2024-06-Romans-14-DOT

In this episode of Dwell on Truth, the host, Brenton Powers, introduces his friend Martin Zeltin as a guest speaker. Martin will be teaching from Romans Chapter 14, discussing how Christians should receive weaker believers and handle differences in opinions and practices. He emphasizes the importance of love and acceptance, as well as not judging others based on personal convictions. Martin also addresses the idea of Christian liberty and the need to focus on essentials of faith rather than minor disagreements. He encourages listeners to prioritize unity and love in all things. Good morning, you're listening to Dwell on Truth. I'm your host, Brenton Powers. I'd like to thank our sponsors, Top Grade Paving. Call Robert at 408-455-8723 for a free estimate on your paving project. Secondly, if you own a business and you'd like to become a sponsor of Dwell on Truth, you can call me too. I'll help you to create a compelling ad on KSCO AM 1080 in Monterey, Santa Cruz, and Salinas. My name is Brenton Powers, and welcome to Verse by Verse. I'm the host of this show, so I've asked a friend of mine to fill in for me, Martin Zeltin. Martin is a Latvian believer that I personally had the privilege to share the gospel with, baptize, and disciple, and now he's a part of Verse by Verse, and has his own ministry called Silvakuzienniki, which means Fishers of Men. So I've asked him to pick up where I've left off, and he'll begin teaching Romans Chapter 14. So let's pray, and I'll turn things over to Martin. Dear Lord, I pray that you would give us ears to hear what your Spirit is saying, and strengthen our faith today. In Jesus' holy name I pray, Amen. And now, for our Bible study, Martin will be teaching from Romans Chapter 14, Verses 1 through 8. Romans Chapter 14. If you have your Bibles, let's open to the book of Romans, the 14th chapter, and we're going to change gears a little bit here, coming from Romans 13. Paul has been telling us how we are to live, now that we've been justified by faith. In Romans 13, Paul started talking about Christian love, to own or own anything, except to love each other. For the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, all of them have their fulfillment in love. Love does no wrong to a neighbor, therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Now in Romans Chapter 14, Paul is going to expound on that even more in how we are to receive a weaker brother. You know, isn't it interesting how we want others to be just like us, to share our convictions, our beliefs, our ideas, believe as I believe, no more, no less, that I am right and no one else confess, feel as I feel, think only as I think, eat what I eat and drink what I drink, think as I look, do always as I do, then and only then will I fellowship with you. That really describes a lot of Christians today. And Paul is now going to deal with Christian liberty. There are things that the Bible is silent about, things like, can a Christian listen to secular music, or go to secular movies, how about smoking, what does the Bible say about it? And then there are things that the Bible is very clear on, things that all Christians believe. We believe that there is one God. We believe that Jesus Christ is the incarnate Son of God, fully God and fully man. We believe that we are justified by faith apart from the works of the law. We believe that God is one in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There are not three gods, as some accuse us of believing, that's not what we believe. We believe there is one God, and at the same time we recognize that there are three persons in the Bible called God. These are essentials, and all Christians hold to those beliefs. Augustine said, in essentials, unity, in non-essentials, liberty, and in all things, charity, or love. There are going to be things that we'll disagree on, and we should allow for those disagreements on minor things, and not let them become issues that cause divisions in church. And Paul now, as he addresses the Romans, and in addressing them, he's really addressing us as well. Romans 14, starting from verse 1. As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. There are Christians who are weak in their faith, Christians who don't know what we know. They may be a new believer, they may come from a different background, or they might not be part of a sound church, and the Bible says that we are to receive one who is weak in faith. But notice, not to quarrel over opinions, not to argue over secondary issues. A lot of times, we want to welcome them, just to make them just like us. You know, you can come to our church, but you have to change. You have to get a haircut. You have to wear a tie. You can't wear that. You can be part of our church, but you need to shave. You can't come looking like that. What did we just read? As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. You know, Pastor Chuck Smith would tell the story of how they had laid in new carpeting in their church, and someone had put up a sign that said, no bare feet allowed. And Chuck would get there early in the morning and tear it down. He wanted to reach as many souls for Christ as he could, even if that meant throwing out the new pews and carpeting. We don't need to divide over these issues. The Bible says, as for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, accept him, receive him. Everyone is welcome. Come just as you are. I mean, we say it, we even sing it, but do we really mean it? Come as you are, just without a tattoo. Come as you are, just get a haircut. Receive the one who is weak in faith, but not to quarrel over opinions. Charles Spurgeon, the famous 19th century preacher, would publicly rebuke Joseph Parker from the pulpit for attending the theater. Charles Spurgeon rebuked him publicly. How could someone who calls themselves a follower of Jesus Christ ever do that? And Mr. Parker, on the other hand, would publicly rebuke Charles Spurgeon for smoking cigars. How can you call yourself a servant of the living God and smoke cigars? And they would publicly fight each other over these issues. There are things that the Bible clearly calls sin, and we need to be ready to rebuke, exhort, and correct. But some things are a matter of conscience. Look at verse 2. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. I mean, think about it. Isn't it interesting how those who appear to be more spiritual, those who appear to have a higher moral standard, actually are the weaker brothers? Or actually the ones that are weaker in faith. That's what it says. