PENTECOST 15 – September 13, 2020 – Romans 14:1-12
“TAKE CARE IN JUDGING”
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:
- One of the more important intellectual capabilities we strive very hard to develop is “discernment.” Discernment enables us to make distinctions – which can be very important. For example, both coral snakes – which are venomous and dangerous, and king snakes, which are non-venomous have black, red, and yellow bands. However, if you can distinguish the patterns of the stripes you can tell the difference. If not, you may mistake a dangerous coral snake for a king snake.
- It is no different when it comes to other “distinctions” we have to make. Things can look alike that are quite different. A parent taking away a piece of fruit could be mean, or it could be protecting their child from something they are allergic to. A parent saying “no” to a child might be selfish or trite behavior, or could be keeping a child from something dangerous.
- So we work hard to study things carefully, to logic properly, to mull things over, and to come to the right conclusions. This is important in human behavior, especially in our relationship with God – our own beliefs and behaviors, and also in our relationships with one another – how our faith and values effect our behavior and impact other people.
- The Scripture constantly urges us to be critical and discerning. Between good and evil, for example, or between God – the only True and Living God, and other false gods, man-made gods. On the other hand, the Scriptures are also very clear in warning us against improper judging. This improper judging, moved and informed by our sinful nature, can be erroneous in matters of good and evil. It can also be motivated by malice toward others rather than love for all people. It can also be hypocritical – judging in a way that arrogantly elevates ourselves over others. And it can also be erroneous and evil in regard to the condition of other people’s heart – judging the person to be evil when he or she may simply be poorly informed.
- All of this requires a great deal of “discernment” and wisdom, which we are to get from the Scripture, God’s Word, the Bible.
- In our text the Apostle Paul instructs about how we are to “judge” both matters of faith and behavior, and also our “brothers” and sisters in the faith – particularly when it comes to those who are strong, toward those correctly seen to be weak. He also makes us aware of how God views all of these things, how His love, mercy, forgiveness, and patience toward us is to inform our attitudes and behaviors toward others who are weak in faith or potentially erroneous in behavior.
- First of all, somewhat surprisingly:
I. The Strong [Those With The Proper Discernment, Who Are In The Right] Are To Bear With The Weak
Text: “As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him.”
Romans 15:1 “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.”
Statement: This seems just plain wrong to us. We work hard to among the wise, the strong, the discerning – principally to correct others, and to gain status amoung our groups, to help people out. If the strong do not correct the weak, how will things ever get better. And those who are strong also see and discern the negative impact of error. For the strong, there is compelling logic not only to stand firm for what is right, but also to whatever we can to correct it. We may even get to the point where we determine that “the end justifies the means” – including rejecting and expelling those who are among the “weak.”
Application: Now, there are times when rejecting and expelling people from the church may become necessary – especially when it comes to “doctrinal” issues, and those who insist upon remaining incorrigible heretics who threaten to destroy faith in the Gospel. Paul talks about this in Romans 16 when he writes: “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them! For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.” [Rom. 16:17,18]
These are teachers, not just simple brothers and sisters in the faith. Nonetheless, even with “the weak:”
A. We Are Not To Capitulate To Error, Or Compromise With It, Or Act As If It Doesn’t Matter
Text: “As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.”
B. Nor Are We To Be Compromising The Truth
Text: “We will all stand before the judgment seat of God. . . . Each of us will give an account of himself to God.”
C. And We Are Certainly Not To Be Judging The Heart Of Another, Or Their Soul
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. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he wll be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. . . . Why do you pass judgment on your brother?”
Statement: You see that the matters in dispute that Paul is instructing us about are not such as would deny the Gospel or destroy one’s faith. Now, this does not mean that they are not serious, or that we should not address them. However, it does mean that there are errors that a weak brother or sister may hold to that do not destroy one’s faith relationship with God. We are forbidden to judge otherwise, as tempting as this may be for someone who is “strong.”
Application: So we are to welcome the weak, but we are to stringently hold to what is good, right, and true – knowing the danger of false discernment and false belief. But if we are strong, we will commend the weak into the hands of our gracious, merciful, and forgiving God – Who also keeps us strong in the faith against the temptations of our sinful nature.
And sadly, if we do succumb to the temptation to judge the weak contrary to God’s will, His instruction, and His own heart toward us, this would involve us in the dangerous error of denying the Gospel! God forbid!!!! And so:
II. We Are Certainly To Keep Matters Of Freedom Free
A. In Regard To Food
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. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another?”
B. Likewise, In Regard To The Day Of Worship
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 in honor of the Lord.”
Statement: These are matters of complete freedom. As Jesus said, “Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach and is expelled? [Thus He declared all foods clean.]” And as the apostle instructs about “sabbaths:” “Let each one be fully convinced in his own mind.” Elsewhere he wrote: “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in regard to food and drink, or with regard to a festivals or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.”
Application: This being the case, there is to be no judging of another’s opinion or preference in these matters – they are to be kept free.
Now, there may be other matters, reasons, or logic, that we can discern, that might lead us to come to different conclusions about the “advisability” of a particular course of eating or of timing of worship. Here, we may have fruitful discussions so long as we do not allow the conversation to drift back into the area of “permissibility,” for God’s Word has made these issues free and permissible!
Transition: So as we put discernment into the service of God, Paul’s insistence is that:
III. We Are To Do All In Honor Of God – Giving Thanks To Him And Living To Him
Text: “The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he give thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.”
Statement: And that is the gist of the matter. We live in truth, especially in the truth of the Gospel, but our becoming strong in discernment, wisdom, and living to God takes some time. We will be able to discern between weak and strong. We will be able to discern between right and wrong. And ultimately we will be able to discern between those matters that are free, those matters which can be left alone – minor errors, and those matters and circumstance when we must expel heretics who serve themselves not Christ, and who don’t care that they are murdering souls by destroying faith in the Gospel.
Conclusion: As we move from weak to strong, we will also recognize times when our judging has been uncharitable, perhaps even destructive of the faith of another. When we discern this, may God keep us and make us even stronger, by enabling us to humbly hold on His gracious mercy and forgiveness! That also is an aspect of being “strong” – growing more humble and grateful to God for His goodness and mercy, and more gracious to others day by day!
May God grant such blessedness to each of us, as we continue to pursue discernment, wisdom, understanding, and love toward others. May He indeed give us that true wisdom to act and serve others in the same way in which He loves and serves us. 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.