Romans fifteen. Romans fifteen. Lately, we have taken to expounding the matter in this letter of Paul to the church at Rome concerning Christian liberty and its application in the church. We started with chapter fourteen, verse one, and this morning, since we finished all of chapter fourteen, We continue the topic in chapter fifteen, and my intention is to preach two more messages from this book on Christian liberty today. Really, one long sermon in two parts, verses one to three of chapter fifteen, and then, God willing, next Lord's Day, verses four to seven, for the conclusion of the topic of Christian liberty in Romans. I've entitled the sermon for today, edifying weak brethren, and it is an exposition of the first three verses of chapter fifteen, which read, We then, who are strong, ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. For even Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me. Amen. The Word of God. Now, really, chapter 14 of Romans is also a continuation of what I'm calling gospel imperative, especially begun by Paul in this letter, starting with chapter 12. verse one, when he gives us the well-known introduction to all Christian duty. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, which is your reasonable service and so forth. And following that introduction, he begins to lay out what it means to live as a gospel believer, that is, as a Christian. Being a Christian is more than just believing certain things. It is living a lifestyle in keeping with the doctrines of the gospel and the specifics of that are spelled out in the latter part of Romans. Now, specifically In these early verses of chapter fifteen, Paul continues his discussion, beginning with fourteen one, of how we should handle controversial scruples that arise in the life of a local church. And in short, he's saying, look, you can have differences of opinion on doubtful things in the church. That's not a problem. as long as you maintain a spiritual unity in the church, a unity of faith in the one true gospel and a unity of love between brethren who might have different judgments on lesser matters. Now, he continues that general counsel with the specifics of verses 1, 2 and 3 of chapter 15 and studying the text and meditating on it has led me to to believe that the ethical essence or the doctrine of this text is simply there. You should edify weak brethren through the self-denial exemplified in Christ your Lord. You should edify weak brethren in the church through the self-denial exemplified in Christ Jesus, your Lord. That's the doctrine of the text. Is it not clear? For there is a statement of this duty in verse one. We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the week and not to please ourselves. There is the exhortation to this duty in verse two. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. And there is the enforcement of this duty by the example of Christ. In verse 3, for even Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me. And that's the outline we're going to follow for the preaching. I'm not sure exactly where this is going to break between morning and afternoon. If you're staying here the whole day, which I hope you are, then it won't matter because you'll, God willing, be able to hear the second part in the afternoon. But this is the outline. Paul states our duty. He urges us to this duty, and then he screws it down into our conscience. So we cannot resist the force of truth for practical application in our lives. I mean, we as sincere Christians, as strong brethren, must be impressed to the point of action. by the appeal to the example of Jesus Christ. So that's what's here. That's where we're headed with God's help in the exposition of these verses. Look at, first of all, verse 1, for the expression of this duty, belonging to strong brethren to edify weak brethren through self-denial. We then, who are strong, ought to bear with the scruples of the weak and not to please ourselves. First of all, notice the relevant parties mentioned here. Just two. They're the same two intimated in chapter 14. The weak and the strong. But here in verse 1 of 15, for the first time, this term strong appears. Paul has intimated that there are strong brethren by the very fact that he mentions their weak brethren in chapter fourteen. For example, verse one of that chapter, he says, Receive one who is weak in faith, but not to dispute over doubtful things. And repeatedly through the chapter, he talked about the weak and their characteristics and then the others. and their characteristics. The others must, of course, by inference, be the strong, and we have no doubt about it, starting with verse 1 of chapter 15. But we must appreciate the nature of this weakness and strength to interpret the passage properly. Who are the strong? Well, according to the context of this passage, The strong referred to here are those who have more spiritual knowledge of the gospel and more discernment in the application of that knowledge, so that they have a more accurate understanding of what is right and what is wrong, and furthermore, of what is indifferent and might be enjoyed or not enjoyed at according to one's preferences. They therefore lack what Paul calls scruples here in this verse. We then who are strong are to bear with the scruples of the weak. The weak have scruples, whatever that means, and the strong lack the scruples, which is a good thing because this gives the strong confidence with a clear conscience about enjoying innocent pleasures. They can enjoy, for example, eating