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains. And let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats. For God has welcomed him. What is the reason why we shouldn't judge someone who has a weaker conscience? Because God has welcomed him. God has received him. God has accepted him. Many times, God is actually not so interested about the little things that we're fighting about down here. Trying to get each other to act our way. Trying to get each other to eat our way and look our way. You know, people would ask, how come you don't do altar calls here? Are you against evangelism? How will people get saved? You have to have altar calls. Or maybe you do have altar calls, and someone might say, you actually do altar calls? Don't you know that's not in the Bible? And on goes the fight. Look at verse 4. Who are you to pass judgment on a servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. Paul reminds us that it isn't our place to pass judgment on any fellow Christian. They stand or fall before their own master, God. And God is able to make those meat-eaters or not-eaters stand. There's a lot of really useless, harmful divisions among Christians over silly things today. And Paul isn't telling these Christians to erase their differences. He tells them to rise above them as Christian brothers and sisters. To love them in spite of those differences. To receive the one whom God has received. And to accept the one whom God has accepted. We tend to look at a fellow Christian and immediately make a judgment about them. There are people in ministry that we would probably have never allowed to be in ministry. Aren't you glad God did not ask for our permission? I would have never allowed myself to go on a Christian radio. You can go to some churches today, and they wouldn't let even Jesus Christ himself preach in their churches. The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, He's a glutton and a drunkard. A friend of tax collectors and sinners. Jesus would never be accepted to the mission program in almost any church today. Neither would Paul. He was a murderer. He had a criminal background. Or Peter. You would have never let Peter do anything around the church. He denied Jesus three times. But remember what Jesus said? Jesus said, You feed my sheep, Peter. You feed my lambs. The Lord is able to make him stand. That's why we shouldn't judge them. Verse 5. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. If you came out of Judaism, you might think that there were some days more important than other days. We had the Sabbath day, the feast days, the festivals, the holy days. They were set apart as holy days, and they were part of Judaism. And when Jesus came, He said, I'm the Lord of the Sabbath. Look, we're not bound to keep the Jewish holy days anymore. That's why in Colossians, Paul says, Don't let anybody bind you to new moons and Sabbaths and festivals. That's part of the old system. And some people are concerned about days. Some people want to sanctify certain days. They want to hold on to those. Other people look at every day the same. And the Bible says that each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. Maybe someone will come to church and say, You know, you can't worship God on Sunday. That's the mark of the beast. You can only worship God on the Sabbath. Or others will say, No, you can't worship God on Saturday. Sunday is when you worship. Notice, the weaker ones have to have a specific day. For a stronger Christian, every day works. We can worship God on any day. Isn't it funny how we have this appearance of being morally upright, but we're actually weaker? Verse 6 says, The one who observes the day, observes it in the honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in the honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God. While the one who abstains, abstains in the honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. You know, you get to that dinner table and there's potatoes and a steak and you say, Thank you, Lord, for this meal. And then someone else might say, Thank you, Lord, that I'm not putting that in my mouth. Thank you for this salad. But we have to have everyone else doing the same thing. Are you going to eat that steak? Do you know where it came from? Or are you going to eat that salad? Do you know what dogs do through that neighborhood? And here we go. We have to have everyone else come to our side. But that's not what the Bible says. None of us lives to himself and none of us dies to himself. Remember the little story about me? We're all in the same boat and I go down to my cabin, which is right at the bottom of the boat. And I start drilling a hole. And all of you come down and say, What are you doing? And I say, I'm drilling a hole. You're drilling a hole in the boat. Water will come in. And I say, It's only coming into my cabin. It's my cabin. What's going to happen to the boat? It's going to sink. You see, none of us lives to himself and none of us dies to himself. You can't just go drilling a hole under your bed and sinking the boat and saying, It's my bed. It's not going to hurt you. It doesn't work that way. We're all in the same boat. For if we live, we live to the Lord. And if we die, we die to the Lord. So then whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. Amen. And if you'd like him to teach more often, check out Martin's evangelism ministry website, slovakusvenjeki.lv. You can find out more about Fishers of Men ministry. Martin also created a great website that shares the gospel, viasilabs.lv, which means, Are you good? Do you think that you're good enough to go to heaven? Let's take a quick test and find out. Have you ever coveted anything? Have you ever lied? Have you ever stolen? Have you ever looked at another person with lust? Jesus said, If you look at a woman with lust, you've committed adultery in your heart. Have you ever hated anyone? Whoever hates his brother is a murderer. Have you ever dishonored your parents? Have you ever taken God's name in vain? Have you ever made an image of God or bowed down to an image? And if you don't have God as your master passion, you haven't loved him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength all the time, then you've broken the number one commandment. So how many commandments do you have to keep in order to be good enough to go to heaven? All of them. Jesus said, Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. Are you perfect? No. Neither am I. How will anyone get to heaven? Great question. You see, no one is good enough to go to heaven on their own except for one person, Jesus Christ. And he lived a perfect life because he's God who came down to earth as a man. He lived the life that we should have lived, and he died on the cross, taking the punishment that we deserved. And he was buried for three days, and after that, he rose from the dead on that great Sunday morning so that by believing in him, we can have eternal life. Repent and believe the gospel. The time is now. Jesus says, Follow me, you will be my disciple, and you'll know the truth, and the truth will set you free, and I will make you a fisher