When Christians Disagree: Romans 14 on Opinions, Unity, and Love

How should Christians respond when they disagree over matters that God has not explicitly addressed?

In Romans 14, Paul teaches believers how to navigate differences in personal convictions without allowing those differences to damage fellowship. This passage reminds us that not every disagreement is a matter of salvation, and that our responsibility is to love one another, avoid unnecessary judgment, and pursue peace within God's family. 

In this sermon, you'll discover:

•  The difference between biblical commands and personal opinions 
•  What Paul means by the "weaker" and "stronger" brother 
•  Why Christians should avoid judging one another over doubtful matters 
•  How love should shape our freedoms and personal convictions 
•  Practical ways to protect unity while honoring God 

Scripture: Romans 14

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Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
02:40 Romans 14: Welcoming One Another
07:35 What Are "Opinions" or "Doubtful Matters"?
16:35 The Weaker and Stronger Brother
22:55 Who Is the Judge?
30:10 Living for the Lord
34:25 Love Over Rights
41:50 Pursue Peace and Build One Another Up
47:00 Keeping Convictions Before God
50:00 Final Application

#BibleStudy #Romans14 #ChristianUnity #Faith #Church #BibleTeaching #Romans #ChristianLiving #LoveOneAnother #Scripture

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:11

While Paul was in Corinth, he wrote a letter to the Christians in Rome. And we've undertaken a sermon series dealing with that letter that he wrote to those Christians, and we've been drawing from that points of application, but also doctrinal information that we can draw from this book. Just a quick review, chapters one through three of this book tell us of the great need that we have for God because of, and the chapters primarily deal in the first of the book with sin. Because of sin, we all have fallen short, we do fall short, and uh and and we do not reach the height of glory for which we have been created by God. Sin has corrupted us. Sin has caused us to have a destiny that was changed from what God wants our destiny to be, and that is for heaven, but rather we have put ourselves on the track for hell. Chapters 4 through 11 of this text, however, deal with God's grace, his unmerited favor that we gain through Christ, through faith. And uh that is our only hope. We are baptized believers into Christ. Chapter 6 would go so far as to say that we are buried with him and resurrected a new creature, again, meeting that goal that God had for us, as he did when we were first brought into this world. After that time of corruption, we have uh the uh ability through Christ to have redemption. When we get to chapters 12 through chapter 15, verse 13 of this book, we come to an understanding of what our faith amounts to. Our faith amounts to some activity in walking with Christ. And so these parts of this part of the book deals with high application. And we're looking at that this morning. Great application for the Christian's way of life, the way that we think, why we think the way that we do, and and and what that means in practical living. And certainly this morning's text is going to be about practical application when it comes to interpersonal relationships. I invite you to turn with me then to the section we're gonna be looking at today, which is Romans chapter 14. Romans chapter 14. And we'll uh we'll pick up from there in our study, and we will, uh, Lord willing, complete this section, this chapter of Paul's letter today uh with regard to opinions, which is a uh which is just a great study. Hope that you're uh willing to be engaged in that this morning. Look at verses one through five. We'll begin there, if you can get there with me. Romans 14, and we'll begin in verse 1. And if you're using the the uh chair Bible, that's 1127, page 1127, if you're a little bit unfamiliar with God's word, no shame in that. Uh but uh do want you to follow along if you're able this morning. Uh this is gonna be the last time uh probably that I get to stand before you for a few weeks. And I just want to say uh before we get going in this portion of our worship this morning, if I could just take a personal moment and say how much Angie and I love and appreciate you all. And uh and when you go on trips, you know, things can happen. You never know whether you'll actually return or not. That's true for vacation, it's actually true for mission work as well. And uh and so we want to express our gratitude and our love for you all, asking for your prayers as we uh as we go over to France and, Lord willing, come back uh in the near future. Appreciate you all uh so very much for sending us, but also uh for the support and love that you have for us in in the times that we like this, where we get to go away and do some work in other places for the Lord. Appreciate you all so very much. Romans chapter 14. Look with me beginning in verse 1. Let's start there reading. As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? For it is before his own master that he stands or falls, and he will be upheld. For the Lord is able to make him stand. Well, I I said through verse five, let's stop at verse four. We'll pick up there in just a second. It kind of gets us started, at least in the thoughts that Paul is putting forth for us. I want you to notice a couple of things as we begin here. He says, As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him. As