Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Romans
Romans 14:1-12
Sermon Title: 'God's Principals for Liberty and Unity' pt. 1 Sermon Text: Romans 14:1-12
Intro: It was Augustine who said 'In essentials unity; in non-essential, liberty; in all things, charity'.
And it was Jesus who prayed, Holy Father, keep them in Thy name, the name which Thou hast given to Me, that they may be one, even as We are.'
I believe Augustine would agree with Jesus that one of the marks of living as Christians is to develop and maintain unity among the family of God.
There must be unity in the essentials of our faith. What are the essentials of the faith..we Just read them in the Apostles Creed. The essentials of the faith are also those things that scripture either directly prescribes or directly prohibits...the Ten Commandments, Eph. 4:28-5:19, Rom. 1-2, for example, and there are many more.
In the non-essentials of our faith, there must be liberty or
freedom if there is going to be unity. The non-essentials are those beliefs
and preferences that are not directly prescribed nor directly prohibited in
Scripture. The non-essentials of the faith include what is commonly called
'Christian liberty' issues: drinking, smoking, dancing, playing cards, going
to movies etc.
Note: Personal preferences based on the non-essentials of the faith can not
be held up on the same level as essential doctrinal issues. There must be
freedom for difference.
In all things, whether essential or non-essential to the faith, there must be developed and maintained the overarching act of charity..love.
As we return to Romans 14 this morning, we are going to be looking at the favorite indoor sport of Christians, it is not basketball, hockey or figure skating, it is trying to change one another. This is not a new sport, in fact it has been around the church since it's inception. So much of the petty bickering that goes on in the church seems to be centered on non-essential issues; the no no's of the 'proper' Christian life. Christians on both sides of the liberal/legalist controversy suffer from judgmental and critical attitudes that do not show liberty, or love, nor do they promote unity. They live anemic Christian lives and are a shameful testimony of the love of God to the world around them.
EXP: Paul, in Romans 14 tells us that there will be differences of opinions in non-essential issues. One of the greatest strengths of the Church has been its ability to combine unity and diversity and make then congruent and compatible terms. Unity in diversity, brought about by love is a goal worth fighting for, instead of fighting about.
Trans: Romans 14 gives us 11 principals for liberty and unity in the church. Open your Bibles to Romans 14:1..page 866 in the pew Bibles where we will find the first principal in vs. 1-2.
1. Receive the weaker brother (vs. 1-2)
Read: Rom. 14:1-2
Paul commands us to accept the weaker Christian regardless of their or our personal preferences.
Accept: to receive, welcome, unqualified, without any string attached, to receive them as part of the church without an argument.
This is important because two of the primary things that will destroy a church are sin and division.You are not called to agree with every believer on non-essential issues but you must accept that person as a brother/sister in Christ, because God has accepted them, just as He has accepted you.
One who is weak in faith:
This doesn't mean that they lack faith or that it is less than someone
else's faith. It means that there is a weakness in their understanding of
the content of faith. Here the weaker believer can not eat meat, he chooses
to only eat vegetables, even though there is no such prohibition in
Scripture.They have not come to fully understand the freedom the Believer
has in Christ and because of this they still seek to please God with works.
Their conscience believes 'if God hasn't specifically approved something,
then it's probably wrong.'
One man has faith:
Paul is speaking here of the stronger brother. Again, this doesn't
mean they have more faith, but that they understand better the content and
meaning of that faith. They realize they can eat meat or anything else,
after all God created all things and pronounced them good.Their conscience
believes 'If God hasn't specifically prohibited something than it is
probably within my rights to do it.'
Trans: So, Paul's first principal for liberty and unity in the
church is to accept those who have different opinions on non essentials of
the faith. Don't reject them, ignore them or treat them in a second class
way. Accept them wholeheartedly.
His second principal is found in verses 3-4.