of men. So I encourage you, turn from your sin and follow Jesus. If you repent and trust in Christ, you should begin to see changes in your life. The sin that you once loved, you'll now hate, and the things of God, you'll now love. And you'll have a desire to read and understand the word of God. So I encourage you to find a Bible-teaching church, and check out our Bible College website, ccbce.com. And so, may God bless you as you continue to study his word, verse by verse, chapter by chapter, and book by book. We've seen in the overall context of Romans that it's all about how the just shall live by faith. But wait a minute. Who do we call just, anyway? Well, chapters 1 through 3 showed us that none of us are just. All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Well, then, who is called just? Well, chapters 3, 4, and 5 talked about how we are justified by faith in Christ. The death of Christ, the blood of Jesus, applies to our life, and God sees us just as if we've never sinned. So we are just in God's eyes if we are believers in him. The doctrine of justification by faith is taught, therefore, in Romans chapter 1 through 11. In chapter 12, through the end of the book, we learn about the practical lives that we live in relationship with one another. As Christians, under authority, how do we live having been justified by the mercies of God? And so we need to extend God's mercy and love to our relationships with one another. Since we've received God's mercy, let us therefore not pass judgment on one another. And so we pick up in Romans chapter 14, where we are called to not pass judgment on one another. Well, how do we do that? Verse 7 of Romans chapter 14 says, For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. In other words, we shouldn't live for ourselves. We're not dying for ourselves. There's a bigger cause here to remember. What is that? Verse 8 says, For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. So as Christians, we belong to the Lord, and He's the greater reason that we live. And if we're going to die for something, let's not die for our opinions. But if we must die for the Lord, He's a worthy cause, because He died for us. As it says in verse 9, For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. In other words, since Jesus died for us, we ought to be willing to die for Him. And since He lived for us, He lives again. So we ask, Lord, what do you want me to do? What do you want me to do with my life? You're my Lord, my boss. What job should I apply for? Or maybe He wants you to start your own company. Maybe He's calling you to plant a church. As the church, we want to multiply and make disciples, because Jesus our Lord gave us a great commission. He said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations. He said, Go, preach the gospel to every creature. Every person in the whole world needs to hear the good news about Jesus and needs to be invited to become a follower of Jesus. That's His great mission for each and every member of His church, because He's the Lord of the church, the head of the church, and He sends us out individually as He is our personal Lord and Savior. That's why Christ died, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living, it says in verse 9. And verse 10 says, Why do you pass judgment on your brother, or you? Why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. So I picture Paul, the apostle, standing before two believers who are arguing with each other. And it's in the beginning of the chapter, he says, One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. So he said, The one who is weak in faith, welcome him. So Paul's standing before two kinds of people. And you know, there are these two kinds of people in the church today. One is weaker in faith, and one is stronger in faith. No one is perfect in their faith. It's good to recognize which one are you. The one who is weaker in faith feels like he could only eat vegetables. He doesn't have enough faith to eat meat, because, well, it might have been sacrificed to an idol, and, you know, it shouldn't have anything to do with idols. His conscience is pricked. If he eats any meat, so he eats only vegetables. While another person has a lot of faith and says, Well, an idol is nothing. I only worship one God. And so meat is meat. It's to be eaten. And I thank God for it. So with these two people in mind, Paul says to one, Why do you pass judgment on your brother? The one who's judging, which both sides could be judging. The one weak in faith could be judging the one who has faith and freedom to eat whatever he wants, thinking, How could you eat that? Well, the one who is stronger in faith may be judging the weaker one. Why can't you just have enough faith like I do? So he says, Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you turning to the other guy? Why do you despise your brother? For we all will stand before the judgment seat of God. It's a good question. Why do we do these things? Do I pass judgment on my brother? Or do I despise my brother because it makes me feel better? It makes me feel stronger in my faith because I can judge someone else. Do I do that because I think I'm the judge? Do I despise somebody because he's different than me? Do I love them less than I love myself? Well, we're called to love one another as we love ourselves. So why do we despise one another? And why do we judge each other? In other words, you shouldn't be doing that. Why are you doing what you know you shouldn't be doing? And how do we know we shouldn't be judging and despising one another? Verse 10 tells us, for, in other words, because we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. Who's on the judgment seat? God is on the judgment seat. You are not on the judgment seat. I'm not on the judgment seat. That's good to remember. And who is standing before God's judgment seat? All of us. All of us will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. So it's not our job to pass judgment on our brothers, our fellow Christians, who God has accepted. They're in our family. God is their Father. This is a prophecy. This is what will happen. We will all stand before the judgment seat of God. Now, about the future coming judgment of God, notice there will be no exceptions. We will all stand before the judgment seat of God. And notice that there is a judgment. Many people deny that there will be a judgment, or they just think everyone automatically gets into heaven, and that there's a lot of rewards given out there. But what will it really be like? This is a big topic. You can research it yourself in the Bible, God's judgment. Just because we're not allowed to judge one another doesn't mean that God cannot judge us. God will judge. And He'll judge according to His standard, because He's the judge. He's God. As it is written in verse 