Romans 14_13-23 - How to Navigate Differences in Christian Liberty and Conviction: Part 2
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Summary
Part 2 of a three-part section on how to navigate differences in Christian liberty and convictions. In this section of Romans 14:1-7, we see how to cultivate unity between weak and strong Christians, and how to deal with conflicts between them.
Transcript
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well good morning again and uh i feel like even just a little bit of cloud coverage for arizonans
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just makes everybody tired and so by god's grace we will wake up here and hear the word of the lord
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this is part two of a three-part section in the 14th chapter of romans i've titled this
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how to navigate differences in Christian liberty and convictions. This is part two. Last week is
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part one, and next week will be part three, because this text really goes from 14, chapter 14, verse
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one, all the way to 15, verse seven. Now, if you recall, Paul spent the first 11 chapters of Romans
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dealing with the fundamentals and laying the foundation of the gospel. And we went through
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that extensively for the last almost two years. He shifted in chapter 12 to show us that
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what we believe should inform how we behave. And that was really the shift of the epistle,
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moving from doctrine to behavior. In chapter 13, we saw how our relationship ought to be with the
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civil rulers and also with the world. And then we moved into chapter 14, where we are now dealing
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with cultivating unity, particularly between weak and strong Christians. How do you have unity
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between weak and strong Christians? I'll even say new and mature Christians, or people that are
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coming out of cults and people that have been raised up since childhood in the faith and a
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very healthy home. There is a variety of applications to this text that will be very
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helpful for your Christian life. Now, some believe, some believers might be stumbled by
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the freedoms of the strong. This is kind of the main point of this section of scripture.
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Some believers might be stumbled by the liberties of the freedoms of the strong, while those folks with those freedoms may be frustrated with the sensitivities of the weak and their convictions upon them.
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That really happens, and you'll hear a variety of examples of how that might play out in the local context.
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Paul used two examples in this text from his period of time that I believe this principle
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is universal, but the application is local and the local application for him was this.
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It was eating particular foods, maybe foods that were sacrificed to idols, as we see in
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It also could be speaking to Judaism and coming out of the ceremonial law and particular feasts
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and dietary restrictions that came with Jewish festivities and religious convictions. It could
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also be, as he speaks about, the reality of festivals and celebrations and religious ceremonies.
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And so all of these areas are areas that are in Paul's day, but today we might face similar
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situations that can extend beyond those particular examples. I've seen, even just in my own walk,
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in my own journey as a pastor, conflicts on a variety of issues, but particularly around
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modesty, dress length, if women should wear jewelry, how long their hair should be.
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I've seen it around drinking, around smoking, around particular language, celebrating Christmas.
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what is the sabbath should it be observed what can you do on the sabbath
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i've even seen people fight over if they could use esa for their government for government money
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for their children's education i'm talking there is opportunity for these principles
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to be applied in a variety of circumstances in the local church
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now you have a strong brother who understands the freedom
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from religious externalism. Let's just say that you have a strong brother in the church
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or sister in the church that really understands the freedom of the gospel to free us from
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religious externalism that comes from the old covenant and the old Testament, the ceremonial
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law, the dietary law, all of the things that came with that world, but they're free from that.
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But then you have also in the same church, a weak brother in Paul's time. Again,
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they're probably shaped by Judaism or maybe some local paganism. But in our time, it's probably
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some form of intense Christian legalism. I just met a lady that came to our Bible study who came
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out of a legitimate cult. I believe she loves the Lord and knows the Lord, and she is still fighting
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the battle if she can wear pants or if she must wear a dress. She is working through those
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realities. But her convictions and conscience is currently bound to what she has been raised in
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for many, many years. And so we are going to see a variety of manifestations of this scenario
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that make it great for application in the local church.
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How are Christians to sustain unity in these conflicts?