for the one who's weak in faith, welcome. It is a Greek word that means to take to oneself. It is the idea of one who is a companion with another. It is in some versions, it even uses the word to receive him. And it is really at the core of this of this idea, it is it is this concept of having one have access to one's own self. In other words, the interpart of another person. Now, the only reason we bring this out is because, well, we're going to touch on it again in just a second when it talks about the Lord doing this, but but for now, from inner in with regard to interpersonal relationships, this isn't talking about somebody coming into the church building on a Sunday morning like this morning, and you greet them, you shake their hand and say, Welcome. That's not this kind of welcome. This kind of welcome is much deeper than that. It's a true connection of fellowship between two individuals. It goes to the heart of one individual to another individual. But then he says not to quarrel over opinions. We don't accept one another this way in our fellowship, our interpersonal relationships, in order to quarrel over opinions. Some versions use the term doubtful things, which is a good way, actually, of expressing what Paul is saying here. Doubtful things, opinions. Literally, a deliberation with self is that Greek word. To deliberate with what do you do when you deliberate with yourself over something? What does that necessarily infer is happening inside your mind? It's an opinion, isn't it? It's an I don't know for sure thing. It's a doubtful thing, as Paul puts it in the negative here in this in this uh in this um sentence. An internal process of thought, including uncertainty that goes along with that, right? External actions, debating, arguing with oneself about what is correct and what might not be correct. In the context here of Romans chapter 14, as well as 1 Corinthians chapter 8, which we will look at briefly uh later here in a little bit, it relates to how believers were reasoning within themselves about things that were not concrete, having to do with their faith. Matters which must be speculated over due to a lack of direction from God, or perhaps even a clear understanding. If God has been direct, maybe they didn't fully understand it at the time. Not all scripture is that way, obviously. But I'd like to just make that point. It'd be a shame not to make that point, that some things uh are not matters of opinion. In fact, much of what the Bible says has nothing to do with doubtful understanding about it. I'll just point out a couple of things since we're touching in Corinthians this morning. In Corinthians, for example, we read of a man who's having sexual relationships with his father's wife. Does God leave that section of the letter unclear? Is that man and that woman have any determine? Well, uh, what is my opinion on this thing? No, obviously not. Paul is quite clear in that letter. Purge that from among you. That is how strongly Paul is dealing with this particular matter. They didn't have to determine what was right or wrong about something. Their opinion was not even needed in that regard. Again, we read places in 1 Corinthians. Same could be true for Romans in Romans. You know, he's been talking about how faith looks and what faith does or does not do since chapter 11, uh 12. And so we could use that the same, but just for just for case in point and making things obviously clear with regard to this matter that we're looking at here together right now. 1 Corinthians 6, verse 9, do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? You have to speculate over that. Who's unrighteous? Well, I don't know. That could be a matter of my opinion. And so he goes on to say, do not be deceived, neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, or thieves, or the greedy, or drunkard, or revilers, or swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Do you and I have to stand back and scratch our heads and figure out now what does Paul mean by this? That's not opinion, is it? Our opinions don't even need to enter into this conversation. And the reason is because Paul is obviously and painfully clear. Or should we say God is painfully clear with what he just says. You see, these are things about which the Lord is clear. But here in chapter 14, we're learning the Lord doesn't do that over everything that there could possibly be with decision making. In fact, a lot of times what we find is the Lord is general in his makeup of the scriptures. There are things about which the New Testament gives no explicit command or example, and that's true in today's text, here in chapter 14. There are some things upon which the Christian will come or Christians will come to different conclusions. These conclusions, without any ambiguity, Paul calls an opinion. For example, one person believes that he may eat anything while the weak person eats only vegetables. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike, and then he goes on to mention wine down in verse 21 of the text. I will say to you, brothers and sisters, as it was then, it is now. People do not change, and God's word has not changed, therefore, we face the same kind of decision making in our spiritual walk of faith. And even if we want to get more direct about it, our personal faith. People come from all different backgrounds. And I'm reminded of that as we read through our section of text here this morning, as Paul is teaching these vital things so that we can be active in our faith, but joyfully active in our faith. So our faith is not corrupted or damaged in some way or another, since he spent the whole letter talking about grace and faith. That makes this chapter a very important chapter. With these different backgrounds, each of us bring positive attributes into the kingdom of God that God uses for his good and his glory. But we also bring with us attributes that might not be as helpful in the baggage that we bring to God's people, to God's family. Traditions, presuppositions, even past views from previous religious backgrounds. We bring all of this with us just as we bring good, we also bring some difficulties in our personal faith right along with us. And we have to work through those things as time goes. I want you to think for just a second about the first thing that he talks about here with regard to the eating of meat. A person said, What in the world would that have to do with a person's faith? What a person puts into their mouth? A lifelong Jew would have a real hard time putting pork in his mouth, or some other unclean meat that was understood to be condemned by God under the old covenant that he's coming out of his past religious views. That'd be awfully hard for him to do. We find evidence of that often within scripture. We just finished the study of Galatians in several of our classes, and one of the big things there was not just circumcision, but also some of the other customs that Christians were bringing with them from Judaism. Or her mouth. Or the condemnation of wine, since overconsumption is clearly condemned in Scripture by God as drunkenness, a person might easily conclude not to partake of it at all. If that's the case. We need to understand that when Paul makes uh uses this term weak in these verses, he's not talking about someone who's weak in sin. Well, this person is a weaker Christian and is struggling with this sin. That's not how he's using the tech in this text. That's not the way he's using the word weaker. He's using the word weaker here to implicate the understanding that their knowledge may be weak, their conscience may be weak, but their faith is not weak. He says nothing about them having weak faith or falling off into sin. That's really important to understand. The third thing we see here is, and it's most important, he doesn't say that the strong one is more right and the weak one is more wrong. They both are right in the vision of God in their personal faith. And Paul is not condemning either one of these people for having, either one of these Christians for having a difference in opinion. Notice that. That is vitally important within the text. And even more important than that, the Lord's not condemning them. In fact, he actually makes the case that both are accepted by God in the following verses. Look at verses uh three through five there. We didn't get down to verse five, but let's let's take note here in a second of it. Despite uh he says, Do not despise one another, uh, do not despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. That is the same Greek word that we saw in verse one, the word welcomed, and it translates again into he has taken him in. He has granted access to God's heart. Some versions even use the word there, accepted him, which speaks to the idea that if God has no trouble with this person's opinion in their faith, then why should I? That is an important part as well to draw from. Most often, brothers and sisters, we we don't see our opinions as opinions, and that is where we get into some difficulty with ourselves or with others. Most often we see what Paul is talking about here is as insightful conclusions, and we could even go a little farther. These are not just insightful conclusions. The conclusions that I draw, these are conclusions based on perceptive biblical implications. Okay, I get it. It doesn't say it outright, but how could you not see this? The stuff that we don't know with confidence, brothers and sisters, we need to call them what they are because that's what Paul is doing, and that is an opinion on a matter. I might want to think that this is the only way to see a particular matter, but but in actuality, I'm having to go out of my way to make that case, which means it's not a case. I may feel convicted about it, and that's okay. But I need to know the difference between what God clearly says and what I have drawn, that I just wish he had said more clearly. We all have that. I have it, you have it, we all have it. And that's another point to understand out of Romans 14 is to realize everyone falls into this category that Paul's talking about with regard to our personal faith. Paul asks, Who are you? And it just makes me think when when he says it this way, do I have a sense of superior wisdom? Do I have an understanding in my own heart and mind that I have authority to be both lawgiver and judge? Because that's what Paul is getting at here. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant that doesn't belong to you? Servant of another. It is before his own master, literally, his own Lord, that he stands or falls. We don't belong to one another in this sense, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters. And we don't use our personal conclusions to make laws that God has not made on one another, or to do the opposite, to say, well, we know what he said clearly, but this is what I think. We don't do that either. Both of those are to stand in the law giving and judgment. Making seat of God. And it's important for us as fellow servants, one with another in the kingdom of God, to understand really very clearly who we are and who we're not. We are servants of the Most High. But we're fellow servants. And not one of us is superior to the other when we come to the cross. Not one of us has an ability to make matters of judgment on one another with regard to what is my opinion on a matter of faith. When it comes to non-explicit personal conclusions over religious matters, our Father will judge us. But we will not be judges of one another. For the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day better than another, while another esteems all days alike. But which one is right and which one is wrong? I have to know. I want to know which one is right, which one is wrong in these decision-making matters. And Paul asks, why do you think you have to know? You see, brothers and sisters, there are some things about, I mean, that's an understatement. There are some things. There are many things about which we know nothing that is in the realm of God. We only know what he tells us, and it's only a fraction of who he is and what he does. It's only a fraction. We cannot possibly have enough information to know everything about everything. But God does. And so Paul asks, think to yourself, am I the judge of this brother or sister? Is this brother or sister my judge, on the other hand? And do we have to all come to the same opinions on everything? Paul's answer here is quite simple. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. I underline the word own in my text because that goes to personal faith. I have to be secure in what I believe and how I practice my faith. And so do you. But you know what? You don't have to be secure in how I practice my faith, nor do I have to be secure in how you do. That's why it's personal between me and God. And so he makes the point there, each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. It means one may make a conclusion that others may not. It also means neither of those are wrong. I'll just point out briefly as we pass by. Again, he's not talking about clearly stated truths from God's word. On those things we all agree, just like we read in 1 Corinthians. Who disagrees with what Paul has said? We know we none of us do, because we all read it and it's quite clear. But what about the observance of days? Some practice, for example, the holiday of Christmas, others may not. Same could be true for Easter, same could be true for a birthday, same could be true for a lot of holidays, and sometimes even holy days that a person reverences. In their day could be have to do with eating meat. Sometimes not just eating meat, but eating meat that was sacrificed to an idol. These all presented difficult things about which the Lord had said nothing, or not at least enough for us to all come to a clear understanding, like we do out of 1 Corinthians, when he says, Do you not know those who practice, and he begins to name off things, will not inherit the kingdom of God? Oh, well, that's clear. Neither of these brethren in chapter 14 are wrong as long as something can be believed and practiced with a pure conscience. Which means it cannot possibly transgress clear biblical teaching, because that would be a defiled conscience. I clearly understand the truth on that matter. Not the same thing as my opinion, is it? Not the same thing as a doubtful thing in my heart or mind about what constitutes pure faith. Paul says more about this in verse 7, and we're going to get there in just a second. I want to just stop here for a half a second and say that I am truly thankful that I'm able to preach this lesson, speak this lesson from this section of Paul's text when none of this seems to be a problem here at Milwaukee Avenue. Now, I want to say that with the caveat that I don't always know what's going on in people's uh interpersonal relationships. It could be going on, I'm not aware of it, but to my knowledge, we have great peace in our personal relationships with one another. We're not encumbered by one another, by extra-biblical opinions and conclusions and demands on each other. And how often we should give thanks and praise God for the continued peace, the continued well-being, the acceptance of one another in matters that are not clear-cut in Scripture, like we're talking about here. I love the way God has put things together, don't you? But sometimes it's hard. And sometimes we have to get older before we recognize how great that compilation is that gives us freedom in the faith without causing us to have a problem with joy in living the way God wants us to live with one another. I'm reminded that God's word has a cure for every conflict in our faith. He freely gives spiritual ointment, so to speak, which brings peace and unity and harmony and healing into his family. And I believe that when we look at these concepts and we apply these concepts, he's proud of us for practicing the principles taught in this chapter. They are some of the most difficult principles in the whole book. All that he's been talking about has been leading up to our walk in faith. What about these kinds of areas, though, where we're just we might, I might be personally sure of something, but you may not, or vice versa. Because it's just not clearly cut from the scriptures. The devil would take these things and he would run with them, and he would create factions in fighting among brothers and sisters, relationships. God takes these things and he says, Let me show you how to make yourselves stronger because of these things. What we do in our personal life and in our relationships, interpersonal relationships with one another, we do those things in honor of the Lord, even if we don't agree on all of them in every detail. You see how Paul goes on to say in verse 6 of your text there, notice what he says. Look at verse 7. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. I love this part. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, and here's what it's all about we are the Lord's. This is our master. This is the one before whom we stand. This is the one who is the Almighty Judge, and it's before Him I need a clean conscience. And I need to be confident in that conscience and those decisions that I personally make about my faith. For to this end, Christ died and lived again, and that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living. Paul is not talking here. Please don't misunderstand his point. He's not talking here about our opinions affecting our relationship with the Lord. That's not what he's saying. Understand his point. It is affecting our relationship with others that he is concerned about. How important are our Christian siblings? They are so important that this entire section of text has been written to help us in understanding and the practice of our interpersonal relationships with one another. That's saying something because, as you know, though it's 16 chapters long, that's a pretty limited letter about such big important things. And he takes this much time to deal with this particular matter. What Brother Paul's point is that we have done nothing to be a judge of another's salvation. That is all on God. Let God be God and let us be servants of the Almighty God. Also, Jesus died and he rose again to show that he is God, and that he does have the right both to have the rules that he wants as well as judgment with regard to us and those rules. So that is a pretty strong rebuke that Paul sets forth here. And the question is why? Why might some be prone to do this to one another, their fellow siblings? Why? In fact, he asks the question why do you pass judgment on your brother, or why do you despise your brother? Boy, that is another step in this whole process, isn't it? Gone from just having a difference of opinion. Now we've got battle. Now we've got stride. Now we've got despising. For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written in Isaiah 45, verse 23, as I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. We should not be presumptuous in all of this, brethren. Verse 12. So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. If we were ever tempted to set ourselves up as judges, Paul says, take notice. That's not how it's going to be. We will be the judged. We will not be those who deal out the judgment. And that is certainly the case when it comes to one another's opinions and personal conclusions over matters of faith. So then, what is the alternative as we begin to wrap all of this up together this morning? You've heard the uh the Disney song Let It Go, right? I I would sing it for you, but probably not a good idea. So let it go. And that's kind of what Paul says in this text. That's where he goes with this. Bothers you so much, you've got to let it go. Let it go. What does he say? Verse 13, therefore, let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. You want me to let you want me to key you in? I mean, really, it's Paul, but I'm gonna take credit for it. Let's key ourselves in here on what it is we can do when I have a problem in your choice in the matter of personal faith that differs from my choice. You know how I get over that? I know I've already said let it go, but there's another, there's a bitter, there's a bigger way, a better way to understand this. You know how we do that? We think of our brother instead of the thing itself. We think of our spiritual sibling. We remember the superior law that God has set forth for us, which is love one another as I have loved you. I can get over a whole lot of things. And I can keep from hurting my brethren a lot better when I love you the way Jesus has loved me. The other thing we can do is we can look at two words that occur in this section of text that are of greatest value. Those words are never and rather. Never and rather. You should underline them in your Bible. It's certainly not the only time that this is mentioned in the New Testament. In fact, you might think of a whole lot more than what I wrote down here in our text. I thought I had a whole list of verses there. I guess I don't. Be careful that the right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block, rather, accept one another. Be careful. I know I had a chart of that. Did y'all see the chart already? Did I pass it? I didn't pass it. Huh? You got it? Okay. Keith's gonna take care of it for me. Thank you, brother. Uh, what about again in chapter 10, verse 23 and 24? All things are lawful, but not all things are hopeful. I need to think about that as a Christian, don't you? Don't give offense, verse 32 of 1 Corinthians chapter 10. But rather let no one seek his own good, but seek to please and build one another up. We just got done studying, as I said already, in Galatians. Remember, if you were in one of those classes, Galatians chapter 5, verse 13, for you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but rather through love serve one another. Of course, Peter says in chapter 