Please join me at Romans 14.  We are coming back to our Roaming Through Romans - Paul’s letter to the church in Rome.  Today we’re looking at what to do when we know we’re right.

A professional carpet layer had just finished laying carpet in a home.  He was very happy to have it done since he had finished the job a little early and so was able to go home early.  But - as he was looking over the carpet on his way out - he noticed that there was a little lump - kind of puckering up - in the corner.  He was upset by this since he wanted to get home and didn’t want to take the time to rip the carpeting up.

Then he noticed that his package of cigarettes was gone.  Very sure of himself - convinced that he was right - the lump was his cigarettes - he thought, “That’s what the lump is.”  So he hit it with a hammer and mashed it down nice and flat so the carpet was nice and flat.

Satisfied, he walked out, got in his pickup, and noticed his cigarettes were on the dashboard of his truck.  Then he heard the woman of the house holler out the door, “Have you seen my parakeet?” (1)

Have you ever been there?  Times when we know - beyond a shadow of a doubt - no question in our minds - we’re right.  How we’re looking a situation.  Our position in an argument.  We’re right.  The only problem is that the other person - silly as this may sound - the other person also thinks they’re right. 

A few suggestions.  Some responses that might be helpful for you.

“I’m not arguing.  I’m just explaining why I’m right.”

“You’re entitled to your incorrect opinion.”

“Yes, your opinion matters.  But not to me!”

“I see no point in arguing with you.  You do a fine job of proving your complete ignorance on your own.”

“Well if it doesn’t matter who’s right and who’s wrong, why don’t I be right and you be wrong?”

Let’s be honest.  There are times when nothing feels better than proving someone else wrong.  Because we know we’re right.

So, today we’re looking at Paul’s teaching on what to do when we know we’re right.

Look with me at Romans 14 - starting at verse 1:  As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.  One person believes he may eat anything while the weak person eats only vegetables.  Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him.  Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another?  It is before his own master that he stands or falls.  And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.  One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. 

We’re going to pause there and, first, let’s make sure that we’re together on The Problem In Rome that Paul is addressing.

The church of Rome was diverse and divided.  Imagine what this would have been like - both Jews and Gentiles - the clean and the untouchable unclean - worshipping under the same roof.  Diaspora Jews - coming from all over the Roman world.  Jews.  Yes.  But with diverse backgrounds - different languages - at least different accents - different customs - different perspectives.  Jews from Judah with more of an immediate connection to their ethnic heritage.  Gentiles from all over the known world - speaking different languages - with different customs - different foods.  Different economic levels.  Slaves.  Free.   

There’s this saying, “All roads lead to... Rome.”  Which was true of the Roman church.  They came from all over - and seemingly the only thing they had in common was their relationship together in Jesus Christ. 

Meaning, with all that diversity there were bound to be areas of conflict in the church.  Paul highlights two areas of conflict.

First, in verse 2:  One person believes he may eat anything while the weak person eats only vegetables.

The Jews didn’t eat pig.  No ham at Hanukkah.  No bacon.  No pork sausage.  Even beef and lamb had to be kosher.  So a Jew - after becoming a Christian - struggled with eating meat.  Some said that the dietary laws of the Old Covenant still had to be kept.  Others said that a Jewish Christian could eat anything they wanted.

Then there was the problem of eating meat that had been offered to idols.  In Rome - the pagans would come to their temple to thank their god for its blessing of their lives.  Then the meat used in the sacrifice of thanksgiving was sold in the butcher shop next to the pagan temple.  If we wanted to buy meat in Rome the best to go was the temple butcher shop.

Some Christians said that if you ate food that had been used in a pagan religious service it was like worshipping that false god.  Others said, “Oh, no.  Meat is meat.  The fact that someone else thinks of it as being offered to idols doesn’t mean that you have to think that way.  Lighten up!  Chill.”  So there was a problem.

The second area of conflict comes in beginning of verse 5:  One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike.

To the Jews the Sabbath - sundown Friday to Saturday night - every 7th day was holy - the day set aside by God to worship God.  But, the Gentiles - with all their diverse backgrounds - had other days that were holy.

