ROMANS 14 DO NOT DESPISE OR JUDGE BECAUSE OF THE GOSPEL2015 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Romans 14 Do Not Despise Or Judge Because Of The Gospel

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 2015. And this evening we're going to be looking at Romans chapter 14, and we will look at the whole chapter, or at least we will attempt to, but let's start out by looking at verses 1 through 3. Romans chapter 14 verses 1 through 3 says this,

Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 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.

As we get into Romans chapter 14 this evening, Paul the Apostle is dealing with the subject of Christian liberties or freedoms, we might call them. Personal convictions is another way to describe this. And really what Paul is dealing with is how we are to treat one another personally.

When there's differences of opinions about the practices that we have and the things that we're to do, the behavior that we are to engage in, different convictions that we have or freedoms that we might have or restrictions that we might have.

And so how are we to address these things? Now, of course, how we are to address these things goes back to the gospel message, because that's what the book of Romans is all about. And we spent a lot of time in Romans chapters 1 through 11 discussing

Paul was elaborating on all the different aspects and the details of the gospel message. And then for the past few chapters, we've been looking at the response to that. Because of the gospel message, what is our lives to look like? And how are we to behave? And what kind of things are we to engage in? And so here in Romans chapter 14 this evening, I've titled the message, Do Not Despise or Judge Because of the Gospel.

When it comes to differences in our lives, differences in our behavior, differences in our convictions, the freedoms that we have or the freedoms that we don't have, the way that we are to relate to one another in the midst of all those things is that we are not to despise nor judge one another. And that's because of the gospel. Because of the gospel.

Because of what Christ has done for us and the work upon the cross, it should change us. Our receiving of the gospel impacts us so that we do not judge or despise one another in the way that perhaps we would if we were not believers in Christ or if the gospel was different, if salvation was by works instead of by faith in Jesus Christ. Now,

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Christians are known for despising and judging. I mean, if there's, you know, a couple things that kind of stand out that especially unbelievers or maybe Christians would use even in describing ourselves, despising and judging are at the top of the list or amongst the top 10 or top five things that we would use to describe Christians. These are things that describe us very well.

very frequently. And yet these are the things that Paul says, that God says we are not to do towards one another. And so these are words we need to hear. These are things that we need to understand and we need to let the gospel change us so that we do not carry on these things in our lives, this despising and judging of one another. But you know how it is. There's a saying, I don't know who originally said it, but it goes way back.

Anyone who drives slower than me is a moron. And anyone who drives faster than me is a crazy idiot. And I can relate to that as I'm driving. Someone who's driving slow and slower than I want to go, and I'm behind them, you know, what's wrong with this guy? Why doesn't he go faster? But then anybody who zooms by me, man, that person's a maniac. What's wrong with them? They're driving so crazy.

In a similar way, as Christians, we judge those who exercise more freedom than us. We look at someone else that we know or someone else that we've heard of or someone else that's in our sight and we wonder, how can they call themselves a Christian? Look at the things that they do. Look at the way that they live. Look at the things that they engage in. And we begin to judge those who exercise more freedom than I have.

Or on the other side, I despise those who have less freedom than me. What's wrong with that person? Don't they know you can participate in these things? It's perfectly fine to engage in these kinds of practices and have these types of relationships. What's wrong with them? And so there can be this similar type of thing where someone who has more freedom than me, well, I begin to judge them. Someone who has less freedom than me, I begin to despise them. And

And that's what Paul is dealing with here in Romans chapter 14. Now, just to be clear, as we talk about these things, we're talking about liberties. We're talking about freedoms. We're talking about convictions. We are not talking about sin. We're not talking about things where the Bible has says, you know, this is sin. You're not to practice that. Or this is, you know, what is right and you are to practice that. That's not what Paul is dealing with. But there's many areas that

We have to decide what's right between us and the Lord. We have to work out and negotiate. There's things that the Bible does not deal specifically with. There's things that are not specifically forbidden, and we have to make choices. Now, no Christian has the freedom to sin. No Christian has the freedom, the liberty in Christ, to disregard what the scripture says. We don't have that freedom.

But in those areas where there is not specific things addressed, we do have the freedom to hear from God and respond to what God speaks to our heart.

And that's part of what helps this issue to rise up within us. Because we have to decide what is right for us, and so you've worked through, you've thought about, you've prayed about, well, this is what I have to do in response to this or in this context, then there's a tendency for me to think that everybody else is

should do that too, because I prayed about it, and this is what the Lord told me. And so, you know, you guys should do it that way as well. You should live this way as well.

Now, Paul's going to use a couple examples here in this passage. He's going to talk about eating only vegetables. And so he's going to be dealing with, you know, those who perhaps were Jewish converts who, you know, they couldn't eat certain things because it wasn't kosher. They couldn't eat, you know, that's their background, that's their upbringing. And though even though they became Christians, they had a hard time accepting that, you

The dietary laws were not in effect for the church, and it caused some conflict between Jewish believers and Gentile believers. Another thing that Paul will use as an example is worshiping God on a specific date.

observing the Sabbath or observing the feast days, perhaps, for those who were from a Jewish background, that some really held highly certain days that had to be observed for the worship of God. And so these are a couple examples that the Apostle Paul gives in Romans chapter 14. Now, today as we read those things,

Our culture has changed. We're not facing necessarily the same type of issues, but there are a lot of things that there are disagreements about. There are differences of opinion, and there's room for discussion and variation in what God would say to each person.

