Sermon notes July 6th, 2025

ROMANS 14

CHURCH: “It’s Time to Grow Up”

While the exact phrase "come as you are" isn't explicitly found in the Bible, the concept is deeply rooted in Jesus' teachings and actions. Jesus frequently interacted with and welcomed individuals who were considered sinners and outcasts, demonstrating a message of acceptance and grace. His invitation in Matthew 11:28, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest," reflects this idea of approaching Him in one's current state

• But now Paul is addressing the Church in Rome and he’s telling them they’re fighting and arguing over things that are matters of secondary importance. Things that have nothing to do with our salvation and eternity with Jesus. But they are things that cause people to stumble. They can cause hurt feelings, bad feelings and resentment. 

Romans 14:1—15:13 deals with important principles to guide God’s people in dealing with matters of secondary importance. These are the things that so often cause conflict among believers, but such conflict is quite unnecessary, as we shall see.

Romans 14:1-2                                               New King James Version

1   Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. 

2   For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 

• A weak Christian is one who has unfounded scruples over matters of secondary importance. 
• In this context, he was often a converted Jew who still had scruples about eating nonkosher foods or working on Saturday.
• The first principle is this: a weak Christian should be received into the local fellowship, but not with the idea of engaging him in disputes about his ultra scrupulousness. Christians can have happy fellowship without agreeing on nonessentials.

ROMENS 14:3-4

3   Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. 

4   Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

• The second principle: is that there must be mutual forbearance. 

Forbearance = (you are patient full of self-control; restraint and tolerance)

The mature Christian must not despise his weak brother. Neither should the weak brother judge as a sinner someone who enjoys ham, shrimp, or lobster. God has received him into His family, a member in good standing.

ROMANS 14:5-6

5   One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 

6   He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. 

• Some Jewish Christians still looked on the Sabbath as a day of obligation. They had a conscience about doing any work on Saturday. In that sense, they esteemed one day above another.
• Other believers did not share these Judaistic views. They looked on every day alike. They did not look upon six days as secular and one as sacred. To them all days were sacred.
• But what about the Lord’s Day, the first day of the week? Does it not have a special place in the lives of Christians? We see in the NT that it was the day of our Lord’s resurrection (Luke 24:1–9). 
• On the next two Lord’s days, Christ met with His disciples (John 20:19-26). The Holy Spirit was given on the Day of Pentecost, which was on the first day of the week; Pentecost occurred seven Sundays after the Feast of Firstfruits (Lev. 23:15, 16; Acts 2:1), which symbolizes Christ’s resurrection (1 Cor. 15:20, 23). The disciples gathered to break bread on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). Paul instructed the Corinthians to take a collection on the first day of the week. So, the Lord’s Day does stand out in the NT in a special way. But rather than being a day of obligation, like the Sabbath, it is a day of privilege and worship. Released from our ordinary employment, we can set it apart in a special way and a special day for worshiping and serving our Lord.
• No-where in the NT are Christians ever told to keep the Sabbath. And yet at the same time we recognize the principle of one day in seven, one day of rest after six days of work. (a day of rest)
• Whatever view one holds on this subject, the principle is this: let each be fully convinced in his own mind. Now it should be clear that such a principle applies only to matters that are morally neutral. When it comes to fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith, there is no room for individual opinions. But in this area where things are neither right nor wrong in themselves, there is room for differing views. They should not be allowed to become a test of fellowship.

ROMANS 14:7-10

7   For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 

• The lordship of Christ enters into every aspect of a believer’s life. We don’t live to ourselves but to the Lord. We don’t die to ourselves but to the Lord. It is true that what we do and say affects others, but that is not the thought here. Paul is emphasizing that the Lord should be the goal and object of the lives of His people.

8   For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.

• Everything we do in life is subject to Christ’s scrutiny and approval. We test things by how they appear in His presence. Even in death we aspire to glorify the Lord as we go to be with Him. Both in life and in death we belong to Him.

