials, unity, in non-essentials, liberty, and in all things, charity. Not exactly sure where that came from. Obviously, that's not directly from the Bible, but I think it imbibes some good principles from the Bible. If we're talking about things essential, we must be united in that. If we're talking about things that are non-essential, we need to give each other the liberty to to live according to those things, to follow after those things, even if we disagree. But in all things, we need to show each other charity and love. But for our purposes, the phrase, in non-essentials, liberty deserves consideration. Non-essentials are things not clearly laid out in the scriptures, things not expressly commanded or forbidden, and do not impede the truths of the gospel. Historically, they have been called adiaphora, or things indifferent. That's what the word literally means. So here are some of those things. Dress, cosmetics, food and drink, sports and entertainment, health and medical decisions, occupations, financial planning, insurance, education, and many other things would probably fall under this category. The Apostle Paul teaches us about a non-essential thing in two places. 1 Corinthians 8, Romans 14, when he's talking about food and drink, he says, "...food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do." And again in Romans 14, "...for the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." So things such as food and drink do not affect our standing before God. They do not make us holier or more sinful if we partake or abstain." Those are non-essential things. These things are still grounded in and guarded by moral principles. So if we're thinking of food and drink, there are prohibitions against self-harm and gluttony and things of that nature. So we shouldn't be putting things in our body that's going to destroy us. And we shouldn't be overeating and over-drinking and over-indulging in things. But the Scriptures give us liberty in the application and practice of things like these in our lives. So what should be done when brothers in the church disagree on things like these, especially the precise application of these things? For instance, how should brothers treat each other when one feels strongly about not drinking alcohol and another sees no problems with doing so? I'm not saying that they want to go get drunk, but they have no problems just with drinking a glass of wine. Well, if the issue is truly non-essential, and of course that needs to be discerned first and foremost, We can say something is non-essential when it really is essential. So you've got to really figure out, is this something pertaining to Christian liberty? But if it is, we need to follow the instructions of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 8-10 and Romans 14-15 concerning the weaker and stronger brother. In these passages, we are told that the weaker brother was convinced that to eat meat sacrificed to idols in the marketplaces was sinful, and therefore he chose to eat only vegetables. But the stronger brother, on the other hand, knew that idols were nothing. and had no scruples giving thanks to God for the meat and even enjoying the meat." Christians were living in Rome and Corinth and these pagan places and the meat was being sacrificed to idols before it was sold in the marketplaces. And the stronger brother said, idols are nothing because that's what the Apostle Paul said. And so go ahead and eat this meat. But there were the weaker brethren, he said, no, this is actually sacrifice to an idol, to some false god, to some demon. How could I ever eat of something like this? So I'm just going to choose to eat vegetables. I'm not going to buy the meat from the marketplaces. So there's disagreement within these churches, the church in Corinth, the church in Rome, about what to do about this situation. So how are brothers to live in harmony with one another in the same church when they disagree on things like these? Well, the Apostle Paul gives these instructions. I've tried to just summarize what he says in 1 Corinthians 8-10 and Romans 14-15. First, do not fight and quarrel with each other, but accept and welcome each other. And here's the verses. Romans 14-1, as for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him. but not to quarrel over opinions." Romans 14.3, let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Romans 15.7, therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you for the glory of God. It's not to condemn each other as somehow being pagans or non-Christians because you disagree on this subject. Welcome each other as Christ has welcomed you. Accept this person as a brother, a true, genuine brother in Christ, even though you disagree. Secondly, do not despise each other, but patiently serve each other. Romans 15.1, we who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. That means not try to force them to believe your opinion or your view on a particular subject or issue. Be patient with them. Serve them. In a right way, try to please them and help them along. Be patient with them. Third, do not selfishly insist on your own way, but deny yourself. Romans 14, 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. Romans 15, 2, Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 1 Corinthians 8, 13, Therefore if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble. 1 Corinthians 10.24, let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. And 1 Corinthians 10.32-33, give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many that they may be saved. So Paul was even willing to deny himself of something that was pertaining to Christian liberty in order to not put a stumbling block or a hindrance in the way of another brother or sister in Christ. That's how much he loved the brethren. He was willing to forego legitimate things in his own life so he could help the people of God. And do not flaunt your freedom, but keep it private. Romans 14.22, 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. 