Sunday Morning, May 3, 2020, AM

All right, good morning. A song of ascents of David. I was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the Lord. Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem, built as a city that is bound firmly together, to which the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord.

Their thrones for judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May they be secure who love you. Peace be within your walls and security within your towers. For my brothers' and companions' sake, I will say, peace be within you.

For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good. That is our praise, that is our prayer this morning. It is so good to be together again. For those of you who are watching on live stream, we are with you in heart and spirit.

We look forward to the next month or so as we continue to see how this changes and do these new procedures. So just a couple of announcements this morning regarding those procedures, if you've forgotten.

We're gonna be separated by pews this morning. There is an offering plate at the back if you need to give your offering this morning. We will continue to have our live stream in the evening tonight and also Wednesday.

And then as we dismiss today, we're gonna dismiss by pew starting at the back. Moving forward, go straight to the parking lot and please fellowship with one another. It's so good to be with our family again.

Any other announcements that I'm missing? All right, well, we are going to pray and have a time of preparation for our worship this morning.

For our call to worship, I was just thinking last night about the story of Jesus with the woman at the well. And the topic came up about where to worship. And at the completion of Jesus' ministry, it wasn't where to worship, whether it be the temple or Samaria.

It was the true worshipers worship the Lord in spirit and in truth. And that's what we're here to do today is to worship the Lord in spirit and truth. Would you join me as we read our passage this morning, whether you be here presently or on virtual, on stream, live stream.

This passage is found in Psalms 40, verse 16 and 17. Read with me together. But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. May those who love your salvation say continually, great is the Lord. As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me.

You are my help and my deliverance. Do not delay, O God. Our first song this morning is, Brethren, We Have Met to Worship. We'll be singing all four verses.

As you turn to Deuteronomy 4 and find verse 25, I can't help but think the joy that we have here this morning, gathering together after so long apart, is a true foretaste of what our dear sister Helen and dear brother Ralph already know.

For they are gathered. They are gathered with Christ. They are gathered with our brothers and sisters who have gone on before. And so we can rejoice with Helen and Ralph today, can't we? Deuteronomy chapter four, beginning in verse 25.

When you become the father of children and children's children, and have remained long in the land, and act corruptly, and make an idol in the form of anything, and do that which is evil in the sight of the Lord your God so as to provoke him to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that you will surely perish quickly from the land where you are going over to Jordan to possess it.

You shall not live long on it, but will be utterly destroyed. The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord drives you. There you will serve gods, the work of man's hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.

But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find him if you search for him with all your heart and with all your soul. And when you are in distress, and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days, you will return to the Lord your God and listen to his voice.

The Lord your God is a compassionate God. He will not fail you, nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant with your fathers which he swore to them. Indeed, ask now concerning the former days which were before you since the day that God created man on the earth, and inquire from one end of the heavens to the other.

Has anything been done like this great thing, or has anything been heard like it? Has any people heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire as you have heard it and survived? Or has a God tried to go to take for himself a nation from within another nation by trials, by signs and wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?

To you, it was shown that you might know that the Lord, he is God. There is no other besides him. Out of the heavens, he lets you hear his voice to discipline you, and on earth, he let you see his great fire, and you heard his words from the midst of the fire because he loved your fathers.

Therefore, he chose their descendants after them, and he personally brought you from Egypt by his great power, driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you to bring you in and to give you their land for an inheritance as it is this day.

Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, the Lord, he is God in heaven above and on earth below. There is no other. So you shall keep his statutes and his commandments which I am giving you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may live long on the land in which the Lord your God is giving you for all time.

Then Moses set apart three cities across the Jordan to the east, that a manslayer might flee there who unintentionally slew his neighbor without having enmity toward him in time past, and by fleeing to one of these cities, he might live.

Basar in the wilderness on the plateau for the Reubenites, and Ramoth and Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan and Bashan for the Manassites. Now, this is the law which Moses set before the sons of Israel.

These are the testimonies and the statutes and the ordinances which Moses spoke to the sons of Israel when they came out from Egypt across the Jordan in the valley opposite Beth Beor, in the land which Sihon, the king of the Amorites who lived at Heshbon, who Moses and the sons of Israel defeated when they came out from Egypt.

