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Romans 14
14:1 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2 One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master1 that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess2 to God.”
12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
20 Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.3 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.16:25–27</note>">4
[1] 14:4
[2] 14:11
[3] 14:21
[4] 14:23
(ESV)
Redeemer exists to celebrate and declare the gospel of God as we grow in knowing and following Jesus Christ.
All right, so we are going to continue our study of Paul's letter to the Roman church. And we're gonna be in Romans chapter 14 today. Romans chapter 14. Joel and I were talking about it on Monday. And, he said, you know, you don't have to go through every verse of chapter 14, but I will be starting chapter 15 next Sunday.
Jeffrey Heine:So, we're about to go through every verse of chapter 14. So buckle in. We are gonna be going a little bit faster than normal because of that. We got a lot of ground to cover. But, you're gonna wanna have your bible or your worship guide.
Jeffrey Heine:Your worship guide is gonna have the translation that I'm gonna be working my way through. And then hold on for some multimedia. It's gonna be up on the screen. So be sure to fill out your comment cards at the end and let us know what a terrible decision that is. No.
Jeffrey Heine:I I want you to be able to track it. I want you to be tracking along because we got a lot of ground to cover and there is so much richness in this text and I don't want you to miss it. I'm gonna begin by reading, just 3 verses from chapter 14 as we begin our time together. So let's look together at Romans chapter 14 beginning in verse 15. And let us listen carefully, for this is God's word.
Jeffrey Heine:For if on account of food, your brother or sister is distressed, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy that person for whom Christ died in preference to your food. Do not, therefore, let the good thing that is yours become the object of slander. For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For the one who serves Christ in this is pleasing to God and respected among people.
Jeffrey Heine:So then, let us pursue peaceful things and things that edify one another. This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray together. Father, we gather today in the midst of a broken and painful world where war and terror and hatred and disease appear to be prevailing, but we know otherwise. We came this morning knowing, believing, and confessing together that Christ is King and His kingdom is coming.
Jeffrey Heine:So, Spirit, lead us to truth this morning that we who believe might hope in Christ all the more and that all who do not believe would find rest and forgiveness and joy in believing in Christ today. So speak, Lord, for your servants are listening. We pray this in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. About 25 years ago, doctor Deborah Tannen, professor of linguistics at Georgetown University, published a book called The Argument Culture.
Jeffrey Heine:And in her book, which unfortunately has only increased in its relevance, Tannen wrote this quote, in the argument culture, criticism, attack, or opposition are the predominant, if not only, ways of responding to people and ideas, end quote. This escalation of arguing in our culture has not resulted in increased resolution. Just because we are arguing more in our culture doesn't mean that we are resolving more issues. Hardly. But why?
Jeffrey Heine:Tanner writes this, quote, with most arguments, little is resolved, worked out, or achieved when 2 people get angrier and less rational by the minute. When you are having an argument with someone, you're usually not trying to understand what the other person is saying or what in their experience leads them to say it. Instead, you are just readying your response, end quote. Because this is our prevailing culture, it is fundamental for those of us who are followers of Jesus to know how to handle disagreement in various relational settings. In our workplaces, in our neighborhoods, in our friendships, in our marriages, we have to figure out a way to handle disagreements.
Jeffrey Heine:I talk about this when I do premarital counseling. The goal is not to never disagree. The only way that you never fight is when you don't tell the truth. And if you tell the truth of what you really think, what you really feel, what you really want, then you're going to have conflict. You will fight.
Jeffrey Heine:And the key is to figure out how to have conflict that is still loving, patient, listening, and humble. I love it when, a newly engaged couple comes to my office for premarital counseling And when the topic of conflict comes up, they say, well, you know, we've really never had an argument before. It's adorable. I also take it as a challenge. If they will both promise to be completely honest for 5 minutes, then I can get them fighting in 3.
Jeffrey Heine:Honesty makes conflict happen. And honesty is what makes conflict really an opportunity for connection, for deep meaningful connection. And so, in the church, what do we do when we have disagreements with our brothers and sisters? What do we do when we have sharp differences of opinion? When we sincerely hold divergent convictions?
