Beyond Taking It

“Beyond Taking It”
(Romans 15:1-6, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, October 30, 2005)

Introduction: “Spirituality” and the Therapeutic Assumption

Many people in our day consider themselves “spiritual.” Yet contemporary spirituality is often undertaken solely for the therapeutic benefit that it promises. While we all would like to feel better, to settle for religion as therapy is to settle for too little. Most of us seem to want more than that.

Dr. Leon Kass and the President’s Council on Bioethics recently published a book considering some of the ethical challenges that have come with advances in Biotechnology. The book is entitled Beyond Therapy. The chapter titles in this government report are very interesting. They highlight for things that we want medicine to do for us. We want “Better Children,” “Superior Performance,” “Ageless Bodies,” and even “Happy Souls.”

While some seek these things in the creations of the pharmaceutical scientists, many expect personal spirituality to do her part. But even if an active spiritual quest can’t guarantee some objectives, the provision of basic therapy is a minimum goal for many seekers. If spirituality does not yield me pleasure, why would I bother with it?

Robert Bellah in Habits of the Heart tells the story of a Sheila Larson. Sheila claims to have her own religion that she calls Sheilaism. She calls it “my little voice.” What does the voice say? “Just try to love yourself and be gentle with yourself. You know, I guess, take care of each other. I think He would want us to take care of each other.”

When I first heard about the content of “Sheilaism,” I have to admit that it sounded secretly appealing. There is a part of this that I can relate to very well. In the challenges of life, when we feel like we can’t take it, we would like to think that therapy would give us something good. We may alternate between despair and simply trying to be tough. But when the tough veneer leads to a deadness, when your stiff upper lip has turned to stone and you are losing our ability to feel, you might like a little therapy – a little Sheilaism. You might like at least enough therapy to be able to take the perceived injuries of life with some genuine composure.

But Sheilaism has this one glaring defect for us. It is clearly not Christianity. It could not possibly explain the cross. It could not lead to radically sacrificial mercy or costly justice. Christianity takes a different path to get to something much bigger than personal therapy.

TODAY’S PASSAGE:
Romans 15:1-6 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me." 4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

CAN YOU TAKE IT?

(1) Don’t please yourself.

Immediately we see a very different instruction in the Bible. Verse one very plainly tells us that we are not to please ourselves. The Greek word translated “to please” could also be translated “to try to please.” The point is that your efforts in life can not merely be directed at your own personal pleasure. Don’t make yourself weary in trying to please yourself. Even as I say those words you may find yourself thinking something like this: “What a refreshing idea!” “What a freeing idea!” Maybe even, “What a pleasing idea” – oddly enough. Our determination to be freed from the large burden of pleasing ourselves can actually turn out to be be very pleasant.

Let me correct one possible area of confusion here. John Piper makes the case that we should tell people not to seek less pleasure, but more pleasure. What he means by this is that we were created to enjoy God, and the right choice for us is the choice of that greatest of all pleasures that can only come from Him. When we choose sin, we choose a far inferior pleasure. We should seek the better way, which is also the way of far greater pleasure. I agree with Piper entirely on that point, and I am convinced that his thought on this is very consistent with the passage before us.

What is it that God is prohibiting then? There is a baseness of living for your own convenience and for the avoidance of all pain and annoyance in the midst of a world full of sin and misery. This type of self-centered pleasure seeking is not God’s plan for you.

(2) Please your neighbor for his good.

You are told instead to please your neighbor. This brings us back to the first verse of the passage. There God tells us that there is something that we ought to do. Literally we are to carry the weaknesses of the weak. Give thought to your neighbor, and make it your pleasure to please your neighbor.

This requires some qualification. You cannot aid your neighbor in sin just because he has decided that sin is the most pleasing option for him. You must please him for his good, and for the building up of your neighbor in the good things that God has for him. To do this is good not only for him, but also for you to. It builds him up in the faith and is also best for your edification in Jesus Christ.

(3-4) For Christ did not please himself.

There is a very powerful Christian reason given to encourage us in this pathway. Christ went this way. He did not please himself. Paul goes on to quote from Psalm 69 and to apply those words to Jesus Christ, saying, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” If we look at Psalm 69, we see that the “you” is God, and the “me” according to Paul is ultimately the Messiah. People were against God, and the hatred and antagonism that they had for God fell on Jesus.

If you read Psalm 69 you will see the intense experiences of suffering that the psalmist describes. While the psalm is clearly speaking about the suffering of Christ upon the cross, the larger ministry of Jesus was full of the reproaches of men. As an example, consider Mark 3:1-6. Jesus heals a man with a withered hand, and the Pharisees get together to figure out how to destroy him. He was despised and rejected by men.

