As Paul continues the practical outworking of our Christian faith he address an issue that is not just fixed to the first century church, but a problem that has seen damage in the church in every generation. Paul addresses the human problem of judging. In the context of chapter 14 of Romans, Paul is telling the church then and now that there is no place for judging in the fellowship of believers. He makes this clear in a number of verses that conclude each time by taking us to God’s perspective. It is God alone who is judge and as judge he sees us through his son Jesus because our faith is in him for our salvation.

Rather than judging, Paul takes us in the second half of the chapter to consider how we can build each other up. Once again, this doesn’t come without a challenge as Paul warns us that our freedom to do certain things can cause another to stumble. We are to be a church that speaks well of Jesus as we live well for him together. We are to think of others before ourselves and live Biblically as Paul directs us.

Romans - The heart of the Gospel is a teaching series from Annalong Presbyterian Church. Find out more at www.annalongpc.org/sermons.

Let me encourage if you do have your Bible to turn

2

there to Romans chapter 14 and

follow along with those 23 verses as

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we take a look at it this evening.

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This morning I invited folks

to come this evening and to see

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how faith in Jesus is lived out.

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This morning we were talking about that

hope that we saw in Genesis chapter 50

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even though it was a story of burial

rituals and everything that went along.

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It demonstrated the great faith that

Jacob and the children of Israel had

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as they brought their father back

to be buried in the land of promise.

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400 years later, they would settle there.

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None of them that were alive in

that moment would see it, but

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yet they had such great faith.

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And so, that teaches us of the

great faith we are to have in

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the land that we are promised.

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But what does that look like?

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What does it look like to wait

for that day as we saw this

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morning when Jesus will return?

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And as we know in the first 11

chapters of Romans we've looked

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at Paul's great theology of what

it means to believe the faith.

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Well now he does come pretty hard

on us as we look from chapter 12

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through to the end of this book at

what it means to live the faith.

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And in many ways, I didn't plan it like

this, but this is quite a good passage

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to look at on this day of Pentecost.

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If we believe that in Pentecost, with

the coming of the Holy Spirit, it is

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the Spirit that not only works in us

to strengthen us and to spur us on, but

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unites us as God's people in one Spirit,

then what we see here is how we, the

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church, believers in Jesus, are to live.

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And it's going to be hard

reading and hard learning for us.

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So be prepared because I doubt

that there's any one of us will

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leave this building without being

challenged as I have been in the

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week of preparation for this.

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Because what we get in Romans chapter

14 are the standards of God's people

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in how they relate to each other and

how they live in fellowship together.

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but also how we live

differently from the world.

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And Paul takes us through two aspects

of what our life together should

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be like, so that we may honor the

gospel and show that God's way is

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indeed the best way for all humanity.

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And in my training to go overseas

as a global mission worker with

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the Presbyterian Church, I had

to consider what it meant to

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work in a multicultural team.

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We all approach life with

a certain expectation, that

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everyone is just like us.

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And if they're not like us, well

then they should be like us.

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I was going to work with a staff

team in our office of about seven

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or eight, but a wider team of about

10 or 12, all of whom were Malawian.

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But just because they all came from

the one country, that's four and a half

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times the size of Northern Ireland,

it didn't mean that the cultures in

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which they grew up in were the same.

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And I found that out quite quickly.

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I wasn't going into an office of

one culture that I had to adjust to.

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We were all of different

cultures and practices that

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we each needed to understand.

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One approach to this that I found

helpful was to consider, in this

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book, Biblical Multicultural Themes,

how our childhood forms each of us.

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In fact, our childhood homes define us.

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Did we share a bedroom?

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Did we have a table to eat at?

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Did we have electricity?

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Did we have running water?

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Did we pray before every meal?

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Did we go to church together?

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Did we walk?

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Did we have a car?

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Are all questions that determine

our perspective on life.

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And by the way, each of us in this

building will even have different answers

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for that because there will be some of you

who didn't have electricity in your home.

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who didn't have running water and you

grew up living in this area depending

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on the shore for your survival.

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Whereas those of us who are younger have

known all the benefits of modern life

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and that shapes us in how we view life.

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And one earlier piece of advice that

I received from an old New Tribes

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missionary to Papua New Guinea was

to approach culture in this way.

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It's not wrong, it's different.

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And that might be fine in approach to how

we enter another's world, but the culture

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of the church is determined by scripture.

