Sunday Morning, May 3, 2020, AM

All right, good morning everyone good morning a song of a sense 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. Oh 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 and 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 announcements this morning regarding those procedures if you've forgotten We're going to 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 going to 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 our call to worship 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 one virtual on the stream live stream

Smart passage is found in Psalms chapter 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

Oh God God our first song this morning is Brethren we have met to worship

We'll be singing all four verses Brethren we have met to worship

And adore the Lord our God Will you pray with all your power

While we try to preach the word All is vain unless the spirit of the

Holy One Shall hurt all around you

For sinners round you slumbering on the brink of woe

Death is coming, hell is moving Can you bear to let them go?

See our fathers and our mothers

And our children sinking down Pray shall work all around Sisters will you join and help us

Moses' sister hated him Will you help the trembling

Or struggling heart with sin

Tell them all about the Savior Tell them that he will be found

Sisters pray and holy vina

Will be showered all around Let us love our

God supremely Let us love each other too

Let us love and pray for sinners

Till our God makes all things new

At his table we'll sit down Christ will gird himself

And serve us with sweet manna

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 4 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

In 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 survive

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 let 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 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 Peor in the land which Mount 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 Let me 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, I pray these things in his name Amen, you may be seated

Before we continue our song service

If you're able to see her today Make sure and express Her happy birthday wishes to Loretta 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 word Just to rest Upon his promise

Just to know The saint The Lord Jesus Jesus How I trust him

How I proved him O Jesus Jesus Precious Jesus O for grace

To trust him more O how sweet To trust in Jesus Just to Trust his

Cleansing blood Just in simple Faith to Lunge me

Neath the healing Cleansing blood Jesus Jesus How I trust him

How I O Jesus Jesus Precious Jesus O for grace

To trust him more Yes Tis sweet To trust in Jesus Just from sin

Itself to cease Just from Jesus Simply taking

Life and rest And joy and peace Jesus Jesus How I trust him

How I proved Jesus Jesus Precious Jesus O for grace

To trust him more I'm so Glad I learned

To trust him Precious Jesus Saviour Friend That he is with me

Will be with Jesus Jesus How I trust him

How I proved Him more Jesus Jesus Precious Jesus O for grace

To trust him Leaning on the everlasting arms

What a fellowship What a joy divine

Leaning on the everlasting arms

What a blessedness What a peace is mine

Leaning on the everlasting arms

Leaning Safe and secure

From all alarms Leaning On the everlasting arms

O how sweet to walk In this pilgrim way

Leaning on the everlasting arms

O how bright the path Grows from day to day

Leaning on the everlasting arms

Leaning Safe and secure

From all alarms Leaning What have

I to dread What have I to fear Leaning on the everlasting arms

High and low or so near Leaning on the everlasting arms

Leaning Safe and secure

From all alarms Leaning on the everlasting arms

Let's go to the Lord in 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, that 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, the 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, love with one another in Christ.

So Romans 14 will be our focus. We'll be reading verses 1 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 it 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 believe 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 1 through chapter 15 verse 7 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 1 through 15 7.

And I would like to invite you now to stand with me as I read God's holy word, Romans 14 verses 1 through 12.

This is the word of the Lord. Now accept the one who was 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 going to 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.

And 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 to 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 it will be helped to understand how to accept one another and unify in Christ here.

Chapter 1, verses 16 -17, when

Paul says, For I am 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 is often 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 going to 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 want to 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 1 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 1 through 4. As we look at verses 1 through 4,

I want to jump right to verse 4. 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 4.

And the exhortations in verses 1 through 3 will all be crystal clear to us. Verse 4 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 4. 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 4 that 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 because of pride.

And he addresses that pride problem right at the beginning of verse 4. 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, O man? On the contrary, who are you, O man?

Two 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're 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 4.

Think of it this way. Is it not the concern of the weak? 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 Shy Lynn. 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 4 is about. Now, what about the exhortations? How are we to regard fellow

Christians? Look at verse 1. 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 1. 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 is going in verse 4, that's helpful as we're reading verse 1.

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, if we've read chapter 13, then we know that what Paul is saying in verse 1 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 1 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 him 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 1, 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 is 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 A 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 than 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.