And so you could think about things like alcohol and consuming alcohol and what's appropriate and how much is appropriate and when or where is it appropriate. You could think about movies or television or cable and there's strong opinions on different sides of those types of things. You could think about parenting styles.

or the style of worship, you know, how church services are to go or what kind of music should be played. You could think about Christmas trees as we head into the Christmas season. And sometimes there's strong opinions about whether or not, you know, you should have a Christmas tree and so on and so forth. And so there's all this variety of things that we could think about, that we could argue about, that we could divide over. And essentially Paul is saying, let's not divide over those things that are not important.

Instead, here's how we are to treat one another. And so we're going to look at five points this evening.

learning not to despise or judge because of the gospel and the work that God has done in our lives. And point number one, we're going to start on verses one through three. Point number one is to receive people that God has received. Here's what we need to remember and consider. Our job, our responsibility as believers in Jesus, as those who have partaken of the gospel, is that we must receive people

those that God has received. And we must not divide where God has not divided. In verse 1, he says, "...receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things."

He says, receive one who is weak in the faith. Now, jumping down to verse 3 for a second, he says at the end of verse 3, for God has received him. And so sometimes there can be people in our lives, there can be people around us that we don't necessarily want to receive. God has received them, and so Paul says we must receive them as well. This word receive, it means to take to yourself.

And some examples of how this word is used, I think, is helpful. It means to take as one's companion. So to receive someone is to say, hey, you're my companion. Walk with me. It can also be used to take by the hand. And so it describes that kind of friendship, that kind of relationship.

It can be used to receive, to talk about receiving into your home and to have that type of relationship. Hey, why don't you come on over and share a meal together? Or even it can be used to talk about granting access to your heart. It describes that kind of relationship. And so as he talks about receiving one who is weak in the faith, this is how we are to receive God.

All believers, we are to accept them as our companions, accept them as our friends, as our brothers and sisters in the Lord. We are to accept them and allow them access to our hearts, to allow them to have access to friendship to us and to have that kind of relationship with one another. And so he says, receive them.

but not just to fight with them. So don't invite them over to your house just so that you can argue with them and prove to them that you're right and they're wrong. He says not to disputes over doubtful things. Now again, there's some things that are very clear from the scriptures. Some things that are very clear, listed, written out, clear instruction about what we are to do as believers and what we are not to do as believers. But there are other things that are not as clear.

And many times we talk about those as the essentials versus the non-essentials. And the essentials really relate to the gospel message, the method of salvation and who Jesus is and the work of God. And so we have those essential things that are not negotiable. But then there's so many non-essentials.

like the method of baptism is not an essential doctrine. It's not an essential thing that we would divide over and say, you can't come over to my house because you believe people should just be sprinkled and not dunked. And so we're not going to have fellowship. You're not going to be my friend because no, no, no, that's not the way that we are to relate to one another or the timing of the rapture is a non-essential. And we might have, you know, good discussions about it,

And we might have heated, you know, debates about it, but there's still a love for one another. There's still a friendship for one another that we are to have. We're still to receive one another, but not to dispute over doubtful things.

Now, it's really arrogant for us to think that we have resolved. I've resolved something that the church has been discussing and debating for 2,000 years. I've resolved it, and so I've got the final answer, and everybody else is wrong. That's really arrogant. And so we need to understand there's areas of doubtful things. There's areas where there's room for a variety of opinions, and there's room for the discussion around those things,

But we're not to receive them to dispute over those things, but we're just to accept one another as brothers and sisters in the Lord and to have a love for one another. In verse two, he goes on to say, for one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. And so here he gives an example, an illustration. One person believes all food is allowed. Whatever you set before me, I'm going to eat it.

And if you want to see an example of that, just spend some time with Pastor George, especially on the mission field. Just whatever's set before him, he will eat it. I'm a little bit more picky, not because of religious conscience or anything, but just because fish heads are not my favorite thing to eat and that kind of stuff. But George will just eat whatever's in front of him. All food is allowed. But then another believes only vegetables are allowed.

Those things aren't kosher. Those things, you know, I'm not sure about. That meat might have been sacrificed to idols. And so I'm just going to stick to the vegetables. For Jewish believers, this was a big deal. They really struggled with the idea of not practicing the dietary laws of the Old Testament.

You remember the Lord spoke to Peter about this, really about accepting the Gentiles, but he used the illustration of the food. And he says, he told Peter, don't call common or unclean what I have cleansed. And so there is a freedom from the dietary laws that God had given in the Old Testament that does not exist today. Those restrictions don't exist today is what I mean to say. And so Paul says, receive one another, not together.

So that you can convince the other person to believe as you do about the type of food that is allowed or not allowed. But just receive them as your brother or sister in the Lord. But sometimes that can be hard. Because we place more value on things than the Bible does.

And that leads us to despise or judge one another. And so that's why he says in verse 3, And so here he says we are not to despise and we are not to judge.

There's differences of opinion. What's acceptable food? What's appropriate for us to eat? Do you have to eat only vegetables or can you eat anything you want? Well, he says, regardless of where you fall on that, we are not to despise or judge one another regarding these kinds of things. The word despise literally means to throw out as nothing.