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It's not a, a Woolworth's pick and mix.

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If you remember walking into

Woolworth's and turn right, and

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you'll see that great wall of sweets.

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It's not that kind of pick and

mix where we get to choose the

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aspects of church life that we

like and leave those we don't like.

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Because in chapter 14, Paul sets a

standard for us that transcends our

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individual cultures and brings us to the

economy of God's people and how we are

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to live together as children of the King.

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I think it would have been wonderful

if you all grew up in County

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Armagh, particularly in Keaty.

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But I know you didn't.

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And even as you grew up in Annalong,

some of you grew up on the shore,

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some of you grew up on the mountains,

some of you grew up in the village,

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and dare I say it, some of you grew

up in Kilkeel, we're all different.

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We'll all have a different view,

but the economy of God's kingdom

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transcends our individual preferences

and our individual culture.

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And Paul wants to sharpen our

focus on this, so that we will

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live well, live life in the Holy

Spirit, as is directed by Scripture.

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And so chapter 14 helpfully divides into

two parts that we must pay attention to.

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Verses 1 to 12 are about our

consideration of others and what

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grace looks like in the fellowship.

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And verses 13 to 23 challenge

us in our actions as part of

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God's family in the church.

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So let's begin with verse 1 and what

really are we're asked to consider

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are the dangers of passing judgment.

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Through this first section Paul

presents two seemingly opposing sides.

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Weak faith versus strong faith.

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Conscience on what we can eat and

consideration of special days.

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Each example here sets a member of

the family of the church against

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another in how each perceive

what is a practice of faith.

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At the heart of it, at the heart

of it Paul is trying to describe a

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superior attitude that some may have.

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There is someone who sets a standard

based on their practice Their

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expectation, and their habit, and expects

everyone else to meet that standard.

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Thereby everyone else can be

judged, except of course the one

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person who's doing the judging,

because they get to set the rules.

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It's quite a convenient

position to sit in.

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But this is actually the problem

that Paul wants to address.

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Look at what he says in verse four.

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Who are you to pass judgment

on the servant of another?

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It is before his own master

that he stands or falls.

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And he will be upheld, for the

Lord is able to make him stand.

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See, here's a warning from Paul

that must be taken seriously.

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Rather than giving an answer to

each individual scenario that

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he's presented, Paul provides

a principle for us to follow.

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We look at each other

from God's perspective.

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None of us are perfect, and we

never will be perfect, I'm sorry

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to tell you that, until eternity.

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And although we are to encourage each

other along the road of faith, and keep

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each other accountable, we do not judge,

for that alone is the right of God.

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The two scenarios that Paul presents in

verse 1 and verse 2 are about those who

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are perceived to have weak faith and

those who view freedom to eat one type

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of food rather than another, and that's

the argument that this is settling in.

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So this must have been, as we know

from other churches in the early

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church, an issue that was a hot topic.

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And Paul warns in verse 3, Let not

the one who eats despise the one who

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abstains, and let not the one who

abstains pass judgment on the one

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who eats, for God has ordered it.

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You see again the perspective of God.

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Uh, verse 3 and as we saw in verse 4.

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And this is where these

verses Paul is pointing us to.

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He's pointing us to God.

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You see the standard is not ours.

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The standard.

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God has welcomed the one

who will eat anything.

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And he's welcomed the one

who will eat only vegetables.

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And it is God who receives the one

who is perceived to have weak faith.

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We are not the justifiers.

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God is, and it is He who knows the heart.

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And this should be an encouragement

to us as well as a challenge, because

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as easily as we can be the one in one

moment who judges the circumstances of

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others, so our circumstances can change

in an instant, and we can so easily

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become the one who is then judged.

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But this is our confidence, that

it is the same rule that stands.

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It is the Lord who judges.

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So what Paul calls us to, is to

live life from his perspective.

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We are warned against judging others,

because that is not our right.

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That is God's right.

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And as one moment we can be the

judge, next minute we can be the

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judged, based on the circumstances.

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That can be controlled by us, or

that can be out of our control.

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Now this doesn't mean

that we get off scot free.

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We are brothers and sisters in

Christ, and each of us are called to

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encourage, and as we'll see later in

this passage, to build up each other

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in the faith, as well as keep, keeping

each other on that road of faith.

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And that's the principle that Jesus

gives us in Matthew 18 and verse

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15, when he tells us how to deal

with fellow believers who would sin

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against us, and thereby be out of

step with what is the rule of faith.