11, As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So God is saying, I am going to judge you. Now, there's different kinds of judgment. There's different meanings for our English word, judge. And there's actually different Greek words, the original language that the New Testament was written in, gives us different words for the judgment that God has. The judgment seat of God, in Romans chapter 14, verse 10, is bema in the Greek. This bema seat simply means a step, that is, a tribunal judgment seat that you can set your foot on, or a throne. It's a platform. This is where God, the Father, and Jesus Christ, the Son, sit. King James translation says, the judgment seat of Christ. And in the Greek, it's bema Christos. Now there's another kind of judgment seat called the great white throne. And that we see in Revelation is a judgment upon unbelievers, those whose names are not found written in the book of life, who have not received Jesus Christ as Lord. They will be judged according to their works, and they will be cast out into utter darkness, weeping, gnashing of teeth, fire, brimstone, the lake of fire, as the Bible teaches, a judgment for the just and the unjust. So the judgment for the unjust, at the end of the age, is a judgment of condemnation and sentencing to eternal conscious torment in hell, away from the presence of the Lord. That is terrible news. But if you believe the good news, that Jesus Christ died for you, and rose from the dead, that he is Lord, God in the flesh, who came down to save us, and then ascended back into heaven after his resurrection and many appearances, if you believe the gospel, that you're saved by grace through faith, not of works, then you won't go to the great white throne judgment. You will go before this bema seat judgment. And this is a judgment of rewards, where rewards are given out, rather than condemnation. Sort of like judges on a talent show. They're looking for the best singers. And there's first, second, third place, and everyone who enters the competition wins something. You may not be the best, but these judges don't send you to hell. In the same way, as Christians, all of our sins are already washed away through the blood of Jesus. And then we stand before God, before Jesus, our judge, to receive rewards. Well, what for? Our evil works have been washed away, and they will be burned up, as far as God is concerned. But what is left is the gold, the silver, the imperishable things. Paul talks about this in one of his letters to the Corinthians, that there's a certain kind of believer that builds his life on the rock, Jesus Christ, but his works will be burned up. And it will be as if he is saved as though through the fire. They like to say in English, by the skin of his teeth. So some people will just barely get into heaven, just because they believed in Christ. But they didn't do anything for Christ. There's a wise saying, only one life will soon be passed, and only what's done for Christ will last. So the works that you do for Christ, with the motive of glorifying him, not for glorifying yourself, you've lost your reward there already, but if you serve as unto the Lord, if you've been faithful in the small things, he will reward you and give you great things. Some of the parables that Jesus told are about this exact thing. To whom is given much, much is required. If you've been faithful in the small things, you'll be given much more. Blessed is the one who sits with the Lord in the kingdom of heaven. David said, I'd rather be a doorman in the house of the Lord than dwell in tents of wickedness. So there are degrees of rewards in heaven. Some people will have more, and some people will have less. We will all certainly be satisfied with just being there in heaven, in the Lord's presence. That is a gift of God's grace. And the rewards that he gives is also a gift of God's grace. Because he gives us the grace to work, to serve, and he chooses to share his inheritance with us. He invites us into ministry, and maybe he's calling you into ministry, and this is one reason why you should think about full-time ministry. If possible, serve the Lord with all your strength and all of your time. God is a worthy and good Lord. So why don't we live for the Lord? Why don't we serve the Lord more? We have a limited time on this earth, and Jesus said, store up your treasures in heaven where thieves cannot break in and steal. So there's a way of storing up heavenly treasures. The way you handle money, the way you deal with one another. And that's what we ought to be looking forward to. It's important for us to know the difference between the Bema Seat Judgment and the White Throne Judgment. But everyone will stand before God somehow. The Bible says, it's appointed for a man to die once, and after this, the judgment. So you can read more about that in Revelation, in 1 Thessalonians, all throughout the Bible. So back to our text in Romans, the point here is, if God is going to judge, then it's not our job. We don't have to be concerned that justice is not being satisfied, because God will make sure that it's satisfied. Either through the blood of Jesus, he already paid our punishment for us, and we've accepted that. Or, if a person rejects that, God's justice will be served to them. So what's the conclusion then, for today's broadcast? Romans chapter 14, verse 12. So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. And verse 13. Therefore, let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. So there's a change that needs to take place, and there's a decision to change that needs to take place. First is the decision. Let's decide, since we're not the judge, to not stumble one another. And let's decide not to pass judgment on one another any longer. If you've been doing that, it's time to stop. If you've been hyperjudgmental, judging everyone by your opinions, by your conscience, your convictions that are not found in the Word of God. When God hasn't forbidden something, you've forbidden it, and when people break your law, you judge them. You need to stop that. As for the one who is not judgmental, maybe you need to be encouraged, and you need to decide to stop stumbling people who have a stricter conscience, to not flaunt in front of them your freedoms, to not use your freedoms in such a way that causes someone else grief and offense, or causes them to sin, causes them to fall. But pray for each other. Let's decide to love one another. Give each other the benefit of the doubt. God knows the heart and the motives. We don't see the heart. We can't always tell the motives. So be gracious to each other, and love one another, for love fulfills the law. So, what is God calling you to do? I encourage you to make a decision to do that. It's awesome to serve the living God, isn't it? Amen. We'll continue our Bible study in Romans chapter 14, verse by verse. I'm your