Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Epistle Lesson just read, from Romans 14. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- Whether we are pastors, teachers, parents, bosses, or people without any particular office of leadership and authority, we all have a very basic and difficult problem. We know that we have an obligation to stand up for what is good and right, to condemn evil and hinder it.
- Yet we are all sinful human beings, and so it seems we are forced to do one of two things: 1] we will adhere to right and wrong, and encourage others to do the same, but we will feel and at times appear to be utter hypocrites, or 2] we will forsake distinctions of good and evil because of our own sin and will just adopt the attitude of “live and let live,” but we will then feel as though we are abetting and promoting evil. Both options seem to be equally repugnant!
- We see people every day who have adopted the one option or the other, and who urge us to do join them, to “take up” their cause. And usually we find it much simpler to take the one side or the other, and to ignore the negative aspects of our choice – indeed, to rationalize away the evils of the position we pick and if we are confronted, to demonize those of the opposite position.
- But the dilemma remains, and even though it seems “messy” and is quite difficult, we are actually called to maintain both realities – to continue to hold firmly to the distinctions between good and evil so that we do not accept and encourage evil, and yet to avoid hypocrisy and self-righteousness by continuing a life of deep repentance and humility, and also forgiving others. This is the challenge of “LIVING IN ACCORD WITH GOD’S MERCY.” And it is quite a challenge. But:
I. The Good News Is That God Only Asks Us To Treat Others In The Same Way That He Treats Us
A. He Welcomes Us In Christ Jesus
Eph. 2:1-6 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience – among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
Text: “Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. . . . He will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.”
B. He Continues To Accept Us In Spite Of Our Weaknesses
Text: “The one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.”
Of the Christ, God’s own Son, He asserts through the prophet Isaiah:
Is. 42:1-3 “Behold My servant, Whom I uphold; Mine elect, in Whom My soul delights; I have put my spirit upon Him: He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax shall He not quench: He shall bring forth judgment unto truth.”
Statement: Because of the reality and preponderance of our sins, and because we are often weak in our faith and trust in God’s gracious love, we may tend to think of God as harsh, judging, strict and critical against not only our sin but against us personally. Then we may think that we can please God by being the same toward those around us, and that if this doesn’t please God then He has a problem with consistency. Great trouble is created and provoked by this unbelief and hypocrisy, especially within the church – where the very “bruised reeds” and “smoking flax” which God seeks to protect and preserve are often attacked and pounded by those who truly are “weak in faith.” But those doing the attacking assume a posture of superiority and strength – and they may mislead others into emulating their lovelessness and hypocrisy! What a “church” that creates!
Application: So if we are going to please God at all, and if we are going to have a proper and godly demeanor toward others, we must first grow much more firm in our knowledge of God’s gracious and merciful love, and put our faith and trust in His love. Then like Joseph we will forgive even those who intend and perpetrate evil against us. And we will not adopt the posture of the servant who was forgiven a great debt, but who then hypocritically and unjustly refused to forgive his fellow-servant a small debt. But this is often not what we see in the church, but rather arrogant people refusing to forgive one another – and so denying God’s forgiveness to themselves! But we are called rather to be “LIVING IN ACCORD WITH GOD’S MERCY” – so let us understand His mercy, and His will that we extend the same mercy to others!
So we see that it is God’s will that:
II. We Are To Be And Do The Same, To Be Like God In Loving One Another
A. There Is To Be No Disputing Or Judging In Regard To Things That Have No Command From God, And Are Not Forbidden By His Word
Text: “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it to the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.”
B. Neither Is There To Be Despising Of Others, But Rather Forgiving Them Over And Over, And Respecting Them
Text: “Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother?”
C. We Should All Remember That We Will Give An Account Of Ourselves To God In Regard To These Matters, How We Treat One Another
Text: “For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.’ So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.”
Statement: The most hideous outgrowth of hypocrisy and self-righteous despising of others is when we make additions to God’s Word and insist that others must obey us and conform to our word. Those who do so often frighten and intimidate others and manipulate them for their own arrogant and greedy purposes. These are the ones Paul has in mind when he warns all that we will give account to God – and in view of God’s gracious mercy and love, there will be no hope for such man-haters and liars.
Another destructive aspect of our sinful nature is when we pass judgment on and despise brothers and sisters in Christ. This is almost second nature to us, and often before we even think about it we have subconsciously made these judgments. But again, if we persist in this, we will have to give account to God as to why we rejoiced in His gracious forgiveness yet refused to “LIVE IN ACCORD WITH HIS MERCY” toward others.
Along these lines we should remember the rather existential statement of Jesus in regard to judging others: “For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” [Matt. 7:2] Jesus goes on to explain the actual situation when people judge and condemn without the humility of faith and the gracious mercy of God in mind: “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” [Matt. 7:3-5]
Application: So let us take heed to first fully grasp and understand God’s mercy and love, to humble ourselves in repentance and to rejoice in His forgiveness. Then let us hear clearly the teaching of Jesus in regard to forgiving, and the admonition of our text in regard to “LIVING IN ACCORD WITH GOD’S MERCY,” and make sure that our hearts are properly prepared to exercise mercy and compassion toward others. Then let us discipline ourselves in all of our relationships and interactions, to keep in mind how God has dealt with us in Christ, and to deal with others in the same gracious, merciful, and forgiving manner!
Conclusion: It is in this way that we are able to continue upholding what is good and right, and condemning what is evil and harmful, while at the same time extending grace, mercy, forgiveness, favor, and even honor to those around us. In this way we are enabled to remain humble and compassionate without “aiding and abetting” that which is evil.
Let us be clear in distinguishing between what God’s Word teaches and our own personal ideas and preferences, and never condemn others for merely disagreeing with us! God clearly gives us permission, and even requires that we be “LIVING IN ACCORD WITH HIS MERCY.” May we take this to heart and pray that He enable us to do so. Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.