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Amen.

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And Jesus says, if your brother sins

against you, go and tell him his

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fault between you and him alone.

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If he listens to you, you have gained

a brother, or gained your brother.

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See, we are to encourage

each other in faith.

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Jesus doesn't say, go and judge

him, go and tell him what's

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wrong and sit in a judge's seat.

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Jesus says, go and have that

grace filled conversation.

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That grace filled conversation that we

had with Jesus, who graciously forgive us.

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Amen.

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So that we can know the forgiveness that

we can offer to others as well as true

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restoration in Fellowship and in unity

in the spirit and this is what verses

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5 and 6 go on to say Before we judge

we should understand the perspective of

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the other person and why they believe

or practice Such things when we even try

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to understand then we learn the reason

behind the action That's why Paul in

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verse 6 says, The one who observes the

day, observes it in honor of the Lord.

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The one who eats, eats in honor of the

Lord, since he gives thanks to God.

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While the one who abstains,

abstains in honor of the

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Lord, and gives thanks to God.

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What the heart of the matter is

here, is the relationship with God.

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Are they doing something out of genuine

worship of God, or are they simply

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being led astray into practices?

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We simply can't rush in and judge.

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We must understand why someone

is doing what they're doing.

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We don't do that by

listening to idle gossip.

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We don't do that by making up a scenario

that fits what we want it to fit.

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We listen.

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We ask.

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And together in the Spirit, we

determine what is the way of Scripture.

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And it's verse 8 that gives

us the foundations of this.

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For if we live, we live to the Lord,

and if we die, we die to the Lord.

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So then, whether we live or

whether we die, we are the Lord's.

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Again, the perspective here is heavenly.

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It is the Lord's perspective.

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If someone does something that we don't

agree with from our perspective, but

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isn't contrary to Scripture, then we

entrust them and ourselves to the Lord.

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Amen.

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And this again is good news for

us, because it releases us from

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the risk of judging others.

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And Paul concludes this section

by once again forcing us to

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take the heavenly perspective.

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We may think that we are defending

the faith, but in reality we are

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a judge wanting things to be done

our way because of our preference.

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Paul cautions this by reminding

us that we will all stand

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before the judgment seat of God.

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And in verse 12, he goes on to

say, So then each of us will give

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an account of himself to God.

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Rather than judging, perhaps our

response as the fellowship of God's

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people is to ensure we maintain such

strong fellowship together that we grow

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and mature together in biblical faith.

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This means we attend together

Sunday worship morning and evening.

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It means we attend the prayer meetings

together morning and evening on a Sunday.

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It means we attend the midweek

where we gather around God's word

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and we take time to pray together.

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We take part in the times of the week

that we have the opportunity to be

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together, not in a serving capacity where

we don't have the time to fellowship,

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but in the moments when we can listen

and share the truth of God in our lives.

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This is what Paul's calling

us to, to live together as the

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church is supposed to live.

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We're in the Spirit on

this day of Pentecost.

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We know true unity and true love,

where we actually approach people.

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We talk to them and not about them.

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And so having considered what is a natural

part of our humanity, to be the judges

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of others, and setting us on the path

of building up others, we move on to the

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second half of the passage and consider

what it means to support one another.

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Paul only takes a breath in verse 13

and tells us that the outworking of

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not judging is to decide never to put a

stumbling block or hindrance in the way

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I don't know what's wrong with me,

but I will trip over absolutely

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anything and always have.

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When I was three, I tripped over

a hoover and gashed open my chin.

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On going to the doctor's surgery and

getting stitches, my father fainted at

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the sight of the blood and stitches.

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Even today, with the children's toys,

I'm going to take out private liability

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because someday I'm going to break a neck.

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I know what a stumbling block is.

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It can be the smallest stone that

I'll trip over, or it can be a hoover.

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And you know what it's like too.

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That's the image that's

been painted here for us.

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That in fact, not that there's a

stumbling block out there, but that

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we don't become the stumbling block.

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The stumbling block that will make

someone trip and falter in faith.

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We perhaps don't think of ourselves

like this, and indeed we don't

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intentionally desire to put up

stumbling blocks for others.

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But nevertheless, they are things

that can hinder others in the

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faith, and in due course, hinder us.

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in the faith.

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I don't think any of us would want

to consider our practices and our

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ways of worship that they would

be a stumbling block to the faith.

