Okay, well it's good to see you all here this morning. And we are returning to our study, large subject, local church unity. This particular section we're looking at is the love of the brethren. You can't have true local church unity apart from the love of the brethren. I've been taking us through 1 John chapter 4. Uh, verse seven down to chapter five, verse three. And we won't look at all those verses for time's sake this morning because we have actually, believe it or not, quite a bit of material to cover. I've been through seven of the nine reasons that John sets before us for the love of the brethren. What, what, why should we love the brethren? Uh, how, How seriously should we look at it? Well, John gives us nine reasons why we should love the brethren. I will just go over the headings real quick and refresh your mind and mine. This Christian love is God-like. It's like God. God is love and that's one reason why we should love the brethren as well. Second reason was that Christian love is the fruit of God's grace. If you think about that text, probably one of the most well-known texts in 1 John, we love because he first loved us. So it's the fruit of God's grace. The absence of Christian love, reason number three, is that it indicates that such a person does not know God. If anyone does not love, John says he does not know God, for God is love. The fourth reason he's reinforcing our need to love our brethren is that this Christian love is our duty because God has loved us this way. If God so loved us, so we ought to love one another. And then reason number five. This Christian love is one of God's purposes in saving us. That little phrase there in verse 12, His love has been perfected in us. When we love the brethren, God's purpose for us is fulfilled. We reach one of the goals of God's grace for us. Number six, reason number six, this Christian love is fitting Because our brethren are the best image bearers we know. I especially like this. It takes a little bit of thought to see it in the verse, verse 20. He says, no one has seen God at any time. Well, that's true. Moses saw the backside of God. Moses saw the burning bush. Other people have seen Theophanies, but nobody's actually seen God himself. He's invisible. But we do see the image of God in our brethren. They are the best image bearers because they are having their image restored. And then number seven, we're coming very close to what we're looking at this morning. In fact, it is one of the emphases we're going to look at in some detail this morning. God commands us to love our brethren in chapter four, verse 21. This is the commandment we have from him. that the one who loves God should love his brother also. There's a direct connection between the love of God and the love of the brethren. And God means business. God's not messing around. God's not just saying something nice to say. But he gives us commands to love the brethren. And this is not a piece of legalism. It's not inappropriate for God to give us commandments. We ought to be thankful. I think it was Richard Baxter who was saying sometimes people complain about how many things we tell them they need to do, but actually it's good in God to tell us what we should do. Otherwise, who are we? What are we gonna be like? What Peter says, you were straying like sheep. That's who we are by nature. In our sinful condition, we stray. So God has made sure that we understand that he means business, that we should love the brethren. He's given us commandment. He insists on it. Well, the next point, which we have barely touched, is that true Christians love those who are born of their Heavenly Father. If you don't have your Bible open to 1 John 5 yet, please do that and look at verse 1. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. So, if you are one of those blessed people who believe, that Jesus is the Messiah is only one explanation for that. It's not that you're smart. It's not that you've been to church all your life. It says God has given you the new birth. That's why you believe the way you ought to believe that Jesus is the Christ. Oh, I know. You can read the catechism. You can read theologians. You can open your Bible and see the verses that say that Jesus is the Messiah. but real, genuine, saving apprehension that Jesus is the Messiah is the result of God's converting grace. That's John's point. Every Christian who really believes that Jesus is the Messiah, there's only one reason why they believe that, The way they ought to believe that is that they're born of God. So God's their father. And John says, whoever loves the father loves the child born of him. You see the connection that John is making. The people of God, we believe that Jesus is our Messiah. We believe that there's no other way to be saved. There's no other way to have our sins forgiven. There's no other way to be made into the likeness of Christ, but believing in Jesus as our Messiah. So every Christian, every real Christian, is someone who has been born of God. They're in God's family. And that's where 5.1b comes in. Whoever loves the father loves