Jeffrey Heine:What do we do when our honesty leads to conflict? Well, that's what we're gonna look at today. We're gonna look at what the Apostle Paul has to say to the Roman Christians about differences of opinion and conviction. And Paul has a lot to say here, and we're gonna take a look at all of it. But we're gonna break it down into 2 sections.
Jeffrey Heine:The first section is gonna be verses 1 through 12. That's gonna be the welcoming the week section. And then part 2, verses 13 through 23, walking in love. A bit of a reminder of the backstory. You know, we've been in this study for a long time, so just kinda rewinding the tape a little bit.
Jeffrey Heine:25 years before Paul wrote this letter to the Roman church, Jesus believing Jews made their way after Pentecost from Jerusalem to Rome and established a new church. And in time, Roman gentiles began to follow Jesus too. And they joined in with these believing Israelites in the Roman congregation. But not long after that church started, the Roman emperor Claudius expelled the Jewish families from the city, of Rome. And that left the gentile Christians to lead the congregation until slowly, the Jewish Christians started to return.
Jeffrey Heine:But when they returned, the differences between the gentile Christians and the Israelite Christians were more striking than ever. And these differences began to produce conflict. And here, after 13 chapters, Paul is ready to address it. Throughout Chapter 14, Paul will bring up points of conflict, issues. And then, he will give instructions, directives.
Jeffrey Heine:And then, often he will give an explanation of why. Why behind the directive. And then, Paul will offer principles. What I'll call kingdom ethics that can be applied to more than just the issue at hand, but applied to our context today. We're gonna move through this entire text and and and we will be, as I said, going a little bit faster than usual.
Jeffrey Heine:So let's dig in together. In verse 1, Paul lays out the first issue of conflict. Now, he says, now welcome the person who is weak in faith, but not with the result of divisions caused by arguments. One person believes in such a way that he or she eats everything. But the weak person eats vegetables.
Jeffrey Heine:Paul is saying concerning this issue, there are 2 groups within the Roman church, the weak in faith and the strong in faith. And He addresses the strong in faith by commending them to welcome in those who are weaker in faith. But the aim of that welcome, the aim of that hospitality, that inviting kindness, the aim of this welcoming should not be to argue, to quarrel. Paul says, welcome these weaker brothers and sisters, but not with the result of quarreling over opinions. And then, Paul gets specific about what opinions are dividing the weaker and the stronger among them.
Jeffrey Heine:The stronger in faith believe they can eat anything. And this follows the teaching of Jesus that we see recorded in in Mark chapter 7 when when Jesus declared that all foods were clean. And the strong believe this and they eat accordingly. The weaker brothers and sisters, Paul says, only eat vegetables. Now this isn't an argument about vegetarianism.
Jeffrey Heine:It has to do with the Israelite Christians still holding to the ceremonial laws regarding food. These Jewish Christians were still upholding the laws regarding how food was prepared, the kosher laws, and and laws regarding meat and wine that was used for idol worship and then sold in the markets. It was common that if you were in the marketplace and you were buying goods there, there's a chance that it had been used, unbeknownst to you, in some idol worship and then sold off in the market. And so, these Israelite Christians were refusing to eat of that food. So that's the divide between the stronger and the weaker.
Jeffrey Heine:The stronger make up the majority in that church community. They have their belief in the freedom to eat from all foods. And they've got Jesus' teaching. They've got this theological accuracy behind them to support their position. And that's what makes them stronger.
Jeffrey Heine:The weak, however, are not legalistic. They do not think that they are gaining salvation from their continued observance of the food laws. And that's an important distinction to make. If they thought that they were earning God's grace and salvation through that obedience, that would be legalism and that would be sin. But, they are seeking to worship God in the customs that they know.
Jeffrey Heine:That is why Paul is not coming down on the weaker people and calling them unbelievers. He's not accusing them of sin. In fact, he does not begin by speaking to the weak on this issue. He begins by addressing the strong. And after describing the issue at hand, Paul turns to give a directive and instruction to the community.
Jeffrey Heine:And you'll be able to pick out as we make our way through this passage, you'll be able to pick out the directives because you'll see the word let in the verse. Verse 3. Let the one who eats not hold the one who does not eat in contempt. And let the one who does not eat not judge the one who eats, for God has welcomed him or her. Contempt and judgment.
