ROMANS 11-16 NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL PART 32014 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Romans 11-16 Not Ashamed Of The Gospel Part 3

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2014.

We will be in Romans chapters 11 through 16 this evening as we finish up the book of Romans. We've been talking a lot about the doctrine of salvation or the gospel message. And now as we head into these final chapters, Paul will be explaining what it looks like when you believe the gospel or what it looks like when you are not ashamed of the gospel.

The book of Romans was written by the Apostle Paul right around 58 AD towards the tail end of his third missionary journey.

He was writing to the church in Rome to prepare them for his visit, to explain the plan of salvation that God had established, and also to explain the relationship between Jew and Gentile. And we're going to pick up with that in chapter 11 this evening as Paul finishes up the thoughts on the nation of Israel and their place in the plan of God.

As I said, this takes place, or he writes this, in the midst of his third missionary journey, right after he had written 1 and 2 Corinthians. He's in Corinth, and he's writing to the church in Rome to prepare them, because he plans to go there, and we'll see that in chapter 15 this evening. He explains his intentions. And so, on this third missionary journey, you might remember he had spent three years in Ephesus,

And then real quickly, he went over to the area around Corinth to pick up an offering that they had been collecting for the saints in Jerusalem. And so he just picked that up and he's on his way back to Jerusalem and he's writing to Rome to let them know, after I get to Jerusalem, then I'm coming to you and then I'm going to go on to Spain after that. And so he's giving them this insight and sharing his plans with them as he writes this letter to them.

Well, as we get into our chapters this evening, I want to run quickly through the summary of the chapters that we've looked at because the book of Romans is one long letter. And the things that Paul is saying is building upon the things that he has already said.

And so we started out in Romans chapter 1, and we saw that Paul explained that there is no excuse for unrighteousness because God has revealed his existence to all humanity. He begins to talk about the gospel message and explain that every person is impacted by this gospel message. That nobody who has ever existed has an excuse for unrighteousness

Because he has revealed himself to all humanity in his creation.

Well, then in chapter 2, he went on to explain that God's law applies to all humanity, and he will judge perfectly according to their deeds and their heart. And so, not only does all humanity know that there is a God, but God's law applies to all humanity, and he's going to bring judgment according to the motivations and the things within, as well as the actions that they took on the outside.

Then in chapter 3, we saw that righteousness cannot come from God's law, but only from faith in Jesus Christ. We learned that the purpose of the law was not to make people righteous or declare people righteous, but the purpose of the law was to highlight and to show that we are not righteous, and so that we must come to God by faith in Jesus Christ. And righteousness cannot come any other way.

Then in chapter 4, Paul explained that righteousness is available to all people because God offers it by grace only.

And we receive it by faith. And so because it's by God's grace or His goodness that He offers us salvation, that means it's accessible to every person, to all humanity. And because it's received by faith, that means that any person can receive it. That it's not something that only a few people or only a certain group of people can receive, but it's available to all humanity because it's by grace through faith.

Then in chapter 5, we saw that all people sin and die because Adam sinned. He was our representative, but then we had another representative, Jesus Christ. And so all people can have eternal life because Jesus died for us. And so we were represented in the garden, and as a result of Adam's sin, we sin and we experience death and we deserve judgment.

But because Jesus, our representative, lived a sinless life and died upon the cross, we can then have eternal life by believing in Jesus.

Well, then in Romans chapter 6, we learn that by believing in Jesus, we are included in his death and resurrection so that we are free to serve God. And Paul talked about being set free from the bondage to sin and death that we were in. But now, because we were included, we died with Christ, we are free to serve God and to be servants of righteousness.

In chapter 7, we saw that God's law reveals our sinfulness. That's the purpose of the law. It reveals that we fall short, that we do not measure up, and that we need a Savior. In chapter 8, Paul tells us that God did what His law could not do by sending His Son and giving the Spirit.

So the law cannot save any of us because it declares us sinful, not righteous. And so God accomplished what the law could not accomplish by sending his son to die for us and by giving us his Holy Spirit that we would be able to walk in the Spirit and have the newness of life that he desires for us to have. Then in chapter 9, Paul explained that God's children are those who pursue righteousness by faith.

In chapter 9, he begins to talk about the nation of Israel. And he says, they're not all Israel who are of Israel. That is, when God's talking about his chosen people or his people, he's talking about those who receive by faith what God has done. Not just the genetics, not just the DNA, but the real Israelites are the ones who believe God at his word.