meat, to quote chapter 14, drinking wine, disregarding certain traditions that would be burdensome for us to observe. They know that these particular matters are not of the essence of what it means to be a Christian. a part of the gospel of God's grace. They're not any kind of restriction God has placed on them or a burden that God has placed on them to bear. And so, as strong brethren, they don't have these hang-ups, if you will, these human limitations invented by mere men. Now, on the other hand, we have the weak. designated here, and clearly the weak are just the opposite of the strong. They needlessly restrict themselves from things that God allows them, or they burden themselves with unnecessary practices, and this is an evidence of their weakness. Now, when Paul speaks about the strong and the weak in this passage, he uses language about the weak, which is designed to evoke the compassionate sympathy of the strong for the inferior state of the weak, spiritually speaking. It doesn't come out as much in the English, but if you consult the Greek text, First of all, when he is using what we read in English, this word, the weak, in the Greek it's the not strong, literally. It's a negative of the word strong. So he's saying, we then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of those who are the not strong. And we naturally realize that it's better to be strong. than to be not strong. So you, if you're one of the strong brethren, you're in a better condition than the not strong are. You have grace from God. You have blessings from the Lord that they have not been given. They are the not strong. And this word not strong in Greek has the connotation of a limited capacity. They can't do as much as you can do. If we can speak in figurative terms, it's like these are the wheelchair-bound disabled people in the church. Now, not literally, but in their souls. It's like they're amputees or they're paralyzed. They have some problem. that keeps them from enjoying all the privileges and liberties that you have. And I use the analogy because naturally our heart goes out to those who are physically disabled. We see how they suffer so. And this is the kind of language that's used in a figurative sense to describe dear brethren in the church who are all bound up because their consciences condemn that which God allows or their consciences require them to do certain things that God in his word never, never required of them. Furthermore, there is language to evoke our sympathy, even behind this word translated in the New King James, scruples, scruples. If you look in the margin of our Bible, you see that it could also be translated weaknesses and that that would be a more literal, strict translation. It means infirmity. Figuratively speaking, Paul then is saying that these weak brethren have an infirmity. It's a debilitating illness. of the soul, if you will. Now I'm speaking figuratively. So Paul is saying to the strong, look, you should bear with the debilitating weakness of the not strong in the church. That's closer to giving you an idea of exactly what the Greek text says, translated in the New King James Version. Bear their weaknesses, the weaknesses of the not strong. You should see them that way. You should feel pity and compassion for these brethren who have a tendency, a tendency toward legalistic bondage. You would, too, if it weren't for the grace of God. So once you see them, once as a strong Christian, a strong brother, you see these as weak victims of their own ignorance and poor judgment, it will help you to embrace your particular role as a spiritual nurse to the soul. We have a mix in this congregation. When you see evidences of weakness like this, you shouldn't hate the person who has it. You should feel sorry for them. Your heart should go out to them. Oh brother, sister, let me help you. Let me support you. That's the kind of attitude promoted by the way Paul describes the weak. here in verse one. So this strong, weak distinction doesn't distinguish strength of character or will, but rather sensitivity of conscience. It is good to have a sensitive conscience about everything that God says. It's good to have a sensitive conscience about every divinely given command and prohibition. But these weak brethren go beyond that. They're hypersensitive in their conscience, and this is a weakness in them. This is the specific weakness Paul has in mind. Now, if we think about the original historical setting of Paul's letter to the Romans, and we do a little study in the Word, it seems likely that the particular weak brethren in the church at Rome in the first century were mostly Jewish Christians. in that congregation who were still hampered in living as Christians to some degree by a hangover, and not with alcoholic beverages, a hangover of their Jewishness exhibited in their observance of certain Old Testament ceremonial laws. And I think this is probably the best understanding of specifics mentioned in chapter fourteen. For Paul speaks about clean and unclean foods. Some, he says, feel liberty to eat meat and others eat only vegetables. And later on in the chapter, he talks about, in verse fourteen of Romans fourteen, to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. And he also mentions how some observe certain days and others don't. And it seems best to think that these holidays, these traditional holy days, if you will, were holdovers from Jewish holy days that were particular to Israel and not a moral issue given by God in the ceremonial Old Testament law. Of course, we're