So, we're reading from Romans chapter 14, verses 1 to 12, and that's on page 1140 in the Red Bible.
So, except him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.
One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.
The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not,
and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.
Who are you to judge someone else's servant?
To his own master he stands or falls, and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
One man considers one day more sacred than another.
Another man considers every day alike.
Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
He who regards one day as special does so to the Lord.
He who eats meat eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God, and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.
For none of us lives to himself alone, and none of us dies to himself alone.
If we live, we live to the Lord.
If we die, we die to the Lord.
So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life, so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
You then, why do you judge your brother?
Or why do you look down on your brother?
For we will all stand before God's judgment seat.
It is written,
As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before me, every tongue will confess to God.
So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Thank you, Kate.
So keep your Bibles open there at Romans 14.
We've been looking over the last few weeks at what it means to apply the gospel to our lives.
As we often say, the gospel, the good news about Jesus, is not just for people who are unbelievers,
but it is also for those who are believers.
And when the gospel changes us and transforms us, it turns us into people, as we've been seeing, into people of love.
But this week we will see that it also causes unity.
Well, let's pray together and ask for God's help to us all.
Father, we thank you so much for the good news about the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thank you for the wonderful truths that Jesus died for our sins.
That he rose again from the grave, defeating death, giving forgiveness and a rich welcome into his family to all who will trust him.
Father, we ask that you would continue to shape us and transform us by the gospel.
We pray that it will be understood with our minds, but that it will begin to work out in our life,
causing us to love one another deeply,
and that it will create and build an inseparable bond between one another.
We ask this for your sake, for we long that Jesus be made known.
We pray this in his name. Amen.
Well, on the 6th of June, 1944, almost 70 years ago to this day,
British and American troops joined together in a united effort and landed on the beaches of Normandy.
Together as one joint force on what became known as D-Day,
they made their attack, which led to the winning of the Second World War.
On their own, it just simply wouldn't have been possible.
It took two sides united in one mission.
Now, the church is also on a mission.
That is pretty much what Romans is all about.
The mission is this, to announce the gospel,
the good news about the Lord Jesus Christ to all peoples in all places.
And if that mission is to be accomplished, the church must be united.
The people must join together as one force and go into the world together.
But the problem is, the unity of the church is always under threat.
In fact, the church was in danger of dividing.
They were having their own particular D-Day.
First, look at verse 1.
He says,
Except him whose faith is weak,
without passing judgment on disputable matters.
So instead of joining together,
they were actually dividing over what we might call secondary matters,
or non-gospel issues.
You see, the church was made up of two main groups.
On the one side, there were Jewish people from a religious background.
And on the other side, there were people from a Gentile,
a non-religious background.
And both sets of people, both groups of people,
had all come to faith in Jesus Christ.
They were all part of the church.
But, both these groups had a different opinion about non-gospel issues.
There was an argument over disputable matters.
So what were these disputes all about?
Well, we're going to look at them briefly.
Firstly, first,
they were dividing over what you could eat and could not eat.
So look at verse 2.
One man's faith allows him to eat everything,
but another man whose faith is weak,
eats only vegetables.
Now we'll come back to that in a minute.
Second,
they were dividing about certain days in the diary.
So verse 5.
One man considers one day more sacred than another.
Another man considers every day alike.
Now we might think that absolutely crazy.
Who's going to divide about whether you have vegetables
or whether you have pork?
What's the big issue?
Well, we've got to remember here the context
and the culture of the church.
You see, those from a Jewish and a religious background
had been taught all through their childhood
and all through their lives,
according to the Old Testament law,
that food and festivals were really important.
It was part of your cultural identity
and it was also part of your belief system.
So if you ate certain kinds of food like pork sausages,
well then you would be considered unclean before God.
And if you didn't observe special days like the Sabbath,
then you would be considered unacceptable to God.
So while they had all come to faith in Christ,
they understood that God accepts people
not on the basis of what we do,
but simply on the basis of what Christ has done.
They knew that,
but yet with all their background
and all the teaching and their culture all around them,
it was just really hard to shake off
what you believed and practiced all your life.
