Book of Romans - Ch. 14, Vs. 20-Ch. 15, Vs. 6 (05/21/2000)

Open your study books to Romans, excuse me, 14, verse 20.

Who wrote this book? Paul. Paul. In 19 he says, let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, things wherewith one may edify another.

For meat destroyeth not the work of God. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.

Bill, what does it mean to eat with offence? If the things that you do are not done with the right motive and the right spirit.

That would not be in the right spirit. That would definitely not be in the right spirit.

In this world they can destroy the kingdom of God. Is that a true statement or not?

True. It is a sin for you to violate your conscience.

Why? Who's talking?

All right. Our conscience is guided by the very voice of God.

Just remember it like that. 21, it is good neither to eat flesh nor to drink wine, or anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

Now it says it's a good thing to not do that if it causes someone else to stumble.

Greg, what's involved in causing a brother to stumble? What has happened?

Well, you confuse them. They believe one thing is wrong, they believe it, and you go ahead and do that knowing that there's nothing wrong with them.

That causes them a problem. They think you're in the wrong, so they know just what the situation is.

All right, and what should they do? You mean the person who stumbled? Yes.

They need to come and ask you, why did you do that? Maybe they'll find out just what the situation is.

All right, but above all they should not go ahead and do it, is that right? Right, not until they know it's okay.

All right, now what about if you are the one that's causing another brother to doubt?

What should you do? Well, first of all, if I know what his belief is, I wouldn't do such a thing in front of him.

That causes a problem. If there was some necessity to do so, then

I ought to tell him first what I'm going to do and why, and help him along, he's going to grow. All right.

Clarence, what if you do not know that you're causing someone else a problem? Well, if you don't know in your own conscience, you don't know it's wrong, then it's not a sin.

If it's brought to your attention, then you need to address it. All right. Those are wise words, everybody remember it.

It leads back to just don't ask unnecessary questions, but respond to the situation.

We must all be very careful in what we teach. First, in that it is nothing but the truth.

Second, we should never force -feed any group. Bill, what would that mean, to force -feed?

It would be putting things on them that they're not willing or able to accept.

What do you mean, putting it on them? Forcing them to do things, forcing them to listen to things, acting out in ways in front of them that they're not at their stage of development, ready to deal with it.

So you'd lock the doors and not let them out while you told them? That would be force -feeding, yes.

Yes. It is a wise teacher that can give just the right amount of feed.

According to the light that the Lord has shed on a Christian, we're held responsible for the light that he has made available to us.

Now, that does not mean that you're held responsible for what you learned. It's for what you could learn that you had the opportunity to and didn't.

So he has given to us a great amount of light. Twenty -two, hast thou faith?

Have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.

Do you have faith? I think we could all answer yes on that. I hope.

Anybody here could not? Well, let me ask you then, Diane, from where did you get that faith?

David. All right. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.

Now, we wouldn't say it like that. David, how would we phrase that?

Happy is the person who doesn't feel guilty about the things he's doing.

Okay. That will do only that which he is convicted to do.

Our joyful happiness is relative to our harmony with our conscience. If you get out of harmony with your conscience,

Fred, then you have doubts and you're not happy.

You don't feel good mentally. Can a mental state affect the physical state?

Yes, sir. I've got a very strong guesser. I'll second that.

And he that doubteth is damned if he eateth, but he eateth not of faith, for whatsoever is not of faith is what?

Sin. Is sin. Now, let's think about that for a moment.

Then, Jesse, if you do something out of, and you're doubting whether you ought to do it, but you decide to go ahead and do it, is that right or wrong?

Wrong. Wrong. Why? Because if you can't do it in faith, you don't need to do it.

That's just as simple as you can make it. It becomes rather difficult to practice sometimes because we forget.

But if you ever tell yourself, well, I don't know whether I ought to or not, then don't do it.

If you have any doubt in your mind at all, just don't do it until you can remove that doubt.