the child born of him. So just think what heaven's going to be like. I know that most of you love to get together with your whole family. You have a big family, the more the merrier. So you go to a state park, you rent the gazebo maybe, you bring your hot dogs, you bring your food, you bring your salads, and everybody comes. Isn't that, that is wonderful. Heaven is going to be much better. There's gonna be nobody missing from the family. People are not going to be at one another's throat. They're not going to be arguing that, hey, look, I got that white elephant at the Christmas party and the white elephant you gave me wasn't near as much, weren't as much as the present I gave you. There's going to be none of that in heaven. Nobody's going to be disappointed. Nobody's going to be frustrated. No arguments are going to break out in heaven. This is what the hymn writer says. I've reflected on it a lot. I probably quoted a lot. Their perfect love and friendship reign throughout eternity. That's going to be heaven. People think they have great parties here on earth. Oh, we're going to have a great party. Yeah. And to think about all the sinful things they're going to do. Heaven is going to be a place where we're going to enjoy the company of the brethren with no regrets, no hangovers, nobody's going to throw up at one of the tables. It's going to be perfect. And all the brethren are going to be there. And there's gonna be nobody up this way because in this world, we sometimes have these experiences where we go into a church and we see somebody there we're not quite on the right terms with. I was talking to June and Lisa on the way down. And I say, you know, I've been a Christian for over 50 years and I still don't like to confront the brethren. I don't like to do it. So sometimes they can put a little damper on your spirit when you're there with the brethren and you know, well, we have a problem. Sister, so-and-so, brother, so-and-so, we have a problem. So that takes some of the edge off the praise God that we're all here. Hopefully that doesn't happen too often and you can deal with it. It's not gonna happen in heaven. Not once. And think about it, the unending years of eternity, when we've been there says Newton, I think probably somebody else wrote this line by the way. When we've been there 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun, we've no less days to sing God's praise than when we first begun. So that's heaven for you, brethren. That's what we've got coming for us. And in heaven, again, there'll be none of the problems that we have in terms of our heart or our mind or our mood. It's funny, sometimes you wake up in a mood, right? And you say, I got up on the wrong side of the bed. So it's not really, and I heard a very godly man talk about this. He said, there are days when I wake up and I want to kick the dog and bite my wife. One of the brethren from the Caribbean said to me one time, it's like the tongue and the teeth. The teeth really don't mean to bite the tongue, but they do. So that was a nice quaint way of saying sometimes I don't have the right attitude toward my wife. But there's going to be none of that in heaven. None of that. Why? Because everybody in heaven is born of God and every one of us is going to love every other Christian perfectly. It's such an interesting thing to see the attitudes that can creep up and the fellowship between Christians. Sometimes you can feel it in the air. I was talking to one of my pastors, I won't tell you who. It's probably a good idea not to say too much, but I saw him. We have a wonderful relationship. good fellowship, goodwill. And I said to him, you know, it wasn't always like that, Pastor. It wasn't always like that. There were times when we would get together and I could feel the tension. And he said to me, it's not like that anymore, is it? I said, no, it's not. What a relief. What a relief. to be able to look at a brother or a sister straight in the eye, all the way back to the retinas, as Pastor Martin used to say. And know that there's nothing, nothing between, no unresolved conflicts. But this is not heaven. And that's why God gives these commandments. And this is why, in this section of 1 John, commandment plays a prominent role Right? In verse 21 of chapter four, this is the commandment we have from him. And then he turns aside to this issue of that we're all children in the same family. You know, in the corporate world, they always say that. In the corporate world, they have these meetings and they say, you know, we're all one big family. No, generally speaking, we are not. We try, but no, it's not family. And it's certainly not like church. But that's what John does. He reminds us that God has given us a commandment to love one another. And then he brings in the family issue in verse five, chapter one of verse five, and then he continues on. By this we know, how do you know? How can you tell that you love the brethren? How can you tell that you don't love the brethren? Well, John gives us a test. He says, figure it out. Think about this. Verse 2, by this we know