9   For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 

• One of the reasons for which Christ died and rose and lived again is that He might be our Lord, and that we might be His willing subjects, gladly rendering to Him the devotion of our grateful hearts. His lordship continues even in death, when our bodies lie in the grave and our spirits and souls are in His presence.

10   But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 

• (I know, “we don’t right”!) We don’t judge what people do, right?

Let me give you just a short list of things we may judge:

1. Music 2. Movies 3. Hem lines/tank tops 4. Birth control 5. Social media

6. Drinking 7. Smoking 8. Chewing 9. Dating (girls who do) 10. Dancing

11. Piercings 12. Tattooing    Do I need to go on?

ROMANS 14:11          (Isaiah 45:23)

11   For it is written:

“As I live, says the Lord,

Every knee shall bow to Me,

And every tongue shall confess to God.”

• Isaiah 45:23 states, "I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear." This verse signifies God's unwavering promise and authority, declaring that all people will eventually acknowledge and submit to him

ROMANS 14:12-14

12   So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. 

13   Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.

• So then, it is clear that we all will give an account of ourselves, not of our brothers, to God. We judge one another too much, and without the proper authority or knowledge.

14   I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 

• Paul knew, and we know, that no foods are ceremonially unclean any longer, as they were for a Jew living under the law. The food we eat is sanctified by the Word of God and prayer (1 Tim. 4:5). It is sanctified by the word in the sense that the Bible distinctly sets it apart as being good. It is sanctified by prayer when we ask God to bless it for His glory and for the strengthening of our bodies in His service.
• But if a weak brother thinks it is wrong for him to eat pork, for example, then it is wrong. To eat it would be to violate his God-given conscience.
• When Paul says here that there is nothing unclean of itself, we must realize that he is speaking only of these indifferent matters. There are plenty of things in life that are unclean, such as:            pornographic literature, suggestive jokes, dirty movies, and every form of immorality. Paul’s statement must be understood in the light of the context. Christians do not contact ceremonial defilement by eating foods which the Law of Moses branded unclean.

ROMANS 14:15-16

15   Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died.

16   Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; 

• So, the principle here is that we should not allow these secondary things, which are perfectly permissible in themselves, to give occasion to others to condemn us for our “looseness” or “lovelessness.” It would be like sacrificing our good name for something valueless and trivial.

I want to give you four things to hold onto as you go through life making decisions for your own personal Christian conduct:

1. Whenever the scripture is silent, let your personal convictions speak for yourself. Romans 14:5  One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.

 

2. Where you have freedom for something, don’t use it, if it offends or it causes them to stumble.  ROMANS 14:21-22   21 It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. 22   Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.

 

3. Where you have convictions against something, don’t judge others who have freedom to do. Romans 14:13:                    13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way. 

 

4. Where you can promote mutual edification, do so.

ROMANS 14:19: Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.

ROMANS 14:17-18

17   for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 

18   For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.

• What really counts in the kingdom of God is not dietary regulations but spiritual realities. The subjects of the kingdom are not intended to be food faddists, food connoisseurs, or wine connoisseurs. They should be characterized by lives of practical righteousness, by dispositions of peace and harmony, and by mind-sets of joy in the Holy Spirit.

ROMANS 14:19-21

19   Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. 

20   Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. 

21   It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. 

• It is a thousand times better to refrain from meat or wine or anything else than to offend a brother or cause him to decline spiritually. Giving up our legitimate rights is a small price to pay for the care of one who is weak.

ROMANS 14:22-23

22   Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. 

23   But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.

• I may have complete liberty to partake of every kind of food, knowing that God gave it to be received with thanksgiving. But I should not needlessly flaunt that liberty before those who are weak. It is better to exercise that liberty in private, when no one could possibly be offended.
• It is good to walk in the full enjoyment of one’s Christian liberty, not being fettered by unwarranted scruples. But it is better to forego one’s legitimate rights than have to condemn oneself for offending others. One who avoids stumbling others is the happy person.