It's a real strong word that implies there's this disgust, and you think little of, and it's like, you know, your opinion's worthless. I can't believe you would think that, you know, you can't eat these things. And so there's this belittling of, there's this contempt for this person because, well, they have stricter views than you do. And sometimes we can

come to the conclusion, well, hey, you must not be very close to God because you don't know that it's fine to eat these things and you don't enjoy these things. So, you know, there's something wrong. You're spiritually weak. But then there's the other side where they judge those who do eat, those who do exercise some of the freedoms that we have in Christ. The word judge, it means to divide or separate, to make a distinction or a separation between

Now, when the Bible talks about judging, typically it's talking about judging people's hearts. And the point of the scriptures is that we are not equipped to

to judge people's hearts. We are not equipped to be able to understand what's happening within the heart of a person as they make decisions and as they do things. We don't know the motivations. We don't know the heart. We don't know where they're at with God. And we're not able to come to a real determination. We can't make a judgment, an accurate judgment anyways, about those types of things because we're just not capable of knowing a person's heart.

Now, we are equipped and it is appropriate for us to judge actions. And that's again where, you know, things that are clearly recorded in the scriptures, we can evaluate based on those things. But when there's those things that are not specifically mentioned or not specifically forbidden or commanded, then we're not able to evaluate a person's heart in those things. But there are those things.

I would say all of us can come into this point where we begin to judge and we think their heart must be wrong because they eat meat or because they do this or because they participate in that. They must not want to please God. That must not be really important to them because, and we're judging the heart, we're judging the motivations. And Paul says, we're not to do that, not to despise and not to judge. And that is to make a break in the fellowship.

Instead, we're to receive them because notice at the end of verse three, he says, for God has received him. And so we're not to cast out. We're not to reject. We're not to, you know, not fellowship, not have a relationship with other believers who believe differently about various things, about non-essential things, because God has received them. God's taken this person to himself.

If they believe in Jesus Christ, they're received by God. He's their companion. They're his companion. He's taken them by the hand and received them into his home. He's granted them access into his heart and into his presence. And so if God is relating to them in this way, well, then you and I are to relate to one another in this way as well. God does not despise those who are believers in Jesus. He doesn't. There's no believer in Jesus that God despises.

And so there should be no believers in Jesus that you or I despise as well. Now, God does judge people because he is the one who judges.

is equipped to evaluate the heart. He knows the heart, but he doesn't judge in the sense of, you know, well, let's just get rid of them. He judges in the sense of, okay, well, let's work on this. And he's working in people's lives. And so he's equipped to judge in a way that we are not. But he doesn't judge them in the sense of kicking them out, casting them away because they may be right or wrong about certain things.

And so Paul is telling us here, because of the gospel, because of what Christ has done for us, we're not to despise or judge one another. Instead, we are to receive the people that God has received. The commentator A.M. Hunter says this, "'Christian history, alas, shows numerous examples "'of people utterly earnest about non-essentials "'who have felt at liberty to break the unity of the church "'for the sake of their particular fetish.'"

There's been examples throughout history of people who are all fired up. They're utterly earnest about non-essentials. And I think it's interesting the way he says this. They felt at liberty to break the unity of the church. Amen.

None of us have that freedom. There might be a lot of freedoms that we have in Christ, but we don't have the freedom to break the unity of the body of Christ. And so we need to be careful that we receive the people that God has received. God has received them, so how dare we despise one that God has received? How dare we judge and divide and cast out one that God has received?

Well, he continues to deal with this subject in verses 4 through 9. And here we have point number 2. And that is that we belong to the Lord. To help us deal with these issues, we need to understand that we all belong to the Lord as believers in Jesus. That we are His. We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus. He purchased us and we gave our lives to Him. So we belong to the Lord. Verse 4 goes on to say this.

And so Paul asks an important question. Who are you to judge?

Now again, as we talk about judging, we're talking about the heart. We're not talking about actions. In fact, in Romans chapter 16 and verse 17, Paul's going to tell the people of Rome, hey, note those who cause divisions and offenses and avoid them. And so there is to be divisions whenever the behavior is against, you know, the scriptures or contrary to the scriptures. And so

actions can be evaluated and actions should be evaluated. Paul says, note those who cause divisions and offenses. But when it comes to judging, we're not to judge the heart. We're not capable of understanding and knowing the motivations and what's happening within a person as they do the things that they do. And Paul's point here is that it's not our place to judge other believers. Not only are we not equipped to do so, but we're not their master.

We're not the boss. They're not accountable to us. So we cannot know what they should or should not be doing. We're not their master. God is their master. And so he's the one who knows what they should be doing and what they should not be doing. And notice what he says at the end of verse four. He will be made to stand for God is able to make him stand. God's at work in this, Paul says. That servant that you judge, that's not your servant, right?

That's God's servant. He's the master. And he's at work in them. He's going to make them stand because they're his child. And he will finish the work that he began in them. God can make them stand. So let God work out those things. You may even be right in what you would come to or the judgment that you would conclude. You might be right in

But it's really not any of your business. It's above your pay grade. It's somebody else's servant. Even if you were right, you don't have the right to judge them. In verse 5, he goes on to give an example. He says, And so there are those who say Sunday is the day to worship God. And others say, no, Saturday is the day to worship God.