And that fits anything in your life and everything in your life. If there's any doubt, don't do it until you can remove the doubt.

Now, don't ignore it, set about trying to solve it.

Well, it must be understood, though man's judgments and opinions may make that which is good in itself to become evil to them, yet they cannot make that which is evil in itself to become good, either in itself or to them.

Now, there is nothing good or bad in an adamant object.

I think I asked you a week or so ago to name something that was bad, some thing that was bad.

Debbie, can you? I'm sorry. I was thinking about everything.

All right. Tell me something, some thing now.

Now, tell me something that is either good or bad. Well, tell me something that's good.

Birds tell me something that's bad. I don't know of anything that's bad.

There's a lot of things that you can make bad. Well, that wasn't the question. Well, that's the answer

I got. There's lots of people, especially in the northeast part of this country, that think that we here have lots of things about us that are bad and they want to get rid of them.

Yeah, but look where they're from. That's why

I noted that first. They think it's bad to eat black -eyed peas.

They feed those to their hogs. Has anybody here never tasted a black -eyed pea?

Not in this town. We like them, though. We like them.

Steak's much better. My dad used to always kid mother about he had to teach her how to fry chicken and make gravy.

She was from Michigan. All right. Brother Otis, you got on that, though,

God created all things, and everything that he created was good. So, I mean, you have to go back to that, don't you?

Yes. I mean, there is no bad, except when we make it good. Well, in the inanimate object, it's neither good or bad.

It's all how you use it. Good question.

Anything else? All right, then turn to Chapter 15.

Now, before you get going that far, may I ask this?

As you say, nothing is good or bad unless you make it so it's all good.

I've just answered my own question. Excuse me, you did a good job. That's the kind of questions

I like. Excuse me. In the ultimate end, it's good.

Back in, I guess it's the last verse, 23.

And he that doubteth is damned if he eateth. Now, he's talking about meat offered to idols, but it would apply to anything.

The word damned here means judged, judgment.

He that does something out of doubt is judged. He judges himself. The word damned does not mean that you'll go to hell if you do something you shouldn't.

All right, Romans 15, 1. We then, that are strong, ought to bear the infirmities of the weak and not to please ourselves.

It is so easy and just natural that we want to please ourselves.

We ought to bear the infirmities of the weak. The word bear in Greek is bastedzo.

And it means to carry, to be patient, bringing them along in their understanding.

Bill, are there still a few things about the Bible you do not understand? There's a lot of things about the

Bible that I don't understand. There's things that I think

I'm beginning to get an understanding of. That's correct, yes.

Because what you do know, there was a time you didn't know it. And that that you didn't know, you do know, so that that you don't know, you will know.

If you study. I think that makes sense. So those, we that are strong,

Paul's placing himself with that group. To be strong, David, refers to what here?

Strong in faith, in knowledge, in experience, in confidence.

We ought to bear or to carry the infirmities of the weak.

Greg, what's the word infirmity mean as it's used here? A weakness or an inability to do something.

Well, yeah, that seems kind of redundant, but that's correct. Well, here, weak in faith or knowledge of the

Bible. Strong in 20, 21, and 22.

Fred, what do you think that means, to make a difference? To change them for the better in this instance.

To help them to change from a weakness to a stronger position.

Making a difference. What's that mean to you? I just see it as causing them to draw closer to Christ.

The things that you do bring glory to God and cause them to draw closer to Christ.

Well, it seems like they explained it pretty well there already.

If you put it together with 23, I think it's a contrast. As in others, the

Lord may lead you to talk to them about destruction that's coming.

If they don't take a look at the things of God. You have to find out what they believe.

You have to be sensitive to each and everybody. There is not one program that fits everybody.

There's not one approach that fits everybody. It means that making a difference, be aware of the person to whom you're speaking.

Find out what they believe, and if it's wrong, then gradually move them around to what's right.

And it will make a difference on them. Bear the infirmities of the weak.

Those scruples which arise through the weakness of their understanding. Help their understanding.

This is our purpose as far as the church is to edify the members, and then they go out in their own private ways, exercising their own gifts.

Based on the knowledge they gain while here. Verse 2, let every one of us please his neighbor to his edification.

Let every one of us please our neighbor to his edification. Or to edification.

Bill, edification means what? Building up. Alright. So, to please our neighbor.

Now, does that mean that if your neighbor comes over, is Russell here?

Yes. If your neighbor comes over and says, will you help me rob the bank? Then you're supposed to please him and go along.

He might become more knowledgeable of how to do it. What does this mean then?

It says for his good. Well, he would consider it good if he knew how to do it without getting caught.

It's good because he doesn't know apparently. And you know it's not going to work forever.

And you know it's not going to work. For his good.

Good as he sees it or you see it? As good as we know

God means it to be. Something that will build him.

Build him up in the faith. Something that will increase his knowledge and wisdom of the scripture.

Please his neighbor but only in that which is for his good. And we mean good by being

Christ -like. Never in anything which would cause him to sin or violate his own conscience.

Don't coerce someone into doing what you know is alright.

They don't. Paul spends a lot of time on that. But I must ask this question.

Let's see. Bert, who is your neighbor? The elect, the people,

God saved me. Always just the elect? No, I'm not always the elect.

It's just everybody in the world. I get to be your neighbor. Everybody's...

The neighbor is everybody you come in contact with. Alright. You're beginning to narrow it down.

Bill, tell us in simple terms. What is your neighbor? Who is your neighbor? Anybody you have contact with.

I just heard that. Anybody you interface with. You're right.

But I would rather you as the next one that the

Lord puts in front of you. Because he's the one doing it.

Now, Joy, does that mean you have to like your neighbor? No. You have to be aware that God has brought this person into your realm of activity for some purpose.

Alright. Consider it. Does it mean that you can ignore him?

No, I don't think he... God brings nothing for us to ignore. We handle it in some fashion.

Doesn't mean you have to do it, but you will know someone that can. Our neighbor.

Brother, you said the next one that you meet. Is that where you narrowed it down to?

Yes. The next one the Lord places in front of you. And that is the next one that you meet.

That you come face to face with. Right now, your neighbor is me.

If you're talking to Fred, then that's who your neighbor is. If you go out in the world, it's whoever you meet.

But sometimes when you meet that person, the reason you're meeting them is for your edification. Oh, yes.

So you've got to remember who's... That God can be putting in your path to improve you.

My father was a young man pulled out in front of him and hit my dad.

And he stepped out of the car and he said, Obviously God wanted us to meet today. And I'll never forget that.

I said, Dad, how did you do that? And he said, I didn't. God did. That's exactly what happened.

He said because he didn't plan it, he did everything he could to avoid it, but it still happened.

And that's exactly what happened. You cannot avoid it. The young man started coming to his church after that.

Him and his mom. For even

Christ pleased not himself, but as it is written, the reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.

Me is talking about Christ. Now, is that Katie or Jeannie?

Jeannie. I'm Katie. Who's this other one?

Jeannie. Katie, did

Jesus Christ have a will of his own? He followed the will of his father.

That didn't answer my question. Yes, he had a will of his own. He had a will of his own?

Jeannie, do you agree? Do you disagree?

Don't look at your dad. If he's already told you, it's illegal.

Did Jesus have a will of his own? Yes. I think she said yes.

How do we know that? Show me scripture that proves that.

Not my will, but thine. Not my will, but thine be done. Where is that?

That's in the Garden of Gethsemane. New Testament, yeah. At what time?

At what time? Just before he went to the cross. 740?

Could be. A .M. or P .M.? A .M.

It was in the morning, early in the morning. Over and over he says this.

There's a photo of John. We see Christ saying, not my will, but thine.

There's lots of people that believe that he had a sin nature and he did not have his own will.