Some said, because Jesus rose on the first day of the week, they should worship on Sunday.  Jesus - Lord of the Sabbath - is our Sabbath rest.  Others said, every day is holy - so worship God whenever you want.  So there was a problem.  On what day does the church hold services?

For every viewpoint in the Roman church there were adherents - individuals and groups that advocated the opposite.

Sometimes we tend to idealize the early church.  These were the founders - the patriarchs of our faith.  The spiritual giants we all are suppose to look up to.  The guys that were so messed up that whole books of the Bible were written to address issues they all struggled with.

1900 plus years later.  Same issues.  Same struggles.  All God’s children got growin’ to do.  We ain’t the only messed up ones.  There’s a certain comfort in that. 

Each of us - without much effort - could think of a least one or more issues we struggle with as a congregation - if not here at least someplace near here - issues and those who are supportive or against these ideas. 

What role should women have in church leadership?  Should a Christian drink alcoholic beverages or not?  What about smoking, piercings and tattoos?  What kind of clothes should we wear on Sunday morning?  What kind of music is appropriate for worship?

Often in a church the younger people look at the seniors as if they’ve lost it.  The seniors look at the younger people like they’ll never find it.

Beyond the church - couples split over how to discipline or raise the children.  What kind of schooling is best - Christian - public - home schooling?  How do we spend our money?  How do we deal with a boss who knows nothing?

We could go on with this.  Its important that we acknowledge that what Paul is writing about doesn’t just pertain to the Roman Church.  Rome only had two issues that Paul focuses on.  We’ve progressed.  We have more.  Often we can come to a point of politeness.  But we remain divided.

In looking at Romans 14 - there are three major points that Paul makes that we need to keep in mind if we’re to move past divisive issues and, in reality, grow deeper in our love for each other.  All to the glory of God.  Not just here at Creekside.  But wherever - at home - at school - at work - wherever there are unenlightened people who don’t see things our way.

First, Paul says:  Welcome Each Other.

In verse 1, Paul writes:  As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him...  The person you have a disagreement with - welcome him.  Literally “welcome” in the original Greek means to love on him - to receive him - to accept him - like we’d welcome a dear friend into our home.  Just like family.  Totally accepted as a part of our home.  Refrigerator rights and everything.  Mi casa es su casa. 

Welcome him - accept him - not to quarrel over opinions - not to lure him or her in - giving him a false sense of security so we can try to work on him and bring him around to our way of thinking.  But in sincere love for that brother or sister in Christ - accept him.

Verse 4:  Who are you to pass judgment - or disapprove of your brother or sister in Christ because of their viewpoint - on the servant of another?  This brother or sister is God’s servant.  Not yours.

There are a number of black and white absolutes that the Bible speaks plainly and precisely about - absolutes that Scripture says are wrong.  For example - it’s wrong to steal.  Gossip, slander, bitterness, covetousness are wrong.  Adultery, fornication, and homosexuality are wrong.

The Bible presents several non-negotiable absolutes of our faith.  For example - our need for salvation and how our salvation is accomplished.  Who Jesus is as the God and the Savior of mankind.

In these non-negotiable absolutes - the Bible tells us that we must speak the truth - that we’re called on to lovingly teach - admonish - exhort - and reprove.

But in the gray areas - where we struggle the most with loving each other - Paul says that we need to accept each other and to restrain ourselves from speaking in judgment and contempt of our brothers and sisters.

Notice something else here.  In verse 1 Paul writes that we’re to welcome the one who’s weak in faith.  Another way we could express this phrase - trying to understand Paul’s point here - we could add a definite article.  So that the phrase would read, “As for the one who is weak in the faith…”

In this whole passage Paul never takes sides.  We don’t know if he was pro-vegi or anti-vegi.  That’s not the point he’s making.  The bottom line of the division is not food or days - it’s faith.  Both sides are wrong if their faith is based on what they do for God - eating or observing - rather than faith which trusts in what God has done for them in Jesus Christ.

