Christian Liberty #14

Introduction and Review of Christian Liberty Series

0:00 The following sermon was delivered on Sunday morning, June 20, 2004, at Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. Now, as we have done for two Lord's Day mornings, I ask you to turn with me to Romans chapter 14, and follow as I read this chapter, and on into chapter 15.

0:28 Romans chapter 14, and occasionally people ask me, what version do you read from, Pastor Martin? Well, I use the old American Standard, that's the 1901 American Standard, but I automatically change all of the ye's and the Elizabethan endings, I just do it automatically. They come in Elizabethan in my eye, and they come out my tongue, contemporary English. So, it's not my own translation, technically, but in one sense it is.

0:57 So, if you are visiting among us, and you wonder, what in the world? What in the world is the translation he has? I wouldn't want your mind distracted, and so I give you that word of explanation.

1:12 And then, of course, verse 1, as I've indicated, I give you one of the renderings of one of the modern translations that makes it more clear. But him that is weak in faith, receive, yet not for the purpose of quarrels over disputed matters. One man has faith to eat all things, but he that is weak eats them. Do not let him who eats, set it not him who does not eat, and do not let him who does not eat, judge him that eats, for God has received him.

1:49 Who are you that judges the servant of another? To his own Lord he stands or falls. Yes, he shall be made to stand, for the Lord has power to make him stand. One man esteems one day above another.

2:05 Another. Esteems every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind. He that regards the day, regards it unto the Lord.

2:17 And he that eats, eats unto the Lord, for he gives God thanks. And he that does not eat, unto the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. For none of us lives to himself, and none dies to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord.

2:35 Or whether we die. We die unto the Lord. Whether we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

2:50 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you set it not your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord to me, Every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess to God.

3:12 So then, each one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not, therefore, judge one another any more. But judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block in his brother's way, or an occasion of falling. I know, and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean of itself.

3:37 Save to him who accounts anything to be unclean. To him it is unclean. For if because of meat your brother is grieved, you do no longer walk in love. Do not destroy with your meat him for whom Christ died.

3:56 Let not then your good be evil spoken of. For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he that herein serves Christ is well-pleasing to God and approved of men. So then, let us follow after things which make for peace, and things whereby we may edify one another.

4:24 Do not overthrow for meat's sake the work of God. All things indeed are clean, howbeit it is evil for that man who eats with offense. It is good. It is good not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor to do anything whereby your brother stumbles.

4:44 The faith that you have, have to yourself before God. Happy is he that judges not himself in that which he approves, but he that doubts is condemned if he eat, because he does not eat of faith. And whatsoever is not of faith is sin. Now we that are strong, ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

5:13 Let each one of us please his neighbor for that which is good unto edifying. For Christ also pleased not himself, but as it is written, the reproaches of them that reproached you fell on me. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that through patience and through comfort of the scriptures we might have hope. Now, God, of patience and comfort grant you to be of the same mind one with another according to Christ Jesus, that with one accord you may with one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord

5:55 Jesus Christ. Thus far the reading of God's holy word. A fresh look at the doctrine of Christian liberty. This is the title that I've given to our present series of studies in the word of God and we began the series by considering together the nature and the extent of our bondage and our terrible slavery in Adam and we looked at five dimensions of that bondage and slavery. Then

6:32 we considered the nature and extent of our liberty and freedom in Christ, a nine-fold liberty. Liberty in Christ. Then we asked the question, to what end has Christ set us free? If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. And with our chains broken and the

6:52 manacles lying at our feet and the prison door open and we asked the question, why Lord Jesus have you set me free? There is no better answer in all the word of God in my judgment than is found in the prophecy of Zechariah, Luke chapter 1 verses 74 and 75. That we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him, that is render priestly service unto him without fear in righteousness and holiness before his face all the days of our life.

7:29 That's the goal of our freedom, to render service unto God, to do it without fear that we shall ever be brought back into satanic bondage. To do it in the sphere of righteousness and holiness, to do it before his face and to do it all of our days. And then we looked at the two great enemies of our freedom in Christ and the outworking of that purpose defined in Luke chapter 1. And we looked at the enemy of libertinism or license and the enemy of legalism. And in so doing, I opened up in your presence some of the key texts

8:09 on the subject of freedom in Christ. And I looked at the two great enemies of our freedom in Christ and the subject of Christian liberty, Galatians 5.1 and 5.13 and 1 Peter 2.16 and a number of other

8:17 secondary texts. The term Christian liberty is most often used in connection with those practices which are neither clearly commanded nor explicitly forbidden in the word of God. And in this connection, no passage is of more importance than the one read in your hearing again this morning, Romans 14.1 through 15, really verse 7. I stopped deliberately at verse 6. And so it has been my

8:50 determination that we come to this passage and by the grace of God and the help of the Holy Spirit be taught the truths deposited here that in this subset of the doctrine of Christian liberty, namely, how am I to think with respect to my own conduct in relationship to issues, neither clearly commanded nor explicitly forbidden? How am I to relate to my brothers who are wrestling with the same question and who come up with a differing answer with respect to the matters which they feel before God they can with good conscience partake of and those things

