Introduction

(Read vv. 1–12) Last Sunday, we began our journey through Romans 14–15. It’s a great passage because we can all relate to the Romans’ struggle. Surprise, surprise, they didn’t all agree on how to live a godly life. And you know what? Neither do we. It’s hard. And it brings discomfort, conflicts, and confusion. Sometimes tensions heat up, and we don’t know what to do. That’s where the Romans were.

They specifically disagreed over whether Christians must obey Jewish purity laws and observe Jewish holy days. So, the Jewish brothers believed they must only eat kosher meat. Because they were so hard to find, they only ate vegetables. But the Gentile brothers fired back, “That’s ridiculous. Christ has freed us from the law, so we don’t need to worry about that stuff.

And Paul agreed. We are free from the law, but he adds an important caveat (v. 14). Christians don’t need to obey the Law, but if someone can’t eat unclean food in good conscience, they shouldn’t eat it. But where does that leave the church? How do they love each other well and maintain unity despite this sharp disagreement.

And how do you respond when you and another believer who is striving to honor the Lord come to different but passionate conclusions about how you are going to dress, what you will watch, how you will parent, and many other things?

It’s tough. Paul answers with this incredibly relevant and practical passage. Last Sunday we saw that fundamentally, he challenges the Gentiles to accept their Jewish brothers patiently and without qualification (v. 1). And he challenges the Jews not to judge the Gentiles for having a lower standard (vv. 3b–4a).

Today’s text, vv. 5–12, continues to primarily challenge the Jews about their judgmental attitude. While we all hate judgmentalism, it tempts all of us. We need Paul’s challenge, leave judgment to the Lord. It’s simple, but it raises a host of questions. So, I’d like to begin by asking, what is the judgmentalism that Paul condemns?

I.  What is judgmentalism?

This is an important question because we know that all judgment is not bad. Verse 5 commands you to “be fully convinced in your own mind” about your convictions. That demands judgment. And 1 Corinthians 5:12 commands Christians to judge, or to hold accountable those who are in the church. So, when does this good judgment become evil? Here’s my working definition of judgmentalism. Judgmentalism is usurping God’s authority by harshly judging another believer’s sincerity in striving to please the Lord. Why do I say that?

First, Paul confronts the Jews for usurping God’s authority to judge (v. 4a). Again, he asks in v. 10, “Why do you judge your brother?” You don’t need to judge him because his true Lord already has that covered.

So, you are judgmental when you usurp God’s authority over his people. You think you have an authority and that only God possesses.

Now, you’re probably thinking, “Well, I don’t think I’m God, so I’m safe from judgmentalism.” But God says, you put yourself in God’s place whenever you move beyond evaluating a person’s actions or the validity of a particular conviction to making harsh judgments about the sincerity, the heart condition of your brother.

It’s not just that you disagree with his conclusions; you harshly accuse him of an evil, ungodly heart.

I see this in vv. 5–6 because Paul presses both sides to see that the other is sincerely striving to please the Lord (v. 6). Paul says, “Guys, you’re all trying to honor Lord, and you are all sincerely giving thanks to God for the food that you eat even though your convictions are different. You can disagree without making harsh accusations.

This is an important distinction. You can and oftentimes must evaluate someone’s standard. But you can do so without harshly judging their sincerity. For example, I’ve sincerely loved my mother since the day I was born. But when I was a kid, I did plenty of things that were inconsistent, even rebellious against that love. But I never stopped loving her. I praise the Lord for people who confronted my sin and pressed me to change. That’s good judgment. But judgmentalism goes beyond that. It would harshly accuse me of not loving her at all. It has a cynical, arrogant, and unloving edge.

So, I want to be very clear that Paul is not forbidding all judgment. People make bad choices, and sometimes they come from sinful desires. I can recognize that wrong without jumping to a cynical conclusion that I simply don’t have the ability or authority to make.

For example, consider one of the biggest controversies in the church today—worship styles. The Bible says a lot about how we worship God. If we want to honor the Lord, we must think carefully about what the Bible says and how to apply it. Philippians 1:10 says we must strive to “approve the things that are excellent.” So, worship matters, and every expression of worship is not equal. Someone is getting it wrong.

But while I must discern how to best honor the Lord, it is not my place to harshly judge the sincerity of another brother or church’s worship. I can believe, even passionately, that they are wrong while assuming that it comes from a sincere desire to please Christ.

Do you see the difference? Just because I disagree with someone’s choices doesn’t mean I have to harshly accuse them of evil desires. And just because God forbids judgmentalism doesn’t mean that God doesn’t care about the issues, and I am free to do whatever I want. Again, v. 14 says the weak were wrong. But v. 6 also says they were striving to please God. These distinctions are vital for understanding and applying this chapter.