So many people today are in this trap thinking that what we do is the bottom line of living as a Christian.  Don’t get pierced.  Don’t listen to that kind of music.  I don’t smoke and I don’t chew and I don’t go with girls who do.  We don’t do those sorts of things.  We don’t associate with those sorts of people.  And, go to church on Sunday, pray a lot, read your Bible.  This is what good Christians do.

Let’s not misunderstand Paul on this.  Holy living - living rightly before God is crucial.  We are saved and called to holiness.  But the bottom line is that how we live is a response to the life and salvation that has been given to us by God in Jesus Christ.  God has freed us from trying to earn our relationship with Him.

Back in January the youth went on a Youth Retreat.  We went through Timothy Keller’s book “The Freedom of Self-Forgetfullness.”  Timothy Keller said this:  “Do you realize that it is only in the gospel of Jesus Christ that you get the verdict before the performance?” (2)

In every religion out there we have to work really really hard at being holy and righteous and gaining our god’s approval and hoping that the judgment on our life - the verdict - comes out in our favor.  But not with the God of the Bible.  Grace is huge. 

We need to be careful that we don’t get the cart before the horse.  It’s not performance that leads to the verdict.  But the verdict that leads to our performance.

When we get so wrapped up in do this and don’t do that - when we start dividing up according to who acts more holy - according to those people who agree with us and look like us and act like us.  We miss the point of what life in Jesus - of being free from being weighed down trying to earn our own righteousness - we miss out on the freedom we have in Jesus.

In another church - long ago and far far away - there was a girl who we were trying to encourage to get connected with the church.  Neat girl.  She had some issues.  She had piercings and her hair was different.  She had the clothes to match.  But a really neat sweet girl.  One day she showed up at church and this wonderful “christian” lady said to her, “You dress like a prostitute.”  Maybe that’s why people don’t come to churches or want to associate with Christians.  

The coffee time after the Service of Worship or our potlucks or our Life Groups or small group Bible studies - the Service of Worship - all those are some of the best parts of our life together as a congregation.  But unless we’re careful those could be the most segregated and divisive.  It would be so easy to form cliques - to gravitate to our own families and friends and those who share our viewpoints and ideas - to speak behind the backs of those we disagree with - to criticize and condemn.  Or, to only speak to others when we’re trying to influence their opinions and change them to our way of thinking.  To welcome only “our” kind of people or people we see as benefiting Creekside.

Paul writes - when we know we’re right - don’t beat each other up over grey areas.  Stop judging and condemning each other.  Accept each other  -welcome each other - as believers in Jesus Christ.

Second - going on in the second part of verse 5 - Paul’s second point is that we need to Seek To Obey God.

Let’s read together starting at verse 5:  Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.  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. 

The church of Rome was made up of believers seeking to follow Jesus - seeking to do what God wanted them to do - to serve God through their actions.

Which is sometimes hard for us to process.  Something that I need to be reminded of way too often.

People don’t always do what we think they should be doing as followers of Jesus.  Right?  But, people aren’t trying to be difficult.  They’re just trying to do what they feel God wants them to do as they’re trying to follow God through the stuff of life.

Paul’s says that each person - whatever side of an issue they’re on - each person needs to first be convinced that what they’re doing is right before God.  “Do it - eat or not eat - observe or not observe - do it so that you are honoring the Lord.”  So that when all is said and done God gets the glory.  God gets the thanks.  Because what we’re doing is about God not us. 

Which means that we need to be in prayer and in the Word - meditating and marinating - going ever deeper in our understanding and application of God’s word - seeking to understand God’s will for us.

How we’re to act doesn’t come from our church background or because we were brought up a certain way or because doing certain things a certain way just “feels right” to us - it’s in our comfort zone.  What we do is not to be based on our world view or generational view of things.

Since the beginning of the Free Church movement way back in Scandinavia - a foundation principle of the Evangelical Free Church movement has been the question, “Where stands it written?”

How we live needs to be grounded in Scripture.  We need to find some reason in Scripture for it - some justification out of the Word of God.  Not twisting Scripture around so it fits what we believe.  But letting God’s word have authority over how we live and face life. 