Was all this fun or pleasant? No. But the Apostle Paul tells us that this was recorded in the Old Testament for our comfort, that we might have hope. There is a pattern here that is for you to appreciate, and it is very clear. Christ is for you in his trials and death. Now you are to be for your extended family here in your midst. You are all to follow Christ in his great mercy as you live for the pleasure of others.

WHAT CAN GOD MAKE OF IT?

(5-6) What is the goal?

It is a wonderful thing to have peace in this extended family, but it is not the final goal. The final goal of true Christian harmony in the church is described in verse 6 of Romans 15 and in Psalm 69. It is the praise of God in corporate worship. Paul says that we are to do this with one mind and one mouth – that is what our text literally says. This is our goal, and it is greatly hampered by our unfortunate contentions. On the other hand, our united voice of worship is furthered through gospel forgiveness and unity. Sometimes we feel that we cannot take another thing. But God can lead us through the challenges even of personal contention, and He can surely make something of it. He can take the pain and work it into a harmony of praise.

POINT: The Christian life is a life of spending ourselves for the good of others to the praise of God.

Application: The Surprising Health of True Christian Spirituality

There is a great irony to the true life of Christian Spirituality. When we forsake our own self-centered therapy and devote ourselves to others, then we are actually moving along a road that will be good for our own health – a road far more healthy than the Sheila-istic faith of directly pursuing self-satisfaction.

Sheila’s little voice says, “Just try to love yourself and be gentle with yourself – He does want us to take care of each other…” We say something different. “Love your neighbor and be gentle with your neighbor – even bringing pleasure to him, especially in the church, for Christ came not to be served, but to serve, and he gave his life as a ransom for many.”

There is some of this forsaking of self that seems to happen naturally to everyone. God has made life so that the propagation of the human race through the institution of the family sends us down a pathway where self-focused convenience and avoidance of pain looks increasingly juvenile. Not everyone gets married and not everyone has children. But those who do get married will soon find that they are living with another person with real feelings to be considered. It will not do to claim that your way of living life is to live it for your own ease. Children also demand your sacrificial love. Those who get married and who have children, but live life just to pursue their own pleasures end up looking foolish, and most will see the folly and make some adjustments.

I want to urge you to consider your commitment to Christ and to this body of believers with that kind of family seriousness. Will you care about your brother here more than you care about yourself? Will you make a commitment to caring for others within this expression of the body of Christ?

To do so is actually good for you, and more importantly it facilitates our unity of worship together as we praise God with a united voice. If we will not do this together, then we will have no real commitment to sacrificial missions of gospel grace, which is where Paul is headed in the remainder of Romans 15. Without this teaching there will be no cross love. Without cross love there will be no true Christian consolation or encouragement and no real gospel hope.

What’s it going to be? Sheila-ism or Christianity?

This week I had a chance to travel with Pastor Scott Meadows to a meeting in Manchester. Scott told me some things about his own journey in the Christian faith, and since I expressed interest in our conversation, he sent me an e-mail with a fuller testimony that was wonderful to consider. I wrote him back a short note as follows:

Scott – this was very inspiring. I am very thankful to be your friend. The Lord has done great things in your life. What an honor it is to teach your children!

He then replied to me in a way that is so wonderfully Christian, and marvelously healthy:

Brother – It is kind and gracious for you to say these things. We have both been so blessed of God, especially considering how undeserving we are in ourselves. Let’s wear ourselves out for His praise!
Yours in the gospel, D. Scott Meadows

Pursuing Peace and Blessedness

“Pursuing Peace and Blessedness”
(Romans 14:19-23, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, October 23, 2005)

Introduction: Third Great Awakening?

Statistics suggest that there has been a dramatic increase in “spirituality” in America. Some are calling it the third “great awakening” in the history of America, pointing to two earlier periods in our national life that historians have noted as particularly important times of spiritual growth.

Today some 80% of those who have been surveyed indicate that they are “spiritual,” with about 60% saying that this spirituality is very important to them. Before we celebrate too quickly, we should also note that 60% of respondents say that they have God within them, but that they do not need the church. Some 24%-40% (depending on the survey) say that they are “spiritual” but not “religious.”

That last one is a very telling statistic. Reformed and Evangelical scholar David Wells notes three characteristics of “religion” that have fallen upon hard times. 1) A religion has doctrines to be believed in. 2) A religion has corporate gatherings to be part of. 3) A religion has ethical rules to be followed.

One last statistic that highlights the kind of problem we face in our day: 52% of people who call themselves “born again” do not believe in the doctrine of Original Sin. Why is that an important matter? Original sin tells us that at the moment we entered the world, we were already a part of a massive mess that we could not possibly solve. Adam, the first man, was our accurate representative, and he sinned for us. If we reject the doctrine of original sin, but still insist that we have a saving identification with God, it could be that we have drastically underestimated the scope of our spiritual need, and have wrongly supposed that we could solve any crisis in our own strength.