With that in mind, let’s jump into the text. Again, Paul’s basic challenge is to leave judgment to the Lord. But how do you do that when you strongly disagree with someone’s choices about worship, parenting, and a host of other things? First, you must…

II.  Trust your brothers and sisters (vv. 5–6).

These two verses strike an important balance that is vital to your life as a Christian and to our life as a church. First…

You must discern God’s will and do it. Look again at v. 5a. Paul says the Roman church was divided over holy days. As I said last week, some believed they were still obligated to observe OT Sabbaths and festivals. But others “regard every day alike.” They believed that Christ has freed us from those obligations.

These kinds of disagreements can create killer tension. As a result, churches often jump to two lazy solutions to maintain unity.

A lot of very conservative big personality pastors will just declare for everyone what they must believe and how they must live. Godly women must wear these clothes, and godly men must have this hairstyle. Christians families will only eat at these places and watch these things. It’s unity through uniformity even where the Bible doesn’t demand uniformity.

But a lot of people don’t like that. So, they jump to another lazy method of maintaining unity. They say that a massive spectrum of your life doesn’t matter to God. “We won’t talk about standards, we won’t push each other, and you just do what you feel like, knowing that we don’t judge here.”

But Paul crushes both philosophies, in v. 5b. He rejects the uniformity model by giving people the freedom to do what they believe is right. And he rejects the no judgment model when he says “be fully convinced.”

God will not allow you to delegate discernment to someone else, and he will not tolerate lazy convictions. You must study the Bible and understand what it teaches, and then work and pray hard to apply it wisely and carefully to your situation. And when you reach a conclusion, put some conviction behind it. Men, don’t just say, “Well, I kind of think we’re going to do this in our home, maybe.” No, reach a sound conclusion, and say, “As for me and my house, this is how we will serve the Lord.”

And then do it with confidence as to the Lord (v. 6). If you believe God wants you to observe holy days, then do it out of a passionate desire to please God. If you believe you can eat all foods, do it for God’s and give thanks. And if you believe you should only eat clean foods, then give thanks for what you eat, and do it for God. Live your convictions.

Don’t be lazy. Don’t just do what your parents do. Ask them why they do it. They may have a better reason than you think they do. And certainly, don’t just do what the world does. I can almost guarantee it has a bad reason for what it does. Study the Bible, get godly counsel, pray, and discern God’s will regarding your entertainment, your modesty standards, your time commitments, your family practices, your budget, and everything else. Then act on your conviction. By God’s grace honor the Lord the best way you know how.

All that sounds good, but here’s the challenge. What happens when a bunch of people with strong but different convictions get together? They are going to clash. And apart from the grace of God, that clashing will almost always spiral into judgmentalism. Like you Romans you assume that anyone who is less conservative is worldly, and anyone who is more conservative is a judgmental legalist.

It’s a difficult balance, which is why most churches retreat to uniformity or agnosticism. So, how do we give people room to pursue different but strong convictions while maintaining Christ-honoring unity? First and foremost, we need the grace of God, to keep us humble and to cultivate genuine love. But more practically, you must trust your brothers and sisters.

You must trust that your brother is also discerning God’s will and doing it. I must say that Paul settles the holy day issue in Colossians 2:16–17, “No one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day—things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.” We don’t need to observe OT holy days or purity laws. And v. 1 of our text calls those who do, “weak in faith.” And v. 14 flat out says they were wrong.

But v. 6 turns around and says something incredible. They are following these stands “for the Lord.” They are sincerely striving to please God. And they give thanks to God for their food just like the strong.

So, the strong must trust the weak that they want to please God. And the weak, who couldn’t comprehend eating dirty Gentile meat had to trust the strong that they weren’t chasing their lust but seeking to honor Christ.

Paul is calling both sides to love the other by assuming the best and by trusting that they are striving to please God even if they are wrong.

We really like that when you are being judged. but we have a hard time trusting others. Your child goes to a friend’s house and comes home begging to do something you believe is wrong. It’s uncomfortable, and it’s easy to attack the other family’s godliness. When a family from our church sees another church doing something fun that we believe is wrong, I’m tempted to make harsh accusations. When someone challenges your conviction, it feels good to dismiss them as snotty legalists.

But love assumes the best. It trusts my brothers and sisters in Christ. What about you? Do you trust that those with whom you disagree are sincerely striving to please the Lord? Or are you a conspiracy theorist about everyone? You always think there’s some hidden agenda or corrupt passion. No one really loves Jesus except us 4 and no more.

Sure, people are sinners and oftentimes they follow corrupt desires, but don’t start with that assumption. Trust your brothers and sisters. Assume the best. But you might reply, “But people are bad. The only reason someone would possibly take that position is if they are worldly or legalistic. How can I possibly trust a brother with such a terrible conviction?” Paul is glad you asked. He answers in vv. 7–9 by challenging you to…

III.  Trust the transforming intent of the gospel (vv. 7–9).

These are interesting verses. It’s obvious that they are built around the theme of lordship. Christ is Lord, and every Christian must live for the Lord. But it’s not immediately obvious how lordship keeps us from judging each other. But I’m going to argue that the fundamental implication of these verses is that if I’m not going to judge my brother, I must trust the transforming intent of the gospel. Why is that? It’s because…

Jesus is Lord of every true believer (v. 9). Notice that v. 9 says Christ died and rose again. Why? “That he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living,” which in context, refers to all genuine believers. Jesus is Lord of all true believers.