that we love the brethren, that we love the children of God. How do we know? When we love God and observe His commandments. And the next verse says, this is the law of God that we keep his commandments and his commandments are not burdensome. So here John is talking about Christian love and the love of the brethren and he brings in commandment. Now there are certain groups among evangelical Christians who don't like these verses. I'm gonna say they don't like them and I'm going to solicit your input because I want to prove that there are Christians who don't like certain Bible verses. They should love them, they should embrace them. We all should, right? Okay, so what do you call those people who don't like commandments in the Bible? They don't want to be bothered, they don't think it applies to them. What does they call that theological difference? I see Walter's face gleaming, so I'm pretty sure he knows the answer. Antinomianism, that's correct. And antinomianism is against law. These are people who say Christ has fulfilled the curse of the law. We are no longer under law, but under grace, Romans chapter six. So they say, huh, keep that commandment stuff out of my heart and mind. I don't believe that commandments have any more place in my Christian life and experience. But that's just a problem here. How do you read 1 John 5 and say, huh? I mean, they contradict it outright, right? They say, oh, just think about all the rules that the Bible has. And of course, certain, Food establishments contradicted openly come into our restaurant. No rules, just right. I don't know how many times I've heard that commercial. No rules, just right. So I go in there, and I've had one of the waiters. I went into one of those restaurants, and the waiter would quote that, no rules. Do whatever you want. Well, that means I don't have to pay, right? No rules, just right. It's just right. I don't have to pay. I can have lobster and not pay. No, that doesn't work, does it? But how about these verses? How about this verse? His commandments are not burdensome. It's not cramping my style to keep God's commandments. So, love and commandment are intertwined here in this section of 1 John. 4.21 down through 5.3. They are intertwined. Love to God, love to the brethren are intertwined in these statements. And there's a little couplet that John Murray made. I think it's in his Principles of Conduct, which is not one of my top five books. I have a list of books that I recommend. But it ought to be in there. If I did six books per section, I would put John Murray's Principles of Conduct in there. Because he has this kind of a statement. He says, law is love's Eyes. And without it, love is like Sister Barbara without her eyeglasses and contacts. Without it, love is blind. Law is love's eyes. You want to know how to love God? You want to know how to love the brethren? Look at the law. Without law, without the rules of God's word, we're blind. We don't know how to love. All you have to do is read 1st and 2nd Corinthians, and you find out exactly how that works. Because those guys did not love one another the way they ought to have. Now, Pastor Morton, in a corresponding couplet, Dr. Murray says, law is love's eyes, without it, love is blind. Love is law's heart, and without it, law is dead. I think those two things put the matter very well. We need the law to show us how to behave. We need a heart of love in order to be properly motivated to obey God. I raised four children and one of the boys did not like saying thank you to strangers. We went out to a church. out by the Susquehanna, out that far in PA, off of Route 80. And this couple put us up in their home. I preached for them that Sunday and they listened. They were very kind because they listened to me as if I were a Spurgeon. I knew I was not. But I told my son, you need to say thank you. All the kids said thank you. He did not say thank you. And that precipitated a little war. War of the wills with the blue of the Babel, as one man likes to say. But then one day we're going through discipline spankings and he said, thank you. His face lit up. He said, dad, I did it. I said, thank you. He, he didn't want, well, he did want to be disobedient. That's, that's the thing. but he conquered his will and he said, thank you. And he was happy. Well, that's the way it should be with us, right? Because the law tells us how to behave. Love tells us the motivation for behavior, Christian behavior. I made a statement a couple of weeks ago. I want to, I want to revisit. I said that the apostle saw the law, the whole law and particularly, One particular kind of law, a little theological side trail. It's not little, actually, it's big. But the Bible talks about three kinds of laws that Moses gave, well, that God gave Moses on Mount Sinai. There are three kinds of laws. Anybody tell us what those three kinds of laws are? Or any one of them? Yes, sir. Excellent. That's correct. Okay. The moral law is laws which abide through all of time from the beginning Well, by the time we get to heaven, I don't know what laws will be left over in heaven. I