They took possession of his land and the land of Og, king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites who were across the Jordan to the east from Aror, which is on the edge of the valley of Arnon, even as far as Mount Sihon, that is Hermon, with all the Arava across the Jordan to the east, even as far as the sea of the Arava at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah.

This is the word of the Lord. We pray for us. Father, I thank you for the reading of your word that we would hear it together, read aloud in our midst, that we may worship you, adhere to it, tune our hearts to it, and worship you.

May you bless us this day with your favor, with your joy, and may you teach us to love one another in Christ. Pray these things in his name. Amen. You may be seated.

Continue our song service. If you're able to see her today, make sure and express her happy birthday wishes to Loretta. Okay, our next song is "'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus," and that's been so true these last past weeks, to feel to trust in Jesus.

Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus Just to take him at his feet Just to rest upon his lap Just to know the same, the same, the same, the same

Let's go to the Lord and prayer together. Father, I thank you for this day that you have made, a day in which Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, risen and reigning over us. We thank you for the hope that you have given us in Christ.

We thank you that you are now with us, that you have given us your Holy Spirit, that you personally dwell in us. We ask that you would fill us today and make your eternal perfect word warm to our hearts.

You would conform us to your image as you do your work in us. Father, help us to make the most of the meal you've placed before us today. Help us to take in what you have laid out. Lord, we give you the glory, we give you the honor, we give you the praise.

And we pray all these things for the sake of Christ, the one with whom you are well pleased. Amen. I invite you to open your Bibles to the book of Romans, letter of Paul to the beloved of God in Rome, Romans chapter 14.

We're taking a break from Jeremiah as I believe the elders were all in agreement, this is exactly where we need to be right now as a church, to think about some things that the Lord has made clear in his word, things that will be helpful for us, things that will guide and shape our thinking and bring us evermore into unity and love with one another in Christ.

So Romans 14 will be our focus, we'll be reading verses one through 12 in a moment. Why the need to take a look at this passage? Well, near the beginning of the COVID -19 crisis when states and municipalities were calling for the closing of schools and non-essential businesses, churches, a controversy broke out amongst church, the body of Christ at large.

Controversy can be a very good thing. Controversy can show us that we are ignorant, we didn't know that we were, we need more information about something, maybe shows us that we have some immaturities that need to be addressed that we didn't realize before, so controversy can be a very good thing, but controversy unanswered, controversy unsubmitted to the scriptures, to Christ's authoritative word is not a good thing.

In fact, it gives the devil opportunity to widen cracks into chasms. The claims were made early on that if churches persisted in meeting together in the flesh, even though they might be careful with their sanitary procedures, that literally they were murdering their neighbors if they continued to meet together.

And many pastors and church members continuing to meet, trying to be as safe as they could, were accused by others, other Christians, of murdering their neighbors. No thought was given to the more common, less sanitary outings for groceries and gas and toilet paper hoarding, and we've all done it.

Church attendance was simply equated as murder. And then other claims were made that if any pastor suspended the weekly gathering of the church in the body, that that kind of a pastor was a hireling and ought to be fired by the church.

No thought was given to the interactions between ecclesiastical and civil governments. No thought was given to whether the demographics or the location or the logistics of the church had any weight in the decision-making process at all.

Just said, such a pastor is unfit to be a pastor anymore, fire him. Some said that the most important thing for Christians to do in this kind of a crisis was to obey whatever the civil government officials said, as per Romans 13.

And others opted to obey as far as their consciences would allow them, and then they had to obey God, as per Romans 13. Some went against conscience, in fact, just to make peace. Some believed everything that the various news stories said.

Some responded with skepticism. Some said that we were loving our neighbors by not meeting as Christians, and others disagreed. Some said we were not loving God supremely by not meeting, and others disagreed.

Some extended families continued to gather together. Some did not. Some of us wore masks and our gloves out in public, and others did not. Some of us found ourselves in all these various camps at one point or another, unsure how to proceed, mostly concerned that our actions or inactions would cause great offense to those around us.

Now, as we gather together this morning and tune in this morning, the truth of the matter is that many of these conflicting convictions remain undefined and unresolved. And it is these raw concerns which can leave us open to misunderstandings, and even leave us ready to take offense.