The lack of basic and essential Christian beliefs among those who see themselves as spiritual is not a problem of just those “out there” in the world. Sadly, it is a church problem. Naturally, this is discouraging to us. But there is only so much good that comes from wallowing in the depressing data of our day. What is the solution for us? That needs to be our focus.

The solution to content-less spirituality within the Christian church is now and always has been confessional Christianity within a community of sacrificial love. By “confessional” I mean a Christianity that confesses faith with the content of biblical doctrine. But this doctrine must be known within the institution of God’s kingdom, His church.

God’s plan for the growth (both spiritually and numerically) of the church is through the increased visibility of the doctrinal church. That visibility comes through our commitment to worship and sacrificial love. Ephesians 4 tells us that all of us are to be fruitfully engaged in God’s household, with faith working through love as every joint and ligament in the body does the part assigned for it.

Ephesians 4:15-16 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

There is a problem with the Ephesians 4 solution. It involves people spending time with people, and that has never been easy. The Apostle Paul was acutely aware of that problem. He knew that in the church there would be those who could barely resist the temptation to enter into judgment against those who do not measure up to their standards, and that there would be those who would respond to would-be judges within the household of God by despising them.

Paul wrote about this matter in Romans 14, using some of the difficult and divisive issues of the 1st century church. While the specific issues of our day are not exactly the same as those that caused trouble in the first century church, the principles that Paul teaches the church in these verses serve us very well in confronting our tendency to judge or to despise one another.

Last week we learned an important negative resolve. I will not put a hindrance or stumbling block in front of my brother in the church. This morning we add some very positive marching orders for soldiers of the cross.

TODAY’S PASSAGE:
Romans 14:19-23 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. 20 Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.

(19) Positive Instruction

The instruction for us here is quite plain: “Let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.” The word pursue is a very active word, as when a law enforcement official chases after someone in order to bring them into custody. We can not let peace slip away from us. We can not be content if mutual upbuilding has left our assembly.

The peace that we have with God must be reflected in the way we treat one another. We say that Christ has won peace for His people, but what does it mean when so many of those people who claim to have peace with the Almighty God of heaven and earth are so intent upon biting and devouring one another?

The word “upbuilding” reminds us of the temple imagery used to describe the church, or the story of the rebuilding of the walls around Jerusalem. Christ is the cornerstone. The apostles and prophets are the foundation lined up with the cornerstone – the first century leaders of the church who bring the word of God to the people. Those worshipers are being built up, living stone by living stone into a solid dwelling place where God lives. We want peace. We want stable and healthy growth in the Lord’s kingdom.

By the way, the building of the kingdom of God through the church is a big deal to our Maker. We do not have the right to decide that it is a small matter to us. I remember that when I went to seminary, it was not because I was intending to be a pastor. I had served in the business world for several years and was intending to continue in that way for many more years. But I did have questions that I wanted the answers to, and I felt that the environment of serious study that a seminary provides would help me in getting the answers that I was seeking.

After two years or so of studying the Bible, I found something that I was not particularly expecting or asking for – the church. I began to see that God was working out His great purposes now through the church, and that I needed to have a part in this divine institution where Christ is Head. As I proclaim this message to you this morning, I do so believing that you have no right to carve out for yourself some very limited role within the church, as if it were something less than the very kingdom of God. Because of the importance of the institution, it is very important that we hear God’s call to us that we are to pursue peace and mutual upbuilding in this critical arena.

(20-21) You got all upset for the sake of … what?

And yet we find it so easy to be distracted by minor things, insisting on having our way, even when it leads to trouble in our extended family in the Lord’s household. Whether it is for food, or for wine, or for the celebration of special religious days, or for our opinions about schooling our kids, or for our opinions about a particular children’s book, or… (the list goes on), we are all too willing to let some small thing disrupt the communion of the Lord’s body.

And all for the sake of… what? What is so important to us? What is so essential? Wouldn’t it be better to be wronged on some small matter rather than to fight for your opinion and harm the church? Will you demolish the walls of the Lord’s holy temple for the sake of your right to eat what you want to eat whenever you want to eat it? Even if you are right, don’t you see that you are wrong to do this “right” thing in the way that you are doing it? Isn’t it clear that you are not doing it in love, if your brother is sent down some wrong pathway by your actions? It would be far better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.

(22-23) The Blessing of a Clear Conscience

There is another way to live. You can live out of the faith that we confess together. Can you do what you are doing with a clear conscience in the very face of Almighty God? Can you treat your bother in Christ the way that you are while his and your God is intently watching you both? It will do you no good to claim that you were right, when your Father in heaven asks you why you were so thoughtless as to grieve and disrupt your brother on his walk of faith.

