Okay, starting a new chapter,
Romans 14. Romans chapter 14, we're going
to try to look at verse 1, down to verse 9. And if we get this
far, down to verse 9, if we get that far, it'll be fine. If not,
we can always come back, Lord willing, next week and as old
brother A.D. Muse used to say, we'll take
another hitch at it. Take another hitch at it. Paul
in this chapter is going to instruct us as believers How to live among
one another. How to live among those who are
the family of God. The church of the Lord Jesus
Christ. How to live among believers with love. with respect, to live
in peace, always seeking the best for them, and the whole
body of Christ, not by needlessly judging one another, rebuking
one another, or criticizing one another. Remember what he says
back in chapter 14, look back there, excuse me, rather chapter
12, right across the page. He said, remember verse 4, Romans
12 verse 4. For we, for as we have many members
in one body, and all members have not the same office, so
we being many are one body in Christ. We are one body in Christ,
and we are members one of another. We are not to needlessly offend
the believer who is resting in Christ over what the old timers
called matters of indifference. Matters of indifference. The
mature believer in Christ, those who were strong in the faith,
The mature believer in Christ may have much more liberty about
eating and drinking and observance of days than a young believer
might have, one who has grown in grace and in the knowledge
of Christ. He may have more liberty to certain
things than a younger believer may not. But the key is to walk
in love, esteeming the brother better than ourselves, always
being patient and long-suffering with them. For everyone who was
an elder was first a babe in Christ. Over in Romans 14, 19,
turn one page. Let us therefore follow after
the things which make for peace. and things wherewith one may
edify another, that is to instruct and to encourage. And then back
in chapter 12 verse 18, if it be possible,
as much as lieth in you, live peaceably, live peaceably with
all men. Now Paul draws a contrast between
the weak believer and the strong. They were not in disagreement
over the essentials of the gospel, over the essential issues of
the gospel, that is how God saved sinners. Turn one page to Romans
15 verse 1. Romans 15 verse 1. We then that
are strong ought to beat up on those who are weak. That's not
what it says. We then that are strong, what,
strong in faith, strong in Christ, ought to bear the infirmities
of the weak and not to please ourselves. Now, this is such
good, good instruction for us. Now, Paul is not telling us to
compromise the gospel of Christ in order to get along, to compromise
the gospel of Christ in order to please men. but rather to
be understanding with those who might struggle over meats, drinks,
and certain days that given in the Levitical law. Now, that
looks back particularly to those people at that time, but we can
also make application in our day. There are some religious
people who would not dare do this, this, or this, and I could
name different things. They would not dare. go to a
movie or dare pick up a cigarette or dare take a drink of alcohol. And yet there are believers in
the Lord Jesus Christ who know that their salvation is totally
dependent upon Christ, not upon this do and that don't, this
do and that don't. We're resting in Christ and believers
who are strong and mature, they have liberty where others might
not. Now, Let's don't criticize one
another. You may have certain liberty
to do certain things. Maybe I don't. But we're all
members one of another. Now remember, many of these people
who Paul is writing to lived under the bondage of the law
for many years, and those old traditions were very, very hard
to break. Old grave clothes are hard to
put off. Now, if you want to turn with
me, you can, but the whole book of Galatians actually kind of
deals with this issue. Deals with this issue, but if
you look at Galatians chapter 3, Verse 1, O foolish Galatians,
who hath bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before
whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth and
crucified among you? Now how was he set forth? In
the preaching of the gospel. This only would I learn of you,
received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing
of faith. Are you so foolish having begun
in the spirit that you're now made perfect in the flesh? No,
sir. No, sir. But there were those
who lived under the bondage of the law And the traditions of
those law, of that Levitical law, and those who were raised
up under that were very, very hard, hard to get away from. The apostles, even in the early