In the midst of division strange things happen to us as we pray and study God’s word.  Consider passages like Matthew 6:15:  “...if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father [God] forgive your trespasses.”

Or, Matthew 7:3:  “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”

Or, Proverbs 3:5:  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”

Or, James 4:10:  “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

When we pray and study - and honestly open ourselves up to God and His word and whatever He wills for us and the circumstances we’re in - God starts to chew on us.  God may change our understanding of an issue.  He may change our heart towards our brother and sister in Christ.  And our discussions will become based on a loving desire for all of us - together - to speak to each other in love - to hear each other -  to be in mutually submission to God’s will for us - to help and encourage each other to follow Jesus.

The bottom line is that we very often need to back off of an issue and give each other permission to grow.  No decision or viewpoint is as important as the process of  allowing God’s word to work in our hearts - that we might follow Him together - to His glory alone.

Third - Paul says - Remember Who You Are In Jesus.

One day a man went to his doctor with a terrible cold.  After his doctor examined him - the doctor said, “I want you to go home and take a very hot bath.  Then go to the window, open it, and inhale as much cold air as you can.  Then go to bed.  In a few days, come back and see me.”

The man complained, “But, doctor, if I follow your instructions I’ll catch pneumonia and I could die.”

“Don’t worry,” said the doctor, “We can’t cure the common cold, but we do have a cure for pneumonia.”

Too often we’re focused on curing the wrong disease.  We’re focused on the secondary things.  All these other issues - gray areas - are not as important as our relationship with Jesus Christ - and our need to encourage each other to go deeper in that relationship.

The debates we Christians get ourselves into are like two guys riding in the back of a pick-up truck.  As they’re traveling along they’re arguing about the security of their seat-belts - the color of the truck - the tightness of the shock absorbers - and on and on and on.  What they should be focused on is who’s driving the truck.

Paul gives us two truths here to think about to get us focused on Jesus and who we are in Him.  First - in verse 7 - let’s read this together:  For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself.  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.  For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living.

Notice the word order here - verse 9.  Jesus is “the Lord both of the dead and the living.”

From a physical perspective - dead then living - that’s backwards.  Dead is dead.  But, spiritually it makes perfect sense.  Paul’s point is that when we die to ourselves God makes us spiritually alive in Jesus Christ.  So we live for the Lord.  Our lives - dead or alive - are the Lord’s.

Which is how Paul began this whole application section of Romans.  Back in chapter 12:1,2:  I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Let’s make sure we’re together.

For the first 11 chapters of Romans Paul was pounding away at the reality of the ugliness of our sin.  To get us to face the reality of that.  The depth of our depravity.  Our separating ourselves from God.  Our immoral - unholy - unrighteous - godless behavior.  And what we earn for ourselves by our arrogance and pride and self-focus.  Paul focusing on the Holy God our Creator Who is totally and completely justified in condemning us and pouring out His wrath on us and sending us into horrendous eternal punishment without any possibility of reprieve or parole.

All of which we try to minimize or excuse or avoid thinking about or dealing with.  We just don’t want to go there.  It makes us uncomfortable.  Might require change in our lives.  It’s not very PC in today’s spirituality.  For 11 chapters what Paul forced us to look at is ugly.  What we are hopelessly bound by.

And yet - Paul in those first 11 chapters also focuses us on God’s love.  The Holy God actually loving us.  Good news.  Despite the bad news of our perishing - our trajectory through life into eternity without God.  The good news of God sending Jesus to die on the cross - taking our sin and the penalty - the punishment - for our sin - Jesus taking God’s justifiable wrath on Himself - taking care of whatever needs to be taken of to make right our relationship with God now and forever.

God - in His sovereign and unexplainable ways - God chooses to be loving and merciful and gracious to us.  God holds back on giving us what we deserve - His wrath and punishment - but instead gives to us what we do not deserve - what is a restored relationship with Him.