9:30 that in good conscience they cannot partake of? It is this passage that is crucial in giving us God's answer to those concerns. And so, in the two previous messages, I have sought, as it were, to sort of spread the table, so that coming to the passage, we will not end up thinking things that the Spirit of God never intended we should think when we come to Romans 14, to Romans 14 and 15. We must remember it comes

10:09 at the tail end of the entire letter to the Romans. And if we liken the entire letter to a 16-page letter, we must credit the appointment of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit, with enough intelligence and integrity to believe that he would neither forget nor contradict in Romans 14 and 15 anything he had taught in Romans 1 to 13 about the nature of the Christian life. And in those earlier chapters, he has clearly taught us that if we are real Christians, we have, in union with Christ, died to the dominion of sin. If we are real Christians, we have had a change of masters from sin to the dominion of sin.

10:48 And therefore, the focus of the concern of a real Christian is not how many things may I indulge in under the guise of liberty, but how may I so live to make it evident I am no longer a slave of sin, that I, in union with Christ, have died to sin and risen to newness of life. Furthermore, Paul has not forgotten what he taught in Romans 8, that if we are Christians, we are no longer in the realm of the flesh, but in the realm of the Spirit. And we are in a constant process of mortifying the deeds of the body, and only such shall live, for as many as are led by

11:33 the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Furthermore, in the instruction of the immediately preceding chapters, he has said we as believers are to abhor what is evil. We are to cleave to what is good. We are to cleave to what is good. We are to cleave to what is good. We are to cleave

11:48 to what is good. For some things are essentially inherently evil. When he says in this passage, I know and am persuaded there is nothing unclean of itself, that must not be wrenched out of context. He is saying there is no food that is essentially unclean of itself. He is not talking

12:06 about the so-called fact that, well, a movie is a movie, a TV program is a TV program, nothing is unclean of itself. That's ludicrous. Some movies are evil, more of them, and you are not to cleave to them. You are to cleave to what is good. Some things are unclean. Yes,

12:26 Paul, not uncleanness once be named among you. So this clear, reckless use of Romans 14 has no basis when we remember this simple principle, Paul teaches nothing here that contradicts anything in the previous 13 chapters. Secondly, we try to identify the precise concerns of this passage. The concern is food, days, and wine. Things that are non-moral in themselves.

Defining the Weak and the Strong in Romans 14

13:01 This dimension of Christian liberty has to do with things that fit the category of food and days and wine. Thirdly, we noted that we must come to a very clear understanding of the precise identity of the weak and of the strong. The use of the terms weak and strong are not generic descriptions of strong Christians and weak Christians. In the context, the weak are those believers who, though they are united to Christ, they are free in Christ, they do not yet have an understanding of the full

13:42 extent in Christ. Therefore, their faith in the measure of their liberty is weak, and therefore, their conscience still pressures them to do the right thing. This is a very clear definition of the weak and strong. The weak are those who do things they don't need to do, and pressures them to avoid things that they don't need to avoid. These are

14:00 not things they are doing and avoiding to add to the merit of Christ. If they were, Paul would treat them as he did, days and foods and those things in the book of Colossians and also in the book of Galatians. No, the weak are those who in this or that particular area are constrained to do things out of conscience. That they would not be constrained to do out of conscience if they understood and believed the full extent of their liberty in Christ. That's the only area of their weakness.

14:32 They might be very strong in many other areas of the Christian life, strong in their conscientious desire to please God, strong in self-denial, strong in zeal, strong in many other areas, but they are weak in that particular area. Likewise, the strong, those are the believers who understand the extent of their liberty. Their liberty is broad, is comprehensive. Understanding it, their faith embraces it, their conscience releases them. They feel no constraint to keep special days. They feel

15:04 no constraint to any dietary laws as a matter of conscience, not as a matter of health things, but as a matter of religious conscience. They are the strong in the context, but they may be very weak in other areas. The very passage shows some of them are weak in love. Paul had to rebuke them and say, here you go exercising. They are the strong in the context, but they

15:22 may be very weak in self-denial. They seem to be lingering off in the shadows saying, oh, let the weak get with it. He said, no, no, we who are strong ought to bear with the infirmities of the weak and not to please ourselves. Some of these strong Christians in the context were very weak in self-denial. They were weak in love. Strong and weak must

15:49 be understood contextually, and I trust we know that. Now have a grasp upon that. And then finally, we saw that there is a fundamental difference between the appreciation of our liberty in Christ with respect to non-moral issues and our exercise and display of that liberty before men. Our understanding is inward. Our faith

The Distinction Between Liberty and Its Exercise

16:15 is inward before God. The exercise of our liberty is outward before men. And as one judicious commentator has stated, Christian liberty is an internal thing. It belongs to the mind and to the conscience, has a direct reference to God. The use of Christian liberty

16:35 is an external thing. It belongs to conduct and has reference to man. No consideration should prevail upon us for a moment to give up our liberty. Not one thousandth of a gram of it.

