Aug. 06, 2023

“DOING THE RIGHT THING”

“PUTTING GRACE INTO ACTION”

ROMANS 14:1-12

Psalm 133:1 “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!”

With patience, the right perspective, good communication, and plenty of grace to keep the moving parts well oiled, unity isn’t difficult to achieve. Paul gives us some admonitions:

1.   Be Patient- Romans 14:1

Romans 14:1 “Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things.”

Who is weak in the faith and who is strong? 

Whenever in doubt we should ask, “Can I do this without sinning? Can I influence other for good, rather than being influenced by them?

The “strong”- Romans 15:1 “We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves.”

2.   Have The Right Perspective- Romans 14:2-4

Romans 14:2-3 “For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 3Let 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.”

To set up man-made restrictions on the basis of personal prejudices or even convictions is to go beyond the Word of God. Because God has received us, we must receive one another. 

St. Augustine said, “In essentials, unity, in nonessentials liberty, in all things charity.”

Mark 7:19 “Because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?”

Paul warned that dietary preferences offer no justification for feeling superior to others who eat freely.

The “weak” needed to be strengthened, and the “strong” needed to be considerate in the exercise of their freedom. The same is true today.

Ephesians 4:32 “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

Romans 14:4 “Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.”

Paul quickly pointed to the core issue, accountability.To put his question in a modern, business-world context, “Who are you to review the performance of someone else’s employee.”

1 Corinthians 5:13 “But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”

Paul used the word “stand”- it means to be in good standing, confidently and resolutely doing as one should and receiving favor as a reward.

1 Corinthians 16:13 “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.”

Philippians 1:27 “Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.”

Obviously, to “fall”is to do the opposite.

3.   Good Communication- Romans 14:5-9

We as Christians have no right to play God in another Christians life. We can pray, advise, and even admonish but we cannot take the place of God. 

What is it that makes a dish holy or a day holy?

Romans 14:5-6 “One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.”

The Christians conscience is gradually being transformed by the Holy Spirit to reflect the mind of Christ.

Romans 14:7-9 “For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.”

We belong to God, not to one another.

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

4.   Plenty Of Grace- Romans 14:10-12

Romans 14:10-12 “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. 11For it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.” 12So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. 13Therefore 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.”

Paul’s teaching on how to put grace into action can be summed up this way: Just let one another be.

In other words an attitude of grace is refusing to become someone else’s Holy Spirit. We can confront with loving firmness (Matthew 18:15-17), but we must release the offender to be directed by God.

We all must stand before God to answer for our own choices. We will not be asked to comment on the behavior of another.

2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

*Three Principles Of Grace That Would Transform Every Church If The Members Took Them To Heart:

First, A Life of Grace Begins With Mutual Acceptance

Second, An Attitude Of Grace Requires Releasing Others To Be Who God Wants Them To Be

Third, A Commitment To Grace Forbids Anyone To Become The Judge Of Another