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how are we to uphold edification how are we to protect the testimony of the church that we are
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a group of people who actually love one of another i i really think that is the main
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question that this passage is trying to answer how can we navigate the differences of christian
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liberty and conviction while maintaining humility and charity for the sake of unity. That is really
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what Paul is getting at. Now, as I mentioned last week, the easy solution for local churches would
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just be to eliminate all opportunities for friction and create some sort of standardized
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policy. Well, we just don't do this here. We just don't do that here. I gave you examples that there
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are churches that force women to wear head coverings, and then there are churches who
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forbid women from wearing head coverings. I know pastors on both sides, and I think both of those
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options are wrong. And I said that because I don't think that imposing policies or rules or
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standardizations is really what we see in the scriptures, because the church is not a factory
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that we are here to produce sameness. The church is a garden where we are learning to embrace the
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differences that are happening in the members of the body of Christ and how we do that in love.
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How do we do that in love? Now, last week we saw that Paul was addressing tensions that had
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escalated apparently so far that people were judging one another's salvation. And again,
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this happens all the time. You see someone that has a different conviction than you
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and maybe has a different story than you, came from a different denomination than you,
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Maybe he doesn't buy into Calvinism like you do, and eventually you get to the conclusion they're probably not even saved.
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Maybe not look at it for a week, but maybe after a year or two, you could start to really get an accurate assessment if this person is producing fruit.
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now paul strongly rebuked that behavior of judging one another salvation he says why do you pass
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judgment on one another why do you despise your brother think about that why do you despise
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your brother how much hatred do you have in your heart for somebody maybe in this church or someone
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else at a different church it's a brother let it go let it go paul says for we will
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all stand before God and give an account for ourselves.
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That intense judgment that you have for somebody else, let the Lord deal with it.
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to exhibit love and peace and unity. Let the Lord deal with it.
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Pray for that brother or sister. So if last week's sermon
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was focused on tolerating the different convictions
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on secondary and tertiary matters or non-essential matters,
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today's sermon really focuses on exercising those convictions with charity and humility
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so first you have to kind of know that they exist and tolerate but now it's like how do you actually
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exercise that conviction that you have around x y or z and how do you do that well while maintaining
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unity in the church to not create a divisive environment in the local congregation well
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Paul says in verse 13, he says, therefore, let us not pass judgment on one another any
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longer. So just think about that for a second. Have you passed judgment upon somebody in
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this church or somebody at another church or maybe a Christian that's far away? It says,
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let us not pass judgment on one another any longer. Now we need to keep this in context.
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This doesn't mean that we can't judge the moral failures of somebody.
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It's talking about secondary, non-essential matters and convictions around those issues.
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And he says, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of that brother, that sister.
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Now this verse addresses both parties, the strong and the weak, the new and the old.
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the weak who are offended by the liberties of the strong
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and the strong who are offended by the sensitivities of the weak
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both are to stop their judgments and to figure out
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how can I make the priority edification and not judgment
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we're not going to be those people that have been around the scriptures for 20 years
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The word, therefore, signals that the actions that are in this particular verse
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are referring to the reasoning in the previous verse.
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Number one is because we can trust God to judge His people,
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we are free from making those judgments ourselves.
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When you judge somebody, it's saying, I don't believe that God will do it.
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I'm going to spend my time judging this person because you know what?
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God's not going to do it and I could do it better.
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In the latter half of verse 13, he uses a contrast clause.
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Right? The idea is, it's a contrast of the previous verse to the second part of the verse.
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He basically says, therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer.
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But, contrast, rather decide never to put a stumbling block or a hindrance in front of a brother.
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Essentially, Paul is saying, don't do that, and instead do this.
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Don't condemn your brothers and sisters for their liberties or their sensitivities,
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but rather limit your liberties and limit your sensitivities
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in an effort to stop offending your brothers and sisters and foster unity in the church.
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we can know if we read john 17 jesus's high priestly prayer
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he says father i pray that they are one as we are one so that purpose clause the world will believe
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that you sent me when the church is unified i'm not talking about superficial unity i'm talking
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deep, rich, sacrificial unity. The world sees that, and they believe that God sent Christ.
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But when you bicker and fight and divide, it produces an expelling reaction.
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It makes people doubt that this is a group of God. In fact, I've seen this on social media.
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We see it across Reformed communities on X, fighting, infighting, Christian cannibalism is what I call it.
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And it's ejecting people to Rome and Eastern Orthodoxy where there's a perceived sense of romantic unity.