haven't really thought about it. I should think about that some. But the civil law was for the political life, the civil life of the people of Israel, and those laws were done away, if you read the 1689 Confession, with the expiration of the nation. and the ceremonial laws were for the worship of God's people, they were the sacrificial laws, and they also were abolished in Christ. But the moral law was never abolished in Christ. In fact, Jesus states that whoever teaches to ignore one of these laws, even the least of them, will be least in the kingdom of heaven. Now that's a figure of speech because really to disregard God's law is antithetical to true saving faith. And that's one of the things that John is saying here. You know, John doesn't have to specify how many commandments there are here. He's not talking about shaving your head after keeping a vow. That's a ceremonial law. That's not a moral law. Ah, he's not talking about that. And he's not talking about being circumcised when you're eight days old. That's a ceremonial law. That's not a moral law. He's talking about the 10 commandments and he doesn't have to specify why. Well, let me suggest that it's what Jesus taught and what the apostles taught. They taught that the moral law was a unit and you can't just disconnect them from one another. Let me give you a couple of texts. I'm gonna say, you might not at first, I think if you think about it, you'll agree with me. Maybe I'm too generous. If you read these verses in 1 John 4.21 to 5.3, you see, he doesn't say what the commandments are. Why? Because everybody in the Christian churches by this time knew that it was the Ten Commandments. But let me get you a couple of texts. I'd like you to turn to Romans 13. This is very important in our day with antinomianism all over the place. People who say they're Reformed, people who say they're Reformed Baptists, and yet They are on that side of the fence where they say that the moral law has nothing to do with Christians, not even to direct them to obedience. They don't believe that law loves us at all? So here we are in Romans chapter 13 and verse 8. Now, Paul has started in Romans 13 to talk about the civil magistrate and the obligations we have to civil magistrates. And he says this, owe nothing to anyone. except to love one another. Your one abiding obligation is to love one another. Well, what do you mean, Paul? What do you mean by that? He says, for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. He's not talking about the ceremonial law. He's not talking about the civil law. I'm gonna prove it too. He's talking about the moral law, the Ten Commandments. Notice what he goes on to say. For this, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet. These are four simple laws from which moral code? Easy, right? The Ten Commandments, right? Then, what's the next thing he says? And if there is any other commandment Are there other commandments in this group? Yeah, there's this commandment that says, you shall love the, I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself any idol or anything in heaven above, the earth beneath, the waters under the earth, you shall not worship them or serve them. Okay, that's one of these commandments. He says if there is any other commandment that is summed up into saying you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfilling of the law. What does he have in mind? He has in mind the moral law of the 10 commandments. All of them. Because he says, he lists four of them, right? Four or five of them. And then he says, if there is any other commandment, same group. It's covered under this. Now you say, but that really, Paul seems to be talking about the second table of the law, second table, love your neighbor as yourself. Okay. Let's look at Jude for a moment. You'll keep Romans 13 in your head and turn to James chapter two. And one of the interesting things about James is he talks about the law quite a bit. I don't know if you've ever noticed this, but in several of the chapters, he talks about the moral law. And here he is in chapter two, dealing with partiality, a respect of persons. So he talks about the person who comes in and dressed really nice, you know, has a, uh, uh, I don't talk about Joseph A. Bank, I call him Jose Banks. You know, three-piece Jose Banks suits. Not the ones that are on sale, three for 200 bucks. He's wearing $1,000 suits from Jose Banks. You treat that man special. You say, hey, come and sit in this nice place. No cold air will blow on you. It's not too hot. It's not too sunny. Sit in this place, because you are a rich man. And then you take the person who comes in, and James says he's wearing filthy clothing. Why is he wearing filthy clothing? He ain't got nothing else to wear. Those are his Sunday go-to meeting clothes, which you would have seen in my picture from 1975, my Sunday go-to meeting clothes. James says, and you tell him, sit here by my footstool. That's not a compliment, that's an insult. And James is telling us that you have sinned against God. Many reasons why you shouldn't do it, but notice