16:50 It's purchased by Jesus. Don't. Give it up. It's inward before God. Understand and grasp the full extent of your liberty.

17:00 However, many a consideration should induce us to forego the practical assertion or display of our liberty. And that's a vital principle. Well, so much for that brief overview. And if any of you get weary with my reviews, remember that those who are experts in teaching say that a good teaching is a good teaching. And that's a good teaching. And that's a good teaching. And that's a good teaching. And that's a good teaching.

17:23 A good teacher will take at least a third of his time to review. We have visitors among us. I didn't want to plunge in and not have the reference points for them. I trust this has not been wearisome to you who are here week by week. Now then, we come this morning to focus our

Principle 1: No Forced Conformity in Non-Moral Matters

17:41 attention, with this passage open before us, on what I'm calling the foundation and the goal of a proper understanding and practice of Christian liberty. The foundation and the goal of a proper understanding and practice of Christian liberty. In opening up the subject, I have but two heads, each comprised of a specific text within this larger passage. First of all, and this is crucial, if I don't get to the second, I won't be happy, but I'll feel that if under God you get hold of this, it's worth a morning's work. Here is heading number one. There must be no

18:22 forced conformity with the law of God. There must be no forced conformity with the law of God. There must be no forced conformity within the church on matters of legitimate diversity of conscience and practice. I give it to you again. There must be no forced conformity within the

18:37 church on matters of legitimate diversity of conscience and practice. Look at verse five. One man esteems one day above another. Another esteems every day alike. Here's the key.

18:55 Let each man be fully assured in his own mind. Now, with respect to matters addressed by the moral law and properly applied biblical commands, the church must insist on an inflexible standard of holiness and righteousness. Where God's law speaks, the church can and must insist on an inflexible standard of holiness and righteousness. We've been delivered to what end that we might serve him in righteousness and holiness. Righteousness is defined by the law of God.

19:38 Matters pertaining to the moral law are never issues of Christian liberty. They are matters of Christian duty. And also apostolic commands and prohibitions. For example, when you come across a string of apostolic commands and prohibitions in Ephesians chapter one, you beginning in verse twenty-five, one after another, ethical and moral demands laid upon the people of God. Putting away falsehoods, speak truth, each one with his neighbor. Be angry and do not sin.

20:12 Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more. Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor be put. These apostolic

20:24 commands are not matters of liberty. They are divine. And with respect to matters addressed in the moral law, matters addressed in apostolic commandments and prohibitions, the church must speak with one voice. But not only in these areas, but properly applied commands from the Old Testament. In first Corinthians nine verses

20:50 eight to twelve, Paul takes a little demand in the what we would call the civil law of the Old Testament. He takes a little demand in the civil law of the Old Testament. He takes a little demand in the civil law of the Old Testament. You shall not muzzle the ox when he treads out the corn. And he says God has wrapped up in that command

21:04 a directive for new covenant Christians. He says that God say this for the sake of the ox alone. He said no. He said it for our sakes upon whom the ends of the age are come and what God was intending to teach us.

21:20 If a dumb beast works out corn and it's right concern for his laboring servants who preach the gospel, Therefore, those who preach the gospel should live of the gospel. And he said that is a divine commandment embedded in an old test directive civil law. That's a properly applied principle. Now when someone comes and says, women should never wear slacks.

21:52 The Bible says in Deuteronomy chapter 25 and verse 5, thou shalt not wear that which appertaineth to the woman and the man. No, no. That's condemning cross-dressing that a woman must never wear slacks.

22:12 Modest. It's nonsense. That's an improper application. Because read it verse or two later, if you've got any cloth on you of mixed material, you're sinning.

22:32 You shall not wear any clothing made of mixed cloth. So if you've got a cotton polyester dress on, you're sinning. Repent. No, properly apply.

22:44 Now with respect to those issues, the church must never, never, never back down from biblical standards. However. In matters such as days, food, wine, and things in that category, shall a woman help the color of her face with some makeup? Shall she or shall she not, or will she or should she not, pierce her ears and wear earrings?

23:13 Should there be any mixed bathing among the people of God? Should there be the moderate use of wine or should we all become confirmed teetotals? Should we this? Should it matters that are not directly touched by the moral law, by apostolic commandment, by properly applied principles embedded in Old Testament moral directive?

23:40 What are we to do? This text is absolutely crucial because it answers that question. Look at it again. Let each one be full.

The Demand for Private Judgment and Persuasion

23:54 Fully persuaded in his own mind. I want you to note two things in that part of the text. Notice the focus on individuality. Let each one in his own mind.

24:12 Each in his own mind. Each in his own mind. And within the theater of my own mental activity. Before the face of God, seeking to live unto the Lord in all things, I am to be fully persuaded as an individual.

24:36 It does not say, let each one be aware of the church's dictates on these things and obey them. It doesn't say it. It never says it. And God have mercy when we get wiser than God.

