Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this time to worship you remotely. We would ask that you would speak to us through the reading and preaching of your word, and that the name of Christ would ever be praised. Amen. When we began Romans 14, Paul identified two groups who were quarreling in the Church of Rome, the weak and the strong. Paul warned them not to quarrel over opinions. You see, the weak were the over scrupulous legalists who were eating no meat. These most likely were Jewish Christians too reluctant to abandon the dietary practices of the law. And perhaps out of some concern for any meat being ceremonially unclean, they just avoided eating meat altogether. The strong were other Christians who accepted their freedom in Christ without concern for these traditions. The strong are commanded by Paul not to despise the weak, and the weak are not to pass judgment on the strong. But overall, Paul seemed to have focused his attention on the judgmental attitudes of the weak in the first half of Romans 14. You see, Christian freedom permitted them to eat. However, these newer converts were not ready to accept this freedom. And today, there are Christian liberties that we have, and they are often areas of disagreement as they are convictions in which Scripture doesn't clearly forbid nor command. So we develop these convictions through an examination of other biblical principles in God's Word. These are what we call matters of conscience. Today, these would be areas like fashion, music, entertainment, tobacco, alcohol, social media. Generations past, it would have been whether Christians could play cards. You see, these were all areas that Christians tend to divide over, but are matters of conscience. Newer converts, or as Paul says here, the weak, are to understand that passing judgment in these areas, it's wrong. However, in the second half of this chapter, Paul will now turn his attention to the errors of the strong. And what strikes me in our text is that even though we are all serving the same Savior, and even though those here who are labeled as the strong, meaning perhaps these are those Paul thinks their stance on Christian liberties were correct, the strong can actually use their Christian liberty to divine and harm others. We're made up in the church of people with different gifts, aptitudes, backgrounds from different cultures, and we're going to have different convictions in these areas. And we are left, because of sin, with this natural tendency to divide from one another, even though we are one body with Christ as our head. Now, directing his attention to the strong, Paul teaches how Christians with different convictions can maintain unity. So how do Christians who are more mature in their faith and have an understanding of their freedoms in Christ maintain unity with those who have trusted the gospel but are still working through the implications of what it means to be under Christ? Paul points us back to the kingdom of God, to look past the externals that we get so tied up and bickering over, and to look toward the eternals, to the source of peace which is found in Christ alone. Today we'll look at this in three ways. We'll look at first, what we avoid, what we live for, and then third, how then we live. Excuse me, how we then live. So what we avoid, what we live for, and how we then live. First, what we avoid. Building off of his previous counsel to the weak, Paul says, therefore, let us not pass judgment on one another any longer. The weak and the strong were dividing, and Paul warned them not to quarrel and make these judgments against one another over opinions. Then Paul turns his attention to the strong, the more mature in their faith. And he says, decide, decide now to never put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother, in the way of these new Christians struggling with their new freedoms in Christ. We must determine not to dissuade the growth and maturity of another follower of Christ, particularly in the context of using our Christian freedoms in a way that would harm them. Because one, it's unloving. And two, it destroys our brethren. Look at verse 14. And I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is greed by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. Paul teaches that food and drink, inanimate things, have no moral qualities. Genesis states that God, he creates all of creation and says it is good. Paul says in 1 Timothy 4.4, everything created by God is good and nothing is to be rejected. Jesus teaches that it's not that what goes into the mouth that makes a person unclean, but what comes out. However, when there are new believers who do not yet understand this truth, Paul is concerned that the mature Christians flaunting their freedoms would harm the newer Christians. They don't understand this freedom and it confuses them. Paul says that for us to do this is not walking in love. And this word for love, I'm sure many of you have heard it, is agape. It speaks really of the nature of God. God is love. It encompasses the mind, the emotions, and the will of a person as it comes from God. And it's this beautiful picture of his sacrificial love embodied in Christ, who gave himself for us. And Paul's point is to love your brothers and sisters in this way, sacrificially. But if not, you risk destroying the one for whom Christ died. If in these areas of disputable matters, the strong attempt to force their freedoms onto the weaker Christians, then what is at stake here is the violation of the weak believer's conscience. Very dangerous. And by insisting on our freedom, in an unloving and flaunting way, it can even cause these weaker Christians to grow to resent and reject the freedom that is now possible in Christ. Or, of course, as we said, they can give in, going against their conscience. You see, both are rather dangerous. You see, smaller compromises in one area can sear our conscience and then lead to bigger compromises. I just read an example this week of a high school girl who came from a more fundamental church background, which believed it was sinful for women to wear makeup. And however, this girl, she eventually gave in to peer pressure from other Christian friends from different churches. And she began to wear makeup when out with her friends. Now, the Bible says nothing about makeup being sinful, but this girl was convinced makeup was wrong, and she began going against her own conscience. And what I read in this book is that later in life, she began to transgress real commandments