Romans 14:13-18

13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.

As we continue to look at people peace Paul turns his attention to dealing with diversity. As he starts in verse 13 with the word “therefore” he ties together the first 12 verses and what he has just taught with what he still wants us to know. If he had ended with verse 12 we would get the impression that all we need to do is to stop judging and leave those who are different from us alone. But now Paul calls us to engage in those that are different and diverse, this is a call to be involved in the lives of others. Paul is reminding us that what we do and how we do it affects others. That even though we have liberty through Christ and don’t have to jump through a bunch of legalistic laws or follow a list of rules and regulations, that we don’t just get to do what we want. We may live in the land of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness but that doesn’t mean that we can live as we please. One of the reasons we live in conflicted community instead of Christian community is that we won’t practice the two principles of 1 Corinthians. One of which focuses on us and the other on them. 1 Corinthians 6:12 says: “You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything.” We are to avoid those things that have the potential to master us, and second we must avoid those things that have the potential to mess others up: 1 Corinthians 10:23-24 states: 23 “You say, “I am allowed to do anything”- but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial. 24 Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others.” Both of these truths are seen in Galatians 5:13: “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” Dealing with diversity means dealing with the truth that what I do affects you. Paul starts in the first 12 verses getting us to pay attention to our attitudes and now he calls us to:

• Analyze our Actions

Paul starts by calling us to let love limit our liberty. The first part of verse 13 says: “Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another…” We are to stop doing what we want, to stop being held by habit and give heed to God’s heart. Now Paul uses a play on words in the Greek, to say that if we want to judge then go for it, because there is someone that we need to judge, ourselves “…Instead, make up your mind…” this literally means, “Judge this instead” Paul calls us to curb some things in our life for the sake of Christ and Christian community. Our actions can cause adverse harm to others so first we need to make up our mind to remove the stumbling blocks. A “stumbling block” was anything that would cause someone to strike their foot and fall. This is a shift from attitudes to action, it’s a call to remove anything in the road that might trip those around us. It is why the church I’m in celebrates communion with grape juice instead of wine. Because we don’t want to cause those with an alcohol addiction to stumble in what should be spiritually significant. We must also obliterate the obstacles, these are the snares that trap instead of trip. Are there any obstacles you might be oblivious to, why not take the time to talk with those around you to make sure you are not tripping and trapping. We must also determine not to cause distress, verse 15 says :“If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love.” Liberty must be tempered by love because our attitudes and actions can have adverse effects on others. The word “distressed” here carries with it the idea of grieving, like when a loved one dies. When we throw around our freedom at the expense of others we become relationally reckless and the danger is in the damage we can do. We are urged to act in love, to lead out of love and not liberty, this is God’s agape love that chooses to act out of self-sacrifice so it can to serve. Next Paul reminds us to refuse to destroy our family, the last part of verse 15 says: “Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died.” The word “destroy” means to tear down, destruction is the activity of the devil, and it is the work of the wicked one Satan and not the saints. Paul uses the strong word “destroy” to remind us of the seriousness of the situation, when we destroy our spiritual siblings we are acting like the devil. If we are really serious about pursuing love, then we won’t let liberty lead us into limiting others by damaging and derailing them. Verse 16 reminds us of the bigger picture, that there is a world watching and we don’t just destroy and fracture the family, to not destroy our witness and make it worthless: “Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil.” Second we must

• Focus on eternal realities not on external regulations.

The focus shouldn’t be on whether we feel the freedom to eat meat or abstain but on the kingdom of God. Today in the church we like to focus our faith on our feelings and our freedom instead of on the Father. Verse 17 reminds us that “the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” It’s about kingdom living, its about the Lord not my likes. Instead of emphasizing our personal rights we’re to focus on righteousness. Are you majoring on what matters, kingdom living or minoring on miniscule matters, the disagreeable differences? It’s not the externals, but the eternals that must be first in our life. It’s interesting how we swing the wrecking ball from one extreme to another and instead of having balance there is brokeness. The church used to be caught up in the dos and don’ts of legalism but now we live in an anything goes church culture. Instead of legalism, we focus on license, where we think we can do anything we want. But in this passage Paul reins us in. We must limit our liberty for the sake of others and we must make sure we are allowing what really matters, the eternal and not the externals, to define and drive our lives. Verse 18 reminds us that we are called to live a life that pleases God and one in which others can praise: “Because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.” The word “serves” is the word “bondslave,” which means we belong to another and are seeking to obey their command. Liberty is best lived out by letting the Lord lead. We need to remember that we are striving for unity not uniformity. So how are you a unifier in your home, your workplace, your friends, your school, your neighborhood? We need to stop judging, giving in to gossip, and surrendering to slandering, instead we are to pursue peace. Proverbs 6:19 says the Lord finds detestable “a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.” Are you watching your words? When you hear others criticizing and complaining about another Christian are you calling them to account in love, and instead of joining in the judging are you journeying with them to go seek and speak to the one they are skewering?  Yes it is possible to be diverse and not divided.  We are different and distinct pieces of the puzzle, but variety is valuable because we have different gifts, abilities, and talents. We have a plethora of different personalities, totally different temperaments and thoughts, and often very opposite opinions. But God is not calling us to be the “same,” we’re called to be one. That means we can disagree without being disagreeable, we can have harmony even though we’re not homogeneous. So in what specific ways can you live bigger and love better? In order to live bigger, is there anything you need to give up or begin that you know would be beneficial? Is there anyone you’ve been denying love that is desperate for a deeper love? What liberty do you need to limit in order to love larger? Are there any activities you are engaged in that are adversely affecting those around you others? Are you willing to stop for the sake of serving your brother or sister in Christ? What do you love more your freedom or God’s family, what leads you your liberty or His love?