24:49 Let each one be fully assured in his own mind. The focus on individuality. And notice, secondly, the focus on settled persuasion of mind. The verb that is used here, let each one be fully persuaded in his own mind, is an imperative passive.

25:12 In other words, it's a duty. But it's a duty with respect to something that is done in my mind. My mind must come under influences that cause it to be, fully persuaded, fully assured. This is the verb used of Abraham in chapter 4, in verse 31 of Romans.

25:32 And it wonderfully illustrates the force of the verb. Speaking of Abraham, back up to verse 20, Looking unto the promise of God, he wavered not through unbelief, but waxed strong through faith, giving glory to God, being fully assured that what he, God, had promised, he was able to perform. Abraham's faith was manifest. He was vested in this full assurance that what God had promised, he was able to perform.

26:01 Now God says, let each individual within the assembly at Rome, with respect to such matters as food, and days, and wine, and anything else in the category of those things that are not clearly forbidden, clearly commanded by the moral law, by apostolic directive, by properly applied principles, out of the Old Testament, whatever doesn't fit in those categories, let each one be fully persuaded in his own mind. As Professor Murray stated, the injunction to be fully assured in one's own mind refers not simply to the right of private judgment,

26:45 but to the demand for private judgment. It's an imperative. Each one is under obligation to come, to full persuasion, on these non-moral issues in his own mind. Professor Murray goes on to say, Compelled conformity or pressure exerted to the end of securing conformity defeats the aims to which all the exhortations and reproofs of this chapter are directed.

27:16 In this recent study, in preparation for these sermons, if compelled conformity were the will of God, why does Paul bend over backwards in pastoralism and divine wisdom? These directives, don't you judge, don't you despise, don't you be insensitive, don't you be careless, don't you recognize...

27:43 All of these directives, conformity in the church, all the church needed was an apostle to say, here's what you ought to do regarding days and foods and wine to make everybody happy. Let's have one day. A special day. Have one meal a month where you can have one.

28:11 Conformity. No! The apostle will not abide any...

28:18 Compelled to the weak, to help them become strong. He's not at all reserved to say, now, you want to ask my opinion about these things? I'll tell you. I am persuaded.

28:33 I know and I am persuaded that you guys that think certain foods, because they don't meet Jewish dietary laws or because you're fearful they might be tainted, from being connected with some idol worship, you can't eat them. He said, I don't share your persuasion. I know. And I am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that there's nothing unclean of itself.

28:54 What's he doing? There's rather not so subtle instruction that if you come to think as I think before the Lord Jesus, based upon the revelation of his will, you'll get over your hang-ups. But he doesn't drive the issue with them. He accommodates to them.

29:10 He has a whole section in this chapter and on into chapter 5. 15. In which sensitive, loving, pastoral counsel is given. Why?

29:21 Because of this principle, there must be no forced conformity within the church on matters of legitimate diversity of conscience and of practice. Now, what happens when men and churches become wiser or they think more gracious or more passionate for holiness than God is? And they set up a framework of forced conformity on these issues in the church. And it has happened historically.

Tragic Result 1: Cutting the Nerve of Accountability to God

29:55 It happens in our day. There are churches all around us where there is forced conformity on these very issues. Now, what happens when men and churches do this?

30:10 Well, I want to set before you three tragic results. And here they are. Number one. Forced conformity cuts the nerve of a believer's consciousness of his direct accountability to his Lord and to his God.

30:28 Forced conformity cuts the nerve of a believer's consciousness of his direct accountability to his Lord and to his God. Notice what follows verse 5. Having stated this principle, let each one be free and fully persuaded in his own mind. Now, notice verse 6.

30:51 He that regards the day regards it unto the Lord. He that eats, eats unto the Lord. For he gives God thanks. He that eats not unto the Lord, he eats not and gives God thanks.

31:04 For none of us lives to himself or dies to himself. Whether we live, we live unto the Lord. Whether we die, we die unto the Lord. Whether we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.

31:13 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might live unto the Lord. He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. But why do you judge your brother? Why do you set it not your brother?

31:22 We shall stand before the judgment seat of God. As I live, saith the Lord. To me every knee shall bow. Every tongue shall confess to God.

31:29 Every one of us shall give account of himself to God. What is Paul doing? In 7 verses, 6 to 12 is 7 verses, times he mentions the Lord and 3 times he mentions God.

31:47 See what he's doing? In 7 verses, the Lord, 3 times God. What's he saying? He's saying, O dear believers there at Rome, the essence of the Christian life, as Zechariah has told us, was rendering priestly service unto him without fear, in righteousness and holiness, before his...

32:19 And Paul is jealous to guard that blessed reality that the Christian life is lived not before the checklist of those who have settled the issue for you and said, this is a no-no, this is a yes-yes, this is a no-no, this is a yes-yes. No. Be fully persuaded in your own mind. Why?

32:47 Because the very spring of all true godliness is living one's life before God. The face of one's Lord. And he makes that abundantly clear in these words. So he sees this person who is a weak brother, but in his weakness, this special day comes that he is conscience-bound to keep.