You should celebrate this holiday. You should not celebrate that holiday. You know, there's some, as we just finished October and are now in November, there are those who would say you should never do anything on Halloween. It's Satan's day. You know, you should not participate in that in any way. Or others say, well, no, it is a dark day, but we should participate so that we can shine the light

Some people say, you know, Christmas, December 25th, that's not the day that Jesus was really born, so you shouldn't celebrate that. It's a pagan holiday, and so instead, you know, you should do something different, and we could go back and forth. In their days, again, you know, people coming from the Jewish background, there was all the feasts that were associated with the Jewish calendar and the Sabbath day, and there was all kinds of discussion and debate about how involved Christians were to be in those things, right?

Now the point is there's going to be a variety of perspectives and that's okay. It's okay for people to have different feelings and different perspectives on which days are important and which days are just like any other day. What Paul says in verse 5 is let each be fully convinced in his own mind. So you work out with the Lord what he wants for you.

And you come to a place where you can be at peace with what God wants for you. And that's all that you need to be concerned with. It shouldn't be something that's bothersome for you or something that you divide over if someone has a different opinion about different days or different, you know, opportunities to worship or different days where you shouldn't worship or should worship or

He goes on to give some more examples. He says, He says, He says, He says,

negotiates these things and wrestles with these things and comes to a conclusion about these things between them and the Lord and they do that for the Lord. And so it's appropriate for one person to say, hey, I don't do anything on Halloween because I really want to honor the Lord. And at the same time, the person next to them can say, I do stuff on Halloween because I really want to honor the Lord.

And you say, well, they can't both be right. Paul says, well, don't even worry about that. You don't have to make everybody fit to your mold or your image or your decisions. It's okay to have different opinions. It's okay to have variety because we belong to the Lord. And it's okay that one person doesn't do anything to honor the Lord and another person does stuff to honor the Lord.

Well, I worship God on Saturday because I love God. And then the person next to you, I worship God on Sunday because I love God. And that's okay. That's appropriate. There's no problem there. One person says, I'm a vegetarian and I thank God for my vegetables. And I say, I'm a carnivore and I thank God for my meats. And that's appropriate. It's okay to have different opinions and different convictions. Because the point is, well, we do it either way,

It's our attempt. It's the decisions that we've made to honor the Lord and walk with the Lord. And so let each be fully convinced in his own mind. All you need to be concerned with is you and your condition or your standing between you and God about these things. In verse 7 through 9, he goes on to say,

Here Paul goes on to say, look, none of us lives to himself. None of us, our life is just about us. And none of us, our death is just about us. If we live, it's to the Lord. If we die, it's to the Lord. Because Christ died.

died and rose again. So now he is the Lord of both the dead and the living. And so we are the Lord's either way. We don't live to ourselves. We've been purchased by the Lord. We've given ourselves to the Lord. We are the Lord's. And because we are the Lord's, that means a few things. It means that he is working in us. So that even when we come to incorrect conclusions, he's working in us.

Even when we have bad opinions, he's working in us. We're a work in progress. He's not done with us. And he will bring us to completion, Philippians 1 promises us. He will finish the work in us. But in the meantime, he's working in us. And so we're not all on our own in these things. God's at work. Now, another thing it means that we are the Lord's is that he is the judge. And so again, we're going to stand before him. To our own master, we stand or fall.

And our responsibility is to be concerned with, well, we're going to stand before God. We're going to stand before our master. He's the judge. And so where do I stand with him? And what does he say to me about these areas of my life? But it also means we are the Lord's also means that we make choices and we live this life to honor him. Even if that looks different for different people, we're living our lives to honor him. And so do not despise or judge because of the gospel.

Because we belong to the Lord. He, there upon the cross, purchased with his own blood. He purchased us. We belong to the Lord. We're his. And we're going to stand before him. And so we belong to the Lord. We don't have to worry about everybody else. But you be convinced in your own mind where you stand with the Lord and what he wants in all of these non-essential areas. Well, going on to verses 10 through 13, we have point number three here.

It says, or the point is, each of us shall give account to God. So again, as we stand before God, as he is our master and a servant falls, stands or falls, you know, before the master, that's where we will be. We will stand before God and we will each give account to God of our own lives. Verse 10, but why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Now, as he talks about the judgment seat of Christ...

This is not the judgment seat where, you know, sin is judged. It's not a punishment for sin. This is the judgment seat of Christ that Paul talks about also in 1 Corinthians 5, talking about the giving of rewards or also the loss of reward. And the picture that the scriptures paint for us is that we will stand before God to give account of our lives, right?

And we will be rewarded for the things that we did well, according to what God has given to us and required of us. But then also there will be the loss of reward. There'll be the loss of what could have been because our hearts were wrong, our motivations were wrong, or we flat out didn't do what God asked us to do. And so we will stand before God. That's clear. We will stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

So picture that for just a moment. There is a day in the future where you will stand before the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and give account for your life. You'll be given the opportunity to explain why you did what you did. You'll be given the opportunity to explain why you treated other believers the way that you treated them. And so that's why Paul asked the question here in verse 10, why do you judge your brother or why do you show contempt?