2. Don't despise or judge (criticize) others (vs. 3-4)
Read: Rom. 14:3-4
Don't despise or criticize:
Paul is saying that we have no right to criticize one another on
non-essential issues of the faith. Neither the weak nor the strong are to do
this. The strong are not to look down on the weak as being inferior,
uneducated or babies. They are not to publicly or privately criticize their
lack of freedom. The weak are not to judge the strong as being liberal, or
carnal Christians. They are not to go up to the stronger Christian and say
'I don't know how you can do that and still claim to be a Christian. What
you are doing is a sin. (Again remember this is in relation to non-essential
issues only)
Recognize the Lord's servants
The reason we are not to criticize others is because we are not
accountable to one another in these areas...we are accountable only to the
Lord. It is interesting he uses the term servant here. The idea, I think,
is that a servant works only for his own master. And it is his masters
responsibility to see that His servant is faithful. You see, if we are all
servants of the lord and we are all serving, there will be no time nor will
there be an interest in criticizing one another, we will instead each strive
to serve God faithfully. And God will make each servant to stand firm in
their faith. That is His job...not ours.
Trans: To develop and maintain freedom and unity in the church Paul tells us not to judge or criticize on another on non-essential issues. His third principal is found in verses 5-6.
3. Be fully persuaded of right and wrong behavior (vs. 5-6)
Read: Romans 14:5-6
Here Paul brings up another example of the arguing that was going on in the early church...an argument that continues today.
Holy Days
There are many Christian who view Sunday as a holy day and frown on
any activity that results in laughter or fun on that day. It should be kept
for 'spiritual things' only...no ball playing, no TV no..anything but bible
study and prayer. There are others who feel that Sunday, like every other
day is the day that the Lord has made...let us rejoice and be glad in it.
therefore they don't feel restrictions on behavior are necessary for
Sundays...since every day is alike.
Be fully convinced
The point is that both are right. However, each must be fully
convinced in their hearts that they are honoring God by their choice of
activity or inactivity. They must be convinced they are doing the right
thing. Because God can read their hearts.
Give thanks
Whatever choice you make, give thanks to God for it. If you play
cards or go to movies, thank God for the ability and the pleasure you get
from it. If you don't do these things, thank God that He has made you as you
are. Do all for the glory of God and give Him the thanks.
Trans: To promote unity and freedom in the Body, Paul reminds us to be fully convinced in our own minds that what we are doing or not doing is either right or wrong. His fourth principal is found in verses 7-9.
4. Remember in all things you are the Lords (vs. 7-9)
Read: Romans 14:7-9
Here Paul is stating the importance that the Believer understand the Lordship of Christ in their life. Then we will understand how our attitudes and actions are to be motivated by His great love for us, in spite of our sinfulness. And we in turn ought to love Him and His children, our brothers and sisters in Christ, without compromise or qualification.
Trans: Jesus is Lord of all, remembering that will bring about freedom and unity in the body. Paul's 5th principal and the last we will examine this morning is found in verses 10-12.
5. Leave the judging of others to God (vs. 10-12)
Read: Romans 14:10-12
Paul is saying, if you want to promote unity and freedom in the church, tend to your own knitting, mind you own business...again in areas of non-essentials.
Read: John 21:20-22
When you are tempted to judge or criticize another Believer on a
non-essential issue like drinking, smoking or going to the movies, I want
you to remember ' what is that to you'. Follow Christ and let Him be Lord,
of both the weak and the strong.
We must understand that Jesus is Lord of both the weaker and the stronger
brother and one day we all will bow at the feet of our One Lord, Jesus
Christ..and we will bow together. We will all give account of our lives, our
works for Christ. So Paul says, leave the judging of others to God.
Conclusion:
Next week we will look at the last 6 principals for liberty and unity in the church. Until then I want us to think about the petty criticizing we often do in the church. How it takes up a lot of time. I know because I have to deal with it a lot more than I like to. Dealing with peoples petty arguments and non-essential divisions takes up too much time in the church. We constantly spend time calming ruffled feathers, easing bruised egos and correcting prideful or unbiblical attitudes. What we ought to be doing are the more important works of ministry...prayer, Bible study, worship and evangelism. The things that have eternal value are being swallowed up by the temporal, nuisance issues of the flesh. There is work to be done for our Lord and we are to be about His business, not minding the business of others. We must be about the business of building up the body and not tearing it down. We must be about the business of taking the love of God as displayed in the Gospel of Christ to a lost and dying world...instead of fighting amongst ourselves.
We are to be about freedom and unity....bathed in love for one another.