Christian Liberty #18

The point: Weaker brothers should not judge the strong or use their grief to demand conformity from others; this is the 'tyranny of the weak'.

The analogy of a raised door sill that causes someone to stumble is used to explain how a strong brother can become a 'stumbling block' to a weaker brother who is walking with a clear conscience.

now look at the terms used to describe what the strong can really do to the weak by the careless thoughtless selfish indiscriminate exercise of their liberty look at verse 13 let us not therefore judge one another anymore and then by a marvelous use of the same Greek word but with an obviously different nuance let's not stand in the role of judge to one another anymore but decide this in the solemn judgment of your own mind that no man put now notice the first thing a stumbling block in his brother's way or an occasion of falling the strong according to this verse can do two very bad things to...

26:54 - 28:20 Read in full sermon

The point: Weaker brothers should not judge the strong or use their grief to demand conformity from others; this is the 'tyranny of the weak'.

The imagery of a 'trap stick' that an animal trips, springing a trap, illustrates how a strong brother can be an 'occasion of falling,' ensnaring a weaker brother into sin by emboldening him to violate his conscience.

you stumbled over the raised sill that's the imagery that's here he says no stronger brother is to in any way become like a raised door sill to his brother who is walking surely with a good conscience before God he's weak in faith he's refraining from things that are not sin in themselves but to him they are sin and until his conscience has life and his faith lays hold of that life to him it is sin but he's walking securely with a good conscience albeit he's a bit uptight when those special days come around he still ticks them off on the calendar says oh I gotta do something special religious ...

28:20 - 29:50 Read in full sermon

Driving home: You say pastor that's bondage that's bondage oh no my friend that's liberty I'm so free in Christ from the commitment to please my taste buds and my throat and my personal likes and dislikes that I can say no to them for…

An extended, detailed story of a potluck supper in first-century Rome, complete with specific foods and drinks, illustrates how strong believers, through cajoling and pressure, can cause weaker brethren to stumble, grieve, and sin by violating their conscience regarding meat and wine.

maybe there's been some congregational discussion about it and a month or two afterwards there are a group of the brothers and sisters who like to have as the early church did in Acts house to house fellowship their meat with singleness of heart praising God and so they agree to have about a dozen of the families come together at one of the more wealthy members who's got a nice big patio covered patio and they're going to have a potluck supper and so they by some process of mutual acquaintance and the rest they get together and a dozen families are going to come together and everyone's told yo...

43:05 - 44:32 Read in full sermon