Then in chapter 10, he explains, if you confess the Lord Jesus with your mouth and believe in your heart, you will be saved. He gives us the method of salvation here, to confess the Lord Jesus, to believe in your heart, and you will be saved.

Well, now as he is continuing on, as we go now into chapter 11, we'll get to build upon those truths and see what he has to say. But we start here in chapter 11 with the key verse, which is verse 11. And that is, I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not. But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. And

Now as we go into chapter 11, again continuing on from chapters 9 and 10, he's been explaining that Israel has not attained to righteousness because they pursued it by the law. They rejected Jesus Christ. And so then he's answering some of the objections that he's anticipating. There in verses 1 through 10, he explains that God has not cast away his people.

In verse 1, he asks the question, I say then, has God cast away his people? Certainly not. For I also am an Israelite of the seed of Abraham of the tribe of Benjamin. So if chapters 9 and 10, salvation is to those who receive it by faith. If those who are of Israel are of Israel by believing in Jesus, Paul says, does that mean that he's cast away the people

of Abraham or the genetic descendants of Abraham? Does that mean, you know, that race, that nationality has been cast away and that doesn't mean anything anymore? And Paul says, no.

They are still God's chosen people. The nation of Israel, the Jewish people, are still his chosen people. He has not cast them away. He hasn't changed his plans for them. He is delaying, you know, the completion of his plans, but he's not done with them.

He says in verse 5 that there is a remnant according to the election of grace. That there are those amongst the nation who do believe and there's this remnant who will always exist, who will always believe in Jesus and approach God by faith in Jesus until the last days when the whole nation will turn once again to the Lord.

Well, then in verses 11 through 15, Paul explains that through their fall, salvation has come to the Gentiles. Now, this is a really good chapter for us to consider because...

a lot of times we get kind of caught up in our own culture, our own society, our own nationality. And sometimes we kind of have an American gospel. We think, you know, the Bible was written to Americans. And, you know, we wouldn't say that, but it's kind of the mentality that we have many times. And we need to remember, Paul's reminding us, Israel is God's chosen people.

That Israel is God's primary focus and that through their fall, through their rejection of Jesus Christ, God offered salvation to the Gentiles. Now a Gentile is anybody who is not Jewish. So it's just the rest of us. And through Israel's fall, the rest of us have an opportunity for salvation.

He goes on in verse 12, he says, if their fall is riches for the world and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness. So if them rejecting Jesus has turned out for our salvation,

What do you think it's going to be like, Paul says, when they turn to Jesus? There's great and glorious things that God has in store that are yet to come when his people turn to him. It's going to happen because they're still God's chosen people and he still has great plans for them that will be glorious. In verses 16 through 24, Paul says that God is able to graft them in.

He uses the illustration of an olive tree. He talks about this olive tree and he describes Israel as the natural branches that came out of this olive tree and how they've been cut off. They've been cast off because they've rejected Jesus. And then he talks about us Gentiles and he says we're wild branches that were taken from wild olive trees and then grafted in to this olive tree. And that's

That's not normal. That's not natural. That normally doesn't work. But God's provided a miracle and allowed us to be part of His plan and His kingdom.

And he's explaining here, it will be very easy then, if God could graft us in and give us a place in his kingdom, it will be very easy for God to bring his chosen people back in once they turn to him. That's no difficulty for God. He says that in verse 24. He says, "...if you were cut out of the olive tree, which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree..."

how much more will these who are natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree? The point is that God is able and that he will bring the nation of Israel back into right relationship with him and fulfill his plans for Israel. Israel is still God's chosen people. In verses 25 through 29, he says that blindness happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

And so because Israel has rejected God's plan of salvation, God is working in the Gentiles. Israel was the light of the world. Now the church is the light of the world and is being used by God to declare himself to the world around us. And this is a unique work of God that we call the church. And it's going to come to an end. There's going to be a time where God shifts his focus

back to Israel and we believe that that is when the church will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air that will be caught up to be with him and so that time for the church will be done and God will be focused once again on the nation of Israel Israel is still beloved by God he says in verse 28 there's still his chosen people and God is still going to fulfill his plans for them

Again, we often will get kind of caught up and consumed with ourselves and think that it's all about us. But we should not forget how blessed we are to be grafted in. God didn't have to save us, but he chose to. And he chose to do it through Israel's rejection of Jesus Christ.