Well, he didn't have a sin nature and he had his own will. And what

Diane was talking about is in Luke 22, 41 and 42. Then again in 2

Corinthians 8 and 9. Now, fourth verse. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for whose learning?

Our. Our learning that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Bill gave us a good definition of the word hope. Friday night, can you recall what you said?

I can. He wasn't listening. What's hope mean here?

What does hope mean? Yes. Hope means that you have an expectation of something happening.

You are relying on it happening. And it's going to be something that's good for you.

It's not an iffy situation. But in this case it's a certainty it's going to happen.

That's right. Absolutely. Maybe it was your brother that told me that Friday night.

It must have been. Well, the Old Testament look is hope is looking forward to something.

The New Testament is a certainty then. Or I guess typically today our word hope means you're anticipating a need.

Whereas scripturally in the New Testament it means it's a certainty. That's right. All right.

The world wishes it would. What? The world uses hope as a wish.

Yes. Brother Otis? Yes. When it says the patience and comfort of the scriptures, doesn't that mean that as we continue to study and improve our learning, throughout the

Bible we're told things over and over and over. And if we have the patience, then sooner or later we're going to get the wisdom that goes with the knowledge that comes from that study.

And that's where we get assurance of our hope. That's well put.

Let me ask you. Have any of you since, I can't ask before I was here, but since we've been studying the scripture together, have any of you increased your knowledge and peace with the scripture?

Yes, sir. Yes. Now these things were written a fore time.

What's that mean, a fore time, Burge? Before we were here.

Right. Sometime in the past. Speaking of the

Old Testament specifically. They were written way back yonder.

And they were written for our learning. Now anybody that reads them at any time in history could say that's for me.

It is for my learning. And that's the way it will always be as long as this age stands.

Then through patience, comfort of the scripture. That's beautiful.

How many of you ever felt down and a little discouraged and you would go to the book of Psalms and read?

Anybody? There's a peace that can be gained, especially from Psalms.

Is the Bible a book that has a list of all possible problems?

Yes. Is it all labeled and indexed? No. How are you going to find it?

By studying and learning and having patience until you reach the problem that you've got.

What about being revealed to you? Sure. I'm going to disagree with Fred's first answer.

I don't think it lists all possible problems, but it lists all possible solutions. Greg's right,

Fred. It is not a book that has a list of all possible problems.

I did not say that. Uh -oh. I did not say it had a list of all.

I said, in the Bible, we will learn how to handle all of the problems.

I understand. Didn't I say that? Actually, you said yes.

Let's not have any disagreements in the race. I said yes, and I apologize for stealing what you said.

Thank you for letting me repeat you. Well, don't think you can go to the

Bible and go to a certain verse and find a solution to a certain problem.

Now, most of your answers for problems come as you study something totally unrelated.

At least you consider it to be unrelated. And it will teach you things that you never dreamed of.

Or you might be looking for the solution to a problem today and not find it.

And another problem comes and you look for it and find the one for today. It's only by our diligent search and study and by the leadership of the

Holy Spirit that we learn. That's the only way we can learn. I can teach you nothing.

If you have learned anything or if you will learn anything, it's the Holy Spirit that teaches you.

By our ability to study and retain, are we able to see the truth as God brings us to experiences each day.

He's a head, heart, and hand instructor. He will give you the head information as you study.

He'll put it in your heart. Then he'll give you an experience in which that illustrates what you've learned.

Now, they may not all come at the same time on the same day or even in the same year. But you will have experiences that teach you.

So it reinforces what you have learned. And then he'll remind you what he told you.

That's right. Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like -minded one toward another according to Christ Jesus.

Joy, if I had a yardstick up here and I said this measures 10 and 3 quarter inches according to this yardstick, what would

I mean? You would mean that that's the measurement for what you're going to take out of it.

The whole thing. Okay. And the yardstick would be the ruler or the gauge or guide.

Right. The standard. Alright. What is the ruler here or gauge or guide? Christ Jesus.