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Somebody needs to stand up and yell and say, stop it.
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It's wicked to be dividing against other people.
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try to do it privately if maybe your discussion might stumble a thousand people.
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But no, everybody decides to have their quarrels open up in the air
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Now, I believe the lesson of this verse applies more directly to the strong
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who especially in, again, the Reformed community can often flaunt their liberties.
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We can flaunt our liberties because there is a lot of spiritual maturity, I believe, in the Reformed community.
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They understand the gospel. They understand the freedom that comes with the gospel.
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We're no longer under the law, but we're under grace. We get that to the core.
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but they're not thinking all the time about how their freedoms might cause a weaker or younger
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believer to doubt their sanctification or doubt their salvation or doubt that they're in a group
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of people that are also saved for example a weak believer might see a strong believer
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drinking alcohol smoking tobacco watching a particular tv show that might not be appropriate
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for one person who doesn't have the freedom to do so.
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For someone maybe that's going to Las Vegas for the weekend
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And because these liberties go beyond their convictions
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they may conclude that the stronger believer is actually not saved.
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but people that write me comments or write me emails or write me questions or respond to different things,
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responding to my book or different things that happen in greater Christendom.
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The even worse scenario is that your liberty as a strong believer who understands the freedom of the gospel
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might cause someone with a sensitive conscience to partake in those freedoms with you,
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cause them to feel a conflict of conscience and maybe even get them to a place where they are sinning against their conscience
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and sinning against God, causing division, causing deep bitterness and frustration in the body of Christ.
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This is exactly what Paul is trying to avoid.
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In other words, I've seen strong Christian men and strong Christian women encourage or even pressure.
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I've seen it. Even pressure. Weaker Christians to partake in something that in and of itself is not sinful.
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It's not sinful. Drinking a glass of wine in and of itself is not sinful.
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However, for some believers, it is. For some believers, it is.
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and by pressuring people into those particular positions
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they cause the weaker christian to violate their own conscience to act without faith which is
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ultimately sinful and so this happens again it happens i would say even more often in the reform
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communities because we are a strong bunch understanding the freedom of grace that we
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have around particular activities. Now, the issue usually rises because the strong doesn't
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understand how their objectively sinless liberty, you know, going to Vegas is not sinful. Now,
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it can be sinful, but objectively going to Las Vegas is not sinful. But they don't understand
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but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it's unclean he says oof okay that's a new category
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that most christians don't know how to deal it verse 15 for if your brother is grieved by what
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you eat you are no longer walking in love but what you eat or by what you eat do not destroy
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Or it means to kind of have a devastating spiritual setback.
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So do not let what you regard as good, sinless or freedom or liberty,
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be spoken of as evil by someone that's watching with a weaker conscience.
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So Paul acknowledges that the things like eating food to sacrifice idols,
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not celebrating certain religious ceremonies or festivals or activities.
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to sacrifice or limit their liberties for the weak.
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Now, when you do sacrifice that liberty for the sake of the weak,
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it's easy for the strong to feel as if you've lost an opportunity for discipleship.
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You go, ah, I want this brother to have the same freedom that I have.
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I think 1 Corinthians 10, 23, which says, is very helpful.
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It says, all things are lawful, but not all things are helpful.
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All things are lawful, but not all things build up.
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It's not saying that I can go commit adultery and that's not, oh, it's lawful.
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Christian liberty is not the liberty to do whatever you please, but to do what is helpful and edifying.
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You are free to do anything that is helpful and edifying.
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And sometimes what is most helpful and edifying is not exercising your liberty.
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Christian liberty is not the liberty to do what we please, but to do what is helpful and edifying.
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And sometimes what is most helpful and edifying is not exercising your liberty.
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In other words, if you're strong, you get to limit your liberties for the sake of others.
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In verse 16, Paul addresses the potential outcome.
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Saying, so do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil.
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Don't allow that thing to be spoken of as evil.
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He's not saying when someone says it's evil to go correct him.
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someone speaking evil of what you regard as good,
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but he's inadvertently giving an instruction in this passage.