what James says, starting in verse 8, if however you are fulfilling the royal law, You know what the royal law is? It's the law of the king. It's the highest law. It's the most serious obligation. You are fulfilling the royal law. According to the scripture, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. You are doing well. But if you show partiality, You are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. Now you realize that James is talking to Christians here. There are lots of people in stores who are looking at what people wear when they come in and they decide what they're gonna show them for sale based upon how they look. Come in with a nice expensive suit, they're gonna show you to the nice expensive section. Maybe that's okay for a salesman. But it's not okay in the church. Paul says, if you show partiality, verse nine, you are committing sin, Christians, and are convicted by the law as transgressors for whoever keeps. Now, notice it, the whole law. and yet stumbles, and at one point he has become guilty of all. You understand what James is saying? The law is a unit. You can't break one law and say, well, you know, I broke that law that says you shall not covet. It's very difficult to sit in Walter's car and not covet. Actually, it doesn't bother me. I went to school with a guy who had a brand new Corvette Stingray in the 70s and he took me in his car. If the only commandment you break is you shall not covet, guess what you've done. According to James, you have broken the whole law. It's like, and this is probably something you've read as well, it's like a pearl necklace with 10 pearls. You break it, you lose one. You're like the woman in the parable who lost one piece of her necklace, and she has to sweep the whole house until she finds it. You have broken the law. You only had to break one law, not all 10. You don't have to be an adulterer. You don't have to be a murderer. You don't have to be a thief. All you have to do is show partiality. And James says, you have broken the whole law. Whoever keeps the whole law and stumbles on one point has become guilty of all. Now, what he does for us is he helps us because we are all excuse makers by nature, rationalizers. Pastor Martin used to call them, this guy's talking to you, ration-el-izer. Notice what James says next, verse 11. For he who said, Do not commit adultery. Also said, do not commit murder. Now, if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. What's the basis here? James says God says something, you see. But God didn't say just one thing or two things or three things. He said 10 things on Mount Sinai. And he wrote those 10 things with his finger in the tablet of stone. And James is saying the moral law is one. It's one. You can't separate one of those laws and say, not for me. No, no, they are all for you. And he, again, this is, this is I think behind what John does. First John, when he talks about commandments, he's treating them as a unit. They all belong there. They're all part of what John is talking about when he talks about breaking the commandments and the love of God. This is the love of God that we keep his commandments and his commandments are not burdensome. So there's a close connection. between the first table of the law and the second table of the law. And again, remember, this has to do with loving the brethren. How do I know I love the brethren? When I love God and keep his commandments. So, if one of my brethren sees me breaking God's commandment, if somebody sees me taking a Snickers bar and walking out without paying it, I don't love my brethren, actually. I don't love them. There's this relationship between the first table and the second table. Suppose I decide, well, I went into this temple of a different religion and they had a statue there, a beautiful statue, ornate statue. They worship it, they burn incense to it. Suppose I buy one and I want to put it in my house and burn incense there. Why do I do that? Number one, I don't love God. But guess who else I don't love? I don't love my brethren. Because they're gonna be stumbled at what I do. And this is why we take such a high view of the moral law of God, because everything I do as a Christian, just as a Christian, not as a pastor, not as a preacher, as a Christian has implications for everyone I meet. Everyone. Um, We divide the law, and we do so on the basis of Jesus' words in Matthew 22, between those laws which are first table laws, directly related to the worship and service of God, and those which are directly related to those around me, my father and mother, and everybody else. And we say, okay, it's a second table. It's a first table commandment. When I break a first table commandment, I'm violating God's rights. When I break a second table commandment, I'm violating the rights of my fellow man. And all that's true. But as a matter of fact, it doesn't matter which table you break. You're stepping on God's commandments. It doesn't matter which one you talk about. You violate them, you're giving a bad example to the brethren. You're being a stumbling block to the