This is living life in the presence of God. This is what Paul means when he says that our lives must “proceed from faith,” for whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.

POINT – Last week we took to heart an important negative resolve – I will never put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of my brother. Now today we have a companion positive duty – I will always pursue peace and mutual edification in the Lord’s church.

Application – The Big Picture of What Makes for Peace and Blessedness

If it is our resolve together to pursue peace and edification within the church, it is essential for us to give some consideration to the question of how we have peace and how we are built up together as the church. It would be the worst ingratitude if we did not first note that it is entirely through Jesus Christ that we have any peace with God. He is both our peace and our sanctification. His was the atoning sacrifice that turned the wrath of God away from us. We have new life because He has given it to us by the Holy Spirit.

We want to hold to the ancient Biblical doctrine of Original Sin not only with our words but with our lives. Our situation from the moment of our birth was deeply perilous. We had a weight of guilt that stood against us. By this I do not refer at all to whether or not we felt guilty, or whether or not we felt ashamed. We were guilty, and only Christ could successfully defeat sin and death on our behalf so that we could even speak of growing in peace and blessedness.

Furthermore, it is equally clear that any growth in the church on these essential matters of peace and mutual upbuilding must come from the same source. He who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it. The credit for all soul growth goes to Him.

But God uses the church that truly follows Jesus and is empowered by the Spirit in order to fulfill His plan for our increase in peace and our growth in Him. Together we worship, we learn, we pray, and we serve. There is much of this going on in our midst.

I suppose that no one can do everything that we have for the church to do here. But we can each do our part. We can each understand our job, and this will help us to truly pursue peace and mutual spiritual growth within this church.

The first thing to remember is that none of us is the “Pope of Practically Everything” or the “Queen of Quite A lot.” Jesus reigns. There is no need to submit an application for His job. He has a way of doing things that need to be done. He can be trusted.

This same Jesus has appointed that some would be Ministers of the Word, who preach and teach, administer sacraments, and lead the congregation in prayer and worship. He has also given us elders who are shepherds of the flock attending to the spiritual needs of their brothers and sisters and deacons who lead the congregation in mercy ministries and help us to be fruitful in service. Together we are all worshippers of God, serving Him with joy and loving one another with concrete acts of Christian charity.

This is not all done at a distance. The people who do the work of prayer Monday through Friday mornings are doing this together. The people who visit nursing homes and who serve the weak, fixing homes, moving households, and guiding the elderly do not do this work alone. They touch other lives. Will we, who have been forgiven so much, judge one another and despise one another as we do these things? Or will we be content to do our part and leave it to others to do what is theirs.

This is not easy, but it is VERY IMPORTANT. Remember, the building of the kingdom through the church is a big deal to God. It is not easy to make these resolves real. It is not easy to maintain a good conscience. But then the life of faith has never been easy. Since Abraham was told to leave his home and go to a place that God would show him, the way of faith has always called for humble trust.

We are doing things together that require that God be with us. How sweet is the news then, that when God sent His Son, He gave Him the name “Immanuel.” Our God is with us. Let us trust Him as we work together in the church. Let us live in these two important resolves. 1) We will never hinder one another in the walk of faith. 2) We will always do what makes for peace, and what works for mutual upbuilding in the Lord’s church.

People must confess solid Christian doctrine. It is God’s plan that this should happen within a community of sacrificial love. It will not really work if we bite and devour one another.

Life Together

“Life Together”
(Romans 14:13-18, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, October 16, 2005)

Introduction: The Destiny of the Church

God has a great eternal plan for His church. That plan calls for growth throughout the earth, purification of His body and ultimately elimination of what is false from our midst on the Day of Judgment. Even now we actually have a spiritual taste of that final resurrection life, but one day we will live the resurrection life forever physically in heaven and fully enjoy eternal communion with God. This is our wonderful destiny. It is nothing that we deserve. It will be a great display of God’s grace, and it has come at great cost. Jesus has taken our hell for us. We have been given His heaven.

By contrast, the destiny of the world is to face the justice of God without any mediator. The world (including that part of it falsely hiding in the church now) will be publicly exposed and eternally condemned. The final state of the world and the hope of the Lord’s church could not be more different.

There is a sense in which we might like to go to the end of the story right now, and be done with this odd period of living by faith together as the church here on earth. But this is not the Lord’s plan. He has things for us to do, and especially, He is doing things to us. Christ is being formed in us. As Paul writes to the Galatian churches, “My little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!” There is an anguish to this current process, but it is a necessary anguish. We are becoming more like Christ.