not speaking about the weekly Sabbath, but there were other Sabbaths besides that and other high holy days in the Jewish calendar. So these Roman Christians, some of them who were Jewish, didn't understand that all those ceremonial aspects of the Old Testament law were fulfilled completely in Christ. And therefore, there was no longer any divine expectation for keeping them up. God didn't require this of the Jewish Christians, not in the first century and certainly not today. This interpretation seems to fit well the context of Romans, because from beginning to end, Paul is bringing out the position of Gentiles and Jews in their natural standing before God, and he concludes in chapter three, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And Paul also deals with God's promises toward Israel, whether they've been fulfilled or abdicated. He takes that up in Romans 9 to 11, and he shows how in those chapters how the church is the spiritual Israel, and God is fulfilling all his promises he ever made in the church of Jesus Christ, and then even in this chapter, Romans fifteen. If you skip down past verse seven, you can see clearly that Paul is taking up again the relation of Jews and Gentiles in the church, and just let your eyes in over the verses eight through thirteen of Romans fifteen, where Paul says, Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision. That is, the Jews for the truth of God to confirm the promises made to the fathers and that Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. And then he cites Old Testament evidence that the Gentiles would be part of the church. That's probably correct that the particular week one Paul has in mind in general throughout this passage are Jewish Christians mostly. However, scruples and times change. I'm sure we don't have anybody in our congregation today who is avoiding pork because the Old Testament says it's an unclean food or who's, you know, got a conscience about the Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement or anything like that. But it's not as if we in this church are without scruples at all. Or all the churches of Christ in all times, all the congregations of holy brethren have had weak and strong brethren in their midst. with various scruples, controversies, matters of opinion where sincere Christians might disagree. And so, as John Stott aptly observed in his commentary, there is a similar need for discernment today. We must not elevate non-essentials, especially issues of custom and ceremony, to the level of the essential and make them tests of orthodoxy and conditions of fellowship. And that's an excellent summary statement. Look, don't be alarmed or nervous or afraid or discouraged because in this church we have different opinions about certain doubtful things. That's inevitable. What matters is not that we march in lockstep uniformity about every controversial matter. What matters to God and that we all believe the same gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and that we love one another as he gave us commandment. We maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace while we bear one another's cripples and engage as appropriate and loving conversation to sort out what indeed are matters of genuine piety and distinguish them from mere legalistic encumberments. Now, back to Romans 15.1, look at how Paul words this statement. We, then, who are strong, ought to bear with the scruples of the weak. Clearly, Paul is identifying with the strong in this statement because he uses the term we to include himself. He is one of the strong ones. Paul the Apostle, even though he was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, he wasn't bound up in his conscience with the distinctions between clean and unclean foods and the need to keep up Jewish ceremonial holidays of the Old Testament law. He knew that in the gospel, his conscience was free from those former ceremonial requirements. Now, the apostle has already suggested in chapter 14 that he was not one of the weak brethren, but one of the strong ones by his labeling controversial taboos as indifferent matters. Look at chapter 14, verse 14. Now, remember, one of the issues he was discussing was whether to eat meat or not. And some brethren considered that improper. As a matter of conscience. And Paul says, I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself, but to him who considers anything to be unclean to him, it is unclean. Look at verse 20. Paul says, Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. And then in chapter fifteen, verse one, when speaking of these controversies, he describes them as weaknesses or scruples of those who hold them so clearly Paul is saying, look, I know better. The weak brethren are just wrong about their scruples. They're wrong. However, as a strong brother who has Christian liberty in my soul to indulge all these things and disregard these legalisms, he says, I'm appealing to you, my other strong brethren in the church. And I feel that you would have godly conduct and a good attitude. Now. He does counsel the weak. But not much. In chapter fourteen, verse three B. Paul says, Let not him who does not eat judge him who eats, for God has received him. And in verse twenty three, there's a word of counsel to the weak. He who does not eat, he who doubts rather, is condemned to eat because he does not eat from faith or whatsoever is not from faith, is sin. But that is more or less just about all the advice Paul gives the weak. The bulk of his counsel is for the strong. He is obviously