THE CHRISTIAN LIFE- UNITY IN THE BODY - PART 4 (Romans 14:13-23)
INTRODUCTION:
Last Sunday we began going through a new section of Romans 14. As in verses 1-12 Paul is still speaking about preserving the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. He is also still speaking of the unity that needs to exist between weak or immature and strong or mature believers. This passage in part overlaps with what he wrote in verses 1-12, but Paul’s purpose in this passage is to show us that at times it is better to sacrifice our freedoms for the sake of other believers, especially weaker believers. In this passage Paul gives us six principles that should act as guidelines for all Christians to follow if they are desiring to be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Last week we looked at the first two guidelines, the first being, do not cause your brother to stumble and the second, do not hurt your brother. This morning we will look at the last four that Paul gives us. Let’s pray and then get into our passage.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles again this morning to Romans 14:13-23, the passage we began looking at last week. I will read the whole passage again this morning, then my message will pick up in the second half of verse 15. Please, if you are able, stand out of respect for the reading of God’s Word.
Romans 14:13-23,
“Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way. I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles. The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.” (Romans 14:13–23, NASB95)[1]
DO NOT DESTROY YOUR BROTHER (Romans 14:15b)
The third principle that Paul gives us as a guideline to being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace is not to destroy your brother. This overlaps some with the previous principle of not hurting your brother, but this principle is much stronger than the previous one and the appeal is this weaker brother was one for whom Christ died.
Let’s break this principle down some. The Greek word that is translated “destroy” is a word that means “utter devastation.” Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words explains, “The idea is not extinction but ruin, loss, not of being, but of well-being.”[2] The term when used of unbelievers in the New Testament refers to eternal damnation, but even eternal damnation is not extinction but punishment that will continue forever. This however is not what is being spoken of here but the ruin and loss of the believer’s well-being. Paul is calling the strong believer to the surrender and self-sacrifice of his freedoms for the sake of a brother. Paul is not saying that the exercise of our freedoms that causes this weaker brother to stumble will cause his damnation, rather Paul is saying that it will seriously devastate his spiritual growth. The spiritual well-being of His children is especially important to the Lord because those children are those for whom Christ died.
Now I want you to understand that the death of the Lord Jesus Christ was sufficient to pay the penalty for all the sins of the world, throughout the New Testament we read over and over that the Christ’s sacrifice was sufficient to cover the sins of every human being. Just listen to some of these verses that make this clear. Beginning in John 1:29 we have the testimony of John the Baptist, “The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29, NASB95)[3] Jesus said concerning Himself in John 3:14-16, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:14–16, NASB95)[4]
Paul also spoke of Christ’s death being sufficient to pay the penalty for the sin of all mankind. He wrote in Romans 10:13, “for ‘Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” (Romans 10:13, NASB95)[5] Paul writing to Timothy wrote in 1 Timothy 2:3-6, “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.” (1 Timothy 2:3–6, NASB95)[6]
The Apostle John in his first epistle wrote in 1 John 2:1-2, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” (1 John 2:1–2, NASB95)[7] Then near the end of his letter he wrote in 1 John 4:14, “We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.” (1 John 4:14, NASB95)[8] These verses are not speaking of universalism, or that everyone will one day be saved but that Christ’s death was sufficient to pay the penalty required for the sins of every human who has ever lived.
Not only do we see this truth in the New Testament, but it was foreshadowed for us in the Old Testament. Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest made a sacrifice on behalf of all the Israelites as described for us in Leviticus 16. The reach of this sacrifice was without limit in it being sufficient to cover all sins, but it was limited in its application. The act of sacrificing and shedding the blood of an animal did not and could not cleanse the sins even of believing Jews, but it foreshadowed for us the future offering of God, the more perfect sacrifice of atonement by the supreme High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, who sacrificed Himself for the sins of the entire world and applies it to the elect. And Paul says, do not allow food or any other freedom that you possess to destroy your brother knowing that even though he is at this time a weaker brother, he is one for whom Christ sacrificed His life. Are you willing to sacrifice a freedom for someone whom Christ sacrificed His all? This is the principle that Paul is trying to get us to understand, our sacrifice of a freedom cannot even begin to be compared to Christ’s sacrifice for your weaker brother.
DO NOT SACRIFICE YOUR TESTIMONY (Romans 14:16-19)
The fourth principle that Paul gives in this passage has to do with our own witness and testimony to the rest of the world. We want to build up rather than cause to stumble, hurt or destroy our weaker brother, but when we do those things instead of building up and seeking the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, we sacrifice our witness and testimony to the world.