Well, he concludes in verses 30 through 36 saying that God committed all to disobedience that he might have mercy on all. The law applies to all. We're all disobedient. So that way God could have mercy on all. Again, it makes it accessible to every person, Jew or Gentile.

God's plan of salvation makes it accessible to every human being. And as Paul considers this, I like verse 33. He says, Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out.

As he's considering this, the relationship between Jew and Gentile and God's plan for Israel, but how he worked it so that all people are able to be saved, Paul stops to marvel, to wonder. It's amazing what God has done to provide salvation to every person so that nobody's excluded, so that it's not off limits, so that it's not beyond anybody's reach, but that every person is

can receive the salvation that God offers by faith in Jesus Christ. What an amazing work that God has done in that.

Well, now we head on into chapter 12 of Romans. And here is when we're shifting gears. Paul has now concluded the doctrinal portion of his letter. And now he's going on to application. Now he's beginning to explain what it looks like when you believe the gospel as he's presented it in chapters 1 through 11. When you believe that, then it's going to impact your life.

It's going to change how you behave. Warren Wiersbe says that the biblical pattern is to relate doctrine and duty for what you believe must determine how you behave.

These two things go hand in hand. And so all that doctrine that we've just been studying through in the first part of Romans now gives us understanding and helps us to live out the life that God wants us to live. As we understand the reality of sin for all humanity and the righteousness that comes only by faith. As we understand Israel's place in God's plan. Now Romans chapter 12 verse 1 is the key verse.

He says, And so he says, Now, here he gives our response. There in verses 1 and 2, here's our response.

Present your bodies as a living sacrifice. Paul says, this is your reasonable service. This is really the only reasonable response to God's work. The only reasonable response to the gospel as Paul presented it is to present yourself to him as a living sacrifice.

To hear the good news, the gospel that Paul has just been declaring, and then to keep on living in sin, that's not reasonable. That's not rational. When you hear what God has done, the only rational thing, the only reasonable thing is to surrender yourself to God and to present Him your body and say, I'm a living sacrifice. I'm completely yours for whatever you want. I will be obedient to you. I will serve you.

To withhold yourself from God is not rational when you understand the gospel. To pursue your own plans instead of God's plans, that's not reasonable when you understand the gospel. Because in the gospel, God has demonstrated His love once and for all by dying upon the cross.

In the gospel, we learn that God has offered salvation by His own goodness because He wants what's best for us. We learn that He has made salvation accessible to us and to all people. We learn that He promises to work out all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. And so as we understand this gospel, it's not reasonable to withhold ourselves from God. It's not reasonable to be half-hearted.

It's not reasonable to be disobedient or to be running from God. We're crazy if we don't surrender ourselves completely to God. The gospel message is such a great message that the only rational, reasonable response is to present ourselves as a living sacrifice. I would challenge you to consider what are you holding back from God? What plans are you pursuing, yours or His?

What activities are you involved in? Yours or His? What are you holding back? Why are you holding back? It's not reasonable. It's not rational to continue on in our ways in light of who God is and what He has done for us. And he goes on into verse 2 and says, Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

So not only, first of all, it's the reasonable service, it's the reasonable response to present yourself as a living sacrifice to God, but he further explains that. He says, do not be conformed or more literally, stop being conformed. You're in the process of being like the world.

to be like the world. But stop it, he says. Stop being like the world. Stop living like the world. Stop thinking like the world. Essentially, he's saying, get your head on straight. Remember what the gospel is. Believe the gospel message so that you can figure out what God's will is. Break out of the cycle. Break out of the habits and the routines that the world has taught you.

And turn yourself over to the Lord completely that you can find out His perfect will. So that you can live in God's awesome plan for your life. That's the only reasonable, rational response to the gospel message that Paul declares. Well, that will continue on now through the rest of these chapters. We'll be looking at our response to what God has done. In verses 3 through 8, He tells us to use your gifts.

When you believe the gospel message, it results in you using your spiritual gifts. In verse 5, he explains that we, being many, are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. As we understand the gospel message and we are united with Christ in his death, we are united also to one another, Paul explains. And we are the body of Christ. We're joined together.

Which means that we need each other. It also means that we are gifted to be able to minister to one another. It also means, Paul explains here, that we have functions to perform. And so he says, whatever your function is, whatever your part is in the body of Christ, make sure that you're doing that.

In response to the gospel. And he lists several of these roles. The role of prophecy. Or ministry. Or teaching. Or exhortation. Or giving. Or leading. Or showing mercy. When you believe the gospel message. It will result in you. Fulfilling your role as a member of the body of Christ.