A 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 going to 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 and 7 is the bookend to this passage. So if you read Romans 14 and 1 and then read Romans 15 and 7, you'll see that these are bookends that keep everything clear in the middle.

Romans 15 and 7 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.

Now, of course, it would be difficult there in the church in Rome to include the week at the monthly barbecue.

That would be very difficult indeed to do. Some things have to change. And, of course, who wants to do that?

Is it difficult to accommodate the week during a pestilence? Oh, yes, absolutely.

I hope that you will see that all of the detail in the emails, the letters, and all of the instructions that we've sent out, this isn't about setting up legalism.

This is about your elders. We're praying through and thinking about how can those who are strong, who could live happily without any of these restrictions, that we can all bear with those who need them and would appreciate them and otherwise would not be able to come back to church without them.

You see? That's the thrust of all of the different measures that we're trying to take.

It's difficult, but remember, to paraphrase Romans 14 and 17, the kingdom of God is not a slab of ribs or a face mask.

It's about how we love one another in Christ. From every aspect, you see the welcome of this acceptance of one another must be warm.

It must be genuine. Now, Paul is very incisive here. Accepting the week must not be done as a pretense to confront them and then quarrel about their narrowness.

Right? There cannot be any thoughts like, well, of course they can worship with us and be a part of our membership, and after spending quality time with us, they'll learn how to loosen up and enjoy the

Christian life the way they ought to. Right? Kind of like project dating, project church membership.

Now, consider what they're dealing with, these opinions.

The idea here is scruples, reasonings. Even the word can mean doubtings.

Rather than deride someone's depth of conviction as pointless tradition or wrong thinking, logical fallacies, we are to accept one another in Christ as God has accepted us.

And what about doubtings? You will often hear convictions expressed this way, so be alert to it.

What if a brother or sister in Christ expresses a doubt, a doubting?

I'm not really sure it's right to go out to eat on a Sunday afternoon. Do you hear it?

It's a doubting. I'm not really sure, but what is that? There's a conviction being expressed. I'm not sure it is proper order to have a fundraiser run in our facilities.

You hear that? I'm not really sure if we should do that or not. You hear a doubting, but it's a conviction.

Do we latch on these kinds of doubtings as an opportunity to set you straight? Or do we accept a brother or sister with those opinions, with those doubtings?

So, Christ is sovereign, and considering his absolute lordship, the truth is that he is the one who preserves us, according to verse 4.

Because he is our master, we are to regard fellow Christians in that way, in that regard, and we are to refrain from condemnation, verses 2 and 3.

We are to refrain from condemnation. Paul hones in on one of two examples that were common in the

Jew -Gentile divide, food and Sabbath. Food here in verses 1 through 4, and the

Sabbath is mentioned obliquely in verses 5 through 6. Now, for the weaker brethren, such considerations, you must understand, touch to the very level of life and death, avoiding unclean food, resting on the

Sabbath. How many stories do we have in the scriptures about death, quickly following, failure, to follow through on those types of instructions?

This could touch to the level of life and death, and I think we can easily relate, as spatial distancing, masks, gloves, sanitizer, and more have become integrated into personal holiness codes.

They have become the rubrics for clean and unclean, and that these concerns even touch to the level of life and death.

And it is easy, when matters are this heavy, to allow emotion to fire contempt and judgmentalism, and we can forget to accept one another in Christ.

The Rome featured a church full of Gentiles. What were the Gentiles called to do? They needed to welcome and accept fellow

Jewish believers, kind of the opposite situation that you read about in Acts 10, 11, and 15. But whether the matter is food, days, or something else, it is clear that how we are to accept one another, we must refrain from condemnation aimed either way.

So, two things. First of all, keep on with the conviction. Keep on with the conviction. With respect to the weaker brethren who refused to eat meat,

I think William Hendrickson has a good insight about what they may have been thinking. Because, I mean, obviously, any kind of dietary restrictions you would come up with in the

Old Testament, none of them are fully vegetarian. So why are they not eating meat at all?

Why are they refusing to eat meat at all? Well, many people today refuse to eat meat for a variety of reasons.

And those convictions will probably lie along the side of their own personal convictions about how to take care of their bodies and so on and so forth.

Well, what about these people? What were they concerned about?

They weren't concerned about modern science concerning dietary patterns, but what were they concerned about?