Good news.  Bad news.  Good news.  We need to… choose.  To believe.  To welcome - to accept by faith - what God says, “Agree with me about your sin and welcome by faith what I’ve done for you in Jesus and I will restore our relationship with Me now and forever.”

Paul’s point in 12:1,2 - is that the only logical response to what God has done for us is to die.  To choose to lay our lives out on the altar before God to with as God wills for His purposes and for His glory.

So coming back to chapter 14 - death and life - there are only two choices.  Either life is about us or it’s about God.  If we’ve died to ourselves then our lives - live or die - our lives are about God.

If we are really dead - totally surrendered to God - laid on the altar - meaning that living or dying and everything in between really is about Him then all these arguments about secondary issues are His to deal with and ours to surrender to Him - for Him to lead us through according to His will not ours.  Whatever that means.  Whatever He wills for us.

To be in Jesus means - die or live or die - He is the Lord over all of our life.  Period.

Paul’s second truth - remembering who we are in Jesus - comes in verse 10.  Let’s read together:  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; 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 will give an account of himself to God.

Why do you - you who are spiritually alive only because of God’s grace and mercy - Why do you pass judgment on your brother?  Or you, why do you despise your brother?

Why are you so focused on these secondary grey matters - the specks in your brother’s and sister’s eyes and your expectations for them?

For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 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 will give an account of himself to God.

A woman had twins and gave them up for adoption.  One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is named “Ahmal.”  The other goes to a family in Spain and they name him “Juan.”  Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother.  Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal.  Her husband responds, “They’re twins!  If you’ve seen Juan, you’ve seen Ahmal.”

There’s a commonality between us that Paul reminds us of.  We’re brothers and sisters in Christ.

People ask, “How are you doing?”  Reality response:  “I’m upright and breathing independently.”

God creates creation because He wills it for purposes known only to Him.  He creates and forms this little ball of blue and white that we call home.  He forms Adam out of dust and Eve to partner with Him and gives them the ability to procreate and so here we are.  We would not exist if it were not for God.  We would not be drawing breath and having reasonably sentient thoughts if it were not for God. 

God gives us the right to act on His behalf as stewards of His planet.  God is incomprehensibly patient with us as we’re tearing up the place.  He still sends rain.  He gives us food.  He gives us oxygen to breathe and makes that breathing possible.

11 chapters of our depravity - our turning against our Creator - and for purposes known only to God - 11 chapters of our depravity are overwhelmingly blown away by God’s love and mercy and grace towards us.  Without God working on our behalf we all are toast - forever.

None of us would be here if were not for God.  We would not know Him.  We would not be able to worship Him - we would have no clue Who to worship - or even to fear Him - Who to honor and respect and give our lives to - if God had not revealed Himself to us.  If He had not created us and called us into relationship with Him that we might live as His holy people.  

We wouldn’t even know what to whine about or argue over if it were not for God in His sovereignty giving us free will and insight into His truth.

So let’s be honest with each other.  We’re all struggling.  We’re all in process.  We’re all subject to change.  We’re all trying to understand God’s truth more clearly as we go along.  Each of us is going to have to stand before God and give an account for how we - individually - lived our lives in faithfulness and obedience to God.  God alone has that right to judge us.  So who are we to judge each other?

Are we together?  If we really do belong to Jesus - flat out laid out on the altar dead to ourselves so that life comes only from Him - then rather than judging each other - let’s help each other.  Let’s love on each other.  Let’s be forgiving and gracious and merciful towards each other.  Let’s learn to speak loving with each other and to listen to each other and to encourage each other to seek to follow Jesus together.

In the church.  In our marriages.  In homes.  Wherever.

God has created and called us to serve with each other and share His Gospel with a world that desperately needs to see and hear that they’re loved by God and welcomed - accepted with love - by His people.

Bottom line.  What to do when you know you’re right.  Chill with humility.  Lighten up and get closer to God.  Let God chew on you and lead you and trust God to take care of the rest. 

______________________

1. Charles Swindoll, Ultimate Book of Illustrations and Quotes

2. Timothy Keller, The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness, 10Publishing, 2014

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®  (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.