host, Brenton Powers. You're listening to Dwell on Truth, Romans 14, verse 13 through 19. So let's read it, and then we'll study it together, verse by verse. Therefore, let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good to be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then, let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual up-building. That's Romans chapter 14, verse 13 through 19. So let's study this section, verse by verse. Last week, we concluded verse 13, talking about making the decision not to put any stumbling block in another person's way. Now Paul is talking about conscionable issues, issues of the conscience, something that I may have freedom and liberty to do. Another believer, in his conscience, doesn't have the freedom and liberty to do. To me, something may be clean, but for someone else, it may be unclean. How can that be? Well, there are absolute morals that the Word of God says very clearly not to do. And then there are things in the Bible that are not a law, one way or another. So God leaves it up to our consciences. And here, the Apostle Paul even says of himself in verse 14, I know and I am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. Speaking of foods, as Christians, there is no dietary law for believers, whether Jew or Gentile, in Christ. Because the Old Testament dietary laws were all a foreshadow of the coming reality. You remember the story when Jesus revealed to his disciples that the Pharisees thought that they were keeping themselves clean by not allowing certain things to enter their mouths. But Jesus said it's not what goes in your mouth that defiles you, but it's what comes out of your mouth. But in the Gospel of Mark, it adds a parenthetical phrase, thus he said, making all foods clean. So it's not what goes in your mouth that defiles you. God doesn't see you as unclean because you ate something that wasn't cooked in a kosher way. No, God is looking at what comes from your heart. Jesus made the point that what you eat, it goes into you, but then it passes out of you as well. So that's not the important thing. Therefore, Paul the Apostle, though he was a Jew, he felt freedom to eat with Gentiles, whatever they were eating. Nothing was to be considered unclean. Likewise, before Peter went to preach to the Gentiles at Cornelius' house, the Lord gave him a vision three times of different four-footed and hooved animals, and he said, kill and eat. And Peter said, not so, Lord. I've never eaten anything unclean. And the Lord answered, don't call unclean what I have cleansed. Again, clarifying that the foods that the Gentiles eat, God has cleansed, and in fact they are clean. Even going back to the Old Testament before the law, God told Noah and his sons that God has given them every green herb and every animal for food. Though it may not taste good to you, you could eat pork, beef, chicken, lamb, duck, turkey, and in some countries they eat dog, and it gives you nutrients. Your physical food doesn't bring you any spiritual benefit or spiritual harm. It's not the food in and of itself that's clean or unclean. But what does matter is your conscience. Are you walking in love and are you walking in faith when you partake of certain foods in front of other people? So Paul continues in verse 14 and he talks about someone else, though he has the freedom to eat anything. He says, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. This isn't the philosophy of health and wealth where you say you're healthy and therefore you are healthy. This is not a word of faith teaching. He's also not declaring that reality is what you make it to be, which a lot of postmodernists would like to believe. If you say it's unclean, then it's unclean. That's not what he's referencing here. Paul, as a Jew, was able to cross over into the Gentile world because of his faith in Christ. But there are some Jews who became Christians who still just didn't feel right about eating the food that the Gentiles eat. They grew up thinking it's unclean, and every time they taste it, they feel like, ah, I'm sinning, I shouldn't be eating this. And so, to them, they're not walking in faith, and they're not walking in love. That's why it's sin for them. And he explains that very point in verse 15. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So he's talking about Christians, obviously, for those who Christ died. Did you know that Christ died for believers? His death is effectual toward those who have received him. We're talking about brothers here. Did you know it's possible to sin against your brother by not paying attention to their conscience? They may have a more tender conscience than you. Not that the Holy Spirit is convicting them, but their consciences just haven't developed the freedom that maybe a more mature believer has developed. Through meditating on the grace of God, we realize it's not by what we do or what we eat that we're right with God. It's a gift of his grace based on Jesus alone. But a new believer may struggle with certain tastes that he had as a non-believer. Maybe they're traditional. Maybe they're ethnical. But they're not ethical. So your thoughts are important. Your thoughts and your faith really determine whether something is good or bad for you. For example, what if God wanted to bless you with something, say a chocolate ice cream? It's a hot day, and you can go and buy a chocolate ice cream for a dollar. Well, is it fine to eat that chocolate ice cream? Well, sure, God would like to bless you with it. But what if you think, what if it'll make me fat? What if it's not healthy for me? If I get a sore throat or a cold because of this? Because that's what I was told growing up. There may or may not be any scientific reason to connect a cold with eating an ice cream on a hot day. Different Christians can argue about these things. No, ice cream doesn't give you colds. Yes, it does. I swear it. I experienced it. This is not something that Christians should debate over. But if I am with a believer who doesn't believe in eating ice cream, and I go and I buy an ice cream in front of him, and I just start enjoying it, and, man, it's hot, and he's watching and he's secretly wishing he could have some ice cream, but he hears his mother saying in his head, don't do that. But then because I'm eating in front of him, it tempts him too much, and he goes and he buys an ice cream and eats it anyway. Well, am I walking in love? I should be more sensitive to that situation and say, okay, if you're not going to have ice cream because of your fear, not based on faith, but just because of your fears, then I won't get this ice cream either. It's a silly example, but really there's freedom in Christ to enjoy the things that he wants to give us. But the more important thing than enjoying chocolate ice cream is to walk in love with our brothers. Because if I am only