in God's Word, and her life began to go astray. What happened? Well, even though the Bible doesn't forbid makeup, she believed it did. And in her heart, she had to make a decision. And what she chose was to fit in with her friends and to try to attract boys over what she believed the Lord wanted her to do. You see, once she stumbled, it was easy, it was easier to compromise in other areas. And her Christian friends who knew makeup wasn't sinful, they actually made fun of her. They made fun of her conviction that makeup was wrong. They were correct that it wasn't wrong. But they were completely unloving in their actions, and they began to destroy their sister for whom Christ died. And that's what's at stake here, and Paul knows this. And this leads to our next point, what we live for. Verse 17, for the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. What is the kingdom of God? Well, the kingdom of God, simply stated, is the reign of God, His sovereign rule over all creation. That even though creation has rebelled against its creator, that all still remain under his rule. And that graciously through Jesus Christ, we may once again become loyal subjects to the great King if we would just turn from our sin and trust in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So the basic message of the kingdom is that Jesus reigns, having defeated sin and death. If you remember, When we spoke about Romans 14 in our last sermon from Romans, Paul wrote that for if we live, we live to the Lord. And if we die, we die to the Lord. So then whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end, Christ died and lived again that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living. See, we belong to Jesus. He's Lord. Therefore, we live for Him. And in living for Him, we live for His kingdom and everything His kingdom represents. We are subjects to our great King. We're actually adopted into His family. We're children. Adopted as children of our God. But R. Kent Hughes says that the kingdom of God is not a matter of externals, but eternals. It's not a matter of food and drink, but righteousness. This word righteousness speaks of the moral standard set forth from God's character, which the Holy Spirit then enables us to express in our relationships. The kingdom is not a matter of food and drink, but peace. Peace is the state of well-being which comes from peace with God. It encapsulates the Hebrew idea of shalom, the perfect harmony and peace that Adam and Eve lived before their rebellion against God. The prophets thought that this peace would mark the messianic kingdom. And the kingdom is not a matter of food and drink, but joy. And joy isn't just feeling that results from our life circumstance, you can have joy despite circumstance. Joy results from our relationship with Christ. and the peace of God that we have through Him, and the security of knowing that our lives are in the sovereign King's hand. Righteousness, peace, and joy are given through the Spirit when we are united to Christ through faith In Christ alone is the only way we receive these. In Christ alone we are accepted by God and accepted into his kingdom as servants and children, his children. Verse 18, whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. focusing on these eternals given to us in Christ tends to make these externals, any matters of disputes, seem insignificant, perhaps even fall away. And focusing on these eternals, it pleases God. It is acceptable to men, meaning that other Christians and perhaps even unbelievers, they would see this love manifested in us. As we turn away from such quarreling and bickering, even if there isn't full agreement, that they would see our restraint and sensitivity towards one another, that they would see the agape love manifested in our relationships. And you see, this should define Christian community. And we're not always going to do this perfectly, right? But by God's grace, we strive to live this way. And the question arises, why do we get so hung up on our Christian liberties? Or quarreling over opinions when we should focus on the kingdom? When we are living for the eternals, what difference do these externals really mean? Why do we judge other believers over these things, food and drink? Why do we risk harming each other when we understand we are in this together as one body, one people, serving Christ the King and advancing his kingdom? Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians that food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat and no better off if we do. But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. If we focus on the eternals, on righteousness, peace, and joy, then becoming a stumbling block for the weak, for any Christian, would be the last thing that we would want to do. We're one body. We belong to the same kingdom. The last thing the strong in Rome should have been doing was insisting that these new Christians go against their conscience. They should have been growing in Christ together, discipling one another, and eventually these peripheral things would just not matter. What we should really be examining in ourselves is what ways do we create stumbling blocks for other Christians growing in Christ? Is there something that we or I am doing as a Christian that harms the weak, that harms those who are growing in Christ, who are new to Christ? And this leads to our third and final point, how we then live. Verse 19, so then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual up-building. When these areas of dispute arise with the weak, we pursue peace with one another. We strive for mutual up-building or edification. This call for peace, edification, to love sacrificially, it does not come to us in a Pastor Tim explained from Romans 12 some of the gifts that God has given his people to edify one another. Pastor Tim explained from Romans 13 how love fulfills the law. So the entire idea of creating disputes over minute opinions and convictions with weaker Christians is completely antithetical to building each other up in Christ. We should be building the weaker Christians up. So Paul is saying in chapter 14 of Romans, he's saying to the weak, regarding these opinions, get over it. But then he's saying to the strong, why do you insist on it? These disputes are not good for the body of Christ. We must live to build others up. And in working for the kingdom, we don't get lost in bickering over these freedoms, that we focus on what matters. The gospel of Christ, the advancement of his kingdom, growing