addressing them first in chapter 14 when he says, receive one who is weak in the faith. implicitly directed to the strong, and then he addresses them specifically last. Also, in chapter fifteen, verse one, when he says, We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the week. There's no further specific counsel to the week after that. This is the last specific address to one of the two groups he makes in this passage. Now, what do we gather from this? The fact that the preponderance of counsel is for the strong, and the first and last counsel is for the strong, suggests that the strong have the greatest responsibility to promote unity in the church where there is differences of opinion. And, encouragingly, that the strong are likely the most important means to preserve and promote that unity where there is difference of opinion. And so, how do you evaluate yourself? When you read this, we then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak. Do you realize maybe that you're one of the weak and you don't have as much liberty to indulge things as you might scripturally? Or do you see yourself as among the strong? who can clearly discern matters of right and wrong, so that you don't sin, but you can enjoy all kinds of things some others don't. Well, if you are among the strong, if you think you're among the strong, then don't be all puffed up about it, but realize if you are strong, you have a greater duty. You have a greater responsibility. God expects more of you. in terms of maintaining the unity of the church, we could say. And also be encouraged that you are most likely the greatest means that God will use to preserve this church's unity and to increase it even while we have differences over lesser matters. And so I have taught you who are the relevant parties in this exhortation. There are the strong and the weak and the stronger, the ones being especially addressed in the council. Notice secondly, in verse one, the required poise of this council, the required poise. I usually don't don't indulge in sermonic alliteration using the same letters for each point. But in preparing this sermon, the alliteration was easy. I didn't have to compromise my meaning at all. I'm glad to use this word poise. I looked it up in the dictionary, and the word poise is defined as graceful and elegant bearing in person. And the second definition offered is composure and dignity of manner. Well, look, when we realize that there's diversity of opinion in the church, it can be upsetting to us. Not just in theory, but when we're talking with one another and then, whoops, something comes up and we realize that this brother is more strict than I am on a certain issue, or maybe he's more loose than I am on a certain issue. We can start to feel upset inside. We can be tempted to to degenerate to an argument. Wait a minute, you do what? How can you? And so forth. And real trouble can break out in those circumstances. But Paul's advice aims to increase the poise of the strong brethren amid controversy. He's helping you, if you're strong, to remain graceful and elegant in your bearing, to remain composed and dignified in the way you relate to your brethren in the church. Look, the existence of differences of opinion present a temptation to sin on our part, especially if it comes upon us unexpectedly. You know, we weren't perhaps necessarily in the best frame of mind. We went over to visit somebody and then then they poured a glass of wine and we were appalled and we said, How can you? I can't. And a fight broke out. And then before you know, you have a rift in the church over something like this. There's a way to avoid the sin that can arise through the stressful circumstance presented by differences of opinion. it is to be prepared. If we're prepared spiritually for such circumstances, we can remain noble when we face them. So that's what Paul is doing in this verse. He is preparing the strong to face the temptations arising by diversity in the church. And due preparation requires two things that I see in verse one. First of all, a plan beforehand to deal with it when it arises and an attitude maintained in the midst of the situation. You want to be prepared for maintaining dignified poise in the way you talk to your brethren when differences arise like this. Here's how you do it. You've got to have a plan, the right plan and the right attitude. Well, what is the right plan? I hope you're asking. The right plan is translated by the New King James Version as, bearing with the scruples of the weak. That's the plan. Bearing with the scruples of the weak. In other words, you think beforehand, alright now, the next time I see so and so and this topic comes up, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to bear with the scruples of that weak person. I'm going to bear with it. Now, that is if we set the translation here in the New King James Version. It's a little bit loose because there really is no Greek term translated that ought to be translated with in the text. Bear with the scruples of the week. If we would render the text literally from the Greek, it would go something like this. Now we, the strong, ought to bear the weaknesses of the ones not strong. That's rearranging it according to the English word order. But there's no with. It's simply to bear the weaknesses. And by using the word with in the New King James, the translators give the impression that the plan is forbearance. Bear with their scruples. That's just the way we speak in English. To forbear, to be patient with the scruples. And