concerned about my pleasure, enjoying that ice cream, that I have the freedom to eat that I've earned that will cool me off on a hot day, well, that's sort of selfish if I'm not thinking of others. So in verse 16, Paul says, So do not let what you regard as good to be spoken of as evil, for the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. So do not let what you regard as good to be spoken of as evil. In other words, to the believer who has freedom to eat whatever he wants and considers that good, don't let that thing that is good turn into something that is evil. You're eating, but you're not loving your brothers by the way that you eat it. You're causing your brother to stumble. Don't take a good thing and turn it into a God thing, where you put your food before your God. It's not what the kingdom of God is all about. The kingdom of God is about God. It's his kingdom. And furthermore, the kingdom of God is about righteousness, faith, and joy in the Holy Spirit. It's not about food and drink. God is concerned for righteousness. He wants you to do the right thing and love your brother and your sister. God is concerned for peace. This shouldn't be a reason to fight in the body of Christ, and it shouldn't lead to anyone being hurt. Your freedoms can be enjoyed with peace, but you can also deny yourself those freedoms for the sake of peace. Peace is what's more important than pork. Furthermore, the kingdom of God is a matter of joy. Joy. You know, we can rejoice in the Lord always. Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. And when you hurt somebody, you're causing them grief. That's not good. So make a decision to do what will produce joy, not only in yourself, but in others. Will what I'm choosing lead to joy for other people around me, or will it lead to grief? In the kingdom of God, we have to be concerned more about joy than drinks. Let these things rule in the kingdom of God. God's righteousness, God's peace, and the Holy Spirit's joy. Therefore, it won't be hard to deny yourself these things. In the service of others, it'll bring you joy. Verse 18. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. You know, this is sometimes a hard balance to find. In another place, Paul said, if I sought to please men, then I wouldn't be a servant of Christ. He said there's times when you have to displease men in order to serve Christ. But here, in this case, he's saying, if you serve Christ in this way, you're going to be acceptable to God, and you're also going to be approved by men. Because you're not doing anything to intentionally harm people, you're going out of your way to help people, though they may be different from you. So we need to find this balance. Walking in truth, walking according to what is right and what we know and what we believe, even when it's different from other people's beliefs, but doing it in such a way that it doesn't tear down other people. Doing it in a way that is pleasing to both God and man. That's difficult to me, personally. Sometimes I think because of the way my faith has been tested, and one way that my faith has been proven, I feel, is that I've stood for Christ when it's not popular. However, we need to choose what hills we're willing to die on. I'm willing to stand up for Christ and be rejected on account of Him. But do I really have to stand up for cookies, for a certain kind of cooking, in order to prove my faith? No. In fact, the better way to prove my faith when it comes to eating is to deny myself. Because it shows that I don't believe that food is the most important thing. If you put Jesus first and others second and yourself last, you're going to have more joy. That spells joy. J for Jesus, O for others, and Y for yourself. That's the way God built us. So let's grow in that area of joy by considering one another, how to stir one another up toward love and good deeds done by faith, not provoking one another. So then, verse 19, let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual up-building. Let's go in that direction. That should be a long-term goal of ours. Go work toward what leads to peace, what makes for peace, rather than just being contentious. Not everything has to be a fight. We should be able to enjoy each other's company without arguing over these secondary issues. Fellowship should not be based on food. So let us pursue peace and also mutual up-building, he says. What does that mean? Well, to build one another up, to edify and encourage each other, as opposed to tearing one another down by criticizing and poking fun and causing other people to do what they don't believe they should do. And this up-building, it's not one way, notice. People with stronger faith and people with weaker faith can mutually encourage one another. Mutually means back and forth. It's a two-way street, this building up of each other. It's not just pastors are building up the church, and they receive it, and then that's it. But you know that people can encourage pastors back. Same thing with elders and deacons and evangelists, teachers, students can share with their teachers all good things to build each other up. It's great to hear a report of how God is using us in your lives. You can write in to me if you feel this radio show is a blessing to you. And that, in turn, would be a blessing to me. It would encourage me to keep going. So you can write to me. My email address is brentonpowers at gmail dot com. So that's our text for today, Romans chapter 14, verse 13 through 19. So thank you God for your word. Pray in Jesus' name. Amen. You are listening to Verse by Verse, a weekly Bible study teaching with Brenton Powers. We're going to continue our Bible study through the book of Romans, chapter 14. Today we'll finish the chapter with verses 20 through 23. So let's begin reading, and then we'll study our text, verse by verse. Do not for the sake of food destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. That's Romans chapter 14, verse 20 through 23. And in these verses, we see the conclusion of Paul's teaching about questions of conscience, how you may have personal convictions that differ from mine, because the Bible doesn't say black or white, that we all have to believe the same things about what we eat or what we drink. There's areas of freedom, and as one of the church fathers said, in essentials, unity, in non-essentials, liberty, and in all things, charity. In other words, the most important thing is love, that we're walking in love toward one another and walking by faith in Christ. The essentials are clear. We all believe the same gospel as Christians. We all believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, God in the flesh, who came down to live the perfect life, die on the cross for all of our sins, taking the punishment we deserved. Though he was without sin, he became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him. And