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He's saying, don't exercise your freedoms or your liberties
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in a way that they could be viewed by someone with a weaker conscience
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There's a privacy element that we're about to see
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because we live in a world where it's easily to get easy to get offended and you can't protect
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everybody from everyone uh we live in a rated r world if you haven't noticed and there is a
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variety of conflict points that you cannot get around what you want to do is make sure that your
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life is not unintentionally or intentionally offending somebody, especially a brother,
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For example, I check with every man that comes to our men's meetings.
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Our men's meetings, we'll have guys that will have a beer or smoke a cigar after our
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gathering. I check with every man that's his first time coming and I go, hey, is this a struggle that
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you've had in the past? If so, can we talk about it? Is this going to be a stumbling block for you?
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I have those conversations. What would be easy would to become a factory and say, you know,
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let's just make it. No, we're not going to do any of that here. No, but we're a garden.
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The people who are strong, who have the freedom,
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and the people who are weak, who have the sensitive consciences.
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Now, we don't want the tyranny of the sensitive conscience
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to completely obliterate the freedoms of the strong.
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Just last week, I heard that another local church refers to us as the bad boy church
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because we have alcohol and smoke cigars at our men's meeting.
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It says, do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil.
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This is something that I'm praying on how to address.
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It's going to require probably a handful of discussions.
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Meeting with other pastors, meeting with other church members, meeting with folks in our congregation here.
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But it's not something we just ignore and push under the rug.
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Another church in this town has labeled our church with a reputation that we are a bad boy church.
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well i think that both parties particularly might be in some degree of wrong
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so how do we deal with that well again it's not the factory it's the garden
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we need to figure out how to work through our differences in humility and love for the sake
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of unity for the purpose of the testimony of the church so that the people in press
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it can see unity instead of division between churches.
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So we have two takeaways from this particular section, this verse.
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Stronger believers are not to let their legitimate freedoms lead weaker believers to speak of those freedoms as evil.
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But I have been particularly careful, I don't drink alcohol anymore because my body won't let me, but when I used to be able to drink alcohol, I was particularly careful about posting pictures on social media of me drinking alcohol as a pastor because that might lead to someone else feeling permission to drink because I can drink.
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and that was just my own personal conviction on the matter
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now both Kingsway and this other church are called to act in love
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we are to keep this principle within the church.
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For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking,
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but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
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there's not a priority in this kind of deep desire
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that we need to have a cigar and a beer at our gatherings.
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And then on the other side, are you really condemning a church because of eating and drinking?
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For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking,
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but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
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Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by man.
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So then let us pursue, let us, let both churches, let all the Christians in Prescott,
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let us pursue what makes for peace and mutual upbuilding.
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for us to walk out, to try to meet with other churches,
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to try to meet with other pastors, try to meet with other Christians,
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and to make sure that we are constantly, in every case, in every season,
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for every year that we are in this town, trying to build peace
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I want you to first notice how he uses the term kingdom of God.
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Anytime I get a chance to slip this in, I will.
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It's demonstrating how we, the church, are operating in a current kingdom.
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Whether you interpret it to be spiritual only, whether you interpret it to be physical and spiritual,
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or both, the fact of the passage is that it assumes a current kingdom which the members are partaking.
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Second, Paul makes it clear that the personal doctrines or convictions that we often prioritize,
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these personal things, whether it's a conviction of conscience, a sensitivity, or a freedom or liberty,
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just think about those things in your own life. We all have them.
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he makes it clear that those things we often prioritize are not central to God's kingdom
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they're not the priority it's not the priority if it is become the priority if you become
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your pet doctrines have become the front runner of what you talk about that's a problem
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and again i hope that i've you know modeled this i have lots of fun doctrines that i enjoy
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i wrote an entire book on head coverings and i've never given a sermon on it and it's because it's
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not a priority you know it is a priority justification by faith the imputed righteousness
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of christ understanding god's wrath for sin and i try to make that a priority as often as i possibly
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can. We cannot make the minors the majors and the majors the
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minors. In Paul's example, he shocks his audience, okay? You
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don't understand because you are not from a Jewish descent, but
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when he says the kingdom of God is not about eating and
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drinking? Okay, if you were a Jew, you'd go, what? If you're just a brand new Jewish convert
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coming to Christ, the kingdom of God is not about eating and drinking or particular festivals?
