Introduction

(Read vv. 13–23) I really enjoy visiting beautiful places and seeing the wonder of God’s creation. So, I always love the drive to Mammoth (once we get past Ridgecrest). And I love sitting by the lakes up there and enjoying the beauty of all that God has made.

But small children couldn’t care less. When we’re at Mammoth, the kids don’t sit back with their parents and stare at the mountains or get excited about how the landscape reflects on the water. They just want to play in the water or dig a hole the same as they would in their own backyard.

That’s fine. It’s great that there’s a place we can all enjoy, even though it’s for very different reasons. But we also hope our children will eventually develop mature passions. We want them to see the big picture, appreciate beauty, and worship God for the glory of creation.

This maturation process provides a good parallel with Paul’s purpose in today’s passage. Like young children, some of the Romans (i.e., the strong) were excited about several perfectly fine but ultimately lesser passions. They enjoyed their freedom in Christ to eat smoked pork, cheeseburgers, and sausage pizza without caring if it came from a clean animal or if it was butchered the way the Law demanded. They could just enjoy it to the Lord and give thanks. That’s good and fine.

But Paul urges them to develop more mature passions—passion for brothers and sisters in Christ and passion for God’s transforming work, the work of discipleship. God wants to do that same work in you. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying the blessings and freedoms God has provided. In fact, you should enjoy them to the glory of God!

But God wants to mature your passions. So, last Sunday’s challenge was to love your brother more than your rights. Love people more than food. Today’s challenge is similar. Find your joy in God’s purpose, not your pleasures. God is doing something amazing in every Christian, and you can participate in his great work. So, find your joy in God’s purpose, not your pleasures. Paul drives this home with 4 challenges in vv. 19–23. I’d like to begin at the end of the text, in v. 23. The first challenge is…

I.  Obey your conscience (v. 23).

I want to begin here because you must appreciate what is at stake in v. 23 to fully appreciate the other challenges. As well, v. 23 is the elephant in this text that we struggle to understand. So, I’d like to deal with the elephant in the room first.

That said, remember that Romans 14 responds to a conflict at Rome about eating foods that the OT Law considered unclean. The “strong” as Paul calls them, understood that Christ has freed us from the Law, and we don’t need to obey those laws. But the “weak” were still bound in their conscience to these standards.

Now, our natural impulse is to tell them, “Get over your silly rules. Ignore your conscience and enjoy some ham and eggs.” But v. 23 says, “Not so fast. You are ‘condemned’ if you disobey your conscience. This is a big deal.”

This verse is very important. It’s one of the most important ethical guideposts in the NT. But it’s also a bit confusing. What exactly does it mean to violate my conscience, and why it such a big deal? Fundamentally, it was a big deal because…

The weak could not eat to the glory of God. We all ought to think more about the fact that God’s glory should be central to every pleasure I enjoy. 1 Corinthians 10:31 commands you in a similar context, “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

All means all. You should never indulge a passion merely to spoil yourself. No, you must be God-centered about everything. You must enjoy every pleasure with a thankful, worshipful heart.

1 Timothy 4:4 is also in a context about food and other physical pleasures, and it says, “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude;for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.” Again, you must approach every pleasure whether it’s food, vacation, intimacy with your spouse, or a movie with a God-centered, thankful heart. Otherwise, it’s selfish, and it’s sin.

Therefore, one of the most basic tests you should use for discerning what God approves is, “Can I do this to the glory of God and give thanks as I do it?” If the answer is no, and you have to pretend God is not there, there’s your answer. Why? Christ is Lord of every square inch of the universe. That must include your heart. You must be God-centered about everything.

This same focus comes up in Romans 14:5–6. Verse 5 is similar to v. 23. You should only do what you are convinced is right before God. Because only then, can you enjoy that activity “for the Lord” and “give thanks to God.” Your worship (or lack thereof) matters far more than what’s on your plate.

That’s why disobeying your conscience is a big deal. If I must squelch all thought of God to enjoy a meal, a movie, a song, or a conversation with friends, I’m resisting the lordship of Christ. I can’t thank God when I’m not sure he approves.

All of that is important context for understanding v. 23. “Faith” is not saving faith because both the weak and strong were saved. Rather, faith, in context, is Joe-Gentile’s confidence/conviction that Christ has truly freed him from the law; therefore, he enjoys ham and eggs to the glory of God. But if Johnny Jew doesn’t have that confidence, he can’t eat to the glory of God. Therefore, Paul warns that…

God condemns violating your conscience even if he approves the action itself. Verse 23 is clear. If you do not have “faith” or a strong conviction that you can enjoy this pleasure to the glory of God, it is sinful to go ahead with it. To put it another way, you at least partially believe you are sinning, but you still push ahead. Even if God approves of the action itself, he does not approve of a heart that does what it believes is rebellion.

For example, suppose I hand you an empty gun and told you to murder someone. You don’t truly have the capacity to murder because you don’t have a bullet. But if you pull the trigger, your heart is still murderous. Similarly, if the weak ate unkosher food believing it was rebellion, it would reflect a rebellious heart no matter what was true about the food.

