Romans 14, 14. Romans 14, 14. I know, I know this is the Apostle
writing under the moving and inspiration of God. I know and
I'm persuaded Fully persuaded. I'm persuaded that nothing can
separate us from the love of God, which is in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Remember we had that earlier
from Romans 8. I know and I'm persuaded by the Lord Jesus Christ. That means Paul is saying that
he's taught of God. He's been taught of God that
there is nothing unclean and common of itself. Sin is not
in a box or a bottle. Now we've got the idea, a lot
of religious people, if you hold this bottle or open that box,
sin's in a box or a bottle. Sin's in nature and principle
of the heart. We all have a sinful nature. There is nothing unclean of itself. But to him that esteemeth anything
to be unclean, well to him it is. To him it is. He's not been
yet fully persuaded of the Lord that everything is to be received
with thanksgiving unto the Lord. Now, this whole chapter instructs
all believers to live in harmony and peace with one another. And
we can do this by loving one another. By this shall all men
know that you are my disciples, that you love one another, that
you forgive one another. How many times should I forgive
my brother when he sins against me? Well, maybe once, twice,
maybe three times, three strikes and you're out. Oh no. 70 times
7. That is, as often as your brother
would sin against you, forgive him. Even as God, for Christ's
sake, hath forgiven you. To do so would promote what? Harmony, wouldn't it? To do so
would promote peace, wouldn't it? Instead of judging and condemning
one another, as it says in verse 13, let us not therefore judge
one another anymore. Let's just not do it. When you
find yourself doing it, and I realize we're all prone to that pharisee
attitude, Lord, I thank you, I'm not like that fellow over
there. That's just self-righteousness,
that's all that is. Instead of judging and condemning
one another, how about loving and forgiving one another? Wouldn't
that be much better? The way the transgressors are,
the scriptures teach. instead of judging and condemning
one another, or by putting a stumbling block in a brother's way over
matters that have nothing to do with the spiritual kingdom
of God and salvation in Christ, let's not be a stumbling block,
let us rather be a helping stone, a building block, not a stumbling
block, but let us build ourselves up in the faith, in the faith
in Christ. Verse 14, Paul again says, I
know and I'm persuaded. And I love those two words, I
know, I know. Paul says, I know whom I have
believed. And then he says, I'm persuaded. I'm persuaded that nothing can
separate us from the love of God, which is in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Paul says that he'd been persuaded
and taught by the Lord that sin is not in a substance, in a box
or a bottle, meat, drink or days. Our spiritual condition or our
salvation in Christ is not based upon what we put in our mouth
or what we abstain from. It's not based upon, salvation
is not based upon our morality. Now sadly, sadly, religion in
this day is all based upon your morality, what you do or do not
do. But salvation in Christ is not
based upon what we put in our mouth. It's not based upon touch,
not taste, not handle. Now, hold your place there and
let's find that chapter over in Matthew 15, where the Pharisees
got very upset when they observed the apostles, the disciples of
the Lord eating without washing their hands. Now, it's a good
thing to wash your hand before you eat. But to eat with unclean
hands is not going to damn your soul. And our Lord says over
here in vain, verse 9, Matthew 15, they do worship me, teaching
for doctrine the commandments of men. And he called the multitude
and said unto them, hear and understand. It's not that which
goes into the mouth that defiles you, but that which comes out
of the mouth. That's the problem. This defiles
a man. Then came his disciples and said
unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended after
they heard this saying? And he answered and said unto
them, Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall
be rooted up, Just leave them alone. They'd be blind, leaders
of the blind, and if the blind lead the blind, they'll all wind
up in the ditch. Then Peter said unto him, declare
unto us this parable. And he said, are you also without
understanding? Now we're going to run into Peter
again in Acts chapter 10 in just a minute. Are you also without
understanding? Do not you understand that whatsoever
enter into the mouth goes into the belly and is digested and
flushed down the commode. But those things which proceed
out of the mouth, they come forth from the heart. That's the problem. Man has a wicked nature. They
defile the man. Out of the heart proceeds evil
thoughts. Murders, adulteries, ornication,
theft, witness, false witness, blasphemy, these are the things
which defile a man. But to eat with unwashing hands,
the Pharisees were offended. Leave them alone. Leave them
alone. But to eat with unwashing hands,
that's not going to defile and condemn you, is it? Not at
all. Now look back at Romans 14, 14. But to him that esteemeth anything
to be unclean, to him it is. To the weak believer who had
not been fully persuaded to have liberty and freedom in those
things, to freely partake of what the Lord had made, especially
those early Jews, who had been converted to the Lord Jesus Christ,
but who had been raised under that dietary law for certain
meats and drink were considered unclean. I mean, a Jew would
not dare eat pork. because that was considered an
unclean animal. Now, there's a lot of animals
that are considered, and birds too, that are considered unclean,
unclean. For him to partake of those things
that would wound his weak conscience and make him feel guilty. Now, again, he is a believer. He's looking to the Lord, but
he's not fully left off those old grave clothes of his religious
tradition. And for him to violate his own
conscience, it would be wrong for him. Now, I've given a good
example of this. We'll go back to Peter. Turn
to Acts chapter 10. Acts chapter 10. Now, The Lord called Peter to preach
to the Gentile. His name was Cornelius, and you
can read the whole 10th chapter here. But look at verse 9. On the morrow, as they went on
their journey, Acts 10 verse 9, and drew nigh unto the city,
Peter went up to the housetop to pray about the sixth hour.