I don't think that's the exact sense of the text here. Now that is the will of God. We know from other passages, for example, Ephesians 4 says, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with long suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. So one of the virtues we must possess to maintain a unity of the Spirit in the church is bearing with one another in love, forbearing one another. That's the language also found in Colossians 3 verses 12 and 13. where the apostle says, Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering, bearing with one another and forgiving one another. If anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. So it is true that the strong must bear with the scruples of the week. But I think more likely, the specific intention of Romans 15, one year is a little different because with is not there. It's more literally there. The weaknesses. In fact, that's the way the New American Standards translates it. There are the weaknesses. Or, a paraphrase renders it, help the weak to carry their burdens. The word bear has in the literal sense the meaning of putting your shoulder under something and carrying it. And it's used in a figurative way several places in the New Testament, as well as a literal way. Another example of the figurative use is Galatians 6. I hope you're looking at your Bible. Look at that passage, Galatians 6, where Paul says in verse 2, bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ, which is, of course, the law of love. Carry one another's burdens. Put your shoulder under it and make it lighter for your brother. who's laboring under that heavy burden. That's the idea. Bear one another's burdens. And here the word bear is used figuratively with respect to burdensome trials or any kind of oppression in the life of a Christian. I believe there's similarly a figurative use here of the word bear in connection with the weaknesses of the weak. carry their weaknesses. Carry their weaknesses or carry their scruples. Well, how do you do that? Well, in some instances, as Paul makes clear, it means respecting their scruples to the point where you conduct yourself as they conduct themselves. even acting as if it was your scruple too, while you maintain full Christian liberty in your conscience. Look at verse 21 of Romans 14. It is good neither to eat meat, nor drink wine, nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. Now this counsel comes from the same man who said in verse 5 of Romans 14, one person esteems one day above another and another esteems every day of life. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. Bearing the scruples of the weak doesn't mean that we change our minds and adopt their scruples. But it means in some instances at least that we begin to behave as if they were scruples, while we remain fully convinced in our own mind that God doesn't require this thing of us in itself. It's perfectly fine for us to ignore it. You see, in practical terms, I think not only would bearing their scruples mean that you might observe them for a time in love, but that you wouldn't make a federal case out of their scruple in the church. That you wouldn't raise it as a point of contention and you wouldn't make more out of it than ought to be made. This is supporting the weak brother by bearing their burden along with them. That's the plan for spiritual poise in the church amidst controversies on doubtful things. So, how should you plan to react next time something like this comes up in your relationships in the church? You find out brother, sister, so-and-so has this, what you would regard as silly legalism. How should you react to that? Should you ridicule it? No. Even though it might be ridiculous. Should you argue about it? and confirm it right away and say, I can't believe you think that. What Scripture text do you have to support that? Should you do that? No, you don't even take that approach. What's the plan with the scruples? How do you relate to the scruples? I just explained it to you. What is God's counsel in verse 1? Bear the scruples and support your weak brethren. with their scruples. That's the plan. Help them bear that burden until they come to better light. And if you have that plan, it will help you maintain spiritual poise in your relations with weak brethren. That's the plan given to us in verse 1, given to the strong. for maintaining unity in the church. Now, what is the attitude we must bring to a situation like that and exhibit in the midst of that situation? It is the attitude of self-denial, which is described in the last part of verse one, when it says, We who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak and not to please ourselves. Not to please ourselves. Now what does that mean? We should, we ought not to please ourselves. So the context is critical for understanding. The context is critical. This is not some kind of justification for unselfishness as the chief Christian virtue, which it's not. Do you know what the chief Christian virtue is in one word? If not unselfishness, what is it? Please tell me, congregation. Speak right up. It's love. Love to God supremely and love your neighbor as yourself. That is not inconsistent with a certain kind of self-seeking. You ought to desire to be happy and you ought to strive. for your own personal happiness and do it wisely in the way that God directs you in His Word. Now that's considered by some to be selfishness. Some people imagine that the chief virtue is unselfishness and then if that's the chief virtue, then they envision