Therefore, Paul says he is “condemned.” He doesn’t mean that he will necessarily go to hell, but he does mean that God disapproves. He is not pleased. He is not glorified.

So, don’t violate your conscience. If you can’t enjoy it to the glory of God, don’t do it. I know the conflict. “I really want to enjoy this. I’m going to love it. And I don’t want to put others in an awkward spot. So, I must ignore my conscience.” But God’s smile matters far more than the smile of any person. His grace and his eternal joy are worth far more than any passing pleasure. Find your joy in God’s purpose, not your pleasures.

But you may be wondering, “What if I’m not sure. What if my conscience may be wrong?” It’s important to balance what I just said by adding, Where Scripture is clear and ministry is at stake, recalibrate your conscience. Probably the clearest example of this demand is in Acts 10. Jesus wants Peter to share the gospel with Cornelius the Gentile. He prepares Peter for this big step with a vision of unclean animals.

Then, “A voice came to him, ‘Get up, Peter, kill and eat!’But Peter said, ‘By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.’ (Peter’s conscience was weak. But Jesus didn’t let it go.) Again a voice came to him a second time, ‘What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy’” (Acts 10:13–15). The Gentile mission was at stake. So, Jesus told Peter, “This is right, and you must press through your discomfort.”

But Galatians 2 tells us that Peter continued to struggle. He ate with Gentile Christians until some Judaizers showed up and pushed back. Based on the fear of man and a weak conscience, Peter withdrew. Paul understood that it was not okay. Peter’s action gave the appearance that Gentiles must be circumcised to be fully accepted into the church. So, comfortable or not comfortable, he had to do what was right.

So, I want to be clear that v. 23 is not saying you should never do anything that feels uncomfortable. Reaching the lost and maintaining the unity of the church matter. If your conscience is getting in the way and there are biblical reasons to recalibrate it, then press through.

Then in general, you should always be open to places where your conscience may be misinformed or where it’s bound by an archaic application. For example, there was a time when a woman wearing pants communicated rebellion against God’s design in gender. So, many godly women refused to go along. But that day has passed. It’s fine to recalibrate your conscience for a new application, especially if it’s getting in the way of the gospel.

Verse 23 is very important. There are some exceptions, but for the most part, obey your conscience. Make sure that everything you do, you can do heartily as to the Lord. But the challenge of Romans 14 is how do we respond when we don’t agree, when our consciences are calibrated differently? Verse 19 specifically challenges you to…

II.  Embrace God’s Purposes (v. 19).

Again, find your joy in God’s purpose, not your pleasures (v. 19). Remember that Paul is especially speaking to the strong. They felt free to enjoy a glorious ham and cheese omelet. But v. 19 turns their eyes and ours to two far more precious ideals. The 1^st is…

The Unity of the Church: That’s the idea behind peace. God highly values the unity of the church. It pleases him. It glorifies him. It is one of most powerful testimonies to the world of the power of God’s grace.

It’s also essential for our ministry to each other and to the world. It’s beautiful and powerful when the church is working in harmony like a well-oiled machine to impact lives and to reach the lost.

On the other hand, notice what 16:17–18 say about the one who divides the church (read). Some of the harshest words you will find in the NT are directed toward people who divide Christ’s church with their selfish, arrogant agenda.

But Psalm 133 says, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!It is like the precious oil upon the head…It is like the dew of Hermon coming down upon the mountains of Zion…”

I hope you love the church. There’s no sweeter sound in all creation than the sound of a local church singing to the Lord and to each other with unity and passion. Love this body. Love it so much that it makes every pleasure, every right seem small and insignificant. You’d happily put them all aside if it helps the unity of God’s people. The 2^nd value is…

The Growth of God’s People. I really enjoy a good ham and cheese omelet. It’s even better if you add some peppers and onions. And God has blessed us with many other wonderful liberties and pleasures. But people matter infinitely more than all of them.

And God has given you the opportunity to help them know and love Jesus. You get to help others become little reflections of Jesus to the world around them. You can help them be satisfied in the Lord and know the power of grace. Discipleship is an amazing opportunity.

How tragic would it be if you sacrificed a person for an omelet, a movie, a fashion statement, or a drink. It would be like two children who miss the Grand Canyon because they are fighting over a stick. Don’t be so childish. Instead, love the people around you. Get excited about what God is doing in their lives. They matter so much more than any liberty or any private preference. Love the purposes of God more than your silly pleasures. 3^rd…

III.  Resist Recklessness (vv. 20–21).

Verse 20 gives a blunt challenge by contrasting two items with very different value. The “work of God” is incredibly precious. God is rescuing souls from hell and transforming lives through the glorious power of the gospel. It’s the greatest work happening anywhere in the world.

And then there’s food. Sure, food is great. I love food as much as anyone. But it’s a very small compared to the work of God. So, this command is horrifying. How tragic would it be if you tore down the work of God for the sake of food?