As those who are the recipients of God’s grace, those who have this incomparable and magnificent destiny, how are we to live today? Especially, how are we to treat each other when we find that we have differences in our opinions and especially in our behavior? This morning God has a new aspect of the life of godliness for us. If you are to embrace this, some bit of worldliness must go. Of course, that is all for the best.

TODAY’S PASSAGE:
Romans 14:13-18 13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.

(13) A new resolve that is truly Christian

In verse 13 Paul seems to be making a play on the Greek word for judging by using the same word twice with two different meanings. The verse literally reads in part, “Let us not ‘judge’ one another any longer, but rather ‘judge’ never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.” God has given us abilities of discernment for a good purpose. Rather than using them to condemn one another, why don’t we try to use them to restrain ourselves in ways that will be good for God’s people?

Not every thought that goes into your brain has to come out of your mouth. And not every impulse of Christian freedom is consistent with love for your brother. You too can exercise restraint as God’s Spirit continues the good work He has begun in you.

This verse gives us a new resolve that we should all take to heart: I choose never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of my brother in the church. There is much good that can come from a serious consideration of the implications of this instruction.

(14-16) The fruit of careless living in the church

Verses 14 through 16 show us several different faces of this dangerous mountain of trouble that springs up from reckless and careless thinking, speaking, and living within the Lord’s family. Let’s follow Paul’s logic together as we see the various perilous messes of judgment and despising that can so easily grip the church.

First Paul returns again to the 1st century church conflict over eating meat – meat that may have come from pagan marketplaces or meat that was not to be consumed according to the Old Testament food laws that God had established for Israel. Paul says very clearly that he knows and is persuaded the “nothing is unclean in itself.” The root issue of surface morality is not in question. All food that can be received with thanksgiving and prayer is not unclean in itself.

Nonetheless, the next clause tells us the surprising news that something which in its essence is clean, is unclean to the one who thinks that it is unclean. This is because of the deep matters of the heart. Our obedience is not merely a question of outward rules. If we think that something is sin, even though it is not inherently sinful, for us to do it is sinful, because we think that we are sinning. Thus we are going against our conscience, and that is never safe or right. It is also a bad thing to do anything that emboldens another brother to ignore his conscience. If we get used to doing things that we believe are wrong we will be soon stuck in sin.

The next verse begins by instructing the “strong” person (in terms of Christian liberty) that he must give due consideration to the well being of his “weak” brother near him when he decides to eat something. In fact when your brother is grieved (saddened) by your exercise of liberty, you are not walking in love.

We must not destroy (kill) our brother in Christ, for whom the Lord died just because we think that we have liberty to eat what we want to eat. There are many ways that our behavior can lead to a dangerous pathway for others observing or imitating us.

Finally, verse 16 tells us the sad end result of this strange lack of discernment on the part of the “strong” one who insists that his liberty be so showy. The good freedom that he has will be spoken of as an evil thing. Even more than that, the world all around us may unnecessarily speak in an evil way about that the church and the gospel of Christ.

How could all this happen? How could your exercise of Christian liberty lead to such a bad result? As your brother is saddened by your behavior, he may be distracted by your showy emphasis on something that you are allowed to do. He may begin to judge you. You may begin to despise him. Alternatively he may begin to ignore his own conscience and lose the aid of that precious ally in his fight against his own fleshly impulses. All of this can be very destructive to the church, leading to much distraction and division. It should not surprise anyone when a distracted or quarreling church invites the criticism of those observing it.

(17-18) Acceptable behavior in the Lord’s church

Christ did not die on the cross in order for us to live in such a careless and stupid way. As the last two verses of our text show us, “the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.”

I ask you to consider with me for a moment the question of how Christ lived. He was not sloppy with his words and actions. He was well aware of who he was speaking to and all that he did was well considered. Everything that he said and did was for our salvation. Could it be right for those who follow him to live as an army of one with little concern for our fellow soldiers of the cross – the precious sheep and young lambs for whom the Lord shed his blood?

Church conflict, like family strife, can be very painful. Perhaps you are tempted to think that the only way out of this kind of mess is to carefully keep your relationships superficial and distant from the other worshippers here this morning. But this is not the kind of model that we see given to us in Acts 2:42-47, where the Pentecost church is a vibrant example of spirit-filled life together. There is another alternative. The way of Christ is not disengagement with the church, but a new Christ-like engagement.

POINT: Christ lived and died as if you and I mattered. That has to mean something to us, and lead us to an uncommon resolve – May I never put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of my brother.

Jesus Christ has invited us to come to Him and to find rest for our souls. It is false teachers who not only refuse this gospel invitation themselves, but who also try to prevent others from coming to Christ (Matthew 23:13). In your speech and life, could you be inadvertently following the false teachers that Christ condemned? Are you placing stumbling blocks before others by your careless words and behavior?