High noon. It's time for lunch. time for
lunch, and he became very hungry and wouldn't have eaten. But
while they made ready, while they were down there cooking,
he fell into a trance. And he saw heaven open and certain
vessel descending unto him as it had been a great sheet knit
at four corners and let down to the earth. were all manner
of four-footed beasts of the earth, wild beasts, creeping
things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him,
and this was the voice of God to him, speaking in his conscience,
Rise, Peter, kill and eat. Peter said, Not so, Lord. I have
never eaten anything that is common or unclean. You see, now
this is Peter. Now this, I don't know how long
after this takes place, but several months, maybe years after the
Lord had been risen from the dead. And Peter, Peter the great
apostle and preacher of the gospel, he was still under and living
under that dietary law. You can see the influence it
had. And a voice unto him again the second time what God had
cleansed call not thou common or unclean." And this was done
three times. Three times. You see, Peter had
to be persuaded of the Lord that nothing was common or unclean.
Now I think that helps us to understand that the weight of
that dietary law that they lived under. Now look at verse, back to the
text, verse 15 and 16. But if your brother be grieved
with your meat, now again, we're seeking to establish peace and
harmony and fellowship around the gospel. But if your brother
be grieved with your meat, Now walkest thou not in love with
charity in your heart? Would you destroy that fellowship
you have with him and disrupt that harmony and fellowship you
have with him over this issue of eating or not eating? Would
it be worth doing that? I'm going to make my point. That's not the right attitude.
If you know that that's offensive to another believer, leave it
off. And it could be a range of different
things. Don't offend your brother. Don't
destroy that peace and harmony that you have with him and fellowship
you have with him around the gospel. And here's the valid
reason why. The last part of verse 15, because
Christ died for him. I mean, here's a brother for
whom the Lord Jesus Christ had died, chosen in that covenant
of grace, redeemed by his blood, called out of darkness into his
marvelous light. Now, would you beat up on him?
If you beat up on him, you know who you're attacking? You're
attacking the Lord. What you do to another believer
is what you do unto the Lord. That's what he says in Matthew
25. We're gonna read that after a while. So you see the importance
of that. Now look at verse 16. Let not
then your good, it's good to have liberty. It's good to have
freedom. We've been set free from the bondage of the law.
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. But don't let
your good, your liberty and freedom you have in Christ, don't let
that become something that's evil spoken of. Evil spoken of. Now, let it not be perceived by the
weaker brother as being evil. If it offends, why don't you
just leave it off? Just leave it off. You don't
have to make your point. You can compromise here. You
can compromise here without compromising the gospel. It would not be worth
dividing over or causing a division among the Lord's people. Now,
the Gentiles had the same problem with certain meats that were offered to idols. If
you'll turn over to 1 Corinthians 8, but again the Apostle here
teaching the same lesson. Among the Gentiles, you know
many of those Gentiles there in Corinth and Athens, they were
raised under idolatry, and there was many meat offerings that
were offered unto idols, and that meat was taken that was
left over and sold in what we would call the farmer's market,
and you could get it at a discount bargain price. Well, those who
didn't have much money, they would go to those shambles, and
they would buy that meat that would be offered unto an idol,
and they would eat it, knowing it did not defile their conscience. But now, some of those people
had a problem with that. And this is what we read in 1
Corinthians chapter 8. Look at verse 7, 1 Corinthians
8, 7. Howbeit there is not in every
man that knowledge, for some with conscience of an idol unto
this hour eat it as the thing offered unto an idol, and their
conscience being weak as defiled. But meat commendeth us not to
God, For neither if we eat are we better, neither if we eat
not are we worse. As far as salvation or justification
is concerned, it doesn't matter. But take heed, lest by any means
this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that
are weak." See, we're right back to the same subject, aren't we?
