Love Trumps Liberty 11-19-23

Transcription and Summary are computer generated and may vary slightly from the spoken text. Overview: In this sermon, Pastor Williams discusses the importance of prioritizing love for others over personal liberty as Christians. He emphasizes the need to consider the spiritual maturity and well-being of fellow believers and urges listeners not to let their actions cause others to stumble or perceive their faith negatively. The focus should be on serving and caring for others, rather than seeking self-importance. He references other biblical passages that support this message. ----- Transcription: I encourage you, I invite you to turn back to Romans 14 as I seek to conclude the sermon I started last week entitled, Love Trumps Liberty. Paul has brought us on quite a journey to get us to where we are in Romans 14, talking about the need for salvation, the way of salvation, the freedom from salvation, the acceptance of salvation, the results of salvation. He instructed us in the first part of 14 on this idea of primary versus secondary and how we need to take a stand on the primary issues while allowing liberty and allowing grace and mercy on the secondary issues. And then he gets to the end of chapter 14 and going into the first part of 15 and expands on this idea of we should not allow our liberty within our Christian faith under our convictions as we seek to grow in our relationship with Him to allow that to be taking so much of a top priority to us that we throw aside any care or concern for our brothers and sisters in Christ. In fact, in short, if I could sum it up in just one phrase, I would put it this way, that he says that we should be more concerned for those around us and their spiritual maturity and their spiritual journey than we are for our own liberty. That their condition should trump our liberty. And so that's why I've entitled this Love Trumps Liberty because our care for those around us should be more important and more of a priority to us than our freedom in Christ. I began last week by talking about how love trumps liberty by refocusing us on others' spiritual maturity found in 14 verses 14 and the first part of 15. And so I'm going to continue that thought first as I move into my next two points following this. And love trumps liberty by refocusing us on others' well-being. Not only their spiritual maturity, but also their well-being. Look again at verse 15. Romans 14, verse 15. He says, "...Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one from whom Christ died." So again, he uses this teaching to refocus our attention from ourselves. Well, what can I do? What is okay for me? How far can I go under the banner of grace and mercy that I have received? I've received my fire insurance. How far, how much liberty can I walk in? And Paul says, don't even worry about that. Look around you and care for the people that are around you. Do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. And yet, how many times does this lost and dying world look at the church and say, if that's what the church is about, I don't want it. Why? Because we, to a certain extent, as believers in Christ, have allowed our liberty and allowed our convictions and allowed the Spirit of God working in us to cause us to treat them like they're second class. Like they don't matter. Well, what I want and what I prefer is more important to me than the one whom Christ died for. You say, well, Christ died for me, so shouldn't I be concerned for me? Yes, but you've already experienced the grace and the mercy of God. And so now, our job as believers in Christ is the job of reconciliation. And so I need to help others see that. And he says, do not let, for food's sake, something as commonplace as food allow you to destroy the chances that another person would put their faith and trust in Christ. And so we need to be refocused on the well-being of others. Now, this is not the only place this is taught in Scripture. Matthew 18, verses 1-7 says, at that time, the disciples came to Jesus saying, Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Think about that. What kind of question is that? That is a self-centered question. Who's the greatest in heaven? Can I be that? Why can't I be the greatest in heaven? You know, after all, I'm the pastor of one of the greatest churches ever to ever exist. Amen? I didn't say amen the fact that I was your pastor. Amen the fact that this is one of the greatest churches to ever exist. Amen. I should feel that way as your pastor. He said, who's the greatest? I should be the greatest. I should get my spiritual checklist out and make sure I can do enough to be the greatest. Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Jesus called a little child to Him and set Him in the midst of them and said, assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself... Uh oh. Wait a minute now. I have to humble myself? I must decrease so that He can increase. Whoever humbles himself as a little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in my name receives me. But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him... listen to this language. It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world for offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes. Now that's pretty strong language, isn't it? Now think about that within the context of what we're reading here. That we shouldn't cause our weaker brother or sister to stumble. We shouldn't be the cause of an offense in their life. If I am the cause of that offense willingly and knowingly and continually in that, and I allow my preferences and my attitude and my self-righteousness to beat down and destroy somebody else in their face, better is it that a millstone be tied around my neck and me drown in the depths of the sea. Do you think that God wants us to take serious the well-being of those that are around us? Absolutely yes. 100% yes. To the point of where I should be willing to say, all things are lawful for me, but not everything is profitable. I have freedom in Christ to live out my convictions, but sometimes I need to lay that aside so that I can help strengthen and encourage and build up somebody else. My preferences on secondary issues should be put in their proper place so that others can grow. Matthew 20: 26 and 27 continues with this thought when it says, whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave. Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many, beloved brothers and sisters in Christ. That should be our mindset. That I should be a servant to others. That I should take on the mind of Christ in this. That I should lay my life down a ransom for many. Beloved, we need to get our focus off of ourselves and get it on others' well-being. Love trump's liberty by refocusing us on others' views. Look at v. 16. He says, therefore, do not let your good be spoken of as evil. Don't let your good be spoken of as evil. What does that mean? That means how we present ourselves and how others see us should be a concern to us. Now, I have to be very careful with this thought because when it comes to me living out my Christian faith and somebody telling me that I shouldn't do it and I need to keep it under wraps and I need to keep that to myself and keep it in my pocket, then in that sense, I should not care what others think. That I should live out my faith as boldly and as courageously as Scripture tells me to live it out. To let my light so shine before men that they see my good works and glorify my Father in Heaven. That kind of not caring what they think. But again, I want to remind you of the context of what Paul is speaking. He's not speaking to someone who has no desire for godly things. He's not speaking to someone who doesn't want to grow in their relationship. He is speaking to somebody who is a strong, grounded, foundational believer leading someone who's young in the face. Someone who's new and maybe forming their convictions and beginning to understand what the Word of God says. And it's those people, those young in the faith that are looking to us as mature believers and say, that's someone who I want to be like. I want to emulate that person. I want to put things in my life that that person has. And when we look at people like that, then we should say, you know what? I'm not going to allow anything to come forth from my life that would take that believer and stall them in their growth. I'm not going to do anything in my life that would take that believer and say, you know what? I don't want this Christian thing. If that's all I have to do, I don't want it. Instead, we should be living in such a way that says, man, I want to live in that freedom. I want to live in that relationship. I want to walk in that. We should be worried about how those believers... The Scripture tells the old men and the old women lead the younger ones. Now, there's a lot to be said about the age of that language that's there. The original language for those older men and older women means just that. The seasoned saints. Those that are advanced in years leading those young ones. But that can also be applied to spiritual age as well. That those who have been saved and growing in their relationship with Christ for 30 years, should be able to look back at a new believer and say, hey, come along with me. Let me tell you what God's done in my life. Let me tell you what God's teaching me through His Word. Let me show you. Let me teach you. Let me train you. Let me encourage you in your faith and diving into the Word and in your prayers and in all of these things and bringing them alongside of you. There's something to be said about that. He's saying let's be concerned about what they think. Others' views. And 1 Thessalonians speaks to this truth in really three different areas as well. 1 Thessalonians 5: 14 and 15, Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the faint-hearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all, see that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. Well, but how do the people that are in your sphere of influence, your circle, view you? Do they view you as a strong, faithful believer in Christ? Do they view you as somebody who's a Christian on Sundays, but when it comes to Monday, you left that in your suit pocket? Do they even know at all that you put your faith and trust in Christ? Paul says we should be concerned how they view us. We should be concerned how that young believer... Because here's the thing, if we're not careful, as seasoned saints, as strong believers, as those that have been saved for a long time and we understand and enjoy and look to that freedom that we have in Christ, if we're not careful, that next generation of believers, that's their starting point. And you all know that this is true. That if we start on the straight and narrow, and we start living in our freedom, and we get on this edge of our relationship with Christ, that generation that's coming after us starts over here. And the generation that comes after them starts over here. And the generation that comes after them, before you know it, their starting point is so far away from the Gospel and the things of God, and we're looking at it like, how did we get here? And the reality is it started way back here when I allowed my freedom to hinder the next generation. But I'm going to speak to something very personal right here. I hope you hear me with this. Some of you are experiencing that with your own children. Some of you are experiencing the fact that you didn't start in a good place by training them and teaching them and showing them the ways of God. I want to give you this. One, it's never too late. It's never too late. But two, you have to be all the more diligent now. Because now you have to help them get back from where they are. Back to what's true and right. And that takes you being diligent in your prayers. That takes you being diligent in your conversations. That takes you being diligent in how you treat them. That takes you being diligent in being proactive on reaching out to them. That takes you being diligent in living out your faith. Even when you fail, you call them up and you talk to them and you say, I am sorry that I failed you in this way. And just from the side of a personal note, let me tell you this. Don't wait until the bitter end. One of the hardest things for me to come to grasp with is one of the last spiritual conversations I had with my dad and him in tears saying, I feel like the way I led my family, it's too late for your brother and sister. You guys know of the conversations I had with my dad after he found out he had cancer making sure his salvation was sure. And in one of these conversations, he said, I feel like I've messed up with your brother and sister. And that encouragement that I gave him in those moments is the same encouragement that I'm giving you this morning. It's never too late. It's never too late. The power of the love of Christ can overcome all. It can overcome it all. What I'm encouraging you to do, don't wait until that moment. Start today. Start on Thursday. Have family gathering. And it's going to require you to become very courageous. Maybe your family's not used to saying a blessing before y'all's meal. Hey, before we eat, can I say