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Verse 14 is a verse that gives us

some perspective on this, where

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Paul says, I know and I'm persuaded

in the Lord Jesus that nothing is

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unclean in itself, but it is unclean

for anyone who thinks it unclean.

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What Paul is doing in this verse is

he's implying that he is among those.

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whom he considers strong, and he

gives us a personal testimony.

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He has a firm conviction, grounded in

his relationship with Christ, that Jewish

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food laws and their clean or unclean

restrictions are no longer binding.

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Not only does Jesus teach this, but Paul's

vision in Acts chapter 10 and And the

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further interactions that he has with

Cornelius confirm that Peter should not

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declare unclean what God is now giving his

people permission to partake of freely.

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And Paul is living out

this same conviction.

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This is where the weak can stumble.

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Their own misguided conscience

can make them feel guilty when

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objectively they're actually not.

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Any particular food is unclean

for anyone who thinks it unclean.

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And as much as he has said in

verse 3 that we should, that we

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shouldn't judge what someone eats.

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He goes on to say in verse 15,

that we do have a responsibility

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to be careful in what we do.

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In this case, in what we eat.

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Just because we think it is

okay, doesn't mean that it won't

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cause someone else to stumble.

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And we know how it's gone in the past.

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Without going into any real

controversial areas, we know

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what was said of the cinema.

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It's good for a Christian not to

go to the cinema because in the

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cinema, in the darkness, nobody

knows what you're watching.

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Because of course it will be judged

that even though you're going in to see

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Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, people

will assume you're going in to see The

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Terminator or some other movie that is

inappropriate for an age group or has

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violence that is counter to the Bible.

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And of course, we lived by that, or

I grew up in that, that you didn't

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go to the cinema because you didn't

want to lead other people astray.

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And it might be that that is

still something that should be

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practiced today for some of you.

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But it goes against, or it goes with the

principle that what Paul is saying here.

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We have to be careful in what we do.

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Be careful that we don't put ourselves in

a place where someone will then judge us,

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which Paul has said they shouldn't do.

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But even if we're going

in to see Snow White.

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We shouldn't have someone

believe that we're going in to

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see something that we're not.

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And so Paul again draws our focus to

what is really the whole argument of this

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passage, the economy of God's kingdom.

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In verse 17 he helps us

understand what he's saying.

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He says, For the kingdom of God

is not a matter of eating and

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drinking, but of righteousness and

peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

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Do you see what he's saying here?

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We can easily pick up on the

perceived faults and practices of

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others, and completely ignore the

kingdom that we are both part of.

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Look at what the currency of

the kingdom is in this verse.

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Righteousness.

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and peace and joy.

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And don't we want all three of those?

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Don't we want to know that we're

right before God through Jesus Christ?

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That we don't have to pay the punishment

ourselves that our sin deserves?

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Don't we want peace?

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Not just a fleeting peace of

this world, but a deep seated

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peace that only Christ can give.

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And don't we want joy?

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Don't we want more than happiness?

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A joy that takes us from this

world and assures us of the next?

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Notice that our joy is in the Holy Spirit.

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It is the life giving contentment in the

Gospel that the Holy Spirit gives us, that

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keeps us in unity and fellowship together.

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The commentator Iain M.

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Duguid says this, Where righteousness

and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit are

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present, the strong and the weak in a

congregation will not be clashing, but

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the weak And perhaps damaging firstly

each other and secondly the mission of

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the church by their attitudes and actions.

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I think Dugood does a good expression

here of what happens when we don't keep

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the fellowship, when we're not living by

the Spirit, when we are judging others.

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It brings us to disunity and it

hinders the mission of the church.

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The challenge, as Paul directs us in

verse 19, is to pursue the things that

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ensure our peace together as God's

people and to build us up as the church.

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This might mean that we have to

let certain things go and accept

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that that fella from Katie is, he's

always going to do it that way.

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And I'm going to have to be settled

that Analong people are always going

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to do the things they do their way.

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It's not that it's not biblical,

it's not wrong, it's just different.

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And But this is how we live

together, united in the Holy Spirit.

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And so to conclude this chapter,

where Paul has been directing us about

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how we live and should live as the

church, he concludes in verses 20 to

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23, again returning to the example

of food and how it is consumed.

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And what he drives home here

is that we need to sacrifice

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self in order to edify others.

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To sacrifice self in

order to edify the world.