an ascetic kind of spirituality. that is all about and almost only about self-denial, you know. And some of you perhaps have been of this mindset or you know people who are. When you buy into this faulty philosophy of what it means to be a godly person, that it's all about self-denial, that's it, then you start to think that spirituality means voluntarily choosing to be miserable all your life long for the glory of God. And perhaps the evidence of a person who is fully immersed in this philosophy is they're never smiling, they never have fun, they never do things they really enjoy. They see, for example, they see a a delectable fudge brownie with real vanilla ice cream on top and whipped cream and a cherry and a cup of cappuccino right beside it. And they think, I could never eat that. It would be sinful. Not because it's overindulgent, but just because it's good. Because it tastes so good, it's sinful. There are people out there that think like that. And so they would never eat it out of conscience. Because self-denial, in their view, is the chief virtue. I can't do anything that I might enjoy. And if people think like that, they could wrongly appeal to this verse as a proof text. They could say, look here, Pastor Meadows, the Bible says we're not supposed to please ourselves. So anything that pleases you is a sin. No. That's not what this passage is teaching. That you can't enjoy yourself. That you can't aim for your own happiness. You ought to aim for your own happiness. You really should. You have to pay attention to the context. And the context here shows us that the true meaning of not pleasing ourselves as virtue in this place means not making our natural preferences, the ultimate litmus test of what we ought to do in our relations with weak brethren. Now, let me be more specific. Let's suppose eating meat or not eating meat was a controversy in this church. Some of you were vegetarians and you even think that this is a part of what you really should do as a spiritual Christian. And there are others of you that knew that the Bible doesn't teach meat is taboo. So when you're trying to decide, all right, I'm in this church with this scruple, should I eat meat or not? One of the factors you have to consider is, do you like meat? If you don't like it, then, you know, you don't have to eat it. But let's suppose you love it. There's nothing that pleases you better on the table than a nice, thick, medium rare filet mignon. That's probably what I would like out of all the cuts of meat. All right, you just really enjoy that, that food. Well, that's a factor. to consider when you're deciding whether you should eat meat or not. That's a factor. But that ought not to be the main factor in your judgment of a decision. Because God calls you who are strong to bear with the scruples of the weak and not to please yourselves. Don't consult your own whims as the ultimate standard for what you can and can't do. Paul also mentioned drinking wine in chapter fourteen, and let's suppose that you really like once in a while a glass of good wine, and yet you know in this church, and I don't think this is a scruple that many of us would necessarily hold as a matter of conscience. But you know that there is maybe a controversy brewing in the church about this matter of whether we can have a glass of wine with dinner. So should you drink a glass of wine with dinner or not? Well, do you like wine? That's one factor, but that shouldn't be the main factor or the only factor you take into consideration when making that decision. You have to ask yourself some big picture questions in deciding on such matters. You have to ask yourself, for example, what does love for your brother require? Look at chapter 14, verse 15. Paul says, if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love, even though your meat is fine in itself. If it grieves your brother and you eat it anyway, you're sitting because you're not walking in love toward your brother. I don't care if you like it. That's just one factor. You have to ask yourself further about your reputation. Are you going to damage your testimony by indulging this innocent thing? Look at verse 16. Paul says, Therefore, do not let your good be spoken of as evil. That is, the thing you might enjoy is God's bounty and blessing, and give God thanks for it. Don't let your good, what your conscience approves, be spoken of as evil by those who have a scruple. Don't ruin your testimony. Don't get yourself a bad reputation by exercising your Christian liberty unwisely. And you have to ask yourself also, will your indulgence disturb the church's peace? Look at verse 19 of Romans 14. Therefore, let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another." When these factors arise in any scruple, you must deny yourself the exercise of Christian liberty while you maintain it firmly in place in your heart. You know, there's a big difference between possessing Christian liberty and exercising Just because you feel you have liberty in an area doesn't mean you have to go ahead and live that way. I'll use myself just as an illustration. I don't have any scruple of conscience about an extremely moderate use of wine or beer. But personally, I'm a teetotaler. I don't drink alcoholic beverages at all. Not even a drop. And I know it's not something that God requires of me. I could enjoy a glass of wine with a clear conscience, but I don't do that out of other considerations like these that I've already mentioned. I'm not called just to please myself in the exercise of all the Christian