Introduction

(Read Text) We’ve been in Romans for a long time. I introduced the series way back on 5/22/22. So, I know some of those early sermons are not fresh in your mind because they aren’t all that fresh for me. Therefore, I really enjoyed reviewing the early chapters of Romans in my private time this week and especially everything they say about the gospel.

Specifically, I once stood under the wrath of God, but he sent Jesus to bear that wrath for me. And I was encouraged once again by Romans 4:4–5. That is glorious. I didn’t earn my standing with God; he just credited it to me when I believed.

So, if you feel overwhelmed by a guilty conscience, please see that you don’t have to fix it yourself or work your way into a good standing with God. He will receive you while you are still ungodly if you will simply trust in Jesus alone as your Savior and Lord. I hope you will do that today. Christ can save you no matter how guilty you are.

But I primarily want to remind you of these gospel truths because while those early chapters may not be fresh in your mind, they were fresh in Paul’s mind when he wrote Romans 14. And remember that when the Roman church heard Romans 14 for the first time, only a few minutes had elapsed since they heard Romans 4. And even less since they heard Romans 6:12–14. “Sin shall not be your master because we are…under grace” was still ringing in their ears when they heard Romans 14.

I want this to also ring in your ears because Romans 14 is radical. Today’s challenge is, love your brother more than your rights. It’s simple and reasonable. But most people can’t bring themselves to do it. When people disagree, they either pound each other into the dirt, or they go separate ways. But by the grace of God, sin will not be our master. We can love each other sacrificially, support each other, and endure every challenge.

So, remember the gospel. Remember all that precedes it in Romans 1–13 as you hear and strive to heed today’s challenge, love your brother more than your rights. That said, let’s jump into the text. I’d like to begin in v. 14 because it states the conflict which shapes the entire passage.

I.  The Conflict (v. 14)

Remember that the church was divided over the ongoing significance of the OT law. The strong understood that Christ has freed us from the law and that we are no longer bound to obey it. But the weak were not so sure. They believed in salvation by grace alone, but their consciences were still bound by OT food laws and holy days. It may seem small, but both sides were passionate about their convictions. And we know from experience that this kind of passion can spiral into judgmentalism, impatience, and serious conflict. What was the church to do? Verse 14 acknowledges that it was complex situation. On the one hand…

You are free from the Law (v. 14a). Paul agreed with the strong. Christ has freed us from any obligation to the Law of Moses.

The little phrase “in the Lord Jesus” is Paul’s way of saying that he didn’t suck that conviction out of his thumb. It was anchored in the authority of Jesus. Mark 7:19 says Jesus “declared all foods clean,” and Jesus also told Peter in Acts 10 that all foods are clean.

I do want to emphasize that v. 14 is specifically talking about OT purity laws. I’ve heard people take “nothing is unclean in itself” as a blanket statement about a wide range of issues. They take Paul to mean that basically any movies, music, video game or fashion style is acceptable to God.

But that’s a terrible violation of the context. And the many ethical exhortations of the NT demonstrate that God still demands that you live a holy life. Don’t use v. 14 to say something God never intended. That said, we are free from the Law of Moses. God couldn’t be clearer. But …

You are not free from your conscience (v. 14b). On the heels of v. 14a, that is an incredible statement. And Paul really believed it (vv. 20b, 23). I plan to say much more about the conscience next week because it’s an important but challenging subject.

For now, notice that just because you know something intellectually does not mean you believe it existentially, in your feelings. If the conscience were just a matter of the intellect, v. 14a would have settled the conflict. It’s a simple affirmation, and it’s anchored in the gospel. I imagine the weak agreed intellectually that Christ has freed us from the law.

But they had followed purity laws for decades, and they just couldn’t put them aside. Those boundaries were deeply imbedded in their hearts.

You understand. I bet there is something you have done since childhood. You don’t have any conviction about it, but you can still hear mom’s voice, so you make your bed a certain way or sit a particular way at dinner.