But it happens constantly. Consider how many churches have been destroyed in the past 50 years over worship wars, Bible translations, COVID, petty political differences, and other such things. The tears are going to flow incessantly someday when Christ confronts it all at the Bema Seat. So, be careful even with good things.

Then v. 20 adds, “all things (meaning foods) indeed are clean.” But how does God evaluate an exercise of liberty that leads someone to stumble? He calls it evil. So, discipline yourself to stay focused on the main thing.

I praise God for how he preserved our church through COVID. We had plenty of strong and differing opinions, but you didn’t let them divide the church.

Sadly, that wasn’t true everywhere. In a lot of churches, the “strong” became more concerned about resisting the government than about the conscience of the weak. And the weak viciously condemned anyone who disobeyed a rule. On March 1, 2020, these people loved each other. But two months later they were so consumed with a position that they lost sight of people and the work of God. Many churches still haven’t recovered.

Let that serve as a warning. Understand the deceitfulness of your own heart. Stay anchored to the gospel. Pray daily that God would keep your heart and help you value the right things. Invite godly pushback. And by the grace of God never allow something that is good for you become a stumbling block for a brother in Christ. It’s not worth it.

Instead, v. 21 challenges you to do what is good. “It is good…” Again, I love food, and so do you. But it pales in comparison to a brother or sister in Christ. Therefore, Paul says that if it came down to it, “If food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble” (1 Cor 8:13).

Do you love the church like that? Think back to my opening illustration. Are you consumed with childish passions or mature ones? Are you dinking around in the sand and missing the glory of a majestic mountain peak?

If you are always cranky or always stuck in some kind of conflict, the answer is probably clear. BTW, the spirit of these verses extends far beyond matters of Christian liberty. Very few of our conflicts are about anything more than pride and passion. You stubbornly refuse to bend. Sure, you said something foolish, but you’re not going to apologize until he does. Maybe someone hurt you, but you are too proud to admit it and deal with it, or you value your comfort more than restoring the relationship.

Don’t be reckless with your relationships. I’m going to talk this evening about self-control. The kids need to hear it, but so do the adults. Slow down. Look past your nose and consider those around you. Get excited about pursuing the unity of the church and the work of discipleship. Then be considerate. Be careful. Act wisely and intentionally because you love people and love the work of God. The 4^th challenge is…

IV.  Rest in the Lord’s approval (v. 22).

This verse should be a great comfort and encouragement to the strong. It’s hard to sacrifice your rights. You’d rather just indulge them. Disagreement is also uncomfortable, especially when you have the more liberal position because you wonder if people are judging you. It’s really tempting to justify everything and try to argue everyone to your side.

So, v. 22 says, “Get your eyes off the food, and get your eyes off what people think. Instead, rest in the approval of God.” People are going to misjudge you. They are going to make wrong assumptions because they think they know more than they do, but they can’t see your heart. It hurts.

But you know what matters far more than a ham and cheese omelet or the praise of men? God’s opinion and God’s approval. So, Paul admonishes the strong, “The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God.”

Christ won the victory on the cross. He freed you from the Law. You can rejoice in the finished work of Jesus whether you get to eat an omelet or not. Ham and cheese omelets are far from the greatest blessing of the cross. Rejoice in all that Jesus did.

And Paul also means to imply that you are free to enjoy your liberty privately, so long as you do it “for the Lord” and “give thanks to God.” I say that because of the contrast between vv. 22, 23. The weak in faith must not eat in violation of his conscience because he is “condemned.” But the strong in faith are free to eat without fear of condemnation so long as they do not destroy a brother.

So, enjoy that ham and cheese omelet and a strong cup of coffee in the privacy of your own home to the glory of God, praising Jesus for the freedom he has provided. The same goes for every area of Christian liberty. If you are fully convinced you can do it to the glory of God, enjoy your liberty and rejoice in the gospel. Again, just be sure that you do in a way that guards the health of your brother and the health of the church.

As you do, Paul says you are “happy.” That’s better translated, “blessed.” The point is that God is glorified in how you are eating that omelet, he is pleased with you, and his grace is near. If God is happy, it doesn’t really matter what anyone else thinks or what you have to sacrifice in the process. Again, find your joy in God’s purpose, not your pleasures or the approval of people.

Conclusion

God is challenging you to mature your passions. Don’t be so consumed with playing in the sand that you miss God’s greater pleasures. You can help people become like Jesus! You can help the church glorify God! You can love a brother in his weakness! And most importantly, you can enjoy the favor and the grace of Jesus. Don’t settle for lesser things.

Maybe you need to start by being saved. For years, you have resisted the gospel because you want to do your own thing and you don’t want God or anyone else telling you what to do. But you’re not satisfied, and I’m almost certain that you are lonely. Please see that Jesus is better. Come to him, repent of your sin, and receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

And Christian, continue to rest in him. Find your joy in him. Live for God’s glory.