So it's my aim in the month of May to take us through this passage of Scripture which directly addresses all these matters, and brings us, with our differing convictions, into a unified submission and loving acceptance in Christ.

Romans 14 verse one through chapter 15 verse seven will not only instruct us on how to accept one another during a pestilence, but it will also teach us how to accept one another during other times of controversy, when our diverging convictions sharply appear.

So that's why we're looking at Romans 14, one through 15, seven. And I would like to invite you now to stand with me as I read God's holy word, Romans 14 verses one through 12. This is the word of the Lord.

Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him.

Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls, and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike.

Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day observes it for the Lord, and he who eats does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God, and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.

For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself. For if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end, Christ died and lived again, that he might be the Lord both of the dead and of the living.

But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God, for it is written, as I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.

So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated. As always in a time of controversy, definition of terms is most godly. That's the right thing to do.

It's the godly thing to do, to define our terms. And that's gonna be our main goal today as we get into Romans 14. Just understanding what is it that the Lord is saying to us from this text. Understanding what does it mean to be weak or strong?

Or what does it mean to accept one another? What does it mean to treat others with contempt or to judge? And what does it mean that Jesus Christ is our master? When it comes to understanding how and why we ought to accept one another in regards to the new COVID -19 holiness codes or any other set of convictions, rather than launch a new denomination, the Holy Spirit would have us consider two doctrines.

And these two doctrines, I believe, will quickly translate into personal affections and practical applications, which will unify us in Christ. Now, the first doctrine we have to consider is the sovereignty of Christ.

Christ's sovereignty, that he's in charge. The second doctrine is Christ's sacrifice. And understanding and applying those two truths will help us regather in a way that will mortify sin, foster righteousness, and express Christian love.

Here's the main idea of Romans 14 .1 -15 .7. Here's the main idea. As those ruled and redeemed by Christ, as those ruled and redeemed by Christ, accept one another, accept one another. As those ruled and redeemed by Christ, accept one another.

So we need to consider Christ's sovereignty and consider it in the context that we are given here in Romans 14. The immediate context, of course, is concerned with chapter 13. Paul gives a robust and specific exhortation to submit to the civil government.

And then the apostle Paul instructs Christians to keep the law of God in other areas as well, specifically by neighboring, by how we love our neighbors as ourselves. Paul says we are keeping the law of God.

We're fulfilling the law of God when we love one another as ourselves. And he says that we are to put off sinful attitudes, put off sinful affections, and put on the Lord Jesus Christ. These are all the differing exhortations that we have in Romans.

When we look at the instructions that Paul is giving, he becomes all the more specific down to chapter 14, and he begins to talk about how we are to engage with one another, not just as citizens and as neighbors, but as fellow church members, as fellow church members.

And he says, accept one another. And this exhortation is important because he's addressing fault lines which appear in the local church in Rome, and those lines appear along the Jew-Gentile divide. And as we look at how those things played out in the local church in Rome, I believe that we'll be helped to understand how to accept one another and unify in Christ here.

Romans chapter one, verses 16 to 17, when Paul says, for I'm not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, the just shall live by faith.

Those are the key verses that tell us what the entire letter of Romans is all about. And that's why Romans has often been labeled as the letter about justification by faith alone, or just justification.

But it's important to remember that this key passage reminds us that the good news is the power of salvation for everyone who believes, that Jew and Gentile alike are born again, raised up from sin's death into Christ's kingdom by faith, that righteousness is imputed by faith, not inherited by genetics or acquired by works.

And so really, what is Romans about? It's about the mission of God and the kingdom of Christ. It's about missions, about missions, the gospel for all peoples, no matter who they are, Jew or Gentile. And the real practical question is, how is it that you can have a local church, a one unified church that has both Jews and Gentiles together?

How are they going to get along? How are they gonna fellowship? How are they going to spend time in each other's company, in each other's homes? You see, that's the real critical question. Well, the answer, the answer has to be in the nature of Christ's authority and Christ's atonement.