days, they had a problem. Didn't Peter have a problem when
the Lord told him to rise and eat, about going down to the
house of Cornelius and preaching to the Gentile? And the Lord
gave him that vision about eating unclean meat. He said, Lord,
I've never eaten unclean, you see? We all have a problem with
that. And then you read about and the
book of Galatians deals with that and then also in Acts chapter
15 where remember in the early church made up of Jews and mostly
Jews and some Gentiles, some of those old Jews wanted to put
the Gentiles under that law of circumcision. I said if you really
want to be saved, You must be circumcised according to the
law of God. And of course, you remember the
outcome of that in Acts chapter 15, Peter stood up and said,
rather we believe through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
we shall be saved. Just as God saved those Gentiles,
not by circumcision, not by law, justified by the grace of God. Well, with that brief introduction
kind of sets the table that we might enter into what's being
taught here. But we want to try to make application
to ourselves and to our day. Look at verse 1. Him that is
weak in the faith. Now, he's not talking about lost
religious people. Talking about those who were
young in the faith. Those who were babes in the faith. This is the faith of God the
elect. He is not talking about lost religious people. Him that
is weak in the faith, receive him. But do not cast judgment
on his doubtful thoughts. Doubtful thoughts. Don't we all
have doubtful thoughts? We all believe, but there is
much yet unbelief in our heart. We are to receive into our fellowship
those young believers, Paul calls them weak in the faith, babes
in Christ, and that's where we all start. We don't start out
being a mature believer, being an elder. We start as babes.
We start as babes in the faith. But we're to receive those into
our fellowship without questioning them, those who are weak in the
faith, rather than judging them or condemning them or rebuking
them. I remember the story years ago
of a young man, this is over in England, wanted to become
part of the congregation and they asked him certain questions
and he said, well, I don't know about that, but I do know this,
Christ is all and in all. And they went on and said, well,
what about this? What about this? What about that
doctrine? What about that doctrine? He said, well, I don't know about
all that, but I do know this, Christ is all and in all. And
then they went on again and asked him more questions. What about
this? And what about that? What about that? Christ is all
and in all, and that's our hope, that's our hope. So we should
always be an encouragement to young believers, not criticizing
them, not always rebuking them. As we sit under the preaching
of the gospel and the way we go through, The scriptures, verse
by verse, book by book, I've often told young people, as my
pastor told me when I was a young believer, just sit still and
all your questions will be answered. You don't need to be, you know,
buttonhole the preacher. What about this? What about this?
Just be patient and desire the sincere milk of the word that
you might grow thereby. That's how we grow. We should
always be an encouragement to younger believers, not criticizing
them nor rebuking them. We all have need of growing in
grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us
never come to the point where we say, well, you know, I've
arrived. Paul said, I have not yet arrived. I have not yet apprehended for
that which I've been laid hold of by Christ. We have not all
yet arrived to the point of full growth, but we are growing in
grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. I like
what Donnie Bell used to, how he described growing in grace.
He said, he used to raise cattle out on his farm. And he said,
growing in grace is like a cow's tail. Well, how's that? Well, the more it grows, the
closer it gets to the ground. And that's growing in grace is
growing in humility before God. That's what growing in grace
is. Grace. All we need, all we have, We
all have need of being taught in the ways of the Lord from
the word of the Lord. There's a very good article in
the bulletin today on Hebrew chapter 12, where it says, whom
the Lord loveth, he chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom
he receiveth. That word chasteneth, you know
what it means? Teaches and instructs. We are
all in training. We're in training. The Lord teaches
us. He said, take my yoke upon you
and learn of me. Aren't you glad he teaches us
in the way of grace, in the way of Christ? So him that is weak
in the faith, don't beat up on him. Be longsuffering. The Lord's longsuffering to us.