1 Corinthians 8, 9 through 10, but take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, will he not be encouraged if his conscience is weak to eat food offered to idols? 1 Corinthians 10, 28. But if someone says to you, this has been offered in sacrifice, then do not eat it for the sake of the one who informed you and for the sake of his, not your, conscience. So there's this thing, if you have the liberty to do something and you know it's going to be offensive in the eyes of another brother or sister, keep it private. There's no reason to flaunt your liberty. There's no reason to shove it in another brother or sister's face. It's just a part of love, Pastor Sam. That's right. I mean, that's a main problem with kind of the new Calvinist movement out there. They just want to flaunt their liberty so often, or they just want to assert their liberty so much that they're offensive to other people, and they don't care. Well, they should care. I mean, I remember, and Blake could probably attest to this, but when I went to Nairobi, Kenya, I mean, if you were a Christian and you drank alcohol at all, like you would be seen as not a Christian at all. It was just, it was so part of the culture that alcohol was just absolutely a, it's a sin in their eyes, a lot of their eyes. And so I would never go over there and somehow, you know, buy some wine or beer or hard liquor at the liquor store and start drinking in front of these people. I mean, you want to talk about starting a wildfire in a church? You want to talk about blowing up a bomb within a congregation? That's how you do it. I mean, do I think they're right about that? No. But at the same time, I love those brothers. At the same time, I'm not going to try to put a stumbling block before them. If I have an opportunity to teach them and enlighten them, sure. But that's not going to be the first thing I do when I go over there. And so if I have that liberty, I'm going to try to keep it private between myself and God. And that doesn't mean you're being a hypocrite. You might do it at home, but you don't do it in public. That doesn't mean you're a hypocrite. It just simply means that you respect the conscience of other people. I mean, if somebody asks you about it, you don't deny it. But again, we just have to be very careful about these non-essential issues, and we must respect each other's convictions about this, and not put a stumbling block in the way of another brother. So in essence, never budge on the principle of your freedom in Christ, but be pliable in your practice of your freedom before other Christians. So for instance, if hardened legalists sneak in to steal our freedom and enslave us, the gospel compels us to stand firm in our freedom before them. So, for instance, if somebody does say, well, if you drink alcohol and they come into this congregation and they say, that means you're not a Christian, and they begin to condemn every single person who's sitting here, we need to stand firm on the freedom that Christ has given us. But listen to what Martin Luther has to say. And he's referring to the priests and the papists who were requiring all kinds of things in order to be justified before God. This is what he says. On the one hand, the Christian encounters the stubborn and obstinate ceremonialists. Like deaf adders, they do not want to hear freedom's truth, but instead they boast about their ceremonies as the means of justification. Imperiously, I'm sorry. commanding and insisting on them quite apart from faith. Against these people one ought to resist, do the opposite, and boldly offend them, so that they do not mislead many others as well by this ungodly opinion. In their presence it is appropriate to eat meat, to break fasts, and for the freedom of faith do other things that they take for the greatest of sins." He's saying there's a sense where you can rightly offend another person who's trying to enslave you. And Paul does this in Galatians chapter 2 with Titus. He refused to have Titus circumcised because of the Judaizers. So that's kind of what he's referencing here. Yeah, that's right. That's right. Yeah. That's right. He's talking about during Lent, the fast days where on Fridays you couldn't eat meat at all. It was a grievous sin against God to eat meat on Fridays. So he said, what do you do in front of the papists? You eat meat. Because again, they're trying to enslave the people in the sacramentalism, in these ceremonies that had nothing to do with Christianity. They were just made up. You can't find them in the Bible. So, in that sense, we need to stand firm in the freedom that Christ has given us. But if a weak and ignorant brother is incorrectly troubled and offended by our actions, the gospel informs us to be willing to forgo our freedoms out of love for these sort of people. So again, Martin Luther. On the other hand, the Christian encounters the simple. uneducated, ignorant, and as Paul calls them, weak in faith, who cannot yet understand this freedom of faith, even if they want to. Care must be taken not to offend these people, but to defer to their weakness until they are more fully instructed." He goes on the quote, he goes on to say that, You know, these people back in his day were just so spiritually abused by the priests. They weren't taught the law of God. They weren't