Well, also it should result in, verses 9 through 21, love without hypocrisy. As we see the love that God has demonstrated to us, well, the only rational, reasonable response is to then turn around and express that love to people around us. A genuine love.

Paul says, where we abhor evil and cling to what is good. And there in those closing verses of chapter 12, he lists kind of, he just hits a bunch of different things, a bunch of different commands. He tells us to be kindly affectionate to one another. He tells us to be diligent in serving the Lord. He tells us to continue steadfastly in prayer. He tells us to meet the needs of those around us, those believers who have needs or lack.

He tells us to bless those who persecute us. He tells us to fellowship together, to live peaceably with all men as much as it depends on us. And then finally, he tells us to overcome evil with good. These are pretty radical things. I just kind of listed them pretty quickly. But if you'll spend some time and meditate on those things, those are radical things. And when you live those things, you will be radically different from the world.

But that's the only reasonable and rational response to the gospel message. When you turn yourself over to the Lord, He's going to be working those things in your life. Well, now we continue in chapter 13. Verse 1 is the key verse. It says, Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

In verses 1 through 7, he commands us to be subject to governing authorities. To be submitted or to be obedient. Believing the gospel message does not result in rebellion against authority. It results in obedience to authority. Paul explains there in verse 1, there is no authority except from God.

This is something that we need to grasp hold of because, well, it's what the Bible teaches. Remember when Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate and Pontius Pilate was asking him questions and frustrated because Jesus wasn't answering and he says, don't you know I have the power to put you to death or to let you go? And Jesus said, you couldn't have no authority unless God gave it to you. All authority is from God. It's appointed by him.

There is no authority except from God. And this is true of good leaders that we're happy to serve and be obedient to and bad leaders that we're frustrated with and wish we could get rid of. Remember, as Paul is writing this, he's writing to a people who weren't living in a real democracy. It was the Roman Empire. And the Roman emperors, generally speaking, were not good. The one in power at this time was Nero. And he was not good.

And yet, Paul says, there is no authority except from God. And so he instructs us then to be obedient because God has placed those authorities. I always liked verse 3. He says, you want to be unafraid of that authority, of those who have the authority? He says, then do good. It always causes me to reflect and think back and remember how amazing it was. There was an amazing change that took place.

When I was driving down the road with a valid driver's license, with insurance on my vehicle, with my registration paid up to date, with no warrants for my arrest, and driving the speed limit. There was a radical change from before when all of those things were not true. And then I saw the black and white.

And I had physical pain whenever I would see a cop. I'd be freaked out and I would hurt within because I knew, man, if I get caught, I'm in serious trouble. But then when everything was paid up, when all those tickets were paid for, when all the registration was taken care of, all those things happened, I dealt with the judge when all that was done. And then I'm driving down the road doing the speed limit and I see the cop. I didn't have to be afraid. You want to be unafraid? He says, do good.

Be obedient. Be subject to those governing authorities. He concludes the thought in verse 7 saying, Whatever is due to those authorities. You have to pay taxes to those authorities. Paul says, that's right. That's appropriate. You don't have to fight that. That's not a moral issue. Pay the taxes.

You're supposed to honor them. Show them honor. Show them the respect. You're supposed to fear them, then fear them. Just express those things. That's what is appropriate. Now, the one caveat that we would say is, until those governing authorities require you to go against what God has said. That's the only exception. Unless there's a direct violation of God that they're asking you to do,

Well, we are to be obedient and subject to those governing authorities. Verses 8 through 10, Paul goes on to explain that love fulfills the law. So in society, we are to be obedient to those authorities. And then he goes on to talk about, you know, how we relate to one another. And it's to be done in love. Because he explains that love fulfills the law. In verse 10, he says, love does no harm to a neighbor whatsoever.

Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law. Again, this is the same thing that Jesus said. You can see it in Matthew chapter 22, verses 34 through 40. When the scribe came and asked him, what's the most important commandment? Jesus said, it's to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And then he goes on to say, and the second most important commandment is like it, it's to love your neighbor as yourself. And Jesus said, these two sum up

The whole law, all of God's law are summed up in these two things and in this order. Love God and love your neighbor. And that's what Paul's saying. If we will, in response to what God has done for us and the gospel message that has been brought to us, if we will love our neighbor, we will be fulfilling the law of God.