Why are you despising other believers? Why are you judging other believers? Because you will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. In other words, stop worrying so much about them. You're going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. You're going to have to give an account for the way that you behaved and the way that you treated one another. Now, it's interesting how we can get so caught up in what we think other people should do. And we can easily despise and judge other people because

Without the thought that we're going to have to give an account for our despising and our judging of other people. It reminded me of the religious leaders and how they treated Jesus. Consider this example in John chapter 5 verse 16. Jesus had just done a miracle and healed a man. And here it tells us that for this reason, because Jesus did this healing, the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill him because he'd done these things on the Sabbath.

Now consider what's happening here. Jesus does a miracle. He heals someone. And they say that's wrong to do on the Sabbath. But it's perfectly acceptable to hate someone and plot their murder on the Sabbath. That's okay. You could do that. We're going to do that because he did a healing on the Sabbath. You see the absurdity there, right? And yet that's how we can be so many times. We're judging and despising someone else all the while forgetting that

we're going to stand before God and give an account for our judging and despising of that person. It's just as absurd as these religious leaders who, they were furious about the Sabbath. They thought it was so important, but that they were willing to be filled with hatred and to plot murder on the Sabbath. That's okay to do, but to heal, oh, no, no, that's wrong.

Here's the point that I would say that Paul is making. There's enough in my life for me to be concerned with as I prepare to stand before the Lord. I don't need to be concerned with everybody else's life in these non-essential areas, in these areas that are not specifically addressed in the scriptures. It's none of my business. And you know what? Hey, there's enough for me. I'm going to have to stand before God and give an account. So I better be focused on that. And I better let God work in my life because I'm going to have to stand before God and give an account.

I'm going to have to stand before him. And again, picture that day. You're standing before the Lord, and he's going to ask, why did you treat this person that way? Why did you deal in this way? Why did you despise or judge in this way? And I need to let God work in my heart. I need to let God deal with me because there's enough for God to do in me that I don't need to be worried about other people.

In verse 11, he says, for it is written, as I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God. So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. It's clear. It's written. You're going to bow to God and you're going to confess to God. Not just that Jesus Christ is Lord, but he says you're going to give an account of yourself. How did you do with what God gave you? How did you do with what God called you to do? How did you do with what God forbade you to do?

How did you live in response to God's work in your life? We will all give an account to God of that. And there will be no hiding behind anything. No excuses that will work. I was at Farmer Boys earlier today. And every day, well, every weekday, around like between 2.30 and 3.30, kids get out of school.

And they come through the area. And one of the routines is a bunch of kids go into Pharma Boys, and they ask for water glasses. Now, if you're a kid, and you go to a place, and you ask for a cup for water, and then you go to the machine that has all the variety of drinks--

What do you think you do as a kid? You just get whatever soda or whatever you want, right? And that's what the kids always do. And so recently what they started doing was they take the key and they actually turn off the soda machine and they just give them a cup of water. But today they didn't do that. And so there was a couple of kids who were sitting there. They had their water glasses, but they were filled with, it was very clear that they were not water, that they were drinking. And so the owner came and talked to them and said, hey, you know,

This is not water in your cups. There's only supposed to be water in these cups. It's not right what you're doing. And it was interesting to watch because the kid he's addressing is like a little bit freaked out. And he points to the other kid. Well, he told me it's OK. And so it must be OK. Now, we know, of course, the kid knew.

He went and asked for a water cup and then put something besides water in the cup. Yeah, we know. But he's pointing and saying, like, you know, making excuses, trying to pass the blame. Listen, we're all going to stand before God and give an account of ourselves to God. And there's not going to be an opportunity for us to say, hey, it's Richard's fault. Richard told me it was okay to despise and judge people like this. Or I wasn't going to be that way. I wouldn't be so despising if Richard wouldn't have been so terrible. Then now I despise him because he's so terrible.

Just picking on Richard because he's right there and easy to pick on. But you get the point that there's no excusing it. We can't excuse our behavior. We can't excuse the things that we're doing wrong when we stand before God to give an account of ourselves. God says, hey, why did you despise my beloved child? Well, you know, God, they insisted that the rapture happens at the end of the tribulation. And that's just terrible. And so they were stupid. And so what was I supposed to do but despise them? That's not acceptable to God.

We're going to stand before God to give an account. And so do not be despising or judging one another. In verse 13, he goes on to say, therefore, let us not judge one another anymore. So, okay, you've probably done it, but not anymore. He says, let's not do this anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way. Judging isn't our business and it's wrong and we'll give an account for it. So stop it. Maybe you used to do it.

Maybe you've been doing it up to this point. But he says, therefore, let us not judge one another anymore. Instead, let's focus on not being a hindrance to other people. Now again, with this idea, we're going to stand before God to give an account. God's going to say, why did you put that stumbling block there in front of that person? That was my child. I was helping them to grow. And you tripped them up. And so Paul says, with this in mind, we're going to stand before God to give an account of ourselves. Here, let's change our focus.

Not on judging them or, you know, despising them, but instead let's focus on not causing other people to stumble. Let's focus on not putting something in their way that would cause them to fall because, well, I don't want to stand before God and have to explain why I messed up somebody else's life. So there's enough, again, for us to consider of our own selves. We don't have to be despising and judging others over their conditions because I'm going to have to give an account of myself to God.