33:13 And what's he do? He gets on his knees in the morning and he says, Lord Jesus, thank you for the privilege of this special feast day. Thank you that on this day I can look back and remember what all of those things in the old covenant pointed to and I now have them in Christ. Lord Jesus, thank you.

33:34 Paul says, he that regards the day regards it to the Lord.

33:40 Don't mess around with him.

33:47 He regards it to the Lord. Then he goes on to say,

33:53 he that regards the day regards it to the Lord. He that eats, eats unto the Lord. Here's a man who's got no hang-ups. No hang-ups.

34:01 His conscience is free in Christ. So he takes that food and he bows over it. He gives God thanks. Ah, but here's another guy.

34:11 He can't eat that food with a good conscience. He believes that it's off-limits. His conscience won't allow him to eat it either for the reason of thinking there's still some pressure from the dietary laws of the old covenant or it might be tainted by association with idol, temple, idol worship. But he bows over his veggies and he says, Oh God, thank you for my veggies.

34:36 Thank you Lord that I can eat them with a good conscience. Thank you Lord that these will sustain me and strengthen me. He eats as unto the Lord. He eats not as unto the Lord.

34:49 And then he goes on to say, and this is true because and this is where his doctrine of the Christian life in the earlier chapters bristles and oozes through the chapter. Why is this so? 4 verse 7. None of us who is a true Christian, lives to himself.

35:08 None of us lives to himself when deciding, shall I or shall I not? I don't live to myself. There's someone who bought me with his blood, who made me his willing slave. I am his servant.

35:23 I do not live to myself. I do not die to myself. Whether we live, we live unto the Lord. Whether we die, we die unto the Lord.

35:33 Whether we live, therefore die. We are the Lord's. That's not speaking of all men generally. That's talking about real Christians.

35:39 He said, don't tamper with that precious nerve center of vital, real, saving Christianity. People who once lived unto themselves, who now live unto the Lord. And they're so jealous to live unto Him that right down to the niggling details of things where the Bible gives no clear commands or clear prohibitions, everything they do, they do as unto their Lord.

36:05 You see it? That doesn't get you excited. Either I'm not making it plain or you're not getting it. It's the joy.

36:14 And that's why we don't want any rule setters on issues where the Bible is silent. Because forced conformity cuts the nerve of a believer's consciousness of his direct accountability to his Lord and to his God. Which for the true Christian is not a burden, but it is his greatest joy. His greatest joy.

36:38 So in matters not specifically, commanded, specifically forbidden, the Christian is still passionate about pleasing his Lord. That's why I told you a couple of weeks ago I'm not going to call them what they've traditionally been called the adiaphora, things indifferent. They're not indifferent. Whether I do them to the Lord or I cannot do them to the Lord, the issue is I want to please my Lord.

37:02 So in all of these issues, the Lord is central. And when the church makes rules on these issues and enforces them, what happens? This vital nerve of a believing, joyful, universal acknowledgement of the Lordship of Christ is severed. And in its place is a barren checklist.

37:21 Don't push my Lord aside and replace it with a checklist.

Tragic Result 2: Violating Conscience

37:28 Secondly, what happens when the church ignores this and comes up with its rules? Forced conformity places believers in the dangerous position of violating the present pronouncement of their own consciences. Forced conformity places believers in the dangerous position of violating the present pronouncements of their own consciences. Now this is crucial.

38:00 The voice of conscience is not infallible, but its authority is absolute.

38:11 You hearing me? This passage and many others show the voice of conscience is not infallible. The person whose conscience says, you can't eat that meat is a weak conscience. It is not speaking according to truth.

38:25 In Jesus Christ, no meat, no food is essentially, inherently unclean. Jesus taught that. The apostles taught that. Paul could say anything of God's gifts are to be received with thanksgiving.

38:40 Nothing is to be refused. But this man's conscience is limited in its understanding. It's not infallible. But, Paul speaks very clearly and says, if you doubt and you choose that concerning which your conscience does not say you have a right to choose it, that's sin for you.

38:58 Though the thing in itself is not sin, it's sin for you to choose the thing which you think may be sin. The voice of conscience is not infallible, but its authority is absolute. It's never to be violated. Never to be violated.

39:13 Never to be violated. Now, when the church makes its own rules, what happens? Someone whose conscience is not free before God says, ah, but the church says this is okay. And so, though his own conscience is not persuaded, he indulges against the whisperings and the reservations of his own conscience.

39:36 For him, it is sin. Rulemaking causes that man to violate his conscience. Conversely, here's a man, a woman, who has free conscience before God concerning this issue. Ah, but the church says that man says that's a no-no.

39:51 You can't touch that. You can't go near that. You can't do that. You can't wear that.

39:55 And the person says, well, I don't want to fall out of favor with the people in the church. Now he has a problem of conscience. Do I relinquish this as a matter of conscience and thereby violate my conscience and what I know I am free to do, to go, to be in Christ? You see what it does?

40:14 It starts tampering with this precious, precious dimension of who and what we are, the human being, conscience. And Paul says, no, no, no, whatever else you do, don't mess around with conscience. Why? Well, Paul himself gives us the answer in Acts 24, 16.