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We still build the church by

watching how we speak and how we

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act when fellow believers disagree.

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And Christians do disagree.

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And we disagree about food and drink, the

use of our time and the use of our money.

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They did it in the early church

and we still do it today.

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But at the heart of any debate or

discussion should be the gospel.

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Insisting on personal rights

at the expense of others is

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one way to forget the gospel.

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Paul's counsel for the church,

facing controversy, is whatever

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the controversy may be, we should

pursue the truth in the gospel.

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Ever being led by the Holy Spirit,

so that we will be faithful to that

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calling that is placed on our lives.

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And in verse 22 he tells us,

The faith that you have, keep

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between yourself and God.

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Blessed is the one who has

no reason to pass judgment on

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himself for what he approves.

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We are to preserve the integrity of

the gospel in our walk with the Lord.

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We are called to maturity in faith and

not to settle for a shallow faith that

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will be tossed around by influences

within and outside the church.

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We must affirm that everything

we do is grounded in scripture.

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It is scripture and scripture

alone that is our supreme standard

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and so it will be our guide.

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That's why Paul finishes this

chapter with saying, For whatever

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does not proceed from faith is sin.

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Now that should wake us up.

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Whatever does not proceed

from faith is sin.

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And so if you aren't reading your

Bible, please start to read it.

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And if you don't have a

Bible, I'll get you one.

367

And I'll get you Bible reading notes so

that you can grow and mature in the faith.

368

We make sure that our teaching

resources are available online so

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that you can listen again or you

can catch up on what you miss.

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We don't do that because we think

it's good to do, we do it because

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we want people to grow in faith.

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We want you to grow deep in the

word so that your faith matures.

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Now, I invited you to come this morning

to see how that life of hope lives out

374

in faith and you could be going, well, I

know what the church is like and it ain't

375

like this, so why would I be part of it?

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And so the question could easily

come, is faith worth all of this?

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Well, yes it is.

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Because tonight, if you're here

because of my invitation this morning,

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we as the church don't always get

it right, and I will be the first

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to put up my hand to admit it.

381

And our judgmental spirit and my

judgmental spirit can overtake how we

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are to live by God's standard, as has

been told to us this evening by Paul.

383

Please don't judge the value of faith.

384

Faith on human beings

because we will fail.

385

We are all sinners and

we all need God's grace.

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Faith is worth it because

it comes from God.

387

And if you're exploring

faith, well, trust.

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in Christ this evening.

389

And together we will learn how to live.

390

We will mature together and we will grow

in faith because this is the encouragement

391

from the writer of Hebrews as they

say in Hebrews 10 verses 24 to 25.

392

And let us consider how to stir up

one another to love and good works,

393

not neglecting to meet together as

is the habit of some, but encouraging

394

one another and all the more as you.

395

See the day drawing.

396

We are presented this evening

with what the church should be.

397

I wonder can we strive, not in our own

strength, but in the strength of the Lord.

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Oh, we'll not get it right.

399

I know we'll not get it right every

time, but let's be dependent on the Lord.

400

Let us be together as often as we can

so that we truly get to know each other.

401

And that not only do we know that growth

and maturity and faith together, but we

402

will stand firm on the gospel because

it turns out our faith is worth it.

403

And indeed, if you're exploring faith,

come on to Jesus, draw near to him, and

404

be part of what is his blessing to us.

405

the church of Jesus Christ.

406

So let's grow to be the church

that speaks well of Jesus as

407

we live well for him together.

408

Let's think of others before ourselves and

let's live biblically as Paul directs us.

409

Let us pray.

410

Our Father God, too often we think the

heart of the gospel is about coming to

411

Jesus and being saved and that's it.

412

But as Paul opens up the heart of the

gospel to us, the gospel is as much about

413

how we live as followers of Jesus as well.

414

So those who have faith, help

us to live better for Christ.

415

Forgive us for the ways that we

have failed this standard and help

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us to stand strong in the days

that are ahead because we will need

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to stand together as the world's

persecution ever increases upon us.

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And for those here tonight who

are asking, is faith worth it?

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Father, convince and assure this night

that indeed it is, and that in coming

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to faith in Jesus Christ, we know not

only the blessing of salvation, but we

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know the fellowship together of your

people, united in the Holy Spirit.

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And so Father, how good it

is that together we worship

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and we continue to grow.

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So as we pray and as we respond,

may we take your word seriously

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and we ask this in Jesus name.

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Amen.