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Are you serious? My entire life has been surrounded. What did Peter say when he is
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having the vision and God says that everything is clean? He says, Lord, I have never let an
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unclean thing into my mouth. Do you understand the degree of eating and drinking, how that played
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into religious life for a Jewish person? And then Paul comes in and says, for the kingdom of God's
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not about eating and drinking or about those festivals. That's a shocker. That's jarring to
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this group. That's something that they have done their entire lives. So Paul, again, is reorienting
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believers from focusing on religious externalism, showing that the shadows of the externalism
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have now been fulfilled in the substance of Christ. But the reality is the transition from that
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to this for some people is extremely difficult the transition from being in bondage to alcoholism
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and gambling and smoking to being born again and free in christ and not being in bondage to sin
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where you can actually partake of those things without falling into addiction
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What a beautiful work that God has done in you.
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Do not project your sensitivities, if you're mature enough to see this, on the strong.
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where you're making everybody feel that they're sinning
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because they don't share the same convictions as you.
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Ultimately, the kingdom of God is not about outward religious life
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or persuading others about your personal convictions
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Peter and Paul trying to find peace? It resulted
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Do you remember the disciples trying to find peace among one another?
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done through the Holy Spirit. And not to say that the church is here
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or the church is anywhere or anybody else in our world is not trying.
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And we as a church need to be constantly praying
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That is a constant framework for the Christian life.
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Because our unity is a tool in the means by which God uses to convince the world that he sent Christ as the Messiah.
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and we should be willing to do whatever it takes short of sinful compromise but whatever it takes
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outside of just like an absolute sinful compromise we should be willing to do whatever it takes
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to maintain that peace if it means that we never smoke a cigar ever again we will do it if it means
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that we never drink alcohol ever again i would do it that's exactly what paul says in first
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Corinthians if you've never read it. If it means that I should never eat meat again, I will never
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do it, is what Paul says. That's the degree of sacrifice
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that I will take. Now my assumption is that Paul probably
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But his heart was willing to do whatever it took to
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keep peace among the church. And so what do we do?
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Well, again, we don't go for the factory model.
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we dive in to discussions with prayer and humility and charity with one another.
00:37:48.160
Paul reiterates his points with some additional clarity. He says,
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Do not for the sake of food destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean,
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but it is wrong for anyone who makes another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat
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that causes your brother to stumble. There it is. If you wanted the text
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I think that Paul is addressing both parties. To the sensitive, he says,
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imagine reading that from the apostle you just came out of judaism and you're really struggling
00:38:41.420
with eating shrimp and paul says everything is clean that's a pretty bold statement to you okay
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to the strong he says it is wrong for you to make another stumble by what you eat
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that's another big push he's pushing on both sides and you know what he didn't do
00:39:07.140
he didn't necessarily make a policy he gave a principle he gave truth and speaking the truth
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in love and he lets those principles unfold how they may in the grace of the holy spirit
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in a local context. Now I know two Christian families, two Christian families who do not eat
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pork specifically because they do not believe it is a righteous decision. I've known them,
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I've known one of them for a long time, over 10 years. They don't believe a person is condemned
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if they do eat pork, but they do believe without a doubt that God is pleased with those who refrain
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Do you think that I have not had this conversation with my friends about this particular scripture?
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Their bondage to legalism has prevented them from seeing the lawful nature of pork.
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And you know, it's really easy for someone to go, they don't get the gospel.
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They can recite back to me some of the greatest doctrines of the scriptures.
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Why they don't get this position is a thing that we get to work through via prayer and humble discussion over long periods of time.
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It's not me bringing bacon over on a Saturday to their house for barbecue.
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I'm not going to let my liberty try to persuade.
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It's actually better for me to sacrifice my liberty for the sake of their conscience.
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In 1 Corinthians, I don't have the text up, but I was reading it this week.
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There's a scenario where Paul speaks of, you're at a pagan's house.
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and the pagan serves you up some meat that was sacrificed to idols.