I like what David Guzik points out. He says, love your neighbor means to love the people you actually meet and deal with every day. Who's my neighbor? One guy asked Jesus, right? Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan. To let us know, your neighbor is whoever it is that you're coming in contact with. Whoever has a need.

Love your neighbor. Love those people that you come in contact with. It's kind of easy to think about, you know, hypothetical or love for people that you don't know or you haven't met. It's easy to love those people. But love the people that you actually meet. The love that you receive from God, love them in that same way.

Well, then in verses 11 through 14, Paul instructs us to walk properly as in the day. Believing the gospel message results in a changed life. It results in actions on our part that we take that are different because of what we know to be true based on what God has done for us. And rather than me try to explain what's happening here in verses 11 through 14, I think Paul

It's appropriate. I'm just going to read these verses to you and then we'll move on. In verse 11, Paul says, "...and do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep. For now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light."

Let us walk properly as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts. This is how we're to live because the gospel is true, because God has done this work in us as we have believed in Jesus.

Well, now chapter 14 of Romans, verse 19 is the key verse. Paul says, Therefore, let us pursue the things which make for peace, and the things by which one may edify another.

All of chapter 14 and the first part of chapter 15 deal with the subject of liberties or freedoms that we have in Christ and how that interacts with those who have different opinions or convictions about those activities. And so we're talking about stumbling blocks. We're talking about judgment blocks.

between believers and we're talking about the liberties that we have here in chapter 14 and the first part of 15. And so Paul begins this section in verses 1 through 3 saying, receive one who is weak in the faith. When we believe the gospel message, it will result in us receiving those who are weak in the faith. Now when Paul talks about those who are weak in the faith,

Well, it's opposite of the way that we often think about someone being weak in the faith. He explains in verse 2, he says, For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. And so the stronger believer has certain convictions about what he eats, and then the weaker believer has convictions about what he eats. The one who believes that he can eat whatever he wants to eat,

Well, that's the stronger believer. But the weak believer eats only vegetables. Now, this was regarding a specific issue that they were facing. The issue was that for them in Rome, most of the meat that they could purchase was meat that had been sacrificed to idols.

And so the marketplaces would sacrifice these animals to their false gods and then they would sell the meat in the marketplace. And that really bothered some believers. They thought, how can we enjoy a good piece of meat that was offered to this false god? And so they would refrain from eating meat because, well, that was offered to an idol.

Other people weren't bothered by that. They would say, so what? It's a good deal, you know. We know that that's nothing. The idol is nothing. There's no real God there behind it. Let's just enjoy the meat. It's just food. And Paul says, it's the weaker believer who gets caught up in that and is worried about and stressed about, oh, I don't know, that meat was sacrificed to an idol. I don't think we can have that. The one who is stricter in their regulations, in their rituals,

Paul is describing as the weak believer. Again, it's opposite of the way we would often think. But there's a change that takes place. There's a maturity that happens. And the mature believer realizes it's not an issue to eat that meat. The whole point that Paul is seeking to make here, though, is that we're to receive one who is weak in the faith. And so the point is that we're not to divide over these kinds of issues.

So it isn't that if you're stronger in the faith, you have to convince the weaker one, believe my way. You have to believe my way because my way is right and you got to believe my way. He says, no, no, just receive them. Not to dispute. It's not to just fight about it. Just receive them. Let's not divide over these things. We can still be together. We can still have fellowship even if we have different convictions about certain issues.

I like what Warren Wiersbe had to say about this. He said, your love may be tested more by Christians who disagree with you than by unbelievers who persecute you. So he's been talking about love and loving one another and loving your neighbor. And that could be really challenging sometimes in the world. But Warren Wiersbe points out, and I think pretty right on, right? Sometimes our love is tested more, not by the outside world, but by the person in the chair next to us.

by fellow believers who, well, there's a disagreement and now is the real test. Will you love? Will you be able to receive even though you think differently about certain issues? He goes on in verses 4 through 13 saying, let us not judge or stumble one another. He tells us in verse 4, who are you to judge another's servant?

He reminds us, look, it's not your job to judge the person next to you. He's not your servant. She's not your servant. They're God's servant. And God's able to do the work in their lives that he wants to do. And sometimes we can get distracted trying to manage or police what other believers do. But Paul reminds us that's not our place.

