Convictions, Conