Intro

Romans 14:23

But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.

Strength

  • What is a “weak in faith” Christian?
    • Someone who still observes or abstains from certain activities out of a sense obligation to God coming from their own conscience.
  • What is a “strong in faith” Christian?
    • Someone who has spent time with the Lord and has come to terms with his/her own beliefs and practices. They’ve developed a deeper understanding of the meaning of “the just shall live by faith”.
  • Do you consider yourself strong in faith or weak in faith?
    • I would posit that all of us probably still have areas in which we are “weak in faith”. Not all are weak
  • We are not talking about blatent sinful activities that are clearly outlined in the bible. You are not “strong” in faith if you still practice these things and call yourself a Christian. Rather, you are in danger of hellfire and one of those people Jesus will tell “Depart from you, I never knew you”
  • Not that we don’t accept someone who might have struggles, but that we are making a clear distinction and then allowing the Holy Spirit alone of doing the work of sanctification.
  • In this psuedo post-COVID world we are seeing new folks now coming in and also people who fell off and are just returning. This is a perfect example where we “strong” ones need to be very careful in our approach and words.

Arguing

  • Lovingly look to what the bible says.
  • Avoid doing so over disputed matters, such as are listed in this chapter.
  • Whatever you do, do it unto the Lord. He is the one that you serve.
  • From the text:
    • Observances of certains days of the week.
    • Which food to eat/not eat.
      • Romans 14:17 - For the kingdom of God is not a matte rof eating and drinking but of righteousness, and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
  • Some modern equivelents:
    • Drinking wine, alcohol, coffee/caffeine.
    • Minor theological differences
      • The only time to really take issue is when these things pertains to either the Deity of Jesus or if you put into question the salvation of a believe because of a certain practice or lack therof (see Galatians 4:9).
    • Use of essential oils
    • Watching tv/movies
    • Women wearing head coverings
    • Men having a beard
    • Home schooling
    • What style/type of music you listen to.

Judgment

  • Christ
    • Our final reconing will be before Christ and Christ alone
    • It is not our place to judge others, he will do it
    • The thought of having to stand before Him one day is a dreadful and sobering one. I am not going to stroll up to him in confidence in myself, but in humility casting my fate at his feet. Even John, the one who laid his head on the bosom of Christ fell dead before him when he saw him in Glory.
    • When we stand before Jesus at his Judgement seat we will be accountable for how we treated our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. This will be more important to Him than any one practice you may have observed or abstained from. Why? Because of what Jesus said regarding keeping the law of God. We should love the Lord God with all our heart and our neighbors as ourselves.
  • Man
    • We are all servants of our own master, that is Jesus Christ.
    • We are not to stand in the place of God
    • You are not to even pass judgement on yourself, based on what you’ve approved. (v.22)
    • Don’t assume that just because you have a struggle in a certain area of your faith that everyone else has that same struggle and therefor needs to take the same stance on it as you do.
    • If you are judging others you are taking the place as judge over someone else. That person is a servant to God and is accountable to him for their life. Don’t take the seat on a throne on which you have no right to sit. So repent, and come down off the throne. Make sure you are in right standing with him who you will be accountable to one day soon.
  • Church
    • This area also ties into our lesson last week regarding authority. There are certain things in the body that must be address and dealt with, but there are already biblical presecents for these things.

Honor / Acceptance

  • Christ
    • God as master, we do unto him alone
    • Our calling is to live/die for him
    • Whatever we do or don’t do, it should be done unto God and God alone. Be fully convinced in your mind and observe with the mindset that you are honoring God.
  • Man
    • We are called to honor one another
    • Are we, by what we do, causing others to stumble or question their faith? This must not be so. If you find yourself doing so, then the loving and Christian thing to do is to also abstain so that you don’t cause someone else to stumble and possibly fall.
    • Mutual upbuilding, not tearing down
    • Seeking peace, not division
    • Don’t destroy the work of God over divisions and opinions
    • Causing others to stumble by your actions