Yes, they knew the gospel was true,
but it was taking time for the gospel
to get right deep down into their lives
and begin to change
what had been the pattern of their life for so long.
Some of you here
might come from a particular religious background
and your religious tradition taught you
that you couldn't drink alcohol
or that you couldn't play games on a Sunday.
But now that you've come to faith in Jesus Christ,
you know that those things don't save you,
but still it's hard to shake off
what has been the pattern and practice for so long.
So we had those of a religious background on one side
and then we had the Jews or the Gentiles
who had no religious tradition.
And when they came to faith
and when they became part of the church,
they really couldn't get these Jewish people at all.
What were they going on about food and festivals
and why you can't eat this
and how you must only eat that
and this day was more important than this day?
What was the big deal?
Now some of you might come from a background
that is a little bit more liberal than traditional.
So having your tea and coffee during the worship service
is no big deal.
Why do people get upset about that?
What's all the fuss about?
It's not about tea and coffee,
it's about faith in Jesus.
So in this context, as in every church,
there are always arguments over secondary matters.
And the result was obvious.
Verse 10
You then,
why do you judge your brother or sister?
Or why do you look down
on your brother or sister?
You see, the two groups were beginning to divide.
One side was judging the other
for not following certain practices
and the other side was beginning to look down on the others
because they did follow them.
And instead of loving each other,
which was chapter 12 and 13,
that was what that was all about,
they were beginning to be critical
and condemning one another.
Instead of joining in the force together
and being part of the one mission together
and going and telling the good news
to all people in all places,
it was all about internal struggles
and they were beginning to fall out
over differences of opinion.
Now as I look out on this church,
and I see myself very much as part of this church,
there's people from all kinds of backgrounds.
There's different nationalities represented here.
We come from different cultures.
We have different religious and family traditions.
But yet, because of our faith in Jesus Christ,
we have been united together as one people,
one family.
But it doesn't take me to tell you this,
that we don't actually always agree, do we?
Yes, we agree on primary matters,
like salvation by grace through faith in Christ.
That's a big theme in Romans.
That was central.
That was not to be changed.
Yes, we agree on the authority of Scripture,
but we disagree on all sorts of secondary issues,
or as it says in verse 1,
disputable matters.
So let me throw out a few,
stir a little bit of argument amongst us.
Should we have our own building,
or should we continue to rent?
Can we celebrate the Lord's Supper in our home groups,
or should it only be on a Sunday morning?
Is it okay if I use the message
as my translation of the Bible,
or should it be the ESV?
Do I have to believe in a literal six-day creation?
Or can I believe that the days represent a period of time,
perhaps millions of years?
And what about spiritual gifts?
Have they ceased,
or do they continue?
And what about membership?
And what about baptism?
And what about how we structure the church?
And what about music?
And what about the songs we sing?
And I'm sure you have a lot more to add to the list.
You see, the point is,
we can all have a different opinion.
But we must be very careful
that disputable matters do not end in division.
In fact, we must work very hard to keep our unity.
unity.
And there are three ways by which we can do this.
Because what we want is unity around the gospel,
around the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ.
So, here's the first thing that we must hold dear and not lose.
First, we accept each other because we have been accepted by God.
So, look at verse 1 again.
Accept him whose face is weak without passing judgment on disputable matters.
You see, the reality is within the life of the church.
We're going to meet fellow believers who don't always agree with us.
Ralph and me are both elders.
We agree on an awful lot, but there's some things we don't agree on.
But rather than judge and fall out with each other,
we accept one another.
And we should all accept one another, especially,
again, look at verse 1.
Accept him whose face is weak.
Now, that does not mean their faith in Christ is in question,
and we're wondering, are they really a Christian or not?
No, they have faith in Christ.
They are most truly God's child.
But what it means is the outworking of their faith
is still in its infancy.
It's still growing.
They are still working out how the gospel relates to these disputable matters.
And they're still applying it and still working it through.
So, we must give room to that.
So, accept those whose face is weak.
So, verse 3,
The man who eats everything
must not look down on him who does not.
And remember, this is specifically a Jewish Gentile context.
It's not really about vegetarianism today.