And I don't want to stand before God and have to explain why I messed up somebody else's life. Paul continues that thought in verses 14 through 18. Here's point number four. Do not destroy one for whom Christ died. This gets pretty heavy. I mean, here's what we got to consider and think about. We're going to have to give an account and

And we don't want to stand there before God and be the one who's responsible for bringing destruction into the life of one who Jesus died for. He loved them so much, he paid for them with his own life. Verse 14, he says, I know and I'm convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself. But to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. Paul says, okay, look, regarding the food,

There is nothing that's unclean. The food is acceptable. Food is just food. It's not a spiritual issue. Jesus himself taught this in Matthew chapter 15, when the religious leaders were all freaked out because Jesus or his disciples didn't wash their hands in the ceremonial way before they ate. And Jesus corrected them. He says, look, don't you understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then it's eliminated?

That doesn't defile a person. But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart. Murder and anger and hatred. And those things defile a person. So food is just food. It's not a spiritual issue. But then Paul goes on to say, however, to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. So even though, here's what the Lord says, food is just food. It's not a spiritual issue. If you have a strong conviction about a particular food and you say,

that's unclean. It's not right for me to partake of that food. Then to you, it is unclean. And so for you, it is an issue. If you have an issue with a particular food, for you, it is an issue. And that's okay. It's okay. God gives room for us to have personal convictions about, again, Paul's using the example of food, but you can use

Any other example that's a non-essential, any other area that's not specifically addressed in the scriptures. In verse 15, he goes on to say, yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. So Paul is saying here, for that person, it's an issue because it's unclean to them. And so now, if that brother is grieved because of your food, well, then you're not walking in love.

Now, notice here that Paul is talking about destroyed lives. And so I think we need to make a distinction. He's not talking about where people are just disagreeing or even upset. You can think about Jesus. He had no problem offending the religious leaders. And so there's that idea of, you know, offending people that, you know, we're not supposed to do. But that's not just talking about where there's a difference of opinion or even that people get upset. Right?

What Paul's addressing here is that we must be careful not to cause people to violate their own conscience or to engage in behavior that can destroy them. Now, again, as he's talking about food,

Some of them were coming from a Jewish background, and so they had the kosher laws, the dietary laws. There was also in that day the issue of meat that was sacrificed to idols, and that was a big contention amongst believers. Paul deals with that in 1 Corinthians 8, where he talks about the importance of meat.

understanding and considering how this affects other people. In 1 Corinthians 8, verse 10, he says,

Now, it was a good deal in those days to eat the meat that was sacrificed to idols. The meat was cheaper if it was already sacrificed to an idol. And so, you know, people would go and there would be like a little dining room at the temple or where they were offering the sacrifices to this idol. And so you could have a meal there and the meat would be cheaper because it was already used in a sacrifice to an idol. And Paul's making the point in 1 Corinthians 10, hey, it's just meat. It's just food. It's okay to eat. However...

If someone sees you there in that dining room and they see you eating this meat and they know, hey, this meat was sacrificed to an idol, even though you have knowledge and it's okay, you know, the Lord doesn't see you differently. But then that weaker brother is emboldened to eat those things offered to idols. And he goes on in the next verse of 1 Corinthians 8 to say, and because of your knowledge shall the weaker brother perish for whom Christ died.

And so the idea here is now this brother that was weaker is offended by you eating this

Meat that was offered to idols. And that doesn't just mean that it upset them or that they were angry about it or confused about it or perplexed about it. It means that it encouraged them and they began to eat that meat as well and violate their own conscience. They began to perhaps even going on, you know, deal with and get into idolatry because, well, you kind of encouraged them. They saw you do it and so it emboldened them to violate their own conscience. Right?

And that's what Paul is addressing here as he's talking about offenses, as he's talking about grieving your brother. He says, if you're doing this, you're no longer walking in love. So an example that might be more up to date, more current for us. If a person has a personal conviction, you know, it's not right for me to drink alcohol, for me to have an alcoholic beverage. Now, the scripture is very clear about alcohol. What's forbidden is drunkenness. That is forbidden. That is sinful.

But alcohol by itself is not strictly forbidden. And so that leaves a variety of opinions and people stand on all kinds of sides. And so if you decide, hey, it's okay for me to have a drink. I'm not going to be drunk. I'm not going to engage in, you know, all of those things that come with that. So I'm going to go ahead and have a drink. But now this other person who has a conviction, I can never have alcohol, sees you having a drink of alcohol. And then they begin to wonder, well, maybe it is okay.

Now, if God's told them it's not okay, and now they're wondering if it is okay, maybe it emboldens them to violate their own conscience, to start drinking themselves, and they have different levels of tolerance. They have different levels of control, and it could lead to a destruction of life as a result.

That's the idea here that Paul is trying to get across. You're no longer walking in love if the things that you're doing is encouraging people and helping people to violate their own conscience and engage in things that destroy their lives. The commentator Thomas Constable says, if your behavior regarding these things is creating spiritual problems for another Christian, your conduct is not loving.

So that's what Paul is saying. Don't destroy one for whom Christ died by engaging in some personal conviction or liberty that you have that could potentially bring destruction or harm to another who has different convictions from the Lord. In verse 16, he goes on to say, therefore, do not let your good be spoken of as evil.