Jeffrey Heine:Those are the real issues at hand. Paul offers his first directive. He says to the strong, don't hold the weak in contempt. That means ridicule or hatred. Just because the weaker refrain from certain foods, don't ridicule them.
Jeffrey Heine:And then He speaks to the weaker brothers and sisters and says, let the one who abstains from food not judge the one who eats the meat and drinks wine from the markets. He goes on to say to the weaker ones that god has welcomed the strong, which in this case is primarily made up of Gentiles. He's saying to the weaker ones, god has welcomed these brothers and sisters. And so you welcome them too by not judging them. So to tidy up the instructions here, Paul is saying to the strong, do not ridicule or despise your brothers and sisters who abstain from foods.
Jeffrey Heine:To the weaker believers, do not cast judgment on your brothers and sisters who do eat from the market. To the strong believers, welcome the weaker brothers and sisters, but not to argue. To the weaker believers, these strong brothers and sisters were welcomed by God. Do the same. Paul goes on to give an illustration to help drive his point home.
Jeffrey Heine:Look with me in verse 4. Who are you, you who judge another's household servant? He or she stands or falls with respect to their own master, And that person will stand for the master is able to make them stand. Paul is asking, who do you think you are to judge the servant of another master? This isn't about you.
Jeffrey Heine:The master is in charge of his servant. And if the servant is earnestly seeking to serve their master, then it is not your business to judge how they serve. The master will judge them accordingly, not you. This is between the master and the servant. Next, Paul brings up a second issue of concern and conflict in Rome.
Jeffrey Heine:And again, it appears to be a conflict between the Jewish Christians and the gentile Christians. Look with me at Verse 5. One person chooses one day over another, but another person esteems everyday. And here we see a dispute over Sabbath worship. The Jewish Christians wanted to maintain the 7th day for their holy Sabbath worship, while the gentile Christians saw everyday as holy.
Jeffrey Heine:They can't agree on their service times. They couldn't agree on when their church services should happen. And I'm so glad that this got sorted out 2000 years ago. I still don't know what time our worship services are. They've changed so many times over the past 14 years.
Jeffrey Heine:I just show up in the morning and I stay till someone turns the lights out. So how does Paul sort this out? Paul offers his second directive, the end of verse 5. Let each person be fully convinced in his or her own mind. This is, once again, a very surprising approach to conflict.
Jeffrey Heine:Paul does not simply correct the weaker believers, but he calls for personal conviction. Paul offers a second directive. Let each person be fully convinced in his or her own mind. Paul is appealing to conscience. He's done this in other letters, particularly in his writing to the Corinthians.
Jeffrey Heine:It matters, Paul says, that you do not go against your conscience. In 18/93, there is a poet in New England named Sam Walter Foss, and he wrote a poem entitled The Calf Path. The poem is a story. It's a story of a young cow that makes its way through the woods cutting a new path home. And in the poem, after the calf makes the path, more animals begin to use it and then more animals over the years.
Jeffrey Heine:And over 100 of years, people on horseback begin to use it. And riding in covered wagons, they keep taking this long winding path of the cow until eventually it's paved. But the path is terrible. It's a crooked road. It takes 3 miles just to go 1 mile and the switchbacks make the travel even slower.
Jeffrey Heine:And yet, long after the cow has died, people keep following its crooked path. When we go against our conscience, we cut a new path in our minds and in our hearts. Paul knows the threat that comes from going against our conscience, our convictions, because it makes it easier and easier to go against conscience the next time and take that crooked path again and again until we pave the crooked path and it's just the way we go. Paul is cautioning the Roman Christians saying that when the issue at hand is not a matter of sin, when it is not a matter of disobeying God, then we must be very careful that we do not push our brothers and sisters to go against conscience. We must be very careful not to pass judgment on our brothers and sisters who by conviction are seeking to follow Jesus in the ways that might differ from our own.
Jeffrey Heine:And again, we are not talking about holding back from calling out sin. We have had 13 chapters where sin and obedience have been primary topics. Here, we are talking about opinions and convictions that are ultimately trying to honor Jesus and all that He has commanded, yet they play out and look different than our own. And Paul helps us to see this even clearer in the next verses. Look at verse 6.