Application: Be careful what buttons you push.

This passage of Scripture reminds us that we need to live a more reflective life. We cannot pretend that our thoughtless and rash words and actions are OK. They are not. We’ve got to learn to stop, think, and pray before we speak and act.

Every person has hot buttons. People in families that want to hurt one another learn to do so by pressing those buttons at just the right time. Is there some area of life about which you are particularly sensitive? How does it feel when someone brings up that area in a way that puts you on the spot? Sometimes it comes in the form of bragging, where my strength, or the strength of others that I publicly commend ends up exposing your weakness. Sometimes my false humility can function the same way, as a secret dagger, unnecessarily exposing some weakness in my brother and grieving him.

“Dead flies make the perfumer's ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor,” says Ecclesiastes. “A little leaven leavens the whole lump,” says the Apostle Paul in another place. Do you want to bring distraction, disagreement, and division upon the church? Just do what comes naturally without any thought to those around you, and imagine that it is just you being you. Take some small and debatable word or behavior pattern that sets some other Christians off, and just start saying or doing it fairly regularly among small gatherings of the brethren. Then stand back and watch the destruction that comes.

Before long there will be very little consideration of Christ, his righteousness, the peace that has come to us through the cross, and the joy of the Holy Spirit. We will all be thinking and talking about you – what books you read, or what movies you watch, what you drink or smoke, or some other ridiculous bit of liberty that seems to be the center of your life. All this could have been prevented if you had been more willing to hold back on your liberty where appropriate and focus on Christ more than your books, your movies, your food, and your wine.

Conclusion: Forgive

One final word… If withdrawing from the life of the church is not the answer then we will all need to be ready to forgive one another. Mistakes will be made. Thin people will complain about how fat they are in front of people that are actually quite heavy. People with lots of savings will talk about how they have had to scrimp in front of those who do not know where tomorrow’s mortgage payment is coming from. People will say insensitive things, and people will judge one another too harshly.

We need to forgive one another. We need to live well together in the church. There is only one way to do this. We all need to be utterly amazed that we are alive at all. We who deserved the wrath of God have been brought to the sure hope of eternal life through the death and resurrection of Christ. Let’s talk about that one fact always, and forgive one another when we are hopelessly foolish about things like food and wine.

The Coming Judgment of the Church

“The Coming Judgment of the Church”
(Romans 14:10-12, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, October 2, 2005)

Introduction: Beyond being right, but not beyond right and wrong

Ever the crowd-pleaser, I am going to begin my message this morning with a grammar lesson. Did you know that the title of this sermon is ambiguous? The genitive at the end of it (“of the Church”) is the part that can have more than one meaning. If it is a subjective genitive, then the expression tells us that the church is the one that will do the judging. If it is in an objective genitive then the church is the one being judged.

This is very much to the point of what the Lord has for us in the verses before us this morning. Are we the ones who are judging, or is the Lord the one who in a day yet to come will judge us? And what does the topic of judgment have to do with the kind of Christian liberty and appropriate biblical tolerance that Paul is teaching to the church in Rome? Is it wrong for us today to be critical of others with our thoughts and with our words?

Of course, not all criticism is bad. Everyone knows that there is a difference between having a father with a critical spirit, and having a father that occasionally has a word of correction for his dearly loved children. What is behind a critical spirit, and how can we make progress in turning away from such an overpowering sin?

Do you have a critical spirit? Perhaps it will help you in your self-examination if I ask you this question: Which would you rather be, right or happy? Many people insist on being right at all costs. This type of attitude in the church can lead to much unnecessary division. There are many issues that the Bible has said very little about. That does not mean that God doesn’t care about these smaller issues, or that there is no right or wrong on those points. But it does mean that the gift of patient love with one another is something to be earnestly sought in prayer. There are many instances where bearing with one another in love is far more honoring to God than merely having the right answer to the question at hand.

TODAY’S PASSAGE:
Romans 14:10-12 10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." 12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

The “Weak” and the “Strong” reviewed (10a)

In this fourteenth chapter of the Apostle Paul’s epistle to the Romans, we have been learning about two groups within the church that Paul refers to as the “strong” and the “weak.” The strong man may not be a person of natural physical, emotional, or intellectual strength. But he shows spiritual strength in this, that God has accepted him through Christ, and that he has been given much liberty in a great number of areas. For example, he has freedom to eat, drink, and order his days according to general principles of biblical obedience rather than through slavish obedience to old ceremonial laws or to the opinions of those around him.