If we can get those straight, no matter how divergent our cultural backgrounds are, there is unity, there is a coming together. There can be no mission of God to the nations without there being the global authority of Christ bestowing the free gift of his righteousness through faith.

So we need to start with the absolute lordship of Christ. Coming weeks, we'll think of his accommodating liberty as our Lord, but first his absolute lordship. Now, I do not mean to talk about his authority as somehow divorced from his atonement.

I don't wanna talk about his sovereignty as somehow separate and distinct from his sacrifice. These themes are linked together most closely, interwoven together throughout the scriptures. The son of man, remember, is the suffering servant that even the first hope of the gospel expressed by God to man was this, that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent even as his heel would be crushed in his redemptive agony.

So it's important for us to remember that the authority of Christ and the atonement of Christ are not to be separate in our minds. The rule and redemption of Christ are to abide closely together in our hearts.

I want you to remember that as we focus in on his authority and specifically his absolute lordship in verses one through 12. And we have been counseling ourselves. I hope that you've been counseling yourself in this time.

We think about the various problems we've had with economic fallout, the prospect of death, the threat of the virus, that you have been counseling yourself about the sovereignty of God. That you've been reminding yourself from the scriptures that God is in charge.

No virus can knock Jesus Christ off his throne. That you've been telling yourself these things from the scriptures, remembering who really is in charge, and then recognizing that every good and perfect gift comes down from the father of life with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

And so this is good. God is doing something good for us even though it's difficult, even though it's hard. Well, dearly beloved, the sovereignty of Christ also comes to bear directly on how we accept one another in our diverging responses to this current pestilence.

There are three actions that Christ takes in our text that show us that he's in charge. And it makes all the difference in our love for one another. He preserves us, he purchases us, and he positions us.

Notice first of all, he preserves us in verses one through four. As we look at verses one through four, I wanna jump right to verse four. And the reason why is because if we can understand what is going on there, if we can understand Paul's rhetorical question, if we can get into his doctrinal logic, we can understand the mind of Christ here in verse four.

And the exhortations in verses one through three will all be crystal clear to us. Verse four is really the controlling verse of this little portion. So I want to start there. Christ preserves us, why?

Because he is our master. Who are you to judge the servant of another? Paul asks in verse four. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls, and he will stand for the Lord is able to make him stand.

Why does he preserve us? Well, Christ is our master. Let's just start there. Paul wants the strong to accept the weak and the weak to accept the strong. And what business does either of them have judging another man's servants?

The weak are accountable to Christ, the strong are accountable to Christ, and Christ will preserve them both. Why treat one another with contempt? And to make that point stick, you'll notice in verse four that Paul, Paul deals with the pride problem.

He knows there's a pride problem here. The reason why the strong will not accept the weak or the weak will judge the strong, the reason why these tensions exist is of pride. And he addresses that pride problem right at the beginning of verse four.

You see it? Who are you? Who are you to judge the servant of another? That's the posture Paul takes when there's a pride problem. He does the same thing in Romans 9 verse 20, when he's addressing the complaints against God's sovereignty and man's pride rises and buckles up against the sovereignty of God.

And so Paul deals with the pride problem there, doesn't he? Romans 9, 20, who are you, oh man? On the contrary, who are you, oh man, to answers back to God. The thing molded will not say to the molder, why have you made me like this?

Will it? You see, when the Holy Spirit wants to deal with the pride problem, what are the labels that we are called? What's the metaphors that come out? Oh, we're pots. We're slaves. So how are we going to be complaining?

How are we going to be judging? Paul's approach alerts us about the pride problem. Who are you to do that? Well, I think it was well in the context of verse four, who are you to judge the servant of another?

To his own master, he stands or falls. Look, it's the master's prerogative how his servants act, not the other servant. It's the master's prerogative about how the servant serves, not somebody else. It's the master's prerogative.

With regard to a fellow believer's convictions about food, what dietary restrictions that they follow, or about days, what days that they believe are more hallowed than the next, social distancing, or any other concern about what is clean or unclean, it is important to recognize that you are not, and I am not, another servant's master, and nor is that servant your master.

To your own master, you stand or you fall. To your own master, to my own master, I stand or I fall. It's important that we understand what this means. Whether a fellow believer does well or ill in the use of his liberty, or in the facilitating of his convictions, that is a matter which concerns his own master, not you, not me.

