Directives to the Weaker Brother

Driving home: He has, in the words of Professor Murray, scruples arising from religious convictions. But they are scruples in areas where God's law has not explicitly spoken.

Martin quotes Professor Murray's definition of the weaker brother's scruples as 'arising from religious convictions' in areas where God's law has not explicitly spoken, clarifying the nature of their weakness.

He has, in the words of Professor Murray, scruples arising from religious convictions. But they are scruples in areas where God's law has not explicitly spoken. And so we see him in Romans 14. He's uptight about eating certain kinds of foods.

3:53 - 4:11 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin explains how the weaker brother's conscience, seeking holiness, leads him to judge the strong when they exercise liberty in areas like food or days. He argues that such…

Martin illustrates how a weaker brother, seeking holiness, believes God has forbidden certain meats, making their consumption inconsistent with their pursuit of holiness.

Well, as he gets up one morning and he thinks, now, I want to be holy today and that means I will not do anything forbidden of God. In his mind, he thinks that God has forbidden the eating of certain meats. So he cannot eat meat. Why?

9:35 - 9:53 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin explains how the weaker brother's conscience, seeking holiness, leads him to judge the strong when they exercise liberty in areas like food or days. He argues that such…

He uses Peter's vision in Acts, where Peter refuses to eat 'unclean' foods, to demonstrate the weaker brother's conviction that certain foods are forbidden and hinder holiness.

For him, it's inconsistent with the pursuit of holiness. Take, for instance, Peter, with reference to eating some of that nice fat pork and some of those juicy pork chops that were let down in the sheet. There in the book of Acts, he said, Lord, I can't eat that stuff. They look good, may taste good, but it's unclean.

9:53 - 10:13 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin explains how the weaker brother's conscience, seeking holiness, leads him to judge the strong when they exercise liberty in areas like food or days. He argues that such…

Martin illustrates how a weaker brother believes he is obligated to keep special ceremonial days, regarding them as unto the Lord in pursuit of holiness.

He gets up in the morning and he says, Lord, whatever I eat today, it cannot be certain meats because I believe in my religious perspective that they are forbidden by God. And I want to be holy. And holiness means, on the one hand, not partaking of what God forbids. Furthermore, this happens to be a special ceremonial fast day or feast day.

10:22 - 10:47 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin explains how the weaker brother's conscience, seeking holiness, leads him to judge the strong when they exercise liberty in areas like food or days. He argues that such…

A story of a weaker brother judging his 'stronger brother Joe' for eating sausage and eggs and spending a special day in the park, because these actions conflict with the weaker brother's personal convictions about holiness.

The way I regard this day, I must regard it in the light of my conviction that it is a special day appointed by God to be kept for God in a peculiar way. Therefore, to be holy means that I regard this day as unto the Lord. Now, he isn't long into the day before his strong brother comes by. And lo and behold, he starts talking about the wonderful sausage and eggs breakfast that he had that morning.

11:32 - 12:02 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Drawing from Romans 14:5 and 14:22-23, Martin instructs the weaker brother to be fully persuaded in his own mind and not to act against his conscience, for 'whatsoever is not of…

Martin shares receiving letters asking for 'the position of your church' or 'reformed Baptists' on indifferent matters, highlighting the pervasive mentality of seeking external decrees rather than individual persuasion.

When that day comes, God have mercy on us. So often I get letters from people. What's the position of your church on this, on that? And on the other thing, things concerning which the word of God is silent.

19:42 - 19:55 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not violate the present light and standard of your conscience for anything or for anyone.

He describes a person who eats meat despite doubts, experiencing 'pain in his spirit' because he is condemning himself, illustrating the sin of acting against one's conscience.

If that's so, verse 22 and three, the faith which thou hast have to thyself before God. Happy is he that judges not himself in that which he approveth. But he that doubteth is that man who says, well, you know, maybe, maybe it's all right. That maybe Rob go ahead and have.

21:55 - 22:19 Read in full sermon

The point: If God gives you new light from his word as to the path of duty, you may have to 'kick your feelings in the teeth' and walk away from rules and regulations not of God.

Martin uses the example of a saved Roman Catholic who still feels a psychological pull to say the rosary, distinguishing between religious scruples of conscience and subjective feelings rooted in habit, and advising to 'kick your feelings in the teeth.'

Now, there may be times when you'll have to kick your feeling right in the teeth in order to get them to catch up with your conscience. For instance, here's a person brought up a devout Roman Catholic and all his life, all her life, she or he has been taught that to be a good Catholic, you do this, that and the other thing. All right. One of the things in the ritual was going through the rosary every single morning.

26:36 - 27:04 Read in full sermon

The point: If God gives you new light from his word as to the path of duty, you may have to 'kick your feelings in the teeth' and walk away from rules and regulations not of God.

He uses the example of someone raised to wear plain clothes who, upon understanding Christian liberty, might feel funny wearing a brightly colored tie, but must deliberately do so until feelings align with conscience.