So, verse 3,
The man who eats everything
must not look down on him who does not.
And the man who does not eat everything
must not condemn.
The man who does,
for God has accepted him.
There's the reason why we accept.
Because God has accepted him.
And to accept someone means,
we don't just put up with them and go,
You know, they've just got peculiar views.
God bless them.
Hmm?
No, it means you give them a rich welcome
into the family of the church,
because that's how God has treated you.
God has welcomed us into his family.
He has taken us and accepted us
on the basis of our faith in Christ alone,
not on our opinion of disputable matters.
So, who am I and who are you
to reject those who God has accepted?
You see, we don't actually get to decide
who we welcome.
We don't stand at the door with a little clipboard
and we have all our little list of opinions
and go,
Sorry, what's your opinion there on creation?
What's your view on the tea and coffee issue?
Hmm?
And give a little tix or an x on the box
and, well, if they all line up with you,
then you'll talk to them.
Now, we don't get to decide who to welcome.
God decides who he welcomes.
If God has accepted somebody by grace,
then we welcome them in grace.
We need to be so careful
that we don't accept people on the basis
that they hold the same opinion as me.
No, at the end of verse 3,
we accept each other
because God has accepted us both.
So that's the first thing we hold dear.
Second,
live to please the Lord
because we are all under his lordship.
Live to please the Lord
because we're under his lordship.
Verse 4.
Who are you?
Or who am I?
To judge someone else's servant.
You see,
we can all take on that kind of role
that we act as if,
well, I'm the Lord
and you're my servant.
In other words,
you're answerable to me
and I judge you
on the basis of whether you agree
with my views.
And if you don't share my opinion,
I don't want to do anything to do with you.
But look what it says
at the rest of verse 4.
To his own master he stands or fall.
That is,
we don't stand before each other.
We stand before the Lord.
And he will stand.
The Christian will stand.
Why?
Because the Lord
is able to make him stand.
You see,
we're not lords over each other.
Rather,
we are all under
the lordship of Christ.
Verse 5.
One man considers
one day more sacred than another.
Another man considers,
well,
every day alike.
Each one
should be carefully convinced
in their own mind.
You see,
if my opinion
is that Sunday
is the same as any other day
of the week,
and your opinion is
that Sunday should be kept
really special,
then I should not impose
or force
my view
on you.
Similarly,
if you think that Sunday
is more special,
and it should be different
to every other day
of the week,
well,
then I shouldn't change
my opinion
just to please you
and to kind of fit
into your little group.
The point is
we are not to impose
our views on others
and we don't change
our views
to please others.
Instead,
look at the end
of verse 5,
each one should be
carefully convinced
in his own mind.
that means
we've got to do
a little bit of weighing up
and a little bit
of thinking through.
We must do
what is right
as far as we can discern
before the Lord.
Verse 7,
for none of us
lives to himself alone,
as in we're not
answerable to ourselves,
and none of us
dies to himself alone.
If we live,
we live to the Lord.
And if we die,
we die to the Lord.
In other words,
we will be living
with him.
So whether we live
or die,
we belong to the Lord.
It's so clear
through these verses here
that it's the Lord
who is our master.
When we become Christians,
we come under
his lordship.
We belong to him.
He is our master.
We are his servants.
So our desire
is to obey the Lord,
not each other.
And our aim
is to please the Lord,
not one another.
And we do that
as we engage
with the Lord's word,
with God's word itself.
We read it.
We discern it.
We pray over it.
And we are answerable
to him.
Verse 9,
For this very reason,
Christ died
and returned to life
so that he might be
the Lord
of both the dead
and the living.
You see,
what really counts,
and we can have
our discussions
and our talks
with each other,
but what really counts
is not what I think.
It's not what you think,
but what God thinks.
And what God has said
in his word.
This is our authority.
We come under his lordship.
We must seek to obey
the Lord who died for us.
And we seek to please the Lord
who was raised to life
for us.
So we accept each other
because God has accepted us.
We live to please the Lord
because we are all
under his lordship.
And then the third one.
We don't judge each other
because we will all face
the judgment of God.