taught the gospel of Jesus Christ. They were taught, again, all of these different sacraments and ceremonies and religious rituals to observe. And so, Martin Luther's saying, pity these people. Be patient with these people. Right? They're not coming into your churches and insisting that you do this or that in order to be saved. These people are genuine Christians, so let's be patient with them. And if we can forego certain freedoms in order to help them out, then let's do that. The gospel calls us to do that, because Christ has done that for us. Yeah, a lot depends on the person's disposition and their motivation and intention and why they get offended. Again, if they're hardened, if they're trying to enslave you, you need to respond in one way. If they're weak, if they're ignorant in the faith, then you need to respond in another. So we shouldn't be just so quick to condemn people. We shouldn't be just so quick. I mean, we need to find out who this person is, what he's saying, why he's saying it. We've got to do some investigative work. But the main thing is we need to be willing to forgo certain freedoms in order to love our brethren. Because again, the ultimate goal of Christian liberty is not to please ourselves and do what we want. It's to serve the Lord Jesus Christ and the people of God. So, do not slavishly submit to another's conscience, but be sensitive to it. Now, I think if we do these things, we will respect each other's convictions and pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding in the church, even if we do not see eye to eye on non-essential things. But again, it's got to be a non-essential thing. It's not like somebody can say, well, I don't see eye to eye with what our confession says about the doctrine of the Trinity or justification by faith alone or the deity of Christ. You need to respect my convictions and allow me to be a member in good standing in this church. No. We'll work with you, we'll try to be patient with you, but no, that's an essential thing. That's something that we must be united on. We must be on the same page about. But there's these other things, and there's a lot of them, a lot of them, that we have to work together, we have to be patient with one another, and we have to be willing to disagree in love. 10, 12 years old. My mother had a lifelong friend who lived up in Bedford, Indiana, who would come down once a year and stay with us for about a week and go to the Ellis Park and go to the races. She was Catholic. Very devout Catholic, by the way. And I remember the time when she came down and she informed us that she was going to be there on a Friday and that she couldn't eat meat. And I'm thinking, I'm a 10-year-old 12-year-old. uh and my whole life you know and she made a comment when we sat down to eat and we had grilled hamburgers on the grill and she ate I think a bowl of tomato soup or something I'm sitting here thinking in a 10-12 year old's mind well one of us is going to hell because I'm going to eat meat But we were taught early on, respect that person's opinions. And she was very respectful to us. But it was always a big thing in my mind. Why are these things that we deal with, different churches, different religious backgrounds, why is it that wine or grape juice or no meat or meat or such You know, it just doesn't mean anything, but it had me all messed up, because as a 10-year-old boy who was eating that hamburger, I really enjoyed it. And you have the liberty to enjoy that hamburger, Pastor Sam. And yet, we talked about chapter 21 of the Confession, and he had such a beautiful perspective about it. He doesn't have a problem with other people. He knows that they don't have this problem. All things are permissible, but not all things are helpful. And for some people, drinking alcohol is really helpful. But it was just a beautiful And obviously, ideally, it would be nice that we think the same about every doctrinal issue. And as pastors, we should try to teach you guys these sort of things. So if your conscience is wrong about something like alcohol, we at least want to teach you It's not inherently sinful to partake of it, but we have to be patient with one another. And we're going to be, you know, on different parts of the spectrum on a lot of these practical issues. And that's where, again, we just need to respect one another. Tom? and I said, in sanctification, don't think of it as cause and effect, if it's legal, or I'm not allowed to do it, but think of it as a means to the end. I may have the liberty to watch certain things, but they may incapacitate me spiritually to keep in a spiritual mindset. And when Paul's talking about it, buffet my body and bring it into subjection, he may be giving up things that are perfectly legal for Christians to do. to run this race, he says, they're not helping me on. So think of the means to an end instead of positive effect. And everything's not legal. It's what are you aiming for in the end? And so legal things may be put aside so that I'm able to run this race. Yeah, so your motivation, your intention, your purpose is the glory of God in your purview in whatever you do that should really help shape and form and fashion your whole life. Whether we eat or drink, we do all to the glory of God, as Paul says in this very section in Corinthians. Pastor Sam? But Tom Brady is well known, and he's certainly not a Christian, but here's what he is like. When you read about his lifestyle and how he eats and how he takes care of himself, everything is calculated to let him continue to play quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And he denies himself all sorts of things that I'm sure he