he rose from the dead, defeating sin, the devil, death, and hell. And God is now calling all men everywhere to repent and believe the gospel. Those are some of the essentials that all Christians believe. But in the non-essentials, things that are not relevant to your salvation, things like what Paul mentions in this portion of scripture, eating meat or drinking wine, those are things that Christians can have different opinions on, and God doesn't judge them, and we shouldn't judge one another based on those opinions. So we've already talked about eating of meat. Today we'll talk a little bit more about what does the Bible say about drinking wine? And what about sin? How can we define sin? We'll talk about walking by faith, and we'll talk about walking in love. And here this is a very practical section of scripture, talking about how to maintain your freedom and your faith, though it may go against what other people believe, but how to do that in a loving way, so that you don't tear down the work of God. So what does Paul mean here? Beginning in verse 20, he says, Do not for the sake of food destroy the work of God. Well, in context, he's talking about building one another up. So that construction term of building up, edifying, that's the work that God does in our lives. And so the work of God is the people of God. As it says in Ephesians 2.10, You are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which he prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. So we shouldn't destroy the work of God, that is, disciples. So how do we not destroy other people? He clarifies in the next part of verse 20, Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. So causing someone to stumble is destructive for them. I'm sure you've tripped and fallen before, and you get an injury from that. If it's a big fall, then you get a big injury. Well, we shouldn't do things that will cause other people to stumble and fall. What does that mean to stumble and fall? Well, in context, I believe he's talking about causing them to sin. He's not necessarily saying, don't cause them to be uncomfortable with their lives. There's times where when we teach the word or preach the gospel, we're going to make people uncomfortable. Just because the gospel is uncomfortable to our flesh, and Jesus calls us to take up our cross and deny ourselves, certainly that's not comfortable, but it is loving for him to do that. It builds us up when we deny ourselves and put him first. So causing someone to stumble doesn't mean causing someone to be offended. It means causing someone to sin, to go against what they believe. Now he's talking about food, and he says everything is indeed clean. As we talked about last time, Jesus declared all foods clean when he said, it's not what goes in the mouth that defiles a man, but what comes out. And so the Bible declares that all foods are clean. We're no longer under a kosher diet. The Old Testament dietary laws were fulfilled. They pointed to the purity of Christ, and God allows us to eat hooved animals like pigs. So it's clean as far as God is concerned, as far as what the scriptures teach. You could eat any kind of food as a Christian, but he says, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. So though it's clean for me, it may cause you to stumble if you see me eating something that though it's clean, you don't feel that it's clean for you because your conscience doesn't allow you to eat it for one reason or another. Maybe I'm flaunting my freedom in front of you. Look at all the things that I can eat, and then I offer it to you to tempt you to eat it. Though I know you have some personal problem with it, I'm destroying you by causing you to do something that is against your conscience. We talked about the conscience last week, but today we'll focus more on your faith, because that's what Paul ends this whole discussion with, your personal faith when it comes to what you eat or drink. Because it says in verse 21, it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. So then he brings up drinking of wine, that it's possible to cause your brother to stumble by drinking wine. Now obviously, if there's a believer who believes he shouldn't drink wine, and there are lots of believers like this, so to the person who feels the freedom to drink wine, the Bible doesn't say don't drink wine at all. But what does the Bible say? Well, in Ephesians 5, Paul says, do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but instead be filled with the Holy Spirit. So the prohibition there is against drunkenness, drinking wine to the point of getting drunk or impaired or intoxicated. That is clearly sin. But to drink a little wine is not sin, according to the Bible. In fact, Jesus drank some wine. He even made wine at a wedding. He turned water into wine. That was one of his first miracles. And he did it for others to drink. But Jesus is without sin, right? So drinking wine is not a sin. Look, if your definition of sin condemns Jesus, then your definition of sin is too strict. Maybe God's definition is not as strict as yours, and you need to lighten up. But God respects your conscience. He respects your faith. And if it's sin for you to drink, then don't drink. If you don't believe that you can even take a sip of wine, then it's sin for you to take a sip of wine, though the Scriptures doesn't condemn it. As Paul says in the next verse, the faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. You'll be happy if you don't make a rule for yourself that God doesn't make. And then you go and break your own rule. And then you judge yourself and you condemn yourself. That's a sad state to be in. So instead, you can find joy or blessedness by not creating these reasons to pass judgment on yourself. Some people are just too hard on themselves. And they're depressed. And there are some Christians like this that need to be encouraged, hey, you'll be blessed if you don't pass judgment on yourself according to these non-essential, non-biblical rules that you've made for yourself. You know, you think that creating rules for yourself will lead to greater joy because you're keeping yourself from what's bad. You're keeping yourself far away, further away than other people. Well, be careful, lest your joy come from your self-righteousness. Our joy should come from our righteousness in Christ. If God does not condemn us, then why should we condemn ourselves? If God doesn't give us rules against certain things, then why do we create rules for ourselves? We think we're going to save ourselves? I hope not. But if you have a desire not to drink alcohol, and you know that that standard for yourself is not what saves you, you're trusting in Jesus Christ, then it's okay. You can have that faith in Christ while not trusting in yourself to make yourself righteous. That's the difference