Christ Jesus. Everything's according to him. Now the

God of patience and consolation grant you to be like -minded. There's a key word.

Like -minded. Debbie, like -minded.

Since we have the same mind, we have the same end in view. Alright. Alright.

We look at things as he looks at them or would look at them if he were here.

How do we know? How can we arrive at a peaceful feeling concerning our decision?

Alright. Alright. Let me state again the three ingredients of making a decision.

Any decision you make. Now, this would include shoestrings, but we have enough capacity in our mind to settle that.

But I'm talking about any decision that would affect you in any way.

The first thing that you must have a desire to do it.

Naturally you wouldn't set about doing something you have no desire to do. So first is the desire.

Second is what? The ability to do it.

Alright. It's the ability or the situation or whether it be financial or health or what.

But first you have a desire and then the situation is so that you could do it.

The third one is peace from God. Now, if you have that third one, you won't do it out of doubt.

If any one of the three are not there, don't do it. Don't force it.

If you have a desire and the circumstances are not so you can, you may have peace of God alright, but circumstances are not yet so you can do it.

Is anybody hearing me? Yes, sir. If you have the circumstances and the peace of God, you better work on your desire.

If it never comes, don't do it. Those three things will apply to everything in your life from now on.

What college you go to, what courses you take, who you marry, who you don't marry, whatever.

Just remember those three things. Five. Now the

God of patience and consolation and we read there. The word grand means to give or commit to someone something.

In this case, to be religiously observed. Like -minded, cherish the same views, be in harmony.

Greg, did you ever hear a chord struck on a piano or organ that was out of harmony with the guitar?

Yes, I have. It's very pleasant, isn't it? Not at all. Six.

That you may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. What is there about being of one mind and one mouth?

What's that mean? If you're all of one accord or one mind, then there's a perfect harmony with the people around you and the

Holy Spirit and God. There's no discord amongst you. There's no arguing or bickering between you.

Alright. There was a band leader years ago,

Glenn Miller. Anybody ever hear of him? When you strike a note on any instrument, there is a harmonic.

There is another note that will harmonize with that note. If you play them both together, they're harmony, but they will produce a third note.

Do you follow? Glenn Miller wrote most of his music based on that third note, and that's why it's so beautiful.

Now, if we have two people, and they are like -minded, they think the same, they're in harmony, then they produce a third character, which is power.

The power of two agreed is stronger than either one separate. Do you agree with that?

Then think what it would be if we all agreed. Or if three. How many remember

Mitch Miller? I knew Fred would. You remember his old male choir?

I love to hear them sing. How many did he have?

A hundred? Just about, I'm sure. But it was utterly amazing to listen to them, because it was just like one mouth speaking.

You could hear every word, every syllable. They all started at exactly the same time, stopped at exactly the same time, and there was no confusion.

You take the normal choir, especially in a church, it's hard for me anyhow to understand all of the words that they're speaking or singing, because they're not all of the same mouth.

But that's what he's talking about here. All of the same mouth, saying the same thing together.

Now, in this case, Russell, it probably would not be all the same words.

But the interpretation to him would be all the same. Not contradictory to one another.

So he says that you may, with one mind and one mouth, bring praise to His glory.

Even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We'll start next week, verse 7.

Start with the word of wherefore. Any thoughts anyone's had now this morning that they'd like to express?

Well, that's the beauty of not forsaking the assembly of yourself with fellow

Christians. You can develop a harmony. Yes, yes. Nothing else?

On verse 6, I'd like to say something here about one mind and one mouth glorifying

God. To me, I see that as meaning each and everyone is doing everything they do as unto the

Lord. Therefore, it glorifies God. That's right. Not necessarily meaning we're doing all the same things.

But we're doing it with each. The things we do as unto the Lord. Right. And our mind is oriented toward God, not toward each other.

I'm not trying to do better than you or you than me. It's the best we can do unto

Him. Anything else? Then would you stand up?