Jeffrey Heine:The one who gives special regard to a particular day does so for the Lord. And the one who eats does so for the Lord. For he or she gives thanks to God. And the one who does not eat does so for the Lord. And he or she gives thanks to God.
Jeffrey Heine:Paul says, the weaker brothers and sisters who are still observing the Sabbath day in their traditions, they're doing so for the Lord. And just like the person who is stronger in the faith, they are eating freely from the market. And when they eat that meat and they drink that wine, they're doing it for the Lord. They give thanks to God for both food and drink. And the weaker person who does not eat from the market, but only eats vegetables, they do so for the Lord and they give thanks to God for their food.
Jeffrey Heine:This is key to understanding this passage and trying to apply these principles to our own lives today. The emphasis is not in the practice of abstaining or indulging. The emphasis is on the person's actions being unto the Lord with thanks to God. That's the key. Living for the Lord.
Jeffrey Heine:Paul goes on, verse 7. For no one lives to oneself and no one dies to oneself. For just as we live to the Lord, if we live, we also die to the Lord if we die. And then, if we live and if we die, we are the lords. For this is the reason Christ died and lived, that He might rule as Lord over both the dead and the living.
Jeffrey Heine:We are the Lord's. We belong to Him. So everything we do must be a living for Him, living unto Him, and living with thanksgiving to Him. And Paul says that even if we die, we belong to Him. We are His.
Jeffrey Heine:And if all that's true, then why would we despise and deride our brothers and sisters? Why would we argue and make conflict with judgment and hatred? Paul asks those questions again in verse 10. But you, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or you too, why do you hold your brother or sister in contempt?
Jeffrey Heine:For we all will stand before the tribunal of God. For it is written, as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before me and every tongue will praise God. That's from Isaiah 45. And Paul says, so each of us will give an account of himself or herself to God. Paul once again is calling both the stronger in faith and the weaker in faith to put their attention on their own obedience to Jesus.
Jeffrey Heine:The eating and the drinking is not the issue. Their judgment and contempt for one another, that is the sin at hand. And everyone, weak or strong, will have to give an account for their lives unto the Lord for how they treat their brothers and sisters in the faith. That's part 1, welcoming the weak. Part 2, walking in love.
Jeffrey Heine:In part 2, Paul will move to offer principles for living unto the Lord within the community of weaker and stronger brothers and sisters. And I, you heard me say before, I call this kingdom ethics. You might have heard me use that phrase before. I think it's helpful for us to see these principles as as these ethics, these new instructions for life in the Kingdom of God. Because some of them, in fact most of them, most of the Kingdom ethics are both counterintuitive and countercultural.
Jeffrey Heine:Counter to what we might knee jerk think in ourselves, and counter to what we will be told and seen modeled around us in the world. They are the new way of the kingdom. And again, we will try to move both carefully and quickly through each of these. Verse 13, the third directive. Therefore, let us no longer judge one another, but instead decide this, Not to place an obstacle or stumbling block in the way of a brother or sister.
Jeffrey Heine:The English doesn't really show this in its translation here, but Paul's kind of giving a play on words. Let us no longer pass judgment on one another, but instead let's pass this judgment that we would not cause our brothers or sisters to stumble. Let us resolve together not to put our brothers or sisters in positions of going against their conscience, and thereby harming their faith. This should be our judgment, to decide to look out for our brothers and sisters and not put any obstacles in their way. And Paul then wants to be clear about his own convictions, his own personal beliefs on this.
Jeffrey Heine:And he says that in verse 14. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is ceremonially impure in itself, but to the one who reckons something to be ceremonially impure, to that one, it is impure. You see, Paul knows that all food is clean. But if someone believes it is unclean and they break conscience and eat it anyway, then that food might as well have been unclean. It might as well have been forbidden.
Jeffrey Heine:Here, Paul gives a new kingdom ethic, a new principle to be applied. Verse 15. For if on account of food, your brother or sister is distressed, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy that person for whom Christ died in preference to your food. If your conviction is causing distress in your brother or sister, you are no longer walking in love.