And v. 14 says that these kinds of things can create a difficult conflict. Your freedom in Christ is not freedom to violate your conscience. Even if Scripture gives you freedom, you are not free to violate your conscience. You must obey your conscience. I’ll say a lot more about that next week.

For now, this fact really complicated relationships in Rome. Joe Gentile was right, and he was free to eat a sausage pizza with extra cheese. But Johnny Jew would be sinning if he ate the same pizza because he would violate his conscience. So, what do Joe-Gentile and Johnny Jew do at the church potluck? Should Joe Gentile stomp all over Johnny Jew’s conscience? Should Johnny Jew stare down Joe Gentile with beady eyes as he eats his pizza or demand that he not bring it? Notice the command of v. 13.

II.  The Command (v. 13)

Paul gives two commands. The first command, “not to judge one another” summarizes the challenge of vv. 5–12. Paul challenged both men, but especially Johnny Jew not to judge Joe Gentile for his lower standard. If Joe Gentile shows up with a sausage pizza, don’t harshly assume that it comes from ungodliness.

Rather, assume that he is eating sausage pizza “for the Lord,” to which I say, “amen!” As I said last week, we must trust our brothers and trust the Lord to direct them. Christian love assumes the best.

Then Paul’s 2^nd command takes aim at Joe Gentile, and he remains the primary target throughout today’s text (v. 13b). Determine is a good translation, but I should mention that Paul makes a play on words by using the same Greek verb, krinō, that is translated “judge” in v. 13a. So, the idea is, “Don’t judge your brother; instead, judge yourself. Worry about yourself, more than you worry about him.” Specifically, do not “put an obstacle…”

This command is central to the overall message of the chapter, but it is easy to misunderstand and misapply. So, the 1^st question we must answer is…

What does it mean to stumble? Verse 13 uses two illustrative terms. The first, proskomma, which the NASB translates as obstacle, refers to anything that makes someone trip. For example, the other night our dog decided to sleep in the doorway to our bedroom. I stumbled over her and scared both of us when I got up in the dark.

The second, skandalon, which is translated as stumbling block, originally described a trap, maybe for a bird or a rabbit. The NT uses both terms frequently to describe a spiritual fall. So, v. 13 forbids the strong from exercising their liberty irresponsibly and thereby doing spiritual damage to the weak. So, yes, Joe Gentile is free to eat sausage pizza. But he must not allow his sausage pizza to make Johnny Jew stumble.

But what does that even mean? Does it mean that Joe Gentile can never eat a sausage pizza? Maybe he can never bring one to the church potluck? Is the issue that it bothers Johnny Jew, or is something more at stake?

The rest of the chapter is clear that stumbling is far more serious than simply being irritated or bothered or seeing a brother do something with which you disagree. No to stumble is to disobey your conscience and to begin down a path toward spiritual ruin, potential resulting in eternal damnation.

Why do I say that? Notice how else Paul describes this damage. Verse 15 warns the strong not to “hurt” your brother. The idea is that Joe Gentile must not cause deep spiritual grief by how he eats his sausage pizza.

The 2^nd warning in v. 15 is very severe, “Do not destroy…” Paul always uses this verb for eternal destruction. He’s talking about something very serious, not a minor irritation. Think about that. What a tragedy if you set someone on a path to hell by selfishly flaunting your freedom.

Similarly, v. 20 warns, “Do not tear down…” Again, that sounds tragic. But how could Joe Gentile tear down God’s work? Paul answers that you could lead him to do what is for him “evil.” So, Paul’s concern is that violating your conscience is sin, and sin is evil. And 1 Timothy 4:2 warns that whenever you violate your conscience, it becomes “seared” or calloused. It gets easier to do it again. So, violating your conscience sets you on a path that can spiral into deeper and deeper rebellion against God, and the bottom of that spiral is hell.