Romans 14:9-12

9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’” 12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

When it comes to judgmental attitudes and actions we all have two things in common, first we all struggle with being judgmental and second we all detest being judged. In truth we do what we despise being done to us. The problem is we are often blind to our judgmental spirit; we are slow to see our sick hearts yet quick to judge and see the faults and failures of others. So we put our energy into pointing out others problems instead of proactively dealing with our own. We revert to rejecting others because they are judgmental instead of dealing with our own heart of hate. Our biggest road block to dealing with our own dysfunction is pride. It’s what causes us to point out the problems in the people around us because it takes the focus off of our faults. We need to admit that we all struggle with judgmental attitudes and actions that need to be jettison. Yet we would much rather see others sin than wade through and wage war on our own. But which is more productive, trying to change others, or confronting our own heart and admitting that we need Christ to conform us? Here in Romans 14:10 Paul calls us to personal accountability, “You, then why do you judge your brother or sister?” We have to take personal responsibility for how we are acting and reacting. Until we deal with the “YOU” and stop focusing on the THEY we will never experience the transforming truth of scripture.  In this passage Paul gives us three ways to help us overcome a judgmental spirit. First we need to:

• Focus on the fundamentals of our faith.

This is seen in verse 9: “For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.” Paul is not just offering us a program to deal with petty problems or minor relational rubs. He is tying our care for our fellow Christians to clear truths about Christ. He is reminding us that Christ died for the believer you’re despising and He rose again for the one you are ridiculing. A focus on Jesus should stop the judging. Paul is elevating the ones we are called to love to a more lofty level than self. He is asking us to see them not through the eyes of judging but through the eyes of Jesus. Judging is seeing others through sin not the Savior. When we chose to look at others through the Lord the light finally comes on and we see what He sees. He loves them and cherishes them, instead of them being a disappointment they are a delight. We gain God’s perfect perspective not a polluted people perspective, and because we see things in light of what really matters, we let little matters go. If we really want to deal with our family friction then we need to focus on the Father not the fight. Second we need to:

• Analyze our attitudes.

Verse 10 brings us face to face with two probing questions which draw a contrast between what Christ has done and the condemning that we tend to do. The first question is assertive with the word “you” used twice: “You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister?” And the second is: “Or why do you treat them with contempt?” To judge means to dig, to find evidence and then evaluate it, this is where we not only find fault but we make their failure our focus. The wording is also in the present tense indicating that this was a persistent problem, these Christians were continually passing judgment. We need to see the damaging danger, that judging can lead to a lifestyle of judging, a judgmental spirit. Are you on a journey of judging or a journey with Jesus? Judgment here conveys the idea of condemning, “looking down” on and treating others with contempt. Contempt conveys to others an attitude that they are worthless and have no value while causing us to see ourselves as superior. We see ourselves as superior to others either because we do things that they don’t do or because we don’t do things that they do. This attitude is what alienates and ruins our relationships. But here is the question we need to ask ourselves, am I really better than my brothers and sisters in Christ? Luke 18:9 reminds us that this was the problem of the Pharisees: “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else…” Paul here is focusing on the family relationship by using the word “brother and sister” he is reminding us that relationship rules not my rights. Why do we judge? Well the truth is that it is often simpler just to see the flaws in others and to point them out rather than taking the time to examine ourselves and deal with the hard heart change that needs to take place in our own lives. Also its easy to see the flaws in others that also resides in self, it takes one to know one as we would say. Our sinful selfishness finds it easier just to see the sins in others, it’s what I call the lazy look instead of the loving look. Self tries to find satisfaction in seeing others sin, it’s the morbid mentality of feeling better about self, based on the faults of others. We also use judging as a smoke screen for self-sin, our defense is to deflect. Yet Jesus said in John 8:7: “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Let me remind you that there were no stones slung that day, so why do we let them fly so freely now? It’s funny how we like to get all up other people’s business, but Jesus gently reminds us in John 21:22 to butt out of the business in which we do not belong. After the Resurrection, when Jesus had graciously restored Peter and revealed His future plans for Peter, he immediately wanted to know what Jesus was going to do about John. We love the answer Jesus gave in John 21:22 but are we willing to live it: “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” Here we find a simple yet significant truth, stop focusing on what everyone else is called to do and just follow the Father in faith yourself. Stop trying to herd everyone into holiness, you’re not God’s sheep dog you’re a sheep, He already has a Holy Spirit to come and convict. So stop wasting your time trying to get everyone to follow the Father, start obeying so you can lead by example. Thirdly we must:

• Consider our coming judgment.

The last part of verse 10 gives the answer about why we shouldn’t judge or look down on others: “For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.” Knowing that we will be judged should keep us from judging. Paul doesn’t make this point in passing, three different times in this passage we’re reminded that we will appear personally before God’s judgment seat. Paul says “we will all” each of us will have to give an account. Now we know that this passage is not referring to believers being judged for their sins because Jesus said in John 5:24: “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” Paul also called us to confidence in Romans 8:1 when he said: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” In the past God dealt with us as sinners, in the present, He deals with us as sons and in the future, He will deal with us at the judgment seat as servants.” The truth that there is a judge and it is not me should not only free us from frustration in the family of God, but move us to help each other not hinder. My ability to judge is limited, only the Almighty knows all, not everything you hear is true so let God sort it out. A wise teacher once sent a note home to all parents on the first day of school: “If you promise not to believe everything your child says happens at school, I’ll promise not to believe everything your child says happens at home.” If God is going to judge others who He knows better and loves bigger, they why am I trying to get involved? Am I seeking His way or getting in the way? Am I condescending and critical or caring? So are you leaving the judging to Jesus? It’s time for us to stop calling the holiness hotline and reporting all the rule breakers. Look it’s not about being right but righteous.