40:31 He said, in the light of the coming day of judgment, herein do I exercise myself to have always a conscience void of offense to God and to man. A conscience that does not condemn me, whatever I'm avoiding, whatever I'm doing, to have a conscience that affirms the rightness of what I avoid, the rightness of what I do, the rightness of what I do, the rightness of what I do, the rightness of what I do, the rightness of what I do, the rightness of what I do, the rightness of what I do. And later on in 1 Timothy 1, 19, he says, some have cast off a good conscience and have made shipwreck concerning the faith. When you start messing around with your conscience, you're putting your feet in the way of apostasy.

41:06 Once you start tampering with your conscience, you put yourself in the way of apostasy. Paul understands that. And so he's deeply concerned that there be no man-made rule-making in the church at Rome because forced conformity places believers in the dangerous position of violating the present pronouncement of their own consciences. And then thirdly, this is what happens when people make their own rules.

Tragic Result 3: Cultivating a Pharisaic Checklist Mentality

41:36 Forced conformity cultivates a Pharisaic checklist mentality. Forced conformity cultivates a Pharisaic checklist mentality. Now what do I mean by a Pharisaic checklist mentality? Well, in Matthew 23, Jesus said when indicting the Pharisees, verse 23, Woe unto you, scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites, you tithe mint and anise and cumin and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith.

42:09 But these you ought to have done but not to have left the other undone, you blind guides that strain out a gnat and you swallow the camel. You have a checklist mentality and people don't think in terms of their life before God and in terms of the great principles. He said, you Pharisees, you've got your rules. Not only are you to bring the generic tithe that God directed, you've got it all specified right down to this particular herb, this particular thing, mint and anise.

42:43 You've got it all sorted out. But while you're all occupied with ticking off your checklist, you overlook the weightier matters. Then he uses one of the most grotesque humorous metaphors in all of the Bible. He says, you blind guides that strain out the gnat and swallow the camel.

43:04 What's he referring to? Well, here you've got a wine skin. It's an old goat. It's an old goat skin.

43:11 The wine was put in when the skin was fresh and tied off at the four legs.

43:18 And here you're going to have a cup of wine. Well, you don't know whether in the course of the wine going into that skin or sometime when the thing's gone, maybe a gnat got into the wine. So you take a piece of muslin and you put it over the top of your cup. All right?

43:38 It's in my piece of muslin.

43:41 I didn't come prepared for the illustration.

43:45 Then you open up one of the legs real slowly. Let it drain through. Oh, hey, I got a little couple of gnats in there. So you flick them away and you can sip your wine with the confidence that you don't have gnats plus wine.

43:59 He says you strain out the gnats. But he said, while you're straining out the gnats, lo and behold, one of your camels gets loose. He gets in your cup. You say, a camel can't fit in a cup.

44:12 That's right. It's a grotesque, exaggerated metaphor. And he said, all the while, you're rejoicing, oh, no gnats in my wine. You're gulping down camels.

44:24 You see how grotesque it is? You gulp down the camels. You strain out the gnats of this nitpicking thing here, nitpicking thing. But you swallow down the camels of your love and your selflessness, your pride, your externalism, things that are an abomination to God.

44:39 Well, all the while, you keep your little checklist. And my brothers and sisters, I have seen that with my own eyes in those circles that I came out of. They felt they had a right to legislate on non-moral issues. I can remember being in circles where they said, no Christian would ever take to his lips anything with alcohol in it.

44:59 Alcoholic beverages are of the devil. And I saw some of those very preachers that preached that stuff who were addicted to coke and Sprite and other soft drink, chewing up their stomachs and bloating out their bellies with an addiction to soft drinks, doing far more harm to their body, which is a temple of the Holy Spirit than they ever would have done with a moderate use of wine. And it never occurred to them. Never even entered their conscience.

45:32 Sit down and place their huge overblown bellies on the table and belt down fat-laden food and drink. And they would have food that was clogging up their arteries, sending them to early heart attacks with not a twinge of conscience because they didn't touch demons. They didn't touch the devil's fruit.

45:51 My friends, that's the mentality it cultivates. That's why your leadership in this church are jealously determined that we will not go beyond the Word of God with respect to issues concerning which the Bible gives no clear definition. It gives no direction. Ah, but someone raises an objection.

46:16 But if we don't enforce conformity on matters not commanded or forbidden, how can we have peace? Unity? How can we have a consistent How can we avoid Well, the answer is this is what this chapter is all about. The answer to that very question.

46:39 That's what it's all about. To tell us how we can pursue spiritual health within spiritual credibility to the world without it. And so we will learn from this passage that with respect to these issues there must be no forced conformity within the church on matters of legitimate diversity of conscience and practice. God's mandate is let each one fully persuaded in his own mind.