You have freedoms in Christ, that's good. But if you exercise that freedom in a way that could potentially destroy another believer, then that freedom will be spoken of as evil. And so he says, don't let your good be spoken of as evil. That doesn't mean go correct everybody who says bad things about the freedoms that you have. But it's the idea of exercising those freedoms in a way that doesn't bring evil.

issues or harm to other believers. Verse 17, for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. These are not issues for us to really wrestle over. This is not what the kingdom of God is about, whether or not you can eat or drink. That's not what the kingdom of God is about. The kingdom of God is about righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

So let's not get sidetracked. Let's not allow our behavior to derail the important truths of the gospel and of the kingdom of God. These things are side issues. They're not essential. They're not important. Do not destroy one for whom Christ died by insisting on behaving in ways that cause others to stumble.

to turn away from things that they know God has called them to do. In verse 18, he says, for he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men. Here's how we're to serve God, with righteousness, peace, and joy. Let's focus on those things. And if we focus on those things and we serve God in righteousness, peace, and joy by the Holy Spirit, he says we're acceptable to God and approved by men.

We'll be engaged in things that are not negotiable. We'll be engaged in things that are approved by all rather than being in this area of potentially destroying someone else for whom Christ died. And so we're to care for one another in this way and serve one another in this way by engaging and enjoying our freedoms, but in a way that does not cause others to violate their own conscience or convictions or to engage in things that could destroy their lives.

Offenses are not just when people get upset or disagree with you. It's about convincing them, emboldening them to violate the things that God has given to them. We must be careful not to cause people to violate their conscience or engage in behavior that will destroy them. Going on into verses 19 through 23, we have point number five, and that is pursue peace and edification. So here's what we are to do.

Pursue peace. Verse 19 says, therefore, let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. So Paul says, therefore, because of what's at stake, because of the things that could destroy, the things that could potentially harm, because we're going to have to stand before God and give an account for those things, here's what we should be focusing on. Pursue peace, the things which make for peace, and the things by which we may edify another.

one another. Don't get caught up and consumed with all the things that shouldn't be done or couldn't be done or maybe, you know, you shouldn't be doing, but focus on the things that you should be doing. Pursue peace and edification. A lot of these things that we're dealing with as we talk about non-essentials are cultural things. They're not spiritual issues.

And so they change. Again, in Paul's day, you know, dealing with Jews who were converting to Christianity, there was their culture, their upbringing, their background that they brought into the Christian faith that caused these types of concerns and discussions.

The city of Corinth, you know, they had their own culture. And so then Paul had to deal with a bunch of things that were specific to the Corinthian church. And so one of the things that we often look to as a cultural thing is the head coverings for the ladies that Paul deals with in 1 Corinthians chapter 11. And that was specific to them and their time and their culture. And he makes that clear. Throughout the age of the church, there's been different things that

Because of the different cultures and the society and the place where, you know, the church was at the time, different things, you know, became hot topics and issues for people to stress out over and despise one another and judge one another over. And so, of course, you know, there's a lot of things like that. You might remember, you know, kind of looking back a little bit, there was the times, if you've been around the Lord for a while, where people

That rock was just like, that was of the devil. And, you know, there could never be anything such as Christian rock. That was, you know, because that tempo, I remember these arguments from when I was a kid. That tempo, that's of the devil. You can't have that beat, you know, that beat is of the devil. There's no way that that could be used for godly purposes or used by the Lord and so on and so forth. And that was a hot topic and there was all kinds of things. It was a non-essential. Right?

Back in the day, you know, playing poker or gambling, you know, that was like, that was taboo, forbidden. If you did that, for sure you're going to hell. You could not be saved. Tattoos, another thing, right? It's cultural. People get all freaked out and worked up over these things, drinking and gambling and music and holidays and all of these things. And they're really cultural issues, right?

I would say even the subject of drinking alcohol that I mentioned earlier, that is largely a cultural issue. That is more of an issue here in the States than it is elsewhere because there's different cultures and it's perceived differently. It's handled differently. There's different backgrounds that we bring into the Christian walk and it brings in all of these strong opinions and despising and judgments along that goes with it. And so who gets to decide?

Who gets to decide which things could stumble other believers and which things don't? Who gets to make that decision? Well, this is a real issue. You know, this is something that could cause someone to stumble. Who gets to make that decision? Well, let me just tell you, I do. And for $9.95, you can subscribe to my newsletter and I'll give you regular updates about what is forbidden. No, of course, I'm being silly.

It's interesting. If you think about that long enough, we can get caught up in despising and judging people who have different views about what stumbling blocks there might be. Not just about a particular stumbling block, but what's the list? What's on the list? What are these things? And here's what Paul's saying. Don't focus on that. Spend your attention. Invest yourself in things that can bring peace and edify others. What can you do?

to help give people peace, to help bring peace between people? What can you do to promote unity and unite believers together? How can you build bridges and connect with others? How can you build up and edify other believers? He says, pursue those things. Let those things consume you. But so many times we get consumed by the wrong things. We get focused and sidetracked on things that

That's what we've been talking about. It's none of our business. It's above our pay grade. They stand before their own master. Let's not get consumed with that, but don't get consumed with all the things that maybe you could think about some potential harm to somebody. And so, well, I can't do that. I can't do that. I can't do that. I can't do that. And you become now legalistic. No, just focus yourself and give yourself to the things that contribute to peace, that contribute to others being built up in the faith. Verse 20, do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food.