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They would go to the temples and they would sacrifice meat
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The rest of that meat they would sell in the meat market
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you're over at their house hoping to give them the gospel.
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And this individual brings out this meat and says out loud, this was meat that was sacrificed to Diana.
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Well, you're there with a brother who just came out and you were hoping that that guy was going to help evangelize this guy.
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But what happens is your brother now goes, I can't eat that.
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I can't eat that because I just came out of that.
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And the question Paul brings up is, what do you do?
00:43:10.800
Do you offend the pagan that you're trying to evangelize, or do you offend the brother?
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Now, the reality is, unfortunately, many Christians would rather offend their brother than offend the pagan.
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while making my brother or sister uncomfortable
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What I want you to understand is that you're refraining, you're refraining from if you're strong and you just limit your liberty.
00:44:37.720
It's not saying and I'm not saying and the scripture is not saying that what you're doing is actually sinful and that's why you're stopping.
00:44:44.420
No, no, it's it's it's an act of love, not an act of I was sitting in my freedom.
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No. It's acknowledging that your actions might be the cause to offend somebody that you are covenantally committed to not offending.
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So Paul gives you exactly what to do in verse 22.
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He says, and this is very important, this speaks to the privacy.
00:45:16.040
He says, the faith that you have, and what he means by that is the strong liberty you have.
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The faith that you have, keep it between yourself and God.
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He goes on, he says, blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves.
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But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith.
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For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
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Paul is using the term faith as like a synonym for your strong spiritual freedoms.
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The strong spiritual freedoms and liberties that you have, keep them between yourself and God.
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and yes i would argue that you can keep them between those brothers and sisters that you know
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also have that strong liberty because you'll find those men and women
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you might have watched a particular show and you go hey yeah did you see that episode yeah it was
00:46:25.540
great you might be careful about mentioning that you're watching that show in front of somebody
00:46:33.060
else that might not be as strong in that particular liberty. The idea of reserving our convictions
00:46:42.820
is quite difficult for some. And I'll even say for me, I like to share my convictions.
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I'm a pastor. I'm a preacher. That's what I do as I share my convictions and my positions.
00:46:59.900
Now, our society has become more and more and more and more and more public.
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Your life has great access to everybody through social media.
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And self-expression is so saturated in our culture that you almost feel like it's your duty to let everybody know about your freedoms.
00:47:26.860
you know evangelizing our own positions all the time
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and we are to do that certainly with the gospel
00:47:36.600
but it's not equally beneficial to publicly advocate
00:47:49.700
and I think that this has become a very popular thing
00:47:54.460
You'll take something that is like no one ever thought was a vital thing and you make the main thing, or this minor thing, the main thing.
00:48:02.740
And all of a sudden, now the whole church is talking about this thing that was a minor thing for centuries.
00:48:17.400
I have a friend who lives on the East Coast and he's got a neurological disorder.
00:48:24.300
he reached out to me because he knew that I had struggled with chronic illness, and I had also
00:48:27.500
some neurological things, including seizures. And he's a strong brother in the Lord. He was
00:48:32.700
considering enrolling in seminary. He knows the doctrines in and out. He's a faithful man. He's
00:48:37.760
got a good family, healthy children, takes care of his finances. Good guy.
00:48:44.820
Some of his stuff, some of his symptoms actually get him to a place where he almost thought he
00:48:48.620
had Parkinson's. He was shaky on his hands, his feet. And I don't know about you, but if you look
00:48:54.260
at some of the drugs that they prescribe for neurological things they're they're really
00:48:57.900
poisonous they're almost in every way they're toxic and when you do the research on some of
00:49:05.100
these drugs because i've been prescribed some of these things in the past they're really bad for
00:49:09.160
you now they solve some of the symptoms some of the problems but they're really bad for you and
00:49:14.580
this brother came out and reached out to me and asked me a question about this because he was in
00:49:18.820
a private forum with other people that had some of the same debilitating symptoms and somebody had
00:49:24.820
recommended that he uses a thc mint okay you can see where i'm going right so it's legal in his
00:49:32.920
state for uh cannabis and he was came to me privately and he was asking about hey
00:49:40.220
what do you think about this and he had a conversation about his liberties
00:49:52.240
And he balanced out the differences between the toxicity of the prescriptions
00:50:09.160
Let's just say that he landed on taking those alternative medicines.
