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.
(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.
posted by Pastor Magee at 8:33 AM
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