You take the person who's been taught all his life that to be holy, you wear a certain type of clothes, someone perhaps who wore plain clothes out of religious conviction, and they see the ridiculousness of this. I'm sure they have funny emotional feelings the first time they put on a brightly colored tie. Well, they may have to deliberately keep putting it on until their feelings catch up with their conscience. You see the difference?

29:24 - 29:44 Read in full sermon

The point: Ask God by the Holy Spirit to strengthen your faith, to believe what he says in his word that God has given us richly all things to enjoy.

Martin references Paul's willingness to become a vegetarian for life if eating meat would cause a weaker brother to stumble, demonstrating the extreme self-denial of the strong.

Well, I suggest that what he's doing is he's saying to the weak, you must not be content forever to remain weak. And though. Paul was the greatest example of one who complied to the nth degree, as we say, with the self-denying demands made upon him by the weak, even saying, I'm willing to become a vegetarian for life if I'm surrounded by weak brethren to whom eating meat will be an occasion of stumbling. He says, I'll not eat any meat while the world stands.

33:15 - 33:51 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not regard lightly liberties purchased so dearly and which have so much in terms of your own personal blessing involved in them.

He uses the metaphor of a 'bent-over person whose spine is no longer straight' to describe the spirit of one bound by rules, contrasting it with the 'shoulders back and head up' posture of one who appreciates Christian liberty.

It's no longer the idea that so common to the old economy, where God was hedging up His people with rules and regulations, touching meats and washings and days and feasts and all the rest. God called that, through the Apostle, the yoke of bondage which neither we nor our fathers could bear. But you're God's free child with the full run of the house, and you may not choose to play with all your toys for good and wise reasons. You may not choose to indulge in all of your gifts, but just knowing that they're gifts of a loving Father that you're free to use or refuse, out of principles that your F...

36:02 - 37:29 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not regard lightly liberties purchased so dearly and which have so much in terms of your own personal blessing involved in them.

Martin quotes the hymn 'This is my Father's world' to express the liberated spirit of a believer who understands that 'the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof.'

It's no longer the idea that so common to the old economy, where God was hedging up His people with rules and regulations, touching meats and washings and days and feasts and all the rest. God called that, through the Apostle, the yoke of bondage which neither we nor our fathers could bear. But you're God's free child with the full run of the house, and you may not choose to play with all your toys for good and wise reasons. You may not choose to indulge in all of your gifts, but just knowing that they're gifts of a loving Father that you're free to use or refuse, out of principles that your F...

36:02 - 37:29 Read in full sermon

The point: Pause and reflect and ask yourself if the reason this topic is distant is because you are 'out of the family of God' or 'out of the orbit of the concerns that underlie these things.'

He illustrates the lack of 'one accord' by depicting a weak brother judging a strong brother for eating sausage or going to a movie, highlighting how judgment hinders unity.

The weak brother sitting there saying, that hypocrite, look at him praising God. And do you know that he had his sausage this morning?

41:20 - 41:27 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The God of patience and comfort grants you to be of the same mind, one to another, according to Christ Jesus, that with one accord, ye may with one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

He illustrates the lack of 'one accord' by depicting a strong brother despising a weak brother for refusing to go to a ball game due to conscience, highlighting how despising hinders unity.

And he's heard about that and he sits there and says, how ridiculous. He's despising him. And when he hears him singing praise to God, he said, what's he know about what Christ has done for him? He's so hung up with all of his old fundy, huh?

41:56 - 42:10 Read in full sermon

The point: Cry to God for a fresh baptism of his own love, the love that seeks not its own, the love that bears all things.

Martin quotes Calvin (though not verbatim from the transcript) who observed that some weak brethren become so scrupulous they 'will not drink this will not drink that, and then he ends up saying he'll carry it to the place where the only things he feels he can drink with a good conscience is bitter water,' illustrating the extreme of legalism.

I believe it's possible. This is the standard God has set before us. May God grant that we shall cry to him for a fresh baptism of his own love, the love that seeks not its own, the love that bears all things. And it's hard to bear with some weak brethren who have scruples, as Calvin said it so beautifully, and I didn't quote it because some of it was dated, but he talked about the poor weak brother who said he had scruples about this and that.

43:15 - 43:47 Read in full sermon

The point: Cry to God for a fresh baptism of his own love, the love that seeks not its own, the love that bears all things.

Martin references Calvin's observation of 'wild-headed people who felt the only way to prove they understood liberty was to exercise it in every circumstance,' illustrating the extreme of callous liberty.

He says, Paul, he has scruples about what he eats, and before long he's careful lest he even step upon a straw. And he talks about he who will not drink this will not drink that, and then he ends up saying he'll carry it to the place where the only things he feels he can drink with a good conscience is bitter water. And he saw this in his own day, but he also saw the other extreme. He talked about these wild-headed people who felt the only way to prove they understood liberty was to exercise it in every circumstance.

43:47 - 44:17 Read in full sermon