Paul's logic here is doctrinally consistent, and it is culturally specific. Talking about the way in which slavery was conducted in his time. Now, it's a characteristic. Murray J. Harris wrote a monograph called Slave of Christ, and he comments on this passage when he wants to point out this truth.

The way things were, the slavery in the ancient Near East. Characteristic of slave ownership in the ancient world was exclusivity. A slave was not only at his master's disposal in an absolute sense, but only, only at his master's disposal, unavailable for service to another.

And that's reflected in this question where Paul says, who are you to judge the servant of another? So how does that play out? If I am but a household servant, if I am a slave in the keeping of Jesus Christ, if I'm going about his business in the way that I believe best, trying to be the best steward as I can of all that he's entrusted to me, and I happen to bump into another slave of the same master, and this other one is wearing gloves and a mask and is horrified that I failed to keep six feet away, we could start hurling contempt at each other, couldn't we?

We could. Or we can accept one another in Christ, recognizing the same master, and it's his prerogative to deal with us according to our weaknesses and our strengths, and we can safely leave it to him because he is our powerful master.

He is our able master. A master's power, that's the third consideration about verse four. Think of it this way. Is it not the concern of the weak? Brother or sister, who are entrenched safely in the depths of their own convictions?

Their concern is that the strong who roam freely without those same safeguards, that they will somehow irrevocably soil themselves, ruin their lives, contract the pestilence. And is it not also the concern of the strong that the weak depend too much on what will actually not save them in the end?

And these are the perspectives on either side. Now, Paul answers the concern of both, doesn't he? How does he do it? He says, who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master, he stands or falls, and he will stand, listen, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

Do you see that? God has accepted us in Christ, and it's by Christ's righteousness, Christ's redemption, Christ's resurrection, and Christ's reign that we stand. This word able means mighty. Christ the Lord is mighty to make us stand.

Is that your thought? Is that your thinking? When you happen upon a troubling fact about a fellow believer who obviously is not operating on the same convictions as you, is that our foremost thought? The Lord is mighty to make him stand or her stand.

Is that our controlling thought? You discover some troubling fact. Oh, this brother drinks beer. These children are not allowed to watch Disney films by their Christian parents. This young woman lives on her own without husband or parents.

This young woman can be found in her kitchen rapping along with Shilin. This man will only pray in the King's English. This church didn't close for COVID. That church did close for COVID. You've come upon a troubling thought.

Some of those things may sound silly to you, and some of you say, yeah, that's a genuine concern. Why? Because we have differing convictions. So what's the controlling thought? Do we look at our brother or sister in Christ and think to ourselves, who am I to judge them?

They stand to their own master. Indeed, I stand to my own master, and I can safely leave it to him because he is mighty to preserve us all. He is mighty to make us stand. He will keep his sheep, and none will snatch us out of his hand.

That's what verse four is about. Now, what about the exhortations? How are we to regard fellow Christians? Look at verse one. With the understanding that Christ is our master, that he's the one who preserves us, then that's the way we're to regard fellow Christians.

Verse one. Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. Now, some needful definition that needs to be given to this verse. Knowing where Paul was going in verse four, that's helpful as we're reading verse one, but it's also helpful to know where he's coming from.

As you look back over Romans 13, we see that Paul is insistent that we keep God's law, that we love our neighbors, that we abstain from sin, that we make no provision for the flesh, and all this as we put off our identity as self-gratifying creatures dead in sin and put on the new identity as the subjects of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We have put off the old, and we have put on the new creation values of living for Christ. So, because if we've read chapter 13, then we know that what Paul is saying in verse one of chapter 14 is not something along the lines of, no matter how anybody behaves in any fashion, say nothing.

Because he's already said quite a few things that we are to be concerned about. No one should interpret Paul's prohibition on judging here in Romans 14 verse one as requiring silence in view of wickedness or consent to evil or approval of abominations at any level.

Paul is not saying with regards to vile affections and perverse behaviors and breaking God's law among Christians that we ought not say anything about such matters. He's not saying that at all. If you read them in context, Paul's already been clear about those kinds of things.