Look at verse 10.
You then.
So he's addressing
both groups of people
within the church,
the different sides
of the argument.
You then.
Why do you judge
your brother?
Or you over there.
Why do you look down
on your sister?
Well, for we will all stand
before the judgment seat
of God.
I think this is a wonderful,
this is a great leveller,
isn't it,
for the church.
I am not your judge
and you're not my judge.
Instead,
we are all going to be
judged by God.
Sadly,
many Christians sit
in God's place
and they act
as judge and jury.
They sit like Simon Cowell
on Britain's Got Talent
ready to press
that big red button.
Beep.
Get them out of the church.
We don't want them
in here.
They don't have
the same opinion as me
over some disputable matter.
Well, if that's you,
let me make it very clear
that you are not the judge
and neither am I.
God is.
Verse 11.
As it is written,
as surely as I live,
says the Lord,
every knee will bow
before me
and every tongue
will confess
to God.
You see,
it doesn't matter
what I think
or what you think
or even what I think
about myself.
What matters
is what God thinks.
And in everything
that I do,
I obey him
and in everything
I say,
I seek to please him
because,
verse 12,
so then each of us
will give an account
of himself to God.
You see,
I am not your judge
and God is the judge
and I'm going to have
to give an account
to him
and you're going
to have to give
an account to him.
Just think about it
for a minute.
If I was your judge,
you would stand
no chance.
You just wouldn't
get in
because I am
far too critical.
You don't match up
to all my opinions
and views.
You just wouldn't
get in.
But if God
is your judge,
then you have
great confidence
because
he is full
of grace.
We come before God
not because
I have this view
or because
I have this opinion.
We stand
free before God
because we are
trusting in Christ,
the one who
died for us,
the one who
gave his life
for us,
the one who
lived his life
perfectly for us.
who has forgiven
us and accepted
us and welcomed
us into his family.
So let us
not play judge
and jury,
but let us
make sure
that you
and I
are ready
to meet
our judge
with confidence
that we are
right with
the Lord,
that we
are accepting
those around
one another
because God
has accepted
them,
and that
we are
living to
please the
Lord because
I am living
under his
lordship.
The church
has been
called to a
mission.
It's a
wonderful mission.
We'll get to it
in a couple of
weeks,
but the mission
is simply this,
that we are to
announce the
gospel,
the good news
of the Lord
Jesus Christ
to all people
in all places.
But if the
church is
divided,
the message
will never
go anywhere.
But if that
mission is to
be accomplished,
the church
must be
united.
So let us
together as
the church
family join
forces.
Let us
continue as
we seek to
do,
work at it
together,
and apply the
gospel of grace
to one another
and to our
lives,
so that we
continue as
one people,
united together
in Christ,
reaching the
community and
reaching the
world with
the gospel.
Let's pray
that it does.
Amen.
Let's just
take a moment
to reflect.
Is there a
fellow believer
that you
judge
because they
don't hold
to your
view?
Have you
a habit
of looking
down on
someone
because they
don't share
your opinion?
Father,
would you
please forgive
me?
will you
forgive us
for the
times we
become
critical
and
condemning?
Thank you
that you
have accepted
us
because of
your grace
and on
the basis
of our
faith in
Jesus Christ,
the perfect
one.
God,
thank you
that you
have welcomed
us into
your family,
forgiven us
and given
us the
right to
become your
children.
Thank you
that you
have brought
us in
together,
the variety
of people
that are
here from
different
backgrounds
and cultures
and nationalities,
yet united
through our
faith in
Christ.
How wonderful,
how amazing
that is.
Father,
please,
by your
Holy Spirit,
help us
to get
rid of
every
critical
and
condemning
spirit
that we
have
and
accept
one
another
as you
have
accepted
us.
we pray
that
together
we will
be
those
who
are
united
in
reaching
the
community
and the
world
with the
gospel.
Help us
to do
that well.
Help us
to encourage
one another.
and we
thank you
so much
for the
unity
of this
church,
for the
family
of this
church,
for the
support
and the
encouragement.
Thank you
so much
for each
other.
In
Jesus'
name we
pray.
Amen.