2, live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil. Don't say I have a faith problem with something that I don't have a faith problem with. And on the other hand, if I do have a serious faith problem and it's going to make me fall, I need to be honest and say, yeah, that is a problem for me. Rather live in servanthood and confidence in what you believe and practice before God. It should be our highest priority, brothers and sisters, to build one another up rather than to say or do things that put stumbling blocks in one another's way. We don't want to cause someone to fail when it comes to their Christian living. We care about God's family more than that. Even more than one's own self. And God has provided this text so that we'll see things as He does. Jesus is deadly serious about this. He goes on to say, Jesus would in Luke chapter 17, verse 1, temptations to sin are sure to come. You know what a temptation to sin is? That's a stumbling block. That's what that is. And he says about the person who would put that in the way of another person. Woe, disaster, despair is the idea. To the one through whom they come. It would be better for him if a mill stone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea. So where the main emphasis of verses 1 through 12 apply mainly to the weaker brother or sister, binding opinion and doubtful things upon self and others. Verses 13 through 23 apply mostly to the strong, and in this context, someone who does not hold to extra biblical conclusions, which they have the right to do, just as the other has the right to do what they're doing. I know and I am persuaded in the Lord, verse 14, that nothing is unclean of itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it is unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. Brothers and sisters, that is a text that needs to be noticed every time you read it. That section is vital to your faith and my faith in interpersonal relationships to others within God's family. Do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. If one who is stronger recklessly and selflessly uses his or her freedom without care for another sibling in Christ, that can come to grief and even destruction of your spiritual sibling. What is Paul saying? Paul is saying, brothers and sisters, be mindful of that. Do not take that relationship for granted as if you don't need it. We've already seen in chapter 12, we do vitally need one another. He's already covered that section of the study. Spiritual siblings can strengthen one another or they can wreck one another. And we're talking here about children of God. And Paul is saying we're each responsible for that. We each are responsible for that. For if, verse 17, the kingdom of God is not, it is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. It's a good thing, it's not a fighting thing. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. Whoever serves Christ in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit is acceptable to God, approved by men. We tend to get along when we don't let our opinions be pushed into our interpersonal relationships. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. Do not for the sake of God destroy the work of God. Do not for the sake of food, sorry, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean. But it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble. It's not even our opinions that get us in trouble, it's our lack of love that gets us in trouble. By your personal preferences or opinions, non-explicit conclusions, we can, Paul says, we can cause one another to stumble in our walk with God. It is good to not eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. The faith that you have in matters he's talking about here again of non-explicit religious conclusions. The faith that you have, keep it between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. The blessings of God rest on the one who does not bring judgment upon him or herself for doing what's offensive to oneself, Paul says. If a person thinks a matter of salvation like eating, is something like eating vegetables or meat, the worst thing that person can do is offend their personal conscience and again. Ignore what they believe is unapproved by God or approved by God, on the other hand. Because whoever doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not of faith. Their profession does not match their walk of faith, and that is a problem. And so he says, For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. Does any loving brother or sister want that for their spiritual sibling? I'd say that's no short of any being any better than Satan, to have such a careless attitude toward one who is God's child and a fellow sibling of mine. We do care deeply for one another. And of course, we care about what God wants, yes. But one of the things that God greatly wants is for us to care about one another as brothers and sisters. In fact, to care about one another more than we care about ourselves and our own freedoms in Christ. That is difficult, isn't it? That's a pretty high calling. I want my interpersonal relationships so much that I'll give up whatever I have to in order to make that other person happy. And more than just making them happy, to keep them from falling into sin. On the other hand, the strong are blessed for not thinking further than what God has already clearly taught. And that is a great blessing. Don't give yourself the problems that come with going religiously or morally further than