That believer is God's servant, not yours. And so he says in verse 13, therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but instead resolve this, to not put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way. In verses 14 through 23, Paul says, let us pursue peace and edification. As we believe the gospel message and we receive one another in that love, then we're going to be pursuing peace and

We're going to be pursuing the things that build up, that edify, that help each other. Paul says, I'm convinced there's no unclean food. There's no issue with eating that meat. But if your brother's grieved because of your food, he says, then you're not walking in love. If you're messing with them, that's not walking in love anymore. So he says, don't destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died.

In other words, it's not loving to flaunt your freedoms before those who are offended by it. Sometimes we like to do that, huh? You know that bothers somebody, so you kind of just weave it in their face. Look what I'm eating. Look what I'm doing. Look what I'm having. And Paul says, that's not walking in love. Flaunting your freedoms when they're offended by it. No, don't do that. He says, instead, let's pursue peace and edification.

Well, I want to explore this idea a little bit further. As he says in Romans chapter 14 verse 3, he says, Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats, for God has received him. Now again, this is relating to this issue of meat sacrificed to idols. The weak believer believed, hey, I'm not going to eat that because it was sacrificed to idols. That's not a good thing, and so I better keep myself from that.

That was their issue. But this is a principle that applies and we could use it to address any activity that is not specifically addressed in Scripture. And it's a common issue that we will face as Christians. In fact, it's so common that Paul will deal with it again in 1 Corinthians. And so we'll see it again in a couple weeks as we go through 1 Corinthians. And so I want to just, let's think through some examples of this. So Romans 14, 3 says,

If you believe it's fine to eat, then don't despise those who don't. If you don't think it's okay to eat, then don't judge those who do. But, well, Pastor Rick talked about exercise on Sunday morning, right? And you could kind of fill in the blank here and put in exercise. And those who exercise, of course, they feel strongly about it, and that's great. But let not those who exercise despise those who don't.

Don't, you know, look down on or despise the rest of us, okay? But then those who don't exercise, don't be judging those who do. Now, Rick was mentioning on Sunday, you know, some of those who are involved in these different programs and stuff can take it too far. And they begin to insist, everybody has to do it this way. Everybody should be like this. And that's what Paul's saying is, well, that's not our place.

We don't need to despise one another or judge one another regarding these things. Another issue that has been around for a long time is the issue of watching movies. And there's been discussions and disputes and divisions over, well, what kind of movies is a Christian allowed to watch? Maybe you say, you watch movies? I don't have time for that. I just read my Bible. Is it wrong for a Christian to watch movies? But then you get into the discussion. Okay, well,

What rating is your limit? PG? G? PG-13? You watch rated R movies? I can't believe you. You're probably not even sane. If you do watch movies, don't despise those who don't. If you don't watch movies, don't judge those who do. We can think about voting. Here in America, we're blessed. We have the right to vote. It's a privilege,

It's a responsibility. It's something unique in all history. We live in a very unique society. And some feel very strongly about our role and our responsibility. And it can be an issue that divides. If you vote, don't despise those who don't. And if you don't, don't judge those who do. Another common issue is the drinking of alcohol. The biblical mandate is against drunkenness. That's the clear word of scripture. But there are those who...

Think, yeah, it's fine. I can have a couple of drinks. I can have some wine here or there. No big deal. And if that's you, don't despise those who don't. It's not your mission to try to get other people to then have some alcohol. And if you feel strongly, yeah, alcohol is not for me. I'm not to drink any kind of alcohol. Then don't be judging those who do. There are some people who should not have any alcohol. But it's not our place to

To figure out everybody else's life. Now, in the general realm, in some instances, let's say you're discipling somebody or you have a close relationship. Hey, you can give some great exhortation. But that's different than judgment. And I'll come to that in just a moment. But looking at these examples, you could fill in the blanks.

Some Christians feel very strongly about using credit cards. No Christian should ever be in debt. And then there's the despising and the judgment on both sides. Some feel really strongly about tattoos or smoking or dating versus courting or whatever. Secular music versus...

Different styles of music. When I was growing up, when I was young, it was a big deal. Listen to rock music. That's wrong. All rock music is of the devil. It's got that 4-4 beat and that Satan's beat. It doesn't matter if it's good lyrics. You think I'm joking, but I'm serious. That was a real issue. We can fill in the blank. There's all kinds of things that we can disagree about. And

The overall point that Paul is saying is don't let these things become issues to divide over. Be convinced in your own mind you settle that with the Lord before his own master he stands or falls. That's God's responsibility. He's the master.