The weak man has not rightly considered the implications of the gospel for his way of life. He thinks he is right with God, at least in part, through his obedience to old laws that Christ has fulfilled or man-made rules that come from tradition. The weak man is tempted to judge his brother or sister according to his own answers to smaller questions of biblical doctrine or morality. He is tempted to view himself as one of the obedient ones that take God’s word more seriously than the average bear. The strong man knows his freedom in Christ concerning matters like dietary laws, yet he too has a temptation that must be resisted. He must not despise his weak brother who does not understand the right use of Christian liberty.

We can now see from verse 2 that Paul is not merely trying to say the same thing twice to the same people. He is speaking to two groups in verse 10. He first turns to the weak brethren who think that they can only eat vegetables, and he effectively says, “Stop judging your brother in the church for whom Christ died and rose again.” He then looks on his other side at the “strong” who know that they may eat anything, provided that it is received with prayer and thanksgiving, and He says, “And you, … stop despising the weak man who may be judging you harshly. He does not know what he is doing.”

We will all stand before the judgment seat of God (10b, 12)

The first verse begins with the two questions we have been considering. But the Apostle goes on to provide strong reasoning for both parties in this simple biblical teaching: Both the strong brother and the weak brother will stand before the judgment seat of God. In verse 12 he says, that each man will have to personally give an account of himself to God. In the words of 2 Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” This is very similar to our text, except Romans says it is the judgement seat of God, and 1 Corinthians says it is the judgment seat of Christ.

As John Piper comments, “Our judge will be Christ. It is God's judgment too (Rom. 14:10-12, "We must all stand before the judgment seat of God"), but God "has given him authority to execute judgment" (John 5:27). So God the Son and God the Father are one in their judgment, but the Son is the one who stands forth as the immediate Judge, to deal with us.”

This is something for us to consider, and it can help us in our fight against sinful habits of the heart and the tongue that disturb the peace of the church. What will it be like to stand before Christ as our life is reviewed by the one who knows what is in a man?

When someone is interested in becoming a member of this church, I or one of the other elders who pastors this congregation spend some time meeting with the person. Over a series of weeks or even months we go through a book together that describes the fundamental truths of the historic Christian faith. Each person needs to know in good conscience that he is a sinner and that Christ is his merciful savior. He needs to resolve to be a follower of this Jesus and a supporter of the work and worship of the church as a submissive participant in the body of Christ. The elders of the church speak with that person and eventually he needs to be able to affirm his faith as a solemn vow before God in the presence of all of you who witness his simple “yes” answers to the questions posed to new members. For some who are more shy, the idea of standing up in front of others and nodding their heads “yes” can be a very intimidating thought. They must do this in obedience to the command of the Lord, who insists that we own Him as our Lord and Savior before men.

But as intimidating as that may be, it is nothing when compared with the truth of today’s text. One day each of us must stand before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ, and answer for the way in which we have used the profound gifts of life and liberty in our service of the One who freely gave His all both in life and in death for us. Are you ready for that day?

There are many passages in the Bible that tell us the truth about the coming day of judgment. Most importantly, we know that there will be a distinction made between the world and the church. The world is headed toward eternal judgment. Those who are truly a part of the Lord’s church will go into everlasting life. But do we know that even those redeemed by the Lord’s blood will yet stand before the judgment seat of God and face the one who died on the cross for us? Jesus said, “By their fruits you will know them.” Each of us will have to explain to Him why we have not loved the weaker brethren, why we have not turned to Him in prayer when we were losing hope, why we have so often given up on our duties in the face of some opposition.

Let me read you some other passages that make it clear that the Lord will one day examine every life. This examination will show the distinction between the world and the church, and will also be used for evidence concerning the distribution of eternal rewards among the elect.

Romans 2:3-6 3 Do you suppose, O man- you who judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself- that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 He will render to each one according to his works:

Matthew 16:25-27 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.

Matthew 25:31-46 31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' 40 And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' 41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' 44 Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' 45 Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

How does God’s eternal plan to show mercy fit into this? Not only does the Bible teach that we will be judged by works. It also clearly promises that some will be saved by grace, and not by the merit of our own works:

Titus 3:3-7 3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

How are we to understand this? The answer is quite simple. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. His merit has been applied to us. But while we are saved by grace alone, grace that saves is never alone. The works that God ordains for us are the evidence of the saving grace of Christ that He has granted to us. This gives meaning to every act of God-honoring obedience and devotion in our lives.

1 Corinthians 15:56-58 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

The Old Testament proof-text and context in Isaiah 45 (11)

The judgment of God is coming, and it is real. While there are many passages in the bible that teach this, in verse 11 of this morning’s text Paul quotes from chapter 45 of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. In this chapter God says over and over again that His redeemed people are the result of His own plans and actions. He is the One Creator. He is the One Redeemer. Finally the last verses make it clear that He is the One Judge to whom all must one day answer. Using the word “Israel” to speak of his chosen ones out of all of the tribes of the earth, God says:

Isaiah 45:22-25 22 "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. 23 By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: 'To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.' 24 Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him. 25 In the LORD all the offspring of Israel shall be justified and shall glory."