what God has already given. Not everybody has to have guardrails for everything in their life. God can say what he says, and I can just take what he says, and that's as far as it goes. And that's a blessing too, Paul is saying. Ridiculous. In matters of salvation, God has always been quite clear and matter of fact. These things don't fall in that category that Paul is talking about here. Speculation, supposition, personal conclusions. There are those among God's family who are stronger in the way that they reason these things through. And for that person, speculation, personal conclusions just won't cut it. They're not content to walk by that kind of faith. Well, maybe, maybe not. So there may be things one partakes in that another has deemed wrong to partake in. And what are we to do? Paul says we are to keep it between ourselves and God. Similarly, Paul concludes in 1 Corinthians chapter 8, verse 11, as we wrap up this morning. And so, by your knowledge, this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. Now, this is important to understand. What happens when I'm in that kind of a conflict with a brother or sister over matters of doubtful conclusions? What happens if I don't let it go? Thus sinning against your brother and wounding their conscience, when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat again. That's a pretty strong standing, isn't it? Eating meat is not the sin. But wounding a sibling's conscience or causing that sibling to stumble and fall away, that can be my sin. God says, show love, not your rights. We all have rights. That's not the important factor. Love is more important than our rights. It's not as though we're told, just if one person has a problem, just don't ever do that ever again. That's not what we're being told. We're being told in Romans 14, keep it between yourself and God, if it's that big a deal. And brothers and sisters, if keeping it between myself and God is not possible, then Paul says in 1 Corinthians 8, just don't do it at all, then. If that's got to be the point, if that's got to be the way it ends up, then go then go to the extreme, just don't do it at all. Because you care about your brother or sister that much and you love them that much. You have welcomed them. Remembering what that word welcome means. Matters about which there is no clear spiritual teaching are neutral, brothers and sisters. And Paul is dealing with that here in this chapter. They might be wise or they might be unwise to practice. That's debatable. That's the whole point. But creating factions and judging one another based upon one another's opinions is what God is telling us. Do not do that. You can do the thing that you think is a matter of faith for you, or you can reject it, but do not judge one another that way. When Scripture does not bind, we don't turn liberty into a stumbling block. We choose love instead. We choose peace instead. We choose mutual upbuilding instead. We choose the clear written word of God to direct us instead. Because God's kingdom is not advanced by infighting over matters that God has not made clear. It is an advanced, it is only advanced by simply letting his word speak for itself clearly. By maintaining love toward one another in interpersonal relationships and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Now that person, though they may disagree with me about matters of opinion, that person will be made to stand by God, who is the judge. Goes into a great area that enters into every congregation of the Lord, no matter here or elsewhere, just like it did into this congregation here at Rome. Let's uh conclude with a quick word of prayer together. Will you bow with me? Our Father in hell, our Father in heaven, help us to glorify you in your teaching today. We probably all agree that it is a difficult teaching in some ways. But yet may it edify us, may it grow us, may it provide even greater joy in our Christian faith as we walk in the Holy Spirit. May your truth continue to be a blessing in our lives, that it might always and forever draw us closer to you. Draw us together to one another in a respect paramount in your truth, in peace and in love, putting one another ahead of our own opinions, our own desires. May we love one another as you have loved us. And it is in the name of Jesus that we pray it. Amen. Let's think about verse 10 for a conclusion, if you'll just notice that with me as we close this morning. Verse 10 says, We will all stand before the judgment seat of God. Are you ready for that? We'll all stand there. Are you ready? To give an account of yourself to God. Now, here's the key about all of that. He's not saying, you better live in such a way that you make no mistakes, because you're going to stand before me. What he says in the book of Romans is, you live in such a way that your conscience is clear before God. You live in such a way that you have been placed into Jesus Christ, through whom God will see you as one who can stand clean. I can't stand clean on my own, and neither can you, but we can do it through Christ. Through the power of God, He makes us be able to stand. Maybe you're not standing right now. Maybe sin has laid you flat out. You don't need to go from this place this morning in that state. You can be who God wants you to be through Christ. You can live by faith, and that faith will give you freedom like you never knew before in your life. If you're subject to his call this morning, I hope you'll respond now. While together we stand, and as we sing.