between a disciple and a Pharisee. Pharisees trust in themselves that they are righteous, but as Christians, we trust in Christ to make us righteous. So when it comes to these secondary or questionable things, where there's differences of opinion, Paul says it's actually better to keep that faith private. Verse 22. The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. But Jesus says, what comes out of your mouth is what overflows from your heart. And he says, go and preach the gospel to every creature, every person, and make disciples in every nation. So obviously, we're supposed to share our faith, meaning share the gospel. But here he says, the faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. He's talking about, keep your private beliefs, your personal beliefs about eating or drinking to yourself, lest you cause someone else to stumble. Now, I hope that me sharing that I don't drink alcohol doesn't cause any of you to stumble. Paul's actually talking about the person who has the freedom to drink wine, causing someone else to stumble who doesn't have that freedom to drink wine. And the same could be applied to food. Verse 23. Our final verse for today says, but whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. And so here I want to conclude the message with a couple of practical points. First question we should ask ourselves is, is this action that I'm considering taking, does it come from faith? Because if it doesn't, it says that it is sin. The second question, which is just the same question just turned around, is asking, what is sin? So, sin here is defined as, whatever does not proceed from faith. That's sin. And so, faith and sin, let's talk about that. What is faith? Faith means to trust in, rely upon, cling to, or believe. So in the Bible, we're called to live by faith, to walk by faith. Since we're saved by faith, let us continue to live by faith. And it's a huge theme in the book of Romans. As the thesis is given in chapter 1, he says, the just shall live by faith. And he's already talked about the spiritual salvation that we receive. We're justified by faith in Jesus Christ alone. Then he talks about how that practically works out in our life by being sanctified. As we walk by faith, God cleanses our hearts and sets us apart from what is truly wrong and sets us apart for himself, for his kingdom, for his glory. He makes us holy. But then he concludes the discussion with chapter 14, where one person's faith in personal issues differs from another. You know, the Bible doesn't tell you everything that you should do in your life. Doesn't tell you what kind of food to eat, whether to have cereal in the morning or pancakes or bacon and eggs or just a piece of toast and some butter. So what should you eat? Well, whatever you believe you should eat. Do you believe it's more healthy for you to have wheat than meat? Then eat wheat. Do you believe it's better for you to eat meat than eat meat? Do what you believe and you can't go wrong when it comes to these secondary issues. But he says, whoever doubts is condemned if he eats. So in other words, we're called to live according to our faith. And that includes your secondary issues. But don't force your secondary issues onto other people. But before you do something privately or publicly, if it's private, ask, is it according to my faith? Do I believe I have the freedom to do this? If yes, then you're fine to do it. If it's public, ask, is it going to tear someone down? Is it going to destroy or cause someone to stumble or sin if I do this publicly or in front of just another believer? Considering that believer, though you may have the faith to eat it or drink it, maybe the other believer doesn't. And so that means you shouldn't partake of that in front of them. But again, it comes back to faith. Do you believe that it will cause that person to stumble? If so, and you eat it anyway, then you're sinning against that person. So finally, let's define the word sin according to this scripture. And I want to encourage you to apply it to your life. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. You know, the Bible tells us what sin is in lots of places in the Bible. For example, in 1 John, the breaking of God's law is sin. And in Exodus, in the Ten Commandments, Exodus chapter 20. Another definition is, in James, whoever knows what is good to do and doesn't do it, sins. So there's sins of omission, sins that you do by not doing what you should do. And there's sins of commission, sins that you commit doing things that you shouldn't do. But there's also sins of unbelief, as he says here. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. So though the scriptures may not forbid it, or may not command it, if you don't have the faith to do something, you shouldn't do it. And if you do have the faith to do something, and yet you don't do it, that's also sin. So the bottom line is, the just shall live by faith. Are you living by faith? Are the steps that you take in your daily life according to what you believe? Are you doing what you believe is right? Or is your conscience condemning you about something? There's something in your life that you're not happy about, because you've gone against something that you believe is right. You're not living consistently according to your faith. But I'll tell you, the way to have victory is to walk by faith. Look, God has proven himself faithful to you in your past, hasn't he? Yes. So encourage yourself in the Lord. God is faithful. You may need to confess your sins to the Lord, ask him to increase your faith, and help you to walk according to your faith. Lord, forgive us for sinning, for not doing what proceeds from faith. Lord, I pray that we would enjoy the freedom that comes. I pray for those who are weak in faith and those who are strong in faith. As we've learned in this chapter, help us to live with one another in an understanding way, to walk in love, to consider one another, and build one another up. Thank you, God, for your grace, for your love, and for being faithful and trustworthy. We pray that you would bless us now and lead us as we commit to trust in you and live by faith. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Thank you for listening. Next week, we'll begin chapter 15. Good morning. You're listening to Dwell on Truth. I'm your host, Brenton Powers. I'd like to thank our sponsors, Top Grade Paving. Call Robert at 408-455-8723 for a free estimate on your paving project. Secondly, Dwell on Truth Missionary Media is funded in part by Brenton Powers Audiovisual Services. So give me a call at 831-594-2633 for a free quote for your upcoming event. If you own a business and you'd like to become a sponsor of Dwell on Truth, you can call me, too. I'll help you to create a compelling ad on KSCO AM 1080 in Monterey, Santa Cruz, and Salinas. And may God richly bless you.