Jeffrey Heine:When the Gentile Christians ate freely and had contempt for those who abstained, it harmed the faith of the weak. And when those who abstained told their brothers and sisters that they were not honoring God in their conduct, it harmed faith. Paul says do not destroy that person for whom Christ died, especially not out of preference to food. Do we still do this today? Do we take important but ultimately minor issues and destroy our brothers and sisters for whom Christ died, all in preference to our opinions?
Jeffrey Heine:I know we do because when I started typing up examples, I was nervous to actually say them out loud for fear of upsetting people. That's how I know we still do this. We do this with issues of politics, and race, and injustice, education, personal liberty, poverty, and wealth. And no matter the issue, no matter what side of a debate we might even find ourselves on, our pride and our ego calcify our opinions and make us stalwart, but unkind. Loud but unhearing.
Jeffrey Heine:Emphatic but without empathy. We shout down our weaker brothers and sisters and take comfort in knowing we are right. Some of you are too young to have lived through this, but others will easily recall. But for you younger folks, believe it or not, there was a stretch of time when one of the greatest turmoils in the American church, greatest causes of disagreement and disunity and quarreling in the American church was about music. Churches split.
Jeffrey Heine:Countless relationships severed. Some people left the faith. Others were fired from their jobs and ministry. The infighting was damaging and disgraceful. And it was all over the style of music in a service.
Jeffrey Heine:This went on for decades. The ink spilled on this topic has been happening for over 40 years. And now on this side of what was called the worship wars, it might seem trivial, but at the time, good and healthy churches were splitting apart. Some of you saw it firsthand and it was painful. And Paul was already seeing that type of division in the household of faith in his day.
Jeffrey Heine:And we cannot be blind to how it is still happening today. Paul is cautioning us from 2000 years ago that if we are not sober minded, if we are not honest with one another, if we don't learn how to disagree with humility and love, then it will keep happening. Paul offers a 4th directive. Verse 16. Do not therefore let the good thing that is yours become the object of slander.
Jeffrey Heine:Here Paul is saying that the good liberty, the good unity of the church community becomes an object of slander because the judgment and contempt is destroying the persons for whom Christ died. It's happening all because of opinions. This infighting becomes a threat to our witness in the world. When the church is just as argumentative and backstabbing as the world, what witness does that give those who don't believe? When the church is just as petty and obstinate and quick to tear people down as the world that gives no mind to Christ or His kingdom, why would anyone darken the door of a community just as spiteful and toxic as the world?
Jeffrey Heine:Paul offers a second kingdom ethic. Verse 17. For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy and the Holy Spirit. For the one who serves Christ in this is pleasing to God and respected among people. The Kingdom of God is not eating or drinking.
Jeffrey Heine:The Kingdom of God is not your preferences and your opinions. The Kingdom of God is righteousness. It is peace and it is joy in the Holy Spirit. If you're going to quarrel, if you're going to fight, Fight for righteousness. Fight for peace.
Jeffrey Heine:Fight for joy in the Holy Spirit. Fight for peace with your brother and sister with whom you most ardently disagree with. Because when you fight for peace and joy with them, you are fighting for the Kingdom of God. So when it comes to your own life, your own places of conflict, are you fighting for your preferences and opinions or are you fighting for the kingdom of God? Be forewarned.
Jeffrey Heine:Most people think they are fighting for the kingdom of God when they are fighting for their own opinions. So to be honest, you are probably not the best judge in these matters. It's one of the countless reasons why we need the community of the saints around us. You need people to help you discern who you are fighting for. Are you fighting for the kingdom of God or for the kingdom of self?
Jeffrey Heine:Because we often confuse the 2. And more often than not, we're fighting for the self. Paul then offers a 5th and final directive followed by 4 quick kingdom ethics. Verse 19. So then, let us pursue peaceful things, and things that edify one another.
Jeffrey Heine:Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. He's saying rather than tear down, let's seek how we can build up. Paul says to pursue peaceful things, the things that edify. In short, strengthen the weak through peace, not through judgment. Don't tear down the work of God for the sake of your opinions and preferences.