But now we're talking about not Jew under that dietary law, but
the Gentiles who were offended by those who ate meat that was
offered to idols. Or if any man see thee which
hath knowledge, sit at meat in the idol's temple. Shall not the conscience of him
which is weak being emboldened to eat those things which are
offended to idols? And through thy knowledge shall
thy weak brother perish for whom Christ died? But when you sin
so against the brethren and wound their weak conscience, you sin
against Christ." So you see, which is more important? I'm
going to have it my way or just in areas and matters of indifference,
just leave it off. Be a building stone instead of
a stumbling stone. Now, okay, let's go back to our
text. Now look at verse 17. For the kingdom of God is not,
you see verse 17? Now this is a key verse on this
subject that he's talking about. Verse 17, the kingdom of God
is not Now, it's good to know what something is not. Now, can
you think of any scriptures? Not by works of righteousness
which we have done. And then God who saved us and
called it, not according to our works. You see, it's a good thing
to know what something is not, right? So, the kingdom of God,
and that is synonymous with salvation that is in the Lord Jesus Christ,
is not meat, and drink, and days. It has nothing to do with your
diet or observing day, but the kingdom of God has to do with
righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Now, those
three key things. The kingdom of God, the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ, salvation that is accomplished by Christ,
given totally by the Lord Jesus Christ has nothing to do with
circumcision, does it? Those old Jews insisted upon
the Gentile believers being circumcised. They even went so far as to say
in Acts 15, you can read about it, where it says, and they said,
except you be circumcised after the manner of Moses, you can't
be saved. You remember? And the Lord revealed
to Peter, and Peter stood up and said, if that council they
had, they came together, remember they had that much disputing,
and they had that first Bible conference there? And Peter stood
up and said, let me tell you, the Lord has taught me that salvation
is of the Lord. Salvation is by the grace of
the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, we shall be saved by
the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, even as God saved those Gentiles. How did God save the Gentiles?
Not by meat and drink, was it? Righteousness, peace, and joy
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, that just makes so much
sense, does it not? So salvation has nothing to do
with eating and drinking, nothing to do with circumcision, nothing
to do with observing certain days, nothing to do, nothing
to do, I'm emphasizing that, nothing to do with your morality. Clean living. Observing this
day or not. You know, we're going to have
Ash Wednesday, Lent, and we're going to put a black spot on
our head. What in the world does that have to do with salvation
and forgiveness of sin? It's just absolutely what the
old timers used to call Tommy Rot. Tomfoolery. Tommy Rot. We're justified by
His grace. Righteousness is established
by the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Lord our righteousness,
upon the peace that Christ has made for us with his own blood,
and the joy that we have before God in Christ. These three essential
things always go together. Notice, read it, underline it,
righteousness, peace, and joy. When you find one, you find the
other. They always are found together. Righteousness, peace,
and joy. They're like faith, hope, and
love. These three, they always go together. Where you find faith,
you find hope and love. Where you find love, you have
hope and faith. They go together. Now, let's take a closer look
at those three things. Righteousness. Righteousness. Now, we're talking about how
are sinners made righteous before God? Now, you ask the mainstream
religious person in this day, how is a sinner made righteousness? And they'll give you this, this,
this, but you've got to clean up your life, you've got to join
the church, you've got to be baptized, you've got to attend
so many meetings, you've got to have so many good works, you've
got to do all these things, you've got to work at it, work at it,
work at it, and eventually God said, that's enough, now you're
righteous. Isn't that what goes for religion
today? That is nothing but works religion. How is a sinner made
righteous before God? Has nothing to do with you. Has
nothing, now you think about that. Has nothing to do with
you. We've seen all the way through
this, turn back to Romans 1, and the key issue in the book
of Romans is how is a sinner justified? Is it not? How is
a sinner justified? In Romans 1, for I'm not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God and the
salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to
the Greek, for therein is the righteousness of God revealed
from faith to faith, as is written, the just shall live by faith. Turn to Romans 4. But to him that worketh not,
verse 5, Romans 4, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly,
his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth
the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness,
oh watch it, watch it, without works. Wow, are you kidding me? Really? That's what this book
teaches. Righteousness without work. That's
why Paul said, as I had on the radio this morning from Philippians
3, that the believer counts everything lost, dung, ruined, that he might
win Christ and be found in Him. Christ is our righteousness. He's made us what? Righteousness. He's the Lord, our righteousness. Therefore, we're not going about
to establish a righteousness of our own. You remember Romans
10? Christ is the end of the law, or righteousness to everyone
that believeth. Now, I could harp on that a long
time. I could spend the rest of the
day talking about how sinners are made righteous in Christ.
The fruit of that is peace. The fruit of that righteousness
being established by Christ, His blood, His righteousness,
justifying us in Christ. The fruit of that is what? We
have peace. But now watch it. Watch it now. We have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, how are sinners reconciled
unto God? How is peace made? God is holy
and just and righteous and demands satisfaction. We can't give it. We cannot satisfy his law and
justice. We cannot make peace with God.
We cannot make peace with God. You heard people say, well, make
your peace with God. That's just the talk of a fool
who's ignorant. He's an ignorant fool. Because
the Lord Jesus Christ made peace for us with his own blood. You got it? Righteousness in
Christ. We have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ. And then the third thing we have,
We have righteousness established, the fruit of that is peace, and
then we have joy. We have joy. We have joy in our
Lord Jesus Christ. We have joy. Look right across
the page at Romans 15, 13. Now the God of hope fill you
with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope through
the power of the Holy Ghost. You see, oh, what a blessed thing
it is to have righteousness, peace, and joy in Christ. There is no true righteousness
established, no true peace given, no righteousness established,
no true peace given, no true joy realized apart from our union
with the Lord Jesus Christ. You see how that's a key verse
there? That's a key verse.