in grace in accordance to the scriptures. Verse 20, do not for the sake of food destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. we risk destroying the work of God when we are careless over disputes with newer Christians. Now, what is this good work that he's speaking about? Well, Paul speaks elsewhere in Philippians chapter one, verse six, that God is doing a good work in every believer. And he's speaking, he's referring to this process of maturity that the Holy Spirit is working in every Christian to make them holier. to conform their hearts and their character more and more to Jesus. This process we call sanctification in which we begin to die to sin and to live for righteousness. However, the strong, if not living in a way that is mindful of our Christian liberties around the weak, the strong can actually harm the weak's maturation into Christ-likeness. Do not, for the sake of liberty, destroy the work of God. Verse 21, it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. I mentioned earlier that love includes sacrifice. Christians must be ready to forego or to place aside their Christian freedoms for their weak, rather than to insist on them. And one commentator says it this way, while freedom is a right, it is not a guide for conduct. Love serves that purpose. If your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Love is the guide for conduct. Love as Christ embodied love, right? Bold enough to speak the truth, wise enough to do so gracefully, sacrificial enough to lay aside our rights, knowing how to edify the weak. Now, what about mature followers of Christ who have a smidge of Christian legalism? R. Kent Hughes, he says, and I agree with him, that, quote, the voluntary limiting of our freedom is not meant to subject us to the prejudices of Christians who are well-established in the faith, but persist in sub-biblical legalism. You see, if we allow the prejudices of legalistic Christians to rule us, then there's no end to the sacrifices that will harm rather than edify. Should all women wear dresses to church to appease those who think that women wearing dress pants to church are wrong? Should a man be clean-shaven rather than wear a beard? You see, there's a balance here, lest we all end up swimming in Lake Silly. We make such sacrifices for the sake of the weaker brethren, not for the person who has been a Christian all their life and is demanding that we would submit ourselves to the yoke of their legalism. Verse 22, the faith that you have, keep it between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. When relating to weaker Christians with issues over these disputable matters, Paul is telling the mature Christians to just keep these matters to ourselves. If there's a potential dispute that can arise with a new Christian, why even open that can of worms? We don't want to end up pressuring the weaker Christians or flaunting our freedoms in a way that brings harm to the work of God in them, and by extension, the work of God in us. Verse 23, but whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. The definition of sin from our catechism is any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God. So any way in which we do not live up to the law of God, any way we transgress or break the law of God. But here, Paul is speaking about our convictions, about our conscience. What Paul is not saying is that our conscience is some infallible guide, but that when it comes to these matters of conscience where Scripture doesn't clearly forbid or command, That if we believe we are violating the law of God, then in our hearts we are actually choosing something else over what we believe is the Lord. And you see, we are called to faith, but if we violate this, we believe we are violating this, then we are sinning. Like that young girl violating her own conscience. But when we look at this entire passage, Paul is teaching us that the rights can be laid aside in the interest of love, that we can lay aside our freedoms in the interest of love. And where have we seen this demonstrated? We've seen this demonstrated in the incarnation of Christ, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a servant. And being born in the likeness of men and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. The second person of the Trinity enjoyed all the riches of glory, the divine relationship with his father and the Holy Spirit, yet he laid aside his glory in humility to condescend to save us from our rebellion against his rule, against his kingdom. You see, the king became a servant to pay the penalty for our sin in our place. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. Jesus is the exemplar of sacrifice, right? The very embodiment of agape love We are all the weaker brethren brought into his kingdom and being matured into the image of Christ. You see, God is being patient with us in Christ, putting up with all of our weaknesses and rebellion as we are slowly being conformed into Christ-likeness. And it's because Christ has done this for us, and given us a spirit to experience righteousness and peace and joy in Christian community, that we can then extend that patience and self-sacrifice with others. Because Christ did it, we can lay aside our own rights for the weaker brothers and sisters. Jesus did it for us, and His Spirit is now doing that work within us. So when it comes to our Christian freedoms, to the weak, get over it. To the strong, stop insisting on it. You see, these disputes aren't good for the body of Christ, but rather we focus on Jesus and the righteousness, the peace, and the joy we share with one another in Him. through the power of the gospel. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for Jesus. We thank you that he has saved us from our sins. And that in so doing that he has showed us what it looks like to lay aside our rights. To edify the weak. And Lord, we would ask that for those of us who have trusted Christ and has received him as Savior, that we would know how to love one another in a way that we would be embodying this love of Christ in our communities. Lord, we pray that you would empower us to do this through your word and your spirit. And we also pray that this would be a witness to the world. that they would see the love of Christ shown in our Christian communities. They would see how we restrain ourselves for the sake of the weak, how we seek to edify, to build up one another, and that this would be a witness of the gospel for them. Lord, we ask for all of this in the name of Jesus. Amen.