Shouldn't we be longsuffering to others? Him that is weak in
the faith, receive. Don't, don't judge him. Now look
at verse two. For one believeth that he may
eat all things. You know, those old Jews wouldn't
touch pork for nothing. They wouldn't touch, pork was
considered an unclean animal. And there were many animals that
were considered unclean animals under the dietary law. For one
believeth that he may eat all things. I love ham, bacon, sausage. Those are good things the Lord
has made. But maybe somebody said, well, you know, I can't
eat that stuff. I might have jumped on him like
a chicken on a June bug, jumped all over him, said, well, you
self-righteous man. No. Be patient with him. Try to help the brother. Don't
beat up on him. For one believer that he may
eat all things, another who is weak You know, we just eat herbs. Maybe he's just a vegetarian.
You know, it's not a bad thing to be a vegetarian. They really,
those who are really into the health thing, being a vegetarian
is healthy for your body, but let's not beat up on the person
who's a vegetarian, and let's not beat up on the man who enjoys
sausage and bacon. There's no need to. No need to
at all. One believer who was strong in
his faith, he feels he's at liberty to eat and drink all things,
knowing that his salvation rests upon not eating and drinking.
A salvation doesn't rest upon touch not taste not handle not.
Salvation is of the Lord. While the weaker brother in the
faith will abstain from certain meat and drinks that might offend
his conscience. Now let me give a personal example
of that. I grew up in false religion.
And the false religion I grew up in, they taught strict abstinence
from tobacco, from alcohol, and even from tea, coffee, anything
that contained caffeine, and it took me a while to get over
the fact that adult beverages and tobacco have nothing to do
with salvation. I enjoy a glass of wine occasionally. Brother Marvin and I, the other
night after the service, we went home and opened up a bottle of
wine and enjoyed what the Lord has given to us. Now, another
man, he may have a problem with that. Maybe some of you even
have a problem with that. I don't know, but I'm not, you're
not to beat up on me over that. I have liberty to do that. You
may not, but I'm not gonna beat up Beat you up over that either. You see what I'm saying? I could tell you a story, but
I'm going to refrain. Look at verse 3. Let not him
that eateth despise him that eateth not. You see what he's
saying here? Let not him that eateth despise
him that eats not. And let not him which eateth
not judge him that eateth. God has received both of them
as sinners saved by grace. Now there are some people, I
remember Brother Henry years ago, when he came up here to
this part of the country and he preached for some people over
in Canada, Primitive Baptist Church over there. And I remember
him telling me one time, he went home with some of those folks
after Word Person Fellowship, and one fellow was bragging that
Brother Henry said, well, alcohol never touched my lips. Well, Brother Henry could have
beaten him up over that, but he didn't, because really, so
what? That has nothing to do with salvation. Salvation is in Christ. Whether
you have a drink of Kentucky bourbon or whether you don't,
it has nothing to do with salvation. Now, he's not talking about drunkenness. Now, there's something the scriptures
teach about that. We're not to indulge to where
we become Drunk? Now here is the way love works.
Let us not condemn and judge one another over matters that
are not critical to the gospel of Christ. Eating certain meats,
using certain drinks, or certain days. Let's not beat up one another
over that. God has redeemed and received
both sinners by the grace of God, weak or strong. They're both believers in Christ
justified by his grace, not meat and drink. Now turn to Romans
14, 17. I remember This has been at least 10 years
ago, I think in 2006, last time we were going through the book
of Romans, and I had just met Brother Tony Moody. And he started
coming up here on Sundays, and I was going through Romans 14. And he told me later, and I didn't
know it, but he told me later that the Lord used this verse
to teach him the gospel, Romans 14, 17. For the kingdom of God
is not meat and drink." You see, the kingdom of God is not based
upon whether you eat this, or that, or drink this, or don't
drink that. Think about it, it's so sad because
a person says, well, I can't drink coffee. and think by not
drinking coffee or not drinking adult beverages that he has a
righteousness before God. Isn't that sad? That's nothing
but self-righteousness. The kingdom of God is not meat
and drink, but righteousness. Now whose righteousness are we
talking about here? The whole book of Romans talks about what?