And so if you have a liberty in something, you feel, hey, this is great. I could do this. I should do this. Great, do that, but don't despise those who don't. And then if you don't, well, then don't judge those who do, whatever the issue might be. Now, as we talk about this, though,

There's probably some exceptions that you're thinking about, right? Well, what about this scenario or that scenario? And so I want to talk about judging and stumbling. In Romans 14, 13, he says, let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way. So what is Paul talking about when he's talking about this whole time not judging one another?

The word judge, it means to condemn as well as like to separate and divide. And so again, this idea of judging is this condemnation that we try to place on people based on our determination of whether or not what they're doing is right before God. We're not to condemn others.

Now, we're not to condemn others regarding things that are not specifically addressed in Scripture. And that's the key about judging. How many times have we heard, you know, the accounts, or maybe you've heard it yourself, you've been talking to somebody about an issue and they say, hey, don't judge me. You can't judge me. Jesus says, don't judge, lest you be judged. But you need to understand, it's not judging to address actions that the Bible declares are sin.

So the Bible says this activity is sinful. It's not judging to say what the Bible says because there's no judgment involved on your part. It's God who's the judge and you're just saying what he said. This activity is sin. It doesn't matter where your heart's at or if you mean well. This activity is sin. So that's not what it means to judge. To judge is to condemn on things that God hasn't addressed, that God hasn't specifically declared.

And so again, you have issues or things like smoking or watching movies or, you know, whatever. All those things that we could talk about. God hasn't said one way there's no universal truth for all humanity. And so we need to let God deal with his servants. It's not our position or place to make everybody agree with the way that we think or what we believe.

And God may give some people certain convictions and give other people different convictions. And that's fine. It's okay to have different convictions. And that may be from God because He knows what's best and He knows us individually. So let us not judge. We need to be careful that we're not judging one another. We're holding to the Scripture. But where the Scripture is silent, we allow God to deal with His people between Him and them.

But also we must resolve, he says, to not put a stumbling block. Now here Paul's talking about our behavior, that we are not to behave in a way that causes others to violate their conscience or to turn away from God. A lot of times as Christians we talk about, oh, you know, that causes me to stumble. But we're using it kind of casually and it's not at all in agreement with the way that Paul is using this. We...

We'll say that it causes us to stumble when someone does something that we disagree with, that we don't like, that we would prefer they didn't do, or that makes us really upset. But when Paul's talking about causing someone to stumble, he's talking about getting them to violate their conscience, to violate their convictions, to try to get them, you're ridiculous thinking that you can't eat meat. Come on, take a bite. Eat the meat. It's fine. You have grace. Those idols are nothing. Just eat it. Why won't you eat it? You're so dumb. You won't eat it.

And getting them to do something that they believe is wrong, well, that's causing them to stumble. Doing things that, well, it causes them to turn away from God, that's causing somebody to stumble. Just because somebody doesn't like something, that doesn't mean it's a stumbling block. That's not what Paul's talking about.

And so we need to be careful not to judge, Paul says, and also not to put a stumbling block. We're not to try to force our opinions and convictions upon everybody else. There are some things that are, well, God's made itself clear. And when you can quote the chapter and verse, then you quote the chapter and verse. And when you can't, then Paul says, let each one be convinced in his own mind. There are some things that are worth dividing over.

It's the things that are clearly addressed in Scripture. Outside of that, don't divide over that. Receive one who is weaker in the faith. Remember that there's some strong influences in people's lives. Paul was dealing with those who came out of the Jewish background. And so their whole upbringing, they were dealing with, you can't eat this, you can't eat that, you can't eat that. You know, there's all this ritual and it's hard to break free of that. For those who are caught up in other religions and then they come to Christ.

All those things don't just vanish. You know, for someone who's ingrained in a culture and then they come to Christ, all those things don't just vanish. God does, through the process of time, He does the work of setting people free. And so sometimes there's superstitions. And you're like, that's dumb. Why are you thinking that? Why do you believe that? You guys laughed when I talked about rock and roll. But there were people who were really serious about that. And so we have to give people room to grow.

And that includes you. Give yourself room to grow and realize, I don't know everything. And I don't have God's plan for every person. And so determine not to judge and to not put a stumbling block. Well now chapter 15 verse 13 is the key verse. He says, Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

In verses 1 through 6, he says, bear with the scruples of the weak. Again, he's continuing the thoughts from chapter 14. As you believe the gospel, it results in bearing with those things that the weaker believer are caught up in. They're caught up in the issue and you don't have to force them to believe your way. Just bear with them. And you say, but it's dumb what they believe. Bear with them. Be patient. Let God do the work that he wants to do in them.