Principle 2: God-Wrought Unity Amidst Diversity

47:12 Now, quickly, the second principle and it won't take me as long to open it up is there must be God-wrought unity with God. Within the church legitimate diversity of conscience and practice on matters of Christian liberty. There must be no forced conformity but there must be God-wrought unity within the church in the midst of legitimate diversity of conscience and practice in this matter of Christian liberty. If the prohibition against forced conformity is the foundational principle of all these

47:57 exhortations then the capstone is Paul's prayer wish exhortation to unity in chapter 15 verses 5 and 6. And I want us to look at those verses. When he's done giving all the principles that he's going to give to the church at Rome verse 5 Now the God of patience and of comfort grants you to be of the same mind one with another according to Christ Jesus in order that with one accord you may with one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord

48:41 Jesus Christ.

48:45 What we have in these verses is not a direct exhortation not exactly a prayer it's what many of the commentators call one of Paul's prayer wishes slash exhortation exhortations he expresses the sanctified desire of his heart as that which you can well imagine he would be praying for the Romans that he would want them to pray for themselves but that he would want them to seek to pursue by the grace and power of God. So let's look briefly now at this prayer wish exhortation notice the author of this unity identified now the God of patience and of comfort grant you

49:30 to be of the same mind one with another in order that with one accord you may with one mouth if this is to be attained Paul is conscious and he wants the Romans to be conscious that the author of this unity must be God himself may God grant you to be you see men can create organizations with man made rules and standards and do fine but men can't create unity in the midst of this climate that has such potential for obvious diversity men can't do that because with that much diversity

50:14 people would lose their sense of cohesion and unity this is why men can concoct religious systems with enforced conformity and do very well and Islam is the great witness to that five times a day dressed a certain way eat certain foods don't eat certain foods don't touch certain beverages all forced conformity a conformity that the consistent Muslim wants to enforce upon the world and will not be content until Sharia law governs the world for the glory of Allah Allah is only glorified when there is this strict extensive

50:57 multifaceted enforced conformity but you see only God can so work as to enable men and women to embrace one another with differing consciences and practices on a whole spectrum of non-moral issues because they've got something at work in them that the world doesn't have in its clubs or in its man-made religions it's called the grace of God it's called the indwelling of the Holy Spirit you see and Paul wants these Romans to know if you're going to implement these directives to the end that you have a God glorifying unity remember God's the one that has to do it

God Works Unity Through the Scriptures

51:42 he's the author of the unity it is God himself but then it is God working by means of the scriptures now where do we find that let's look at the passage having exhorted the believers the strong believers in verse 1 of chapter 15 we that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak and not to please ourselves let each one of us please his neighbor for that which is good for edifying and then he says Christ your redeemer is also Christ your example for Christ also did not please himself now how do we know that well he could have cited all kinds of incidents from the earthly life of our Lord validated by the gospel witnesses etc but he doesn't what does he do he reaches back to a statement

52:27 from Psalm 69 Christ pleased not himself but as it is written the reproaches of them that reproach thee fell on me and it's as though someone says wait a minute Paul why are you reaching way back into the Old Testament to prove that Christ did not please himself he says I'll tell you for whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning that through patience and through comfort of the scriptures we might have hope now he hasn't forgotten what he's dealing with he says in this whole matter that I'm seeking to lay upon you how a church can dwell together to the glory of God in spirit wrought unity in the midst of all of this diversity

53:12 on matters where the Bible does not clearly speak he said we need to have this grace we are the strong to bear with the weaknesses and infirmities of the weak and in so doing we'll be like Christ the Christ whom the Old Testament pointed to as the one who would take our reproaches and furthermore Paul says in giving us that directive God is demonstrating that it's by the scriptures that we have endurance it's the scriptures that set before us the path of endurance and the consolation the comfort the exhortation by which we are enabled to endure now he says

53:56 the God of patience and comfort couple it we find patience and comfort now the God of patience and comfort you see what he's doing he says God and his word are so inseparable that what God gives you the scriptures give you and what the scriptures give you God gives you so when they are to think of this matter of the unity that is to be the great goal of their absorption of these principles they're to understand the author of this unity identified is God himself but it is God working by means of the scriptures you see dear brothers

54:41 and sisters it's when we are determined to have all of our thinking and all of our feelings and all of the ways we relate to one another tethered to our Bibles that we're going to be safe we're going to be unified and to allow our background personal to be the norm for everyone else get into trouble get into trouble and we get off the path of God honoring Bible discipline perseverance and and , exhortation and so the author of this unity

The Essence and Goal of Unity: Glorifying God

55:24 is God himself God working by means of the scriptures but then look at the essence of this unity described now the God of patience and comfort grant you to be here it's described of the same mind one with another according to Christ Jesus the essence of this unity is to be of the same mind one with another according to Christ Jesus now this cannot mean of the same mind uniformity of perspective on all areas of differing conscience and practice he's already told us no

56:09 one man has faith to eat another one is weak he cannot eat one keeps the day is he at the end of all he's saying now folks forget all that I said and sit down and have a power and come to agreement should enlightened believers under the liberty of the new covenant have any problem with any meats any days any wine yes or no settle it let's get no when he says that here's the goal that the God of patience and comfort would give to you it's to be of the same mind one with another here's the key according to Christ Jesus with Christ Jesus as your standard with Christ Jesus