So again, he says, hey, all things are pure. You have great freedom in Christ, but it's evil if someone does it with offense. It violates their conscience. It violates the convictions that God has given to them.

freedoms in Christ are great, but to violate your own conscience is not good. And so we should not encourage or embolden others to violate their conscience, to violate things that God has placed upon their hearts, or maybe they just have it upon their heart because they are weak. They don't have much faith. Maybe they're younger in the faith. Maybe they don't know as well. God hasn't revealed that to them. And so we shouldn't be the ones pushing them. No, it's okay. You can engage in this. He says, it's not good to do anything wrong.

by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. Causes them to violate their conscience, to turn away from things that God has put upon their heart or that they believe God wants for them. In verse 22, "'Do you have faith? "'Have it to yourself before God. "'Happy is he who does not condemn himself "'in what he approves. "'But he who doubts is condemned if he eats "'because he does not eat from faith. "'For whatever is not from faith is sin.'" "'Do you have faith?' Paul says."

Have it to yourself. Have it to yourself before God. Again, let each be convinced in their own conscience, in their own mind. You and God, you can work out the freedoms that you have in Christ and the things that are allowed and you can participate in and you can work those things out and you have that freedom between yourself and God. And that's totally fine. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.

The things that you engage in, if you can engage in those things and not condemn yourself and not go, oh, that probably wasn't too good. I shouldn't have done that. If you can live in a way where you don't have those kinds of regrets, great. You're happy. Have faith between you and God, and that's fine. But he who doubts, he says, is condemned if he eats. I don't know if this is right. And so I'm eating it, but I feel bad about it because I don't know if it's right.

Paul says he's condemned. Not that God condemns him, but he's condemning himself because he doesn't eat from faith. He doesn't do this in obedience to God or trusting in God. And he says, whatever is not from faith is sin. It's sin to do things that you can't do with a surety and know, hey, I'm doing this because of what God has done for me. And I want to honor him and I want to love him. I'm doing this in response to what he's done for me. Do you have faith? Have it to yourself.

You have some freedom in Christ, that's great. Don't let that become a stumbling block for others. Don't let that become something that divides you from others. Instead, receive the one that God has received. God has received them, so don't despise them if they think differently. Don't judge them if they behave differently. Receive them, because God has received them. We belong to the Lord.

And so he's working in us. He's the judge. We're going to stand before him. And so we're making decisions in our lives as believers to honor him. And even if that looks different in each of our lives, that's okay. We don't have to all look the same. We belong to the Lord. And it's okay for that to look differently in our lives. But each of us will give an account to God. And there's enough in my life. There's enough for me to be concerned about. There's enough for God to do in my life and for me to present to him in my heart, for me to prepare to stand before God.

And for sure, I don't want to stand before God and have to explain why I messed up somebody else. I'm sure that I will have to explain that. I'm sure that I will have those occasions. But I want to be careful not to destroy one for whom Christ died. We need to be careful not to cause people to violate their conscience or engage in behavior that can destroy them. Instead, we need to pursue peace and edification. Seek out the things that build up, that unite, that can bless others in the Lord.

Jesus told us in John chapter 13, verse 35, that the world will know that we're his disciples by our love for one another. And that's the kind of the summary of all of this is that if we love one another, we're not going to despise or judge one another. We're well known for our despising and our judging, but Jesus says we should be well known for our loving of one another.

And if we love one another, we're going to do our best to not put a stumbling block. We're not going to try to make people violate their conscience. We're not going to do things that could be potentially hazardous in their lives if they, you know, observe us engaging in whatever freedom or liberty that we have in Christ. We're going to be careful because we love them. And our love for one another should be the theme, should be the thing that we're known for. So let's make sure we focus on that.

Pursue peace. Pursue edification out of love for one another. God has received that brother, that sister in the Lord. So you receive them. Love them. Build them up. Have a good relationship with them because Christ died for them. Let's pray. Lord, we pray that you would help us. We can easily come to very strong opinions about, well, a whole lot of things in our lives. But Lord, help us to have an awareness and an understanding that

Our opinion doesn't have to be everybody else's opinion. And we don't have to make everybody else believe what we believe. Lord, I pray that you would help in these areas that are non-essentials, that are not clear in your word, that are not specifically addressed. Help us, God, to understand that and to be okay having different opinions, having different perspectives. Lord, that it wouldn't divide us, that it wouldn't keep us from loving one another, from having fellowship together, from building each other up, from

loving one another the way that you love us. And so, Lord, I pray that you would help us to be known for our love, help us to be known for our edification and our building up. And I pray that you would help us to be aware. Open our eyes, Lord. If there's areas where we are causing others to stumble,

where we are doing things that would be offensive, Lord, that would cause people to violate their conscience or to turn away from things that you've put upon their hearts. Lord, help us. Show us those things that we might put a stop to that, Lord, that we might instead pursue peace and edification. Lord, help us to love one another and build each other up. In Jesus' name, amen.

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