Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Romans

Romans 14:13-23

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Sermon Title: 'God's Principals for Liberty and Unity' pt. 2                                               Sermon Text: Romans 14:13-23

INTRO: Last week we looked at Unity and Diversity with the emphasis on Unity. This week I  want to look again at Unity and Diversity with the emphasis on Diversity. The great advantage of a diverse church, one where all the people are not alike, is that it gives us opportunities to practice loving one another. When you interact with someone whose life experiences, habits and ways of doing things are different, you have the opportunity then to change, try new things, to learn and grow, and to show love.

Trans: So then, with love as our guide, let us go on to the 6th principal for liberty and unity in the church.

6. Judge only one thing (Rom. 14:13-15)
Read: Rom. 14:13-15

  So, stop judging and determine to do one thing only in relation to your weaker brother. 'Don't put a stumbling block in their way'. Let me explain. Constantly be aware that you don't misuse your freedom in Christ by tempting another to do that which he/she feels is sin.

ILL: If you know that someone in the church family is an alcoholic, don't invite them over for dinner and have a case of beer in the garage or wine in the fridge where he/she will see it.
  If you know someone has trouble with gambling. Don't invite them to go to Atlantic City with you to see a show in the casino.

  Even though the text says that nothing is unclean the conscience of some may take longer to understand that than others. By exercising your  freedom in their presence, you may  offend or hurt them, or cause them to stumble. Remember that Paul is talking about the legitimate weaker brother, not the illigitimate or manipulative weaker brother that we defined a few weeks ago. The bottom line is that if your brother/sister is truly offended by the exercise of your Christian liberty, and you continue to do it, then you are not acting in love toward that person. The result will be the ruin of that persons conscience and the ruin of your relationship with that person.

Trans: Principal 6, judge or determine only one thing..not to put a stumbling block in front of a weaker brother. The next principal for liberty and unity in the church is found in verses 16-18.

7. Give no occasion for criticism (Rom. 14:16-18)
Read: Rom. 14:16-18

  Often what the world sees most in the church is our arguing over non-essential issues.

ILL: The story is told of a church that got into an argument over whether there should be a Christmas tree in the Christmas program in the sanctuary. Some thought the tree fine, others thought it a pagan practice. They got so angry that a fight broke out. One group dragged the tree outside the church and then the other group dragged it back in.  They ended up suing each other in court and of course it made the newspaper. What the world saw was not unity, liberty and love, they saw fighting, division and hatred.

  Paul says that these issues ought not take up our valuable time and they certainly ought not to divide God's people. The Kingdom of God is not in externals but eternals. It is not what you eat or drink or wear, but righteousness, peace and joy. That is what the world is to see. Don't make major issues over minor matters. Keep focused on the matters of the kingdom. Instead of dealing with issues of liberty, concentrate on matters of righteousness.  When you major on the minors you leave yourself open for criticism from others and you bring shame to the name of our Lord.

Trans: Principal 7, give no occasion for criticizing. The next principal is found in verse 19

8. Pursue things that bring peace and edification (Rom. 14:19)
Read: Rom. 14:19

  Paul is speaking to both the weaker and stronger believers. He is saying, lay aside that which divides and concentrate, strive for those things that bring about peace in the body of Christ and that works to build one another up.Edification here does not only mean teaching. It includes the idea of building up a life, helping to develop one's character. We must always be asking ourselves if what we are doing is building up or tearing down others.You see, whenever you do something that threatens the peace in the church, in a group or with an individual, so that they can not handle it and become angry...diffuse the situation and back off. You who are strong, bear the burdens of the weak. Do not insist on your rights.

Trans: Pursue things that bring peace and edification. The next principal for liberty and unity in the church is found in verse 20

9. Do not ruin the work of God in another (Rom. 14:20)
Read: Rom. 14:20

  True peace and unity comes from the indwelling Holy Spirit in the lives of Believers.  When we freely exercise our liberty in Christ without regard to our weaker brothers/sisters, we destroy the peace God is developing in our midst.The walk of faith is a long journey and God moves in peoples lives in differing ways. Some He moves along faster than others. Paul is saying to respect that. Don't hinder the work of God in someone else's life because of your impatience or their weakness. Don't think  you know better when and how they should learn this truth. Your liberty is not worth the cost of disunity in the body. You liberty is not as important as someone's spiritual walk.

Trans: Do not ruin the work of God in another. Our next principal is found in verse 21

10. Do nothing to cause another to stumble (Rom. 14:21)
Read: Rom. 14:21

  Here Paul sums up our attitude toward the weaker believer. If our liberty causes a brother or sister to fall into temptation and sin then we are to refrain from doing it. To exercise our liberty in such case would be sin for the stronger believer.  Understand that Paul is not saying that it is wrong to make a weaker believer think. It is not wrong to exercise your liberty to such a degree that a weaker brother asks questions about your viewpoint.

  When they see a person they feel is of godly character, one they respect exercise their freedom in an area that the weak feels he/she can not, it makes them question the freedom issue and that is the beginning of growth in their faith. We will look at this in greater depth in Ch. 15.

Trans: Do nothing to cause another to stumble. Our final principal for liberty and unity in the church is found in verses 22-23

11. Watch and do not condemn yourself (Rom. 14:22-23)
Read: Rom. 14:22-23

  There is a translation problem with this verse. The NIV says have these convictions between you and God. The NAS is not much better when it says have as your own conviction before God.  You see it is not Paul's intent that we keep our personal liberties to ourselves and not share them with others...after all, he is sharing his liberties with us and in ch. 15 encourages us to do the same with others.

  What he means is that when you make up your mind about exercising a particular liberty, talk to God about it. Add Him to the decision making process. Don't just make the decision because everyone else is doing it or because the pastor says its ok. Make the decision jointly with God.

  So, the stronger believer ought to enjoy the free exercise of his/her liberty before God who gave it to him. To praise God for being delivered from the bondage of traditionalism and riutalism. Happy is the one who can freely exercise his/her liberty before God.  However, we ought never violate our conscience in areas of non-essential. If we have a gut feeling that something is wrong, we ought not do it. If we do, we sin. At least until the time we grow in our understanding of that liberty issue.

Conclusion:

 Sometime when you are entering a highway from a side street, you see posed a YIELD sign. Not I am not saying that you should steal one of them. But perhaps we should make a few place them in each of our rooms where we have committee meetings and in our lobby as we enter the worship service. It is important to remember to yield to one another out of love for one another. It's hard, it goes against our nature. But, it will help to develop peace and unity in the family of God and that will bring honor to him as well.

 To be honest it would be easier just to post a list of do's and don'ts to cover everything. While this may avoid the unpleasantness of controversy, it does nothing to enhance diversity or give occasion for love to be displayed and maturity to grow.

 So Paul tells us we must allow for differences and avoid division. How? By committing ourselves to love, by yielding our rights for the benefit of others. This will demonstrate to the world that diversity and unity can coexist peacefully in God's family.