There is simply no escaping the fact that all must answer to God. As those who must answer the Lord one day and explain what we have done with the great grace that He has granted to us, do we really have time to judge others over disputable matters? Will the Lord be pleased when we despise His loved ones? It is a frightening thing to stand before the living God, for our God is a consuming fire. Is it defensible for us to wrongly treat those for whom the Son of God lived and died?

POINT: There is a necessary humility and gentleness that comes from a true understanding of eternal judgment.

God has not hidden the facts of judgment from us. His chosen people will make good use of them, and turn from small-minded impatience in our dealings with each other. Let me press the point of this text further by asking you to consider the One who has been appointed by God to be the Lord of the coming Day of Judgment. In doing this I want to distinguish between the judgment of God upon the world and the judgment of God upon the Church.

We know that the final destiny of the world and the church is radically different. The passage that I read to you earlier from the end of Matthew 25 which talks about the sheep and the goats is one of the classic passages in the Bible on this point. It ends with this simple inescapable sentence, speaking first of the final destination of the world, and then the final end of the perfected church, called here the righteous. “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” In the words of the Westminster theologians, “At the resurrection, believers, being raised up in glory, shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment, and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God to all eternity.” This cannot be said about those who “do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus” (2 Thes 1:8).

The Judge of the World

Jesus is coming again to judge the living and the dead. The church has confessed this biblical truth for centuries. To take this away from Him, which no one can do, is to take away part of His exaltation, and to steal from Him part of His holy glory.

Who is this Jesus who is the judge of the world? All things were made through Him, and He upholds all things by the Word of His power. As Creator and Sustainer of all, what could be known about Him was plain to all, because He showed it to them in His works of creation and providence. His invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So the world is without excuse in its rejection of Him. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles (Based on Romans 1).

Therefore, this Jesus, who was Himself so intimately involved in the creation of everything, who protects and provides humanity with each passing moment, has been appointed as the Judge who will at the appointed time judge the world in perfect righteousness. This Jesus who was rejected by the world despite all His perfect righteousness, will one day judge the world.

The important thing to note here is that He is the Judge of the world, not you.

The Judge of the Church

What about the judge of the church? Who is this One who will distribute rewards to the righteous and expose those who are not truly part of His eternal church? Is it not Christ Jesus, the one who died – more than that, who was raised – who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us? The one before whom we will stand is the one who works out His special providence for His church, so that we are preserved through all kinds of tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, and war (Romans 8:34-35). It is the One who made an eternal agreement with the Father to rescue you from sin and misery. It is the One who on the cross faced the wrath of God for you.

Once again, the important thing for you to note is that He is the judge of the church, not you. Brothers and sisters, you were saved by the grace of this wonderful Jesus who will one day judge the church. Can it possibly be right for us to judge each other over 100 lesser issues and 1000 inconveniences when the clear and plain facts of the death and resurrection of Christ unite us in a holy and eternal bond as the Lord’s own family? We must not do this thing. We must place our hands over our gossiping and slanderous mouths. We must ask for God’s Spirit to so fill us that even our every thought would be taken captive by Christ.

By the way, how is it that sinners like us would even be talking about REWARDS! How is it that we will one day hear these words, “Well done thy good and faithful servant?” Here is the key: The One who was judged for us and who suffered the punishment of the cross for us, has taken what we deserve, and we have been credited with His righteousness. And we would be the judges of others? We would presume to despise others within the Lord’s household? Have we forgotten that we will stand before the judgment seat of God?

Conclusion: Lord, help me today…

One British commentator says this concerning the verses before us this morning: “There is no sin to which Christians – especially ‘keen’ Christians – are more prone that the sin of censoriousness. The apostle’s words are seriously intended. ‘Should a man not lay his hand upon his mouth before he criticizes his brethren? When we pass swift, uninformed, unloving and ungenerous judgments, surely we have forgotten that if we speak evil of them, at the same time we speak evil of the Lord whose name they bear.’”

The Father has given the Son the authority to execute judgment. The King will return. He will review each one of us. Every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess. May the truth of the coming judgment of God upon the church give us pause when we would sin. And may a sweet spirit of love and forbearance together with true acts of Christian aid be characteristic of this assembly of God’s people. This is a daily challenge. My prayer is this, that God would help you and I today to use well the truth of the coming judgment, that we would love one another more fervently and sincerely from the heart.

Friends, the title I began with this morning contains an objective genitive. The church will be judged. God will judge.

Romans 14:10-12 10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." 12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.