brethren. So, I want you to look at a couple of texts that help us with this. I want you to see it with your own eyes. Turn to Leviticus chapter 19. I've believed this for a long time. But I had the opportunity to teach at Trinity Christian School Ethics. And I had the opportunity to go back and dig a little into these texts. And I saw it in these texts once again. It's encouraging to me. I hope it'll be helpful to you. Notice Leviticus 19, 14. Now, I'm sorry, we're gonna start at verse 10. These are not Well, these are laws, second table laws. And 1910 says, nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. Notice what comes next. I am the Lord your God. What's the enforcement? Why do you show, Compassion and generosity to the needy because the Lord your God. Isn't that interesting? Well, shouldn't I love the stranger and the needy? Yes, I should love them and I should love God. But actually, when I fail to do what God says here, then I am breaking a first table and a second table law. You see, both, they're intimately related. Look a little further down in verse 14. You shall not curse a deaf man nor place a stumbling block before the blind. And you shall revere your God. I am the Lord. Well, the blind man can't see when I put a stumbling block. He won't know who does it. The deaf man can't hear when I call him in the style of the young people with a prophet, go up you bald head. No, I'm breaking the second table of the law and the first table of the law because they're connected. I am the Lord is the reason why I shouldn't do this. Verse 16, you shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor. Reinforcement, I am the Lord. So you see, brethren, what John is saying is that the law is so constructed that there is an intimate relationship between love of God and love of the brethren. That's what John is doing in chapter five. Right, for this is the love of God that we keep his commandments. But earlier he says, verse two, by this we know the love, we know that we love the children of God when we love God and observe his commandments. So if I don't observe God's commandments, those have to do with the worship of God, and I'll be very direct, the fourth commandment, remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. What if I don't do that? What if I don't do that? I'm giving an example to other people. You know what they say, what's good for the goose is good for the gander. Yeah. If the parson may play, then the laity may dance. That's a, that's a little bit of a proverb there. Uh, well that's Old Testament, right? That's Old Testament and we're New Testament Christians. So we're going to look at first Corinthians chapter eight. Two more texts and I have enough time. First Corinthians chapter eight. Verses nine to 13. This is about Christian liberty. One of the naughtiest problems that Christians face. What's the relationship between my liberty and the liberty of others? Hmm, well, Paul spells it out. In this section here, start in chapter eight, verse nine. He's talking about eating meat sacrificed to idols. And he says, but food will not commend us to God. We are not neither the worse if we do not eat. In other words, the worst thing that happens if you don't eat meat is you might get hungry. We are not the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we eat. But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if someone sees you who have knowledge dining in an idol's temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be strengthened to eat things sacrificed to idols? He thinks he's worshiping the idol when he eats meat sacrificed to idols. He can't get it out of his head. He can't put his knife and fork in that piece of meat without thinking of idolatry and thinking of himself as worshiping the idol. Through your knowledge, you say, I know better. I know that I can eat this. Well, through your knowledge, he who is weak has ruined the brother for whose sake Christ died. And so by sinning against that brethren and wounding their conscience, when it is weak, you sin against Christ. You see the connection? You're not loving your brother self-sacrificially, and you're sinning against Christ, who died for that brother. Therefore, if food causes my brother to eat, to stumble, Paul says, and he's not a liar, I will never eat meat again so that I will not cause my brother to stumble. Turn to chapter 10. Chapter 10. verses 24. Now, Paul revisits meat sacrifice to idols. In chapter eight, he's dealing with the problem of a brother who has a weak conscience and is going to sin by your example. So you want to make sure that you don't give him the example to sin against. But in chapter 10 here, starting in verse 24, notice what Paul does. Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor. Eat anything sold in the meat market without asking any questions for conscience sake. So, you're gonna go buy a piece of meat. You know, there's a... When my children were young, June used to go to the Acme or the Shoprite or the A&P or the Pathmark, and she went for the deli markdowns, okay? Because they were cheap. And in Paul's day at Corinth, there were meat markets where cheap meat was sold. Why? Because they had sacrificed that meat to idols, and they had so many sacrifices, they couldn't get rid of them in the idol temple, so they put them in the meat market. Marked down, 10% off, $1.09 a pound. And what Paul does here, As he says, okay, you wanna eat that meat? Fine, do it, go ahead. Trying to find my spot here, it's 24, yeah, thanks. Okay, eat anything sold, verse 25, in the meat market without asking any questions for conscience sake. For the earth is the Lord's and all it contains. So you don't worry about it. That's not just an idol's meat, that's God's meat. All the meat in the world is God's meat. So you can eat that meat. But notice what happens next. If one of the unbelievers invites you and you want to go eat anything that is set before you without asking any questions for conscience's sake, So you don't want to know where the meat came from. Just enjoy it. But if anyone says to you, verse 28, this is meat sacrificed to idols. Ooh. Do not eat it for the sake of the one who informed you and for conscience sake. I don't mean your own conscience, Paul says. but the other man's. For why should my freedom be judged by another man's conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I slandered concerning that for which I give thanks? Whether then you eat a drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. But here's the point. You don't have to just be concerned with your conscience. You have to be concerned about the conscience of the other person. So even though your conscience is clear, You have to worry about that person. And you restrict your liberty for the sake of your testimony to the other person. His conscience is all askew. His conscience is all wrong. But guess what? You have to be concerned for that person's conscience. Now I'm going to tell you something about me. I like a nice glass of wine. I like, on a hot day when I've been working in the yard, I like a nice cold beer. You will never find that out unless I tell you. The only time I will serve somebody wine in my home is when they have first served me. That's the only way I know that they have a good conscience about drinking wine. And when I know that one of my brethren, and I know my brethren, I know that somebody drinks a glass of wine with his meal, then I can offer it to him. But I won't even bring it out. I won't. I know some brethren who don't drink anything alcoholic, period. So, you don't have to worry. If you come to my house sometime, you won't see any alcohol being said. It's this, this passage is like this. I have a good conscience. I know what the Bible says. I remember that Jesus made not grape juice, not diluted wine, but he made the real thing. The headmaster, the head waiter said, you've saved the best wine, the stuff that usually dulls the senses. You saved the best for last, so I have a good conscience. but your conscience may be different. I respect your conscience and I won't serve you anything that might even cause you to violate your own conscience. Now, what's that got to do? Well, it's everything to do with the love of the brethren, right? It has everything to do with the love of the brethren. I don't want my conduct to scandalize my brethren. I don't want a chance of violating the conscience of my brethren and having them do something just for me. Because you shouldn't do something just for me. Whether you eat or drink, you do all to the glory of God. So, here we are. Here we are with John and my time is up. I'm happy with what I've accomplished this morning. But if you say, you know, Brother Frank, there's some things you've left unsaid. By all means, let me know, and we'll consider whether or not I should extend this a little longer. I have my course plotted out for the next Sunday school lessons. It won't be next week, because we will have Sam Frane in here teaching and preaching, so I won't be, I get a Lord's Day off, you know? It's been a long time since I preached every Sunday in a couple months, and I'm very grateful for the opportunity. But let's pray now and thank God for His Word and ask Him that He would give us a heart to love Him and our brethren. Father in heaven, we are so thankful that you have not left us to wander around this way and that way. We know people, Lord, who probably are very sincere Christians who want to do your will, and yet they are wandering from one teacher to another, not knowing how to love you and keep your commandments, not knowing how to love their brethren. And what an awful thing that is. We pray for those churches where the word of God is not clearly taught. We ask our Lord that you would give them good teachers, raise up good teachers who know their Bible and know what text to turn to. Oh, our God, for the glory of your name and the good of your church, give to your churches good teachers, honest, godly men who are not compromising their consciences. We thank you for the time we spent in your word. Continue to teach us. We have much to learn. And we ask it through the merits of Jesus, our Lord. Amen.