something? I just want to say that I'm thankful for you guys. I'm thankful for my Savior. I'm thankful that even though I was this type of person and that type of person, I found forgiveness through Christ. And I just want you to know that He loved me enough to forgive me, and He loves you enough as well. Let's pray before we eat. You say, I can never do that before my family. Yes, you can. You know how I know you can? Because you have the Spirit of God in you. And the Spirit of God is not a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. And we've got to get to the point in our own personal life where love trumps liberty. Love trumps liberty by refocusing us. Let me pause for just a second, because I've got one more point on that I want to make. One objection that I've heard over and over and over and over again. Am I my brother's keeper? Why am I responsible for their spiritual welfare? Why am I responsible for their physical welfare? Why am I responsible for them? Am I my brother's keeper? One hundred percent yes. One hundred percent. The fact that a believer in Christ would even utter those words considering who they came from. Do you remember who uttered those words in Scripture? Cain did. After he killed Abel. And so if that's our mentality, you know what we're saying, we're okay with our brother dying. We're okay with our sister dying. In fact, let me help. Are you your brother's keeper? Are you your sister's keeper? Are you responsible in some way or fashion for the spiritual maturity of those that are around you? One hundred percent yes. God has put you where He has put you for a reason. He's put you in the family He's put you in for a reason. He's put you in the job that He's put you in for a reason. He put you in the community that you were in for a reason. He has given you the neighbors that you have for a reason. He has given you the family that you have, the extended family, the local family. Everything in your life has been given to you for a reason. How do I know that? Because God is sovereign. He never looks at you and me and says, huh, when did that happen? Michael, did you know about this? Gabriel, what? He knows every detail of your life. He's allowed it to happen for a reason because He wants to use it for His glory. And what brings Him glory? The reconciliation of the world to Himself. Live out your faith each and every day. I was talking with somebody about this earlier this week. And if it's one of you, I apologize. I don't remember. I have so many conversations during the week. But the conversations turn to this idea of hell. And is it real? Of course, as believers in Christ, yeah, hell is real. We know it's in Scripture. Jesus taught on hell more than He did grace and mercy and all those things. He is warning us not to go there and what was to come, especially in the book of Revelation and all that. And so, it's a real place. But for many of us, we don't realize how bad it's going to be. We don't realize because it is hell and because it's a bad thing and because we don't study it, we don't press into it, we don't see what it's about, we don't see what Scripture has to say about it. As a matter of fact, I may preach a sermon at some point of what hell is. Because if we were ever to get a glimpse of the eternal torment where the fire is not quenched and the worm dieth not, where the very souls of the men and women who go there are in agony for all of eternity. If we were ever to get a glimpse of what that was like, then there is no way that we would allow any of our loved ones to go there. And we would do everything that we could to show them the grace and the mercy and the love of God. That's how we're to live. What does this world need from us? What does this world need from me? What does this world need from you? Beloved, I'm pressing in here because of what's coming this week, right? We're going to have the opportunity with friends and family that we don't have every day. We're going to see loved ones that we don't see but maybe once or twice a year. And so I want us to be reminded of this and to press into this with our time together. We have an opportunity to share the love of Christ with everyone we come in contact with. The question is what are you going to do with it? What am I going to do with it? Those opportunities. I pray for you. I pray for me as I'll have the opportunity Thursday for those two that my dad was so worried about to be at my house with their children. I pray that I'm bold enough, clear enough, strong enough to let my light shine before them, that they may see my good works and glorify my Father in Heaven. That they will be reconciled to Him. Mrs. Patsy is going to come. She's going to play something for our time of invitation. Beloved, the only way that we can do that is if we ourselves put our faith and trust in Christ. If He's our Lord and our Savior. Maybe you this morning for the first time realized that you've never acknowledged Him as your personal Lord and Savior. That you've come to church. You've maybe even went to Sunday school. You've filled all these checklists. You've done all this stuff, but you've never at any point in your life you've said, you know what? I'm a sinner in need of a Savior. And Jesus is that Savior. Lord, forgive me where I've sinned. Cleanse me from my unrighteousness. Make me Your child. Now, it doesn't have to be in those exact words, but something to that. We've never done that. You need to do that this morning. What a glorious time to do it. A time of thanksgiving. Be thankful for the salvation that is so freely offered. Some of you this morning have had that relative, that friend, that family member come into your mind. You say, man, I really hope that they will see Jesus this week. I really hope that they will come to faith in Christ. I really hope God's leading you to be His messenger to them this week. You just need to come and say, God, help me to do that. Give me strength. Give me wisdom. Give me the words to say. Give me the boldness and the courage to stand for You during this season because we love them and we're concerned for their spiritual well-being. You come and lay their name at this altar. Maybe you've got a situation, a circumstance that you're dealing with that you find it hard just to let your light shine. You say, man, I really want to. I have a desire to, but I just can't seem to do it. And you need to lay that situation at this altar and say, God, help me. Use this for Your glory. Let's stand together, Ms. Patsy, as we pray as this altar is opened. I'd love to pray with you. I'd love to pray for you. You come. This altar is open. I'll be down front.