How does this happen? It happens when we abuse our freedom in Christ in regard to our brothers and sisters in Christ. When we do this there will be disunity in the church and when conflicts arise in the church the world is watching and if not dealt with in brotherly love the world will criticize and condemn those who claim to have a high regard for unity and love.
Paul begins with the term “therefore” for the second time in this passage, and again he is referring back to what he has just written in the previous verses about not causing our brother to stumble, to not hurt him or destroy him with the abuse of our liberties. Paul says with this in mind, “…do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil;” (Romans 14:16, NASB95)[9] The freedoms that we have in Christ can and should bring us great blessing and enjoyment when they are understood and used as they are intended to be used. Remember that our freedoms are not only for our own benefit and blessing especially if they are used in such a way that they cause a brother to stumble or to be hurt or to be destroyed. Remember that these freedoms or liberties are a gracious gift from God and that they are an incredibly good thing but like every blessing from God it can be used contrary to God’s purpose. Understanding this we must use these good things carefully and be willing to surrender them at times for the sake of our weaker brothers and sisters in Christ so that they can never give the watching world an excuse to speak of these good things as evil.
It is especially important that we use these freedoms carefully to maintain the unity of the church and to guard the church’s witness before and to the unbelieving world. You may not think that anyone is watching but they are and giving up a freedom is a small concession to make for the sake of believers and potential believers. Paul goes on to write, “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17, NASB95)[10] More important than our freedoms in Christ is that the church be characterized by righteousness, peace, and joy and when it is, the work of Christ moves forward, believers grow in the faith, and it is blessed by the Holy Spirit.
Our lives should be characterized by righteous living, a constant striving to daily live righteously, and that desire should be more important to us then our liberties and the use of them. Even though these freedoms are given to us by God, they should never be exercised at the expense of living righteously, doing what is right for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul prayed for the Philippian believers in Philippians 1:9-11, “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:9–11, NASB95)[11]
Peace as I have already mentioned is a by-product of the unity of the Spirit. Peace is found where Christians are more interested in serving one another than being served themselves, and this serving is even more important than the exercise of personal freedoms. Peace in a church is a powerful witness to an unbelieving world. Peace is a fruit of the Spirit. Paul already told us in chapter 12 what produces peace, he wrote in verses 10-13, “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.” (Romans 12:10–13, NASB95)[12] If we are each doing these things there will be genuine peace in the church.
Joy is also a fruit of the Spirit. It too is a product of the unity of the Spirit and of righteousness. Joy has often been used by the Holy Spirit to draw people to Christ, it is amazing how strong an attraction joy is to the world. People long to be joyful, why do you think entertainment is such a big thing in our society, it is an attempt to bring people joy. But true, lasting joy can only be found in Christ, even when our circumstances are difficult, even when we are in distress or being persecuted, the believer can have joy because of the indwelling Holy Spirit and because of our hope in Christ.
Paul goes on in the next verse to say that the believer who lives this way, striving to live righteously at all times, showing love to others, being selfless and desiring and striving for peace and being joyful in serving others, Paul writes, “For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.” (Romans 14:18, NASB95)[13] This is the way God wants us to live and it is approved by men. This word approved is translated from a Greek word that refers to acceptance after careful examination. It was used of coins in the Roman times that would be scrutinized and examined and weighed to make sure they were genuine not having some of the edges of them scraped off making them of less value. When we serve Christ in the way described above, we prove ourselves to the world, we show that we practice what we preach.
Paul finishes this principle by writing in verse 19, “So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.” (Romans 14:19, NASB95)[14] As we show humility, as we act out of love and compassion to serve others these are the things which make for peace. Again, it is by being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, and a part of that diligence is a willingness to surrender or sacrifice some of our freedoms for the sake of our brothers and sisters in Christ, that unity of the Spirit will bring about fellowship and the building up of one another, the opportunity to help the weaker brother to grow in the faith.
DO NOT TEAR DOWN THE WORK OF GOD (Romans 14:20-21)
Paul’s fifth principle that we need as a guideline in our life is “Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food.” (Romans 14:20a, NASB95)[15] As we have already learned in this chapter the exercise of freedom that offended the consciences of many of the weaker believers involved the eating of certain foods. For those believers who were Jewish it was the eating of food that was declared ceremonially unclean by the dietary restrictions of the Mosaic Law. For Gentile believers raised in pagan idolatry it was food, generally meat, that had been sacrificed to an idol before being sold in the marketplace, to them this food was defiled and not fit for a Christian to eat. In the broader context of what we have been looking at in this chapter Paul’s warnings and principles concerning eating or drinking certain things go beyond this to relate to anything that is not sinful in itself that we might say or do that would cause a weaker believer to be offended or spiritually hurt or destroyed.