00:50:14.360
Do you think that would be a good thing to talk about with his entire church?
00:50:22.460
In fact, it would actually be really wise of him to follow verse 22 that says,
00:50:26.120
The faith that you have, keep it between yourself and God.
00:50:30.900
There are unique situations where you might have a particular freedom to do something.
00:50:36.660
What you don't need to do is cause a scenario where you have some sort of information bias,
00:50:52.840
and it's something that's not as inherently sinful,
00:51:05.600
You know what that would do to that local church?
00:51:08.260
You know how many conversations that would start?
00:51:14.260
I don't know I'm not him and I'm not in his church
00:51:28.560
spiritual liberty that you might have on a particular
00:52:23.360
And when those weaker believers partake in
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whatever activity you're free to engage in,
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And to think that grown men don't have peer pressure is a lie.
00:52:42.520
The apostle closes with this vital statement in the very last verse of the chapter.
00:52:46.060
He says, for whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
00:53:01.060
James 4 17 says so whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it for him it is sin
00:53:12.680
have you ever done something that there's not a particular text of scripture that condemns what
00:53:17.780
you're doing but you just did something and you have a conviction that you need to go
00:53:22.600
say something to somebody or apologize to someone or to do something different than what you just
00:53:29.300
did. You're not going to find a verse that says you just sinned, but for
00:53:33.300
you, you had a conviction to do something that was right,
00:53:37.180
but you did not do it, and for you, because you're violating your own
00:53:48.820
It's weird gray area things, and you're like, you just have a sensitive conscience. I don't know if
00:53:53.200
I offended that guy or not. I'm just going to go apologize to him. If I
00:53:57.300
didn't apologize to him, it would have been sin because I'm not obeying the sensitivities
00:54:01.620
of my own conscience. And man, there are so many passages
00:54:05.540
of scripture talking about obeying conscience. But we don't have time to do that.
00:54:09.360
J.I. Packer says, the conscience is God's appointed guide
00:54:17.880
And when we go against it, we are not merely rejecting a personal
00:54:21.460
preference, but defying God's will as he has revealed it to
00:54:25.340
us, end quote. You never want to aid someone in violating their own conscience. You don't want
00:54:35.000
to do that. Yes, you want to disciple them towards truth. If I get a brother who
00:54:42.480
believes that drinking wine is inherently sinful, objectively sinful,
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and there's plenty of Baptists that hold this position in the South, okay?
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00:55:00.480
But the way to do that is not to switch out his grape juice for the wine and sneak it into his cup.
00:55:14.340
You want to disciple them graciously, patiently, over long periods of time.
00:55:21.520
And you can do this also with your own children.
00:55:26.040
I'm going to close with 1 Corinthians chapter 10.
00:55:32.500
Paul, in this passage of Scripture, is actually speaking to the almost identical circumstances.
00:55:38.040
Certainly the same treatment of the same issues.
00:55:53.500
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
00:56:02.880
Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks, now pay attention here, or to the church of God.
00:56:15.580
Okay, it's not just talking about outsiders, it's talking about insiders as well.
00:56:19.940
So, just as I, the apostle, tried to please everything or everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but the advantage of many that they may be saved.
00:57:42.700
all right if timothy's willing to do that i think you should be willing to do almost anything all
00:57:47.900
right so to the strong your priority is not to advertise your freedoms to those who are weak
00:57:56.300
keep it between you and yourself and the lord and those who share those freedoms
00:58:01.820
clearly with you to the sensitive your priority is not to condemn those who are free
00:58:09.280
and operating in things that the Bible has said are clean.
00:58:17.720
Hypervigilance that's driven by charity and humility
00:58:23.500
for the purpose of the testimony of the church to the world.
00:58:38.640
Lord, that you would work in the greater garden
00:58:55.300
the churches in Moscow, the churches in Ogden, the churches in Georgetown
00:59:03.240
and Ohio and Texas, Lord, all of the people that are in the denomination