In verses 5 and 6, he's explaining that unity is more important. Bear with them so that you are united together, that you join together, that you glorify Jesus together. In verses 7 through 13, he says, receive one another as Christ received us. Listen, when you came to Christ, you had weird beliefs and Jesus still received you. You had weird behaviors and

and messed up issues, and Christ still received you. In the same way, receive one another. Yeah, they're going to be a little bit weird. They're going to have some wacky ideas. Sometimes they're going to say something, and you're going to be like, where in the world did you get that? Receive. Be united. Love one another. Let God work out those things. Again, talking about where the scripture is silent. Where the scripture is clear, feel free. You know, truth in love.

The love has to be there, but you can share the truth. But there's a lot of things that we deal with that Scripture does not specifically address. Well then, in the rest of this chapter, Paul explains, I aimed to preach where Christ was not named in verses 14 through 21. I wanted to make sure I went out to where people hadn't heard the gospel.

And so he's explaining all these different places that he's gone. And then he explains his plans in verses 22 through 33. He says, I'm going to Jerusalem and then to you on the way to Spain. And so again, he's in Corinth. He's picked up the money that they were giving to Jerusalem. He's taking it there. And then he's planning to go to Spain. Why? Because he hasn't brought the gospel to Spain yet. He's

He's already spread the gospel in the area that he's been around. And so now he needs to go further because the gospel has been preached there already. So he needs to go where the gospel hasn't been preached. And so he plans to go to Spain and he says, I want to stop by Rome on the way. Well, now we finish it up in Romans chapter 16. Verse 16 is the key verse. He says, Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ say,

greet you. Here we have all kinds of greetings. In verses 1 through 12, he commends Phoebe to them. And so Phoebe, he knew and she was on her way there. Perhaps she was the one who brought this letter to Rome. And he says, you know, she's right on. She's with the Lord. Then in verses 3 through 16, he goes through a whole list of people to greet and to greet one another and all this greetings that are going on between them.

Then in verses 17 through 20, he throws in one last exhortation. He said, avoid those who cause divisions. Now again, overall, receive one another. There's, you know, a lot of things that are not worth dividing over. But then he also points out here, there are things that are worth dividing over. He says in verse 17, take note of those who cause divisions and offenses that are contrary to the doctrine which you learned and avoid them.

So, if there's some troublemakers, if there's people causing people to decide against each other and causing divisions in the church, stay away from them. Don't participate in that. Have no part of that. Don't try to deal with that. Just avoid them. He says in verse 18, for those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ. He says, look, there's some in the church that aren't serving Jesus.

He says, instead they serve their own belly and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple. So, those who are causing divisions, those who are causing trouble, he says, stay away from them. There are some people to separate from. If it's a weaker believer, if it's someone who's got caught up in things because they're not yet mature in the faith, he says, receive them, love them, be with them. But if there's somebody that's causing trouble,

And, you know, sowing seeds of division and causing rumors and offenses and breaking up relationships inside the church. He says, don't associate with them. Don't be around them. Instead, take note. Oh, that guy's a troublemaker. And avoid them.

Verses 21 through 24, it's the greetings from the people who are with Paul, Timothy, Lucius, Jason, and so on and so forth. And then he closes in verses 25 through 27, to God be the glory through Jesus.

And so here in the book of Romans, we have an amazing declaration of the gospel. Paul began saying, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. He explained it and then now we have a better understanding of what it should look like in our lives. That we should be presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice to God. Loving one another, building each other up and helping each other to accomplish what

the fullness of what God has for us. That's what the gospel should accomplish in us. Let's pray that it does. Heavenly Father, as we consider your gospel, your truth, and what you've done, I pray that you would do this work in us. That you would help us to present ourselves to you. God, if we are holding back, you would help us to recognize that that is not reasonable. Because we know that you want what's best for us and you know what's best for us.

And so, Lord, help us to turn our lives over to you completely, to fully surrender to your instruction, to your direction, to your commands, to your love. Lord, that we might experience your promise that you work all things together for good. And Lord, as we turn ourselves over to you, I pray that you would work out these things in us, that we would love our neighbor as ourself, that we would love one another even if

Lord, there's others who think differently than we do about certain issues. Lord, that we'd be able to build them up and strengthen them and not stumble them. Help us, God, to believe your gospel message and to communicate that to the world around us with our words, but also with the way that we live. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

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