When Paul writes do not to tear down the work of God the work of God that he is speaking of is believers. In Ephesians 2:10 we read concerning those who have come to faith in Christ, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10, NASB95)[16] So when we offend a weaker brother, we are not only sinning against that brother, but we are also sinning against God and His work in this believer’s life. We already looked at this fact last week, Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 8:12-13, “And so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.” (1 Corinthians 8:12–13, NASB95)[17] Paul was willing to give up his freedom to eat certain foods so as not to cause a brother in Christ to stumble.
Paul goes on in this verse to remind us that he is not talking about sinful or unholy things, but about those freedoms that we have because they are neither condemned nor commended in Scripture, they are rather the good gifts given by God that Paul had spoken of earlier. He writes, “All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense.” (Romans 14:20b, NASB95)[18] In and of themselves these freedoms are good, but the danger is exercise of them selfishly and carelessly by strong Christians without thought to others, then those incredibly good things can become evil if they offend a weaker believer causing him to stumble or to be grieved or to be destroyed because he indulges himself going against his conscience. Paul writes, “It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.” (Romans 14:21, NASB95)[19] Paul admits that these are good things, there is nothing wrong with meat or wine or anything else that we see as our freedom unless it causes a brother or sister to stumble, because their stumbling tears down the work of God in and through that believer. God is working to build that weaker brother up and cause him to grow and our insensitivity is tearing that work down. Paul wants to be clear; this is the guideline he wants us to use, anything that we do that causes a brother to stumble is absolutely unthinkable when we compare this to the spiritual welfare of a weaker brother or sister in Christ. Not only is it unthinkable it is sinful to cause a brother to stumble, we have sinned against him and against Christ. We preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace by always putting others ahead of ourselves, showing them the humility, love, compassion, and concern that we have for their spiritual growth.
DO NOT CONDEMN YOURSELVES (Romans 14:22-23)
In the last two verses of this chapter the Apostle Paul gives us the final principle and he does it by writing first to those strong in the faith and then those weak in the faith. He wants us to understand in this sixth and final principle that we must use great care in exercising our freedoms in Christ so that we do not condemn ourselves, we must always look at our liberties and their use from God’s perspective, otherwise we might use them in such a way that they condemn us because we do not think about how the use of our freedoms might affect those around us.
In verse 22 Paul first writes to the strong believer, the one who is mature in his faith and understands and appreciates the freedom that he has in Christ. Paul writes, “The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.” (Romans 14:22, NASB95)[20] Paul is saying that when by faith and a correct understanding of Scripture we have a conviction before God that a certain practice, or custom, or activity is worthwhile and good, Paul says hold onto that conviction and do not declare that it is sinful. Also do not allow your conscience to condemn the practice of that freedom especially because of someone else’s belief and conviction, but at the same time be ready to give up the practice of that freedom for the sake of a weaker brother of sister as Paul has already made clear in this chapter.
Verse 23 Paul directs to the weaker believer, the one whose conscience is still offended due to certain religious restrictions that we have carried over or relinquished from our life before coming to faith in Christ. Paul writes, “But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23, NASB95)[21] Paul is saying that just as a strong believer commits sin by causing a weaker brother to go against his own conscience, that weaker brother sins and is condemned, when contrary to his own convictions that he holds to by faith, he gives in and goes against that which his conscience condemns as sin. Again, Paul is saying to both the strong and the weak Christian, in those matters that God’s Word does not speak specifically, neither commanding nor forbidding, go with your conscience.
CONCLUSION:
In this passage, Paul gives us six principles that are to be guidelines for every Christian to follow in regard to being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The principles are:
1. Do not cause your brother to stumble.
2. Do not hurt your brother.
3. Do not destroy your brother.
4. Do not sacrifice your testimony.
5. Do not tear down the work of God.
6. Do not condemn yourself.
If we follow these principles diligently, we will preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. When there is unity of the Spirit in the local assembly and the world sees that we practice what we preach, they will be drawn to the peace and the joy in the Spirit that they see in the church. The world desperately wants peace in a world that is in turmoil, the world desperately wants joy that overcomes the misery of life. If we can show that both these can be found in Christ as we serve one another, this will be acceptable to God and it will be approved by men.
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[2]Vine, W. E., Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. McLean, VA : MacDonald Publishing Co.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995. (emphasis added)
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995. (emphasis added)
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995. (emphasis added)
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995. (emphasis added)
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995. (emphasis added)
[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995. (emphasis added)
[9]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[10]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[11]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995. (emphasis added)
[12]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[13]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[14]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[15]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[16]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[17]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[18]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[19]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[20]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[21]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.