would think were legitimate for other people. But he's got a goal in mind. and he's disciplining himself with that goal. And I think that's a kind of worldly illustration of how Christians should think about a lot of these issues. Yeah, absolutely. Ryan, and then Bryce. I guess more of a, I don't know, application question, just knowing in particular the issue of appropriate way to broach that subject as far as like, if we're planning on having someone over for dinner, not knowing where they're coming from, like, would it would it even be appropriate to ask? Is there a particular? Yeah, do you drink wine? Is there a particular type of wine or something that you drink or even asking that question? We're just kind of trying to think through what's the best way to? Yeah. I don't think it's wrong to ask somebody that. It shows that you're being considerate and kind. I mean, maybe the first time you have somebody over and you don't know them very well, you should just put the alcohol away in general until you kind of develop some trust or a little bit of a relationship with somebody. But if you wanted to ask, I don't see anything wrong with that. I see that you're really trying to respect where they're at and you don't want to offend them. I mean, sometimes we ask about food, you know, what sort of food do you like to eat? Do you have any allergies? You know, is there something that you don't want me to cook? I mean, again, you're just trying to respect, you know, another person and try to please them in a right way. So if you want to include in on that conversation, you know, what do you like to drink? I mean, I don't know, Pastor Joe, you got anything to add on that? Okay. Bryce. That's right. And hyperbolic chambers that they'll sleep in. Yeah. Blake. Yeah. And it worked out for the other families good in the sense that they still don't think that And it was good that they talked about that at the very beginning so that there wouldn't be any misunderstanding or anything like that. Good. Well, let's move on to the last application I want to make here, and it's the freedom of Christians in their own lives. Christian freedom gives us individual freedom to freely follow God. Our standard is no longer the traditions of men, the convictions and expectations of others, and even our own thoughts and feelings. Christ has freed us with His precious blood from all other rules and standards and regulations to follow the perfect law of liberty. God alone is the Lord of our conscience, and His law is our ultimate standard. So I like what the pulpit commentary says, maybe it was about a verse in 1 Corinthians chapter 10. But it says, the mere fact that another person thinks that we are doing wrong does not furnish the smallest proof that we are doing wrong. We stand or fall only to our own master, and our consciences are free to form their own independent conclusion. Of course, not apart from the Word of God. But it's just saying we're freed from the opinions of men, right? Just because somebody thinks what I'm doing is wrong does not mean it's wrong. But we live in a society where if you offend somebody, you're always in the wrong all the time. I mean, there's just all kinds of false guilt out there because somebody got upset at something that you said or something that you did. So obviously you're the person who's to be blamed. Well, we're freed from that sort of thing, brothers. Christ is the Lord of our conscience, not another man or woman or authority figure. So as we follow God's law, we can know that He is pleased with us no matter what others think. And I'd like to say, and while we are living within the parameters of God's law, we can live freely. God's law is a law of liberty, not drudgery. or slavery. Within the confines of God's law there is freedom. Freedom to enjoy God's gifts. Freedom to try new things. Freedom to pursue things that please us. And freedom to do, in some ways, what we wish, as we are within the parameters of God's law. As Christians, God does not overburden us like our federal government does with mundane and meticulous rules and regulations. God is not like this taskmaster or micromanager in the sense that He gives us 10,000 rules to follow. Really, He gives us 10. And yes, He has broad applications, but He gives us 10. Not 11, not 12, not 100, not 1,000, He gives us 10. Jesus said in Matthew 11.30, For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. 1 John 5.3, For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome. Psalm 119 verse 45, And I shall walk in a wide place, For I have sought your precepts." So the law of God is a fence, but not a fence which makes up a cage. You know, like you're some dog stuck in this tiny little area and you can't move around at all. But it's a fence which marks off a wide and blessed field we have freedom to run in. If you hop over that fence, you should rightly feel guilty and repent. But if you stay inside the fence, there is no reason to condemn yourself for things that God does not condemn you for. Don't feel bad about doing things that God has not told you are bad. Don't make laws for yourself that God doesn't make for you. So if you're one who struggles with false guilt, when it sets in, ask yourself questions like, what law am I actually living by? Whose expectations am I trying to meet? What standard am I holding myself to? What voice am I listening to? Who told me this was right or wrong? Just some diagnostic questions to ask ourselves because sometimes we get in this flow and this routine where we're obeying all these commands that aren't even found in the Bible. And we never really step back and consider, what standard am I