The subject matter at hand has to do with the non-essentials, the convictions, the word is opinions, the word means even doubtings. More on that in a moment. So no one should misread what Paul is saying here in verse one, chapter 14.

And Paul has also been clear elsewhere that any inclusion of holiness codes into the definition of justification how we're made right with God and any inclusion of holiness codes into sanctification is utterly wrong.

Galatians and Colossians deal with that at length. Paul is concerned with how we are to regard fellow Christians in our diverging convictions in the light of the sovereignty of Christ our Lord. Since Christ makes us to stand, well then what is the significance of any stance that we have on a matter of conviction?

Now, except the one who was weak in faith but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. This verse requires two things of us. First of all, acknowledgement. Acknowledgement. It is necessary, is it not, for us to acknowledge the differences which exist not only among the beloved of God in Rome but also the differences which exist amongst us here at Christ Church at Sunnyside.

We have to actually acknowledge that there are differences of convictions, right? And while many have been known to sportingly comment about the weaker brethren, Romans 14 .1, what actually does that mean?

And what is the sober duty called for by those who are of the stronger? Throughout Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8 and 1 Corinthians 10, it is clear that those identified as the weaker brethren are those who live, now listen, this is important, who live under more restriction than the stronger brethren.

The weaker brethren are identified as those who live under more restriction in any given area of conviction. Then the stronger brethren, they don't have the same restrictions on their conscience. So weaker brethren, as a matter of conscience, as an example that we have here in Scripture, weaker brethren, as a matter of conscience, restrict their food choices, they restrict their beverage choices.

Weaker brethren hallow certain days as different than others, while stronger brethren have no concern as to what they may eat, drink, or what days they may observe. What is true about both groups? Both groups are brethren in Christ.

Both groups are accepted by God, saved by grace, yet different in their opinions on how best to live in these regards. And we've got to acknowledge those differences rather than eliminate them. We've got to acknowledge those differences in the manner in which the Holy Spirit describes them.

So, have you been thinking about what category you fall in about what type of conviction on any given matter? Are you a weaker child of God with more restrictions upon your conscience? I counsel you not to resent that holy God calls you weaker.

He's your father. He's your shepherd. He's your savior. Isn't that a right and good thing that he would know your frame, that he would know your needs? And is it not his strength glorified in your weakness?

And aren't you to boast in your weaknesses so that God receives all the glory? Paul certainly did. And are you strong where others are weak? What of it? It means that you have added responsibilities, more accountability before God.

Clear example, during the pestilence where one man must stay at home or wear a mask and gloves and keep his distance, you are free to walk about as normal. We've had to acknowledge those differences, haven't we?

So many convictions can remain private, hidden, not obvious. Not this. This gets really obvious really quick. We have to acknowledge these differences and we need to use the names that God uses. Use the categories that God uses.

And then, and only then, may we act in love toward one another. Has not our rejection of the biblical language of the wife as a weaker vessel, and thus our rejection of the biblical model of marriage also marred our capacity to acknowledge differences among our members?

I mean, how are we gonna properly love as the body of Christ when we're unwilling to use biblical categories? Can a husband, according to the scriptures, properly, Christianly love his wife if he rejects the categories the scriptures uses about her?

Can the wife properly love her husband if she rejects the biblical language about the categories about her husband? The answer is no, of course not. And the same comes with the church and how we bear with one another and accept one another in Christ.

So we have to acknowledge what the scripture says about that, acknowledge the differences of convictions among us, and then comes acceptance, acceptance. We have to take this exhortation to heart. We must accept one another, Romans 15, seven is the bookend to this passage.

So if you read Romans 14, one, and then read Romans 15, seven, you'll see that these are bookends that keep everything clear in the middle. Romans 15, seven says we are to accept one another just as Christ also accepted us with the glory of God.

That's what it means to accept one another. And in particular, those without weakness in a given area of faith, a conviction, or a belief, they must accept those who are weak. And to accept means what?

It means to take to oneself. It means to fully receive into fellowship. That's what it means to accept, not only should those weak in faith be formally recognized as members in good standing of the church, but they must also be heartily welcomed into the daily fellowship with all the other believers.