liberty I might enjoy. And so there are lots of issues we could mention like that. Well, we have a clear conscience. We wouldn't condemn ourselves if we would indulge that particular thing, but out of respect for our brothers and out of love and a zeal for the unity of the church and the peace of the church and the good of the church, we deny ourselves legitimate pleasure. That's what I believe Paul has in mind as the attitude we must bring to controversies in the church. Our attitude is an attitude of self-denial. Now look, this is wonderful, wise, beneficial counsel from God's Word. Churches in this very hour, churches all across the world, and I mean true churches of Christ, are being torn apart by fights and squabbles and arguments about this thing and that thing and the next. Because strong brethren don't have the right plan and aren't exhibiting the right attitude in the controversy. That is, as Paul says, a plan to bear the scruples. They think it's their job to eliminate the scruples post haste and an attitude to deny themselves They think just because they have an open conscience, a free conscience about a matter, means they have a right to go for it. But when people lock that plan of bearing scruples and practicing the attitude of self-denial, then all kinds of trouble is going to erupt in a church when we try to discuss controversial matters that are really indifferent in themselves. But where this philosophy, this understanding, this virtuous perspective is adopted by the strong, peace is bound to prevail. Now clearly, what we read in verse 15 is not just what we could say advice. Something you can take or leave at your own judgment and leisure. Even though verse one is the least forceful of the three we have for preaching today, it intimates we have a moral obligation to this plan and this attitude because it says we then who are strong ought to bear the scruples of the week and not please ourselves. We ought to do it. It's what God requires of us. It's a moral obligation, a necessity for living the Christian life. It's comparable to a debt that must be paid if you would keep your integrity. In fact, the word is used with that kind of idea in chapter 1 verse 14. where Paul says, I am debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. Paul knew that as one favored with the gospel, he had an obligation, a moral obligation, to propagate the gospel to people throughout the world as he had an opportunity. Both the cultured and the uncultured. both those who are of a philosophical bent and those who are unlearned. That was his obligation, his duty, his debt to them. It's the same word family that this word ought in the Greek belongs to. And you remember what Paul said in Romans 13 verse 8 when he said, Oh, no one anything except to love one another. For he who loves another has fulfilled the law. Listen, there is one universal obligation, moral obligation or debt we have to pay to one another. And it's never fully paid. And you know what that is? It's the debt of love. We're under compulsion. as a moral obligation to love one another, as if it were a debt to be paid. So that kind of idea is behind this word ought in Romans 15.1. We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak. That is, this is what you should do. This is what you must do. You have to do this to be living in the will of God as a strong Christian. You might have Christian liberty about eating meat and drinking wine, but you don't have Christian liberty to trample weak brethren with scruples. According to this text, you must bear their weaknesses and deny yourselves legitimate pleasure, whether you feel like it or not. So this is Paul's expression of the duty of the strong. in their relation to the week, and with God's help, this afternoon, we'll see his further exhortation to this duty and enforcement of this duty by the example of Christ. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we are grateful for your truth. for your condescension in directing us how to live our lives, even in such mundane particulars as what we eat and what we drink and where we go and so forth. Father, I pray that every one of my hearers would have the faith to put these things we've preached into practice. Lord, forgive us for being insensitive in the past, wielding our Christian liberty as we have. Help us, Lord, to indeed sympathize with the weak brethren among us, those who are hampered in the full enjoyment of the blessings of this life that God has given, because they think it would be a sin for them to enjoy them. are those who are burdened with being more strict than you have been in your word, O Lord. How grievous that is where it occurs. We know most of us can speak from experience because we have labored under such burdens before. But Lord, now, as you have given many of us a good degree of light and discernment in such controversies, and we have been loosed from man-made rules. We pray, O Lord, for compassion toward our brethren who have not yet come to such light, and we pray you help us to relieve their their weary burden bearing to the degree that we can, that we, Lord, would deny ourselves the gratification of our wins in the interest of what might further the spiritual good of the weak brother. All for your glory. Lord, we have a warrant to pray boldly this way because this is your will. And you told us in your word, if we ask anything according to your will, you hear us and we shall have the petitions we desire of you. So we pray boldly and also through the mediation of Christ our Savior. Amen.