This has been an important theme from the very beginning of the book. Chapter 6 says that believers are “slaves of righteousness,” and chapter 10 says when you get saved, you confess that Jesus is Lord and Savior. So, as I’ve said many times, Christ didn’t die merely to populate heaven with as many people as possible. He died and rose again to create a family of worshippers who glorify Christ and serve him, as v. 9 says, from the moment they believe until they pass away. This is the transforming intent of the gospel. I first want to emphasize that this truth has major implications for your life.

You must honor your Lord. The language of vv. 7–8 is as broad as it can be. Christians do not live for themselves. We live for the Lord. His rule and reign govern all of life.

You may wonder how we can “die for the Lord”? The idea seems to me that God’s sovereignty reigns even over our deaths. He determines the day of our death, not us. Christ is lord over all my life including the day and circumstances of my death.

Regardless, the point is clear. My life belongs to God, and I must honor him in all of life. That’s really important as you strive to discern God’s will. Whenever you are wrestling through a difficult issue, don’t ever begin with what you want. The goal is never to bend God’s will to yours, to find a way to justify what you want. Your goal must always be to honor the Lord the best way possible.

Sometimes that means restraining your desires, and at other times, as v. 6 says, it means embracing the freedom God has given and glorifying him as you enjoy his blessings. I do want to be clear that stricter is not always godlier. Regardless, your goal is always to honor him.

So, begin every decision-making process by declaring, “Jesus is Lord.” The goal is to honor him whether that is comfortable or uncomfortable. Then pray for wisdom. God promises to give it. Study, ask questions, listen humbly, and think. Be fully convinced in your own mind, and do what you believe is right striving to honor the Lord.

But I said earlier that the main purpose of vv. 5 –12 is to challenge the weak not to judgmental. So, how does Christ’s lordship help me combat judgmentalism? The answer is…

You must trust God to mold your brother. In other words, Jesus didn’t just purchase your life on the cross. He also purchased your brother. And God hasn’t only promised to keep and transform you; he also promised to keep and transform your brother (v. 4). So, understand that Jesus is Lord of every other Christian in this room, not just you.

When we disagree, we forget about that, especially when you are the more conservative person struggling not to judge the more liberal person. For example, you think, “There is no way a godly person could ever watch that trash.” Or another lady walks into church wearing something that you strongly believe is a problem. Your first though is probably not, “Praise the Lord for Christ’s lordship in her life.”

But Jesus is her Lord if she is in Christ. She may be doing something wrong, but Christ is at work in her life, and he is shaping her for glory. You have to trust him to do that. Because when you are judgmental toward a fellow believer, you don’t just attack that person; you attack the Lord. You question his lordship and his sovereignty over his child.

When I was at Inter-City, I remember hearing Pastor Doran talk about his philosophy of ministry, and one of his tenets that I’ll always remember is “confidence in the Spirit.” I don’t need to fret over every little problem in people’s lives. I don’t need to micromanage them. I don’t need to pick at every disagreement. Yes, there’s a time to confront, instruct, and challenge. But there’s also a time to pray, give explicitly biblical counsel, and wait for the Spirit to do his work. I have to trust God.

That’s hard when your adult children are not making the decisions you wish they would. It’s hard when a good friend is moving in a different direction. Fear kicks in, and you are determined to fix them. But trust the Lord. He will not lose his children. He will sanctify them, and he will bring them to glory. So, don’t see your brother with whom you disagree through the lens of your disagreements. See him under the lordship and loving care of the Father.

You must trust your brother to respond to the Lord. Imagine that you are Johnny Jew, and you can’t imagine eating unclean food. Then you look across the church fellowship hall at Joe Gentile as he thoroughly enjoys his cheeseburger. Your heart is not full of happy thoughts. You know that his heart is full of lust and ungodliness.

But v. 6 says you are wrong. You must assume, unless you have objective reasons to believe otherwise, that he is eating that unclean cheeseburger “for the Lord” and sincerely “giving thanks to God.” Why? Because Joe Gentile is a Christian. He gave his life to Christ. So, you trust that by the grace of God he is doing the best he can to honor the Lord and rejoice in his blessings. Joe Gentile may not always get it right, but you know that’s his heart. You trust him. You assume the best. You resist judgmentalism.

Conclusion

This evening, I’ll cover vv. 10–12 and Paul’s final challenge for resisting judgmentalism. You have to trust the Lord to judge his people. If they blow it, Christ will take care of it at the judgment seat of Christ. You don’t have to.

That said, I want you to go home committed to living out two challenges. First, determine that by the grace of the gospel, you will strive to please the Lord in all of life. You will know his will, be fully convinced in your mind and honor him with all that you do.  Second, determine that you will leave judgment to the Lord. You’re going to let God be God and not try to shoulder that burden yourself. And you will not harshly judge your brother; instead, you will love him, trust him, pray for him, and support him.