The righteousness that's of the Lord. but righteousness and peace. Now, who made peace? Christ made
peace with his own blood and joy. We have joy in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Well, it doesn't matter these
sayings of meat and drink, whether you use tobacco, whether you
not use tobacco. Now, because that has nothing
to do with your standing before God, does it? Absolutely not. If you think it does, you believe
in salvation but works. Plain and simple. You see, it's
not what goes into our mouth. You remember what our Lord said
when those disciples or those Pharisees were so upset because
he didn't wash his hands before he ate? And disciples came and told the
Lord and said, don't you know that the Pharisees were offended?
He said, just leave them alone. They're blind, leading the blind.
They're all going to fall in the ditch. And then the Lord
said, it's not what you put in your mouth that defiles the man. Remember Romans 15? It's what
comes out of the heart. That's the problem. The issue
is the wicked heart. It's not what you put in your
mouth. A lot of people, I remember when Brother Henry started saying
this and people just absolutely got furious with him. He would
say, people always talk about drugs. Drugs ruin people. Alcohol ruins people. They've
got it just backwards. People ruin drugs. I mean, I
take drugs every day. I take drugs every day for my
blood pressure, for my cholesterol. These things are good. It's the
people who have abused painkillers. I mean, I went to the dentist
on Monday and had a tooth extracted and a bone graft done, and I'm
sure glad he gave me some drugs. He shot me up with something,
I don't know, it was numb, I couldn't even, I could tell what he was
doing, I could, you know, hear that crunching of that tooth
being pulled out of there and when he cut, took that saw and
started cutting it apart. But aren't you glad and thankful
for drugs? Drugs are a good thing. It's
the wickedness of people's hearts. That's the problem. You see,
it's not what you go in. What's in, as I've always said,
what's in the well of the heart comes out through the bucket
of the mouth. Out of the heart proceeds evil thoughts, adultery,
fornication, theft, these things. You see what he's saying here? Now, he gives an earthly illustration. Who art thou, verse 4, that would
judge another man's servant? Now, let me use something that
we can get a hold of here. To his own master, he stands
or falls. What happens if tomorrow morning
I go over here to my neighbors over here at Cardinal Glass and
line all his employees up and say, now, I saw you the other
day, and I saw you, and you, and you. They're not accountable
to me. Who am I? They're accountable and responsible
to Mike Walters. He owns the business. He pays
the bills. He signs the check. I don't go over there and judge
his employees. He does that. That's his business,
not mine. Before his own boss he stands
or falls. Yea, verse 4, he shall be holding
up God is able to make him stand. In reference to believers, he
says over here in Romans, every believer, weak or strong, is
still one with you in Christ and he stands before God who
is able to keep him by his power and keep him from falling by
his grace were accepted in the Beloved. Now look at Romans 14
verse 10. Why dost thou judge thy brother? Or why do you set him not said
it not thy brother, for we all shall stand before the judgment
seat of Christ. For it is written, as I live,
saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, every tongue shall
confess to God, so then every one of us shall give an account
of himself. You're not accountable to me.
You don't answer to me. You answer to God. You're accountable
unto God. That's what he's talking about
here. God is able to make him stand in our state and standing
before God is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I've spent too much
time on the first four verses. We'll have to come back to this
verse 5, 6, 7, and 8. He goes from eating and drinking
to observance of certain days. Certain days. Now, we don't have
a problem with trying to set aside the Feast of Tabernacles
or the Day of Atonement or the Passover. But now remember, these
people lived under that economy for many, many years. And it took much power and the
grace of God to deliver them from observing meats and drinks
and days. One man esteems one day above
another, another esteemeth every day alike. And that's what I
do. I esteem every day alike. Every day is the Lord's day.
I know this religious world has been on Easter and Christmas.
I try to completely ignore that as a religious holiday. Completely ignore it. Matter
of fact, I've told Lionel, when it comes to Christmas time, don't
even sing those traditional Christmas songs. They are a good song.
Let's sing those Joy to the World. Let's sing that in July. Let's
not fall into that day. We observe a day, time, month,
all these things.