56:53 as the one who articulates how you are to relate to one another with Christ Jesus speaking through me his apostle with Christ Jesus speaking in his word with Christ Jesus as your great example he has just mentioned that up in verse 3 as you are tethered to Christ to Christ's word and Christ's authority and the grace of Christ the essence of that unity will be that your attitudes and your actions will measure up to the standard of Christ himself you will not allow these issues to become prominent and divisive

57:37 the strong and the weak together aligned under the word of Christ and under the will of Christ filled with the spirit of Christ and what is the great goal of that unity the author God himself God working by means of scripture the essence of it what's the goal of it verse 6 you Greek students ahina clause of purpose in order that here's the great goal that with one accord you may with one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ here's the goal that inwardly that you may with one accord that's Luke's favorite word in the book of Acts they were all together with one accord Acts 2-1

58:22 Acts 2 later when God incorporated three thousand they were of one accord one accord one accord that you may with one accord it describes the inward bond of spiritual unity one mouth that's the outward expression of it in worship and praise to God here's the great end in view Paul says if you all understand and absorb what I've written to you there at Rome I've received some intimations that those with Jewish background and those with Gentile pagan background are having some tension some responsible commentators say it was the major purpose of the book of Romans was to reconcile some real fissures in the church at Rome whether that's so or not it's obvious

59:06 Paul was aware that there could be these fracturing this could be the fracturing of their unity and he said no I want you with one heart one accord and then with one mouth that is not hypocritical to glorify God what is it to glorify God it's so difficult so to speak and act that who and what God is and does may be accurately displayed among men that's what it is to glorify God so to speak and so to act that what God is and what God does may be accurately displayed among men now do you get the vision of what that would mean at the Roman church here's the brother with his sensitive conscience about wine

59:50 another brother over here with his sensitive conscience about wine another one about special days another one about special foods here's the brother absolutely free in Christ to use his wine in moderation here's another one absolutely free in Christ to regard all days alike another one absolutely free to eat any food that is nourishing and to eat it in moderation to his physical strength and here they are fully aware of their differences not putting them under the rug and saying oh if we become aware of it that's going to get no Paul you see writes in the whole context as though everybody knows these are issues fully aware of it but what happens

60:34 recognizing the principles in this passage that there is no judging on the part of the strong looking down their schnoot at the weak no despising there is no judging by the weak of the strong that they are unspiritual and too liberal there is mutual acceptance from the heart that each is walking with a good conscience before God there is sensitivity on the part of the strong that they do not flaunt their liberty in order to embold in some who cannot eat that meat who cannot drink that wine who must keep that day they are very careful that they exercise their liberty in context that will in no way provoke the weak brother to go beyond what his conscience says

61:19 he can do and he sees this mutual sensitivity this mutual forbearance this mutual forbearance this mutual deference and he says when a bunch like you gets together and people find out hey some are wine drinkers some are teetotalers some don't have televisions some do some go mixed bathing some don't some women wear makeup some don't some have earrings some don't they say how in the world can you be such a happy worshipping bunch this is what God

61:58 to be of the same mind one to another according to Christ Jesus these principles Paul said I've articulated in the name and authority of Christ that with one accord you may with one mouth glorify the God and Father of our in great measure that's what we've had in this church for years and by the grace of God some of us are ready to spill blood to maintain it periodically we've had people

62:42 that wanted to make the rules some subtly some not so subtly oh I mean if we come to this I mean aren't we going to let down the bars my friend God can take care of the bars we just make sure we're tethered to this book we need not be more fastidious to pursue our holiness than God is and if God has not said this practice this activity this food this drink is an enemy to holiness don't you say it is and be wiser than God and don't look at your brother and what he does or doesn't do and stand in judgment on we'll come to those principles but the passage in a beautiful way

63:26 is introduced to us very much on the front end with saying look however these issues are going to be addressed and dealt with no forced conformity and as you seek to work through them and absorb them and implement them here's the great end a unity inward and outward that brings glory to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus Christ both now and forever well that's what I wanted to say this morning and I've pleaded with God that God the Holy Spirit would help us all with spiritual understanding and perception to grasp it

64:10 and then by the grace of God to implement it let's pray our Father we're so thankful for your word we never cease to marvel at the penetrating understanding of the human heart revealed in the spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ we pray that you would grant us clear understanding and more than that grace to embrace all that you have said that we as your people individually and corporately may fully absorb and work out in practice and in our life together these principles from your word we pray for those sitting among us who know nothing of what it is

64:55 to jealously seek to live in the spirit of God as unto you who still live to themselves who are still bowing down to the idol of their own unblessed selfhood Lord we pray that you would show them the futility of such a life and make them jealous to know the exquisite joy and liberty of being set free to serve you the God who has made us in your beloved Son the God who has died for sinners seal then your word to our hearts and bless us with your presence as we part one from another we ask in Jesus name Amen