Jeffrey Heine:Strengthen your brothers and sisters through peace. Stop tearing down and build up. And here are those last four kingdom ethics in verse 20. Everything is clean, but to the person who eats as a result of stumbling, it is evil. In other words, yes.
Jeffrey Heine:All food is clean. But if you guilt or pressure the weak person to go against conscience, now it's become sinful. You've led them to sin, not to freedom. You think you're helping to lead them to liberty, but you're leading them to go against conscience and sin. Verse 21.
Jeffrey Heine:It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything by which your brother or sister stumbles. To walk in love, we must be willing to lay down any right, any preference for the good of our brothers and sisters. No right or privilege is worth harming, or in Paul's words, destroying our brothers and sisters in Christ. Again, this is counterintuitive and it is countercultural. And, that is why it is a kingdom ethic.
Jeffrey Heine:Because Jesus Because of Jesus, because of Him, we can lay down any right, any liberty for the good of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Verse 22, Next kingdom ethic. As for you, hold the faith that you hold to yourself before God. Now, this is paramount. Before you take your opinion or your conviction to other people, before you oppose a brother or sister with a differing opinion or conviction, first, take it to the Lord.
Jeffrey Heine:Ask Him to search it. Ask Him to show you His truth. And if need be, to correct your thinking and feeling. Hold your faith. Hold your convictions and conscience before the Lord your God.
Jeffrey Heine:Humble yourself before Him before you take it to any brothers or sisters. And then, after that, when you do take it to your brothers and sisters, earnestly invite them to speak into your opinions and convictions. Permit them to challenge and correct you. Allow God to use them to refine your thoughts and feelings so you can pursue the kingdom of God together. So you, with your brother and sister, can pursue that peace and righteousness and joy.
Jeffrey Heine:And the last kingdom ethic. Blessed is the one who does not judge oneself because of what he or she approves, but the one who doubts is condemned if he or she eats because that action is not from faith. And everything that is not from faith is sin. To restate Paul's ethic here, everything should come from that place of faith. Everything we do, every word, every thought, every action should spring forth from trust in Jesus.
Jeffrey Heine:Faith not in our rightness, but faith in the person, Jesus Christ. And that is the end of chapter 14. Even though I I have taken us through every verse of chapter 14, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out one more verse. As you probably know, Paul did not write his letters with verse and number chapter breakdowns. So, a lot of what Paul's talking about is going to resolve in 15.
Jeffrey Heine:And so, peeking ahead just a little bit and to steal from Joel next week. In chapter 15, Paul writes this. Therefore, welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you for the glory of God. Paul is grounding our welcoming of brothers and sisters in the faith, both the strong and the weak, in the fact that you have been welcomed by God. And the aim of that welcoming is the glory of God, not the glory of self.
Jeffrey Heine:Not the glory of our opinions. Not the glory of our rightness. But the glory of God. God has welcomed you. You who are weak in faith.
Jeffrey Heine:At the right time, Christ died for you. God has brought you near to Himself and has brought you into the kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy. This chapter is about way more than food and days of the week and drinking wine. It is about how we treat one another in the household of God. How we can have differences of opinions and engage in fruitful discussions that seek to build up, not tear down.
Jeffrey Heine:This is the living out of our faith and the gift of the mind of Christ to count someone else's needs as more significant than our own as we read in our opening scripture from Philippians. Paul tells that Philippians church, this mind is yours. This mind of Christ is yours. And you can think like this. And you can live like this.
Jeffrey Heine:Treating one another with welcoming hearts just as we have been welcomed by God. So let us pray now. To Father Almighty, through the power of the Holy Spirit, in the name of Christ our King, That by His grace, He would show us any sins of pride, or judgment, or contempt that may be in us. And that might be hindering us as a family of faith from pursuing what builds up instead of tears down, what seeks and pursues the kingdom of Christ. Oh, Spirit, search us.
Jeffrey Heine:Search our hearts. Reveal to us any ways that are error, any ways that go against what you want for us. We hold before you all of our thoughts and opinions and preferences, our convictions, our conscience. We hold all of it up to you that you would lead us to all truth, that you would lead us in the way of life everlasting through Christ our king, in whom we pray these things. Amen.