They were concerned about whether the meat they were going to be eating was defiled in some way. So William Hendrickson puts these thoughts out, and I think this is really the thinking of the weaker brethren in this case.

They were full of convictions. They would be thinking along these lines. Well, in this pagan city, how do we know whether this meat at all is really clean?

How do we know whether the animal from which it came was actually a clean one? How do we know whether it was slaughtered in the prescribed manner?

How do we know whether it was not, first of all, offered to idols? You see? All these considerations that they don't have the resources to answer.

And so, in their minds, better safe than sorry. You see, just to hold one's nose and then eat the meat of an unknown origin, that was reprehensible to them.

They couldn't bear the thought of doing that. They were not considering their dietary choice meritorious or efficacious with regards to their salvation.

Like, oh, this is how we're saved, because we eat this way. They weren't thinking that way. And yet, they still had the convictions, and to go against them would be wrong.

See, many believers know, many believers know they are fully accepted by God according to the merits of Christ alone.

And they rejoice in their justification and give glory to God for their sanctification. And from their conscience, they truly cringe at the thought of going to the movies or going to the beach or going to Disney World.

And others who have no such compunctions would have the very same torture of soul to sip wine, to mow the lawn on Sunday, or to fail to recycle cardboard.

So what shall the one who is weak do? Keep on with your conviction.

Have it as unto the Lord, verse 6 says. All right? Make sure that it is of faith.

Consider it well. Make sure that it's something that it's not somebody else forcing it on you, but that's your conviction, and you're doing it for the

Lord, for His glory, giving Him thanks for who He is and what He's provided for you.

Consider it well according to the Scriptures. Let Christ shape you into His image. Keep on with that conviction.

Now, secondly, leave off the condemnation. You see, contempt and judgmentalism can run both ways.

Paul says in verse 1 to the strong, so that you can turn around and condemn them and judge them.

Here in verses 2 and 3, the concern is, well, what about the weaker brethren who have more convictions than another?

How are they to treat the strong? The unmasked saints must not regard with contempt the masked saints.

The one who does not go out in a pestilence is not to judge the one who does. Why? God has accepted him.

The same goes for all such convictions. You see, when discovering that others in your church do not have the same conviction, if you do not have the right understanding of justification and sanctification, if your assurance in Christ alone is unsteady, if pride presses your heart outward so you're more easily poked, you're likely to think that someone is not as right or as holy as you because they don't have your same convictions.

Or you may begin to feel that those who have more convictions than you are trying to prove they're more righteous or holy than you.

Look, that's not at all the point. That is not at all the point. That's not

God's purpose. It is from that kind of thinking, however, that all manner of contempt and condemnation will erupt to sow discord among brethren.

So our time here in Romans 14 .1 through 15 .7, I think, will be well spent by considering the sovereignty and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

I believe that just by applying the gospel truths of Christ's reign and redemption to our lives, we will be led into the joyful course of loving one another during this pestilence, the ones to come, and the other various trials and tribulations.

Let's have a word of prayer. Father, I thank you for providing such a clear and profitable, sufficient word.

You know the things that we go through. You know our frame. You know that we needed to be strengthened in our love for one another.

You have been so gracious amongst other things to bring us through this trial, and you will continue to bring us through.

And I pray that as we do, Lord, that you would be glorified in the way that we strive to love each other and accept one another in Christ.

We pray these things in his name. Amen. Will you stand with me for our song of benediction?

And that's the title of the song, is Benediction. May the peace of God, Christ the risen

Son, and the fellowship of God the

Spirit keep our minds and minds whispered in his love, and to him be praise for his glorious reign from the depths of earth to the heights of heaven.

We declare the name of the Lamb once slain,

Christ eternal, the King. May there be peace which passes understanding and this grace which makes us what we are, and this fellowship of his communion makes us one in spirit and in heart, and to him be praise for his glorious reign from the depths of earth to the heights of heaven.

We declare the name of the Lamb once slain,

Christ eternal, the King of kings, and to him be praise for his glorious reign from the depths of earth to the heights of heaven.

We declare the name of the Lamb once slain,

Christ eternal, the King of kings,

Christ eternal, the King of kings.

May the love of the

Father and the grace of the Son and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

We are dismissed. Back rows first out to the parking lot.