actually living by? I think that's the reason for a lot of false guilt. Either somebody told you to live this way, or you just came up with this way of living yourself, or you learned it from another person, and then you say, I have to live this way, and if I deviate at all, I'm sinning against God. Well, brethren, we always need to go back to the Word, because it is a wide field that we can walk in. If it is God's Word rightly understood and applied, then listen to it. But if it comes from somewhere else, we as Christ's sheep must refuse to give heed to its accusations and slavishly follow it. Remember what Jesus said in John 10, verses 2-5, "'But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow. but they will flee from Him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." So brethren, may God help us to know Christ's voice and follow Christ's voice and reject all others. Again, that is the freedom that Christ has set us free. The standard that we live by is God's law. Not my law, not your law, Not some church's law, but God's law. And there is freedom there. Real freedom. I mean, just think about your lives. We all have different kinds of hobbies. We have all the different kinds of things that we like. We have all different sort of jobs and occupations. There is freedom in the Christian life. We're not just carbon copies of one another that have to do the exact same things. Yes, spiritually we should be doing these things, but again, just in life in general, God gives us great variety and great things to enjoy. So praise Him for that. Praise Him we live in the new covenant era where there is much gospel freedom. And again, let's just continue to devote ourselves to the Word of God. I mean, this is just, it is an exhortation to know the voice of Jesus Christ. How much should we know the Word of God, meditate on the Word of God, love the Word of God, so that when these other voices start chirping in our ears, we don't listen to them? Because we can recognize the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we can recognize the voice of a stranger. So, may we just continue to dive into God's Word, to love it, to eat it up, to hide it in our hearts, that we would not sin against Him. Does anybody have any final comments? Yeah. No. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Jesus condemned the scribes and Pharisees for that very thing. So, yeah, you want to talk about an oppressive system to live under? It's wokeism. I mean, every single thing that you say you have to try to not offend somebody. And even if you didn't mean it that way, they'll take it in the worst possible terms, and you're out. That is oppression, brethren, because that's legalism. Yeah. That and a whole lot of areas where This is what the culture had thought, or this is what the culture had taught for the longest time, and there were very few people actually going back to the Word of God and checking it and trying to see if it aligned with the Word, and they just took it for granted. It's hard to get out of that, but the solution is to continue to go back to God's Word and say, what does God say about this? Are there specific restrictions and prohibitions? And I want to follow them. But if He's given me freedom, I don't need to bind up my conscience on things that God doesn't bind me up on. Yeah, and in no way makes us be antinomians or to not care about sin or holiness. It just means that Christ has come and he's freed us from the oppression of living under heavy yokes, which no man can bear. Pastor Sam. There is a doctrine of desire in the Bible. Again, it's got to be rightly qualified, but if you're within the parameters of God's law, we have freedom to do what we want in that sense. Right? Use your money to buy these various things. And we could differ on what we use our money to buy these things on, but we can still enjoy them and give thanks to God for them and glorify Him in that. David? It's also important to remember, though, when people are coming out of a legalistic background, just kind of giving it from that standpoint, be careful of letting them come to the knowledge of what's right and wrong, rather than, okay, so if you know something's right, don't necessarily push them into it so quick, because if they do it too early, like God says, the weaker brother does something, and through your meat, he perishes. In other words, he does it in a sinful manner still because he hasn't come to the light and knowledge that you have. So therefore, his own conscience being weak condemns him. So be careful of pushing those brothers coming out of that background too quickly and let them come to the light. Amen. That's why we have to be patient with one another. and not force something on another brother or sister who's not comfortable with it at all. Again, it's a non-essential thing. But if somebody's like, no, I don't really see justification by faith alone. I mean, I'll be patient and try to teach you that, but you can't be a member of our church. You know what I mean? We'll be patient with you in the sense of we want you to be converted. We'll meet with you. We'll keep preaching the gospel to you. But you know, you're not going to enjoy the fellowship of a local church if you deny these cardinal doctrines of the faith. But again, a non-essential thing. We've got to have that category of non-essential things. You've got to have that category of adiaphora. We've got to have that category of Christian liberty stuff. And the Bible gives us a lot of directions about how we are to deal with those things. So praise God for that. Anything else? Well, I didn't even get to chapter 22. We're pretty much out of time.