That’s serious. Don’t violate your conscience. And Paul’s primary concern is that you don’t want to encourage someone else to violate his conscience by exercising your spiritual freedom irresponsibly. You can put a dangerous stumblingblock in a brother’s path. It’s very serious. So, getting practical…

What must you avoid? Paul’s specific concern is that a Christian must never flaunt his freedom in a way that pushes a brother to violate his conscience. Again, you may be fully convinced from Scripture that there is nothing wrong with a particular activity. But you still must respect other people’s convictions.

For example, another family is at your house, and you decide to watch a movie. You know they are more cautious than you are. So, even though you see nothing wrong with a particular movie, and you think their standard is silly, you don’t tempt them to violate their conscience. You pick something they are comfortable watching. You may think they have a dumb standard, but you value their conscience more than your rights or convenience.

Or a group of ladies goes shopping. You’d really love to see your one girlfriend lighten up a bit. Sometimes you think she’d look better in a potato sack than what she chooses to wear. You’d love to pull her into Calvin Klein and get her into something a little tighter and stylish. But instead, you choose to support her convictions.

It’s simple, but it’s not always easy. It can be uncomfortable to be around people with higher standards. Sometimes it dampens the fun. You feel insecure because you wonder if they are judging you. Maybe you just get tired of it, and you nag, you jab, and you push. But God commands you never to push someone to violate his or her conscience. But this raises a 3^rd

What are the limits? This is important because people with a weak conscience will sometimes use v. 13 as a weapon to control everyone around them. For example, “My conscience is bound to the KJV; therefore, my church can only use the KJV.” Or, “My conscience will only allow me to wear a dress to church; therefore, any lady who wears pants is putting a stumblingblock in my way.” Do the weak always get their way? Can they control everyone?

15:1 does say that the strong bear the greater burden, but no, Paul does not teach that because the weak are annoyed or bothered, they get their way.

First, being upset is not the same as being pressed to violate your conscience. Seeing someone do something that you think is wrong does not mean they are pushing you to do it. Paul never tells Joe Gentile he can’t bring a sausage pizza to the church potluck, though love may drive him to bring something else. But if he brings it, he must be careful not to flaunt it or press Johnny Jew to eat it.

Second, we only should defer within the limits of genuine Christian freedom. For example, I have no problem with someone only reading the KJV because that’s what they grew up with. But if they think it is uniquely inspired, they have an errant view of inspiration. I should resist that, not defer to it. Consider Paul’s response in Antioch when Peter withdrew from eating with the Gentiles. Peter’s discomfort betrayed the gospel. Paul told him to sit down and eat no matter what his conscience felt.

So, there are limits. But that said, Paul’s main point is that you must love your brother more than your rights. You must be far more concerned about your brother’s conscience than about your freedom. Do not cause a brother to stumble. That’s the challenge.

But while all that sounds good at church on a Sunday, actually loving your brother like this in real life is very hard. It’s not hard to get impatient with each other. Sometimes we’d rather move on to easier relationships. We make harsh assumptions rooted in fear and insecurity. Relationships are hard, especially when you don’t see eye to eye. So, why should you press through the difficulty? These are important questions. Paul responds in vv. 15 –17 with some powerful words of encouragement rooted in 4 motivations.

III.  The Motivation

Christian Love (v. 15a): Consider the contrast in value between your brother and food. It’s not even close. But I’m sure there have been times when you chose a sausage pizza (or whatever you love) instead of a person. You crushed your spouse over a silly hobby. You lost a friend over a silly battle of egos. We love ourselves, and we love our comfort. Not just in matters of Christian liberty but in many other places, you get tunnel vision for one thing and lose sight of all the people you are harming to get it.

God says that whenever you choose your comfort or your preference over a brother, “you are no longer walking in love.” So, consider whatever broken relationships you are facing right now. It may be that you’ve tried all that you can, but it’s very likely, that you have valued food, or something else trivial, over a brother in Christ, a family member, or a friend. They may share plenty of blame. But be honest about your priorities. You are not walking in love. You need to repent. You need to change. The 2^nd motivation is…

Reverence for the gospel (v. 15b): That is another blunt and convicting challenge. Sometimes, we get so frustrated with other believers. Or we are so wrapped up in ourselves that we don’t even notice one. But Jesus greatly values each brother in Christ. He died for us all. Whenever you get frustrated or done with someone, try looking at him through the eyes of Jesus. “I died for that sister. I died for that brother.” That should change everything.

Then remember that when you mess with God’s people, you mess with Jesus himself. Jesus warned, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matt 18:6).

That’s a scary verse, isn’t it? “Stumble” makes it a close parallel with our text. How tragic would it be to value a sausage pizza, a movie, a fashion design, or a pet theological position over someone for whom Jesus died. If you cause them to stumble, you trample on the gospel. And Jesus warns that you inspire the wrath of God. Love your brother more than your rights. 3^rd…

Passion for God’s Purposes (v. 16): This verse warns about the damage that silly conflict can do to the testimony of the gospel among the unbelievers around us. Again, sausage pizza or whatever other freedom you have in Christ is a good thing! But how tragic it would be if it becomes a source of conflict that spills out of the church and into the world around us.

Sadly, it happens far too often. Last spring the board at Bob Jones had a harsh conflict over music, dress standards, and a variety of other things. Stuff got leaked to the press, and the gospel was discredited to a whole community. It was tragic.

The testimony of Christ matters far more than most of the silly things that divide churches. God has put our church in the middle of a great mission field. Every Sunday and Wednesday, that field packs into our tiny building. We have a great opportunity to show Christ to our town. How tragic it would be if a ministry team was crippled by petty division. I hope you are passionate about the Great Commission. I hope that passion outshines any stubborn fight for your rights. The fourth motivation is…

Priority of Spiritual Fruit (v. 17): This verse contrasts two vastly different sets of priorities. You could put it this way, “Is the primary intent of the gospel to produce eating and drinking or righteousness, peace, and joy?” The answer is obvious. Righteousness, peace, and joy are far greater priorities and far more valuable than eating and drinking.

The world is not impressed that we eat and drink. Sure, we can do these to the glory of God and that has value. But they truly see the power of God’s grace when we are a people of righteousness. We are people of integrity, honesty, justice, and holiness. And they see the power of God as well when we enjoy peace and a deep brotherhood despite our differences. And joy that is immune to circumstances is another powerful demonstration of gospel grace.

The contrast is obvious. The latter three are far more valuable than the former two. But far too often eating and drinking or music or subcultures or other lesser interests bind the church together and then splinter it apart.

I hope you love Life Point Baptist Church, but I hope it goes far deeper than the fact that we sing the songs you love, you like how people dress, and you share common hobbies. I hope you love Life Point because we are brothers and sisters who share a common passion to become like Jesus. We are pursuing righteousness, peace, and joy together. And we are passionate to lead others to the Savior we love.

So much of our discussion about Christian liberty is all about what I can and can’t do, about offending this person or deferring to that one. But vv. 15–17 demonstrate that we really need to focus on our hearts. Our biggest problem is not our disagreements; our biggest problem is we are proud and selfish.

But if we share a common love for the gospel, love for each other, love for God’s mission, and love for spiritual fruit, most of our conflict will take care of itself. Love your brother more than your rights. As we do, notice our hope.

IV.  The Hope (v. 18)

Paul says that when you sacrifice your rights to support a brother, you serve Christ. Not only that, God sees even if no one else does, and God is pleased. Joe Gentile likes sausage pizza, but he loves the smile of God far more. And for as frustrating as Johnny Jew can be, his smile matters a whole lot more two.

Conclusion

Take a moment to consider the conflicts in your life and especially any with a brother in Christ. What is the source of your conflicts? James 4 says it is almost certainly your lusts. So, confess them to Christ. Do not let sin be your master. By the grace of God, love your brother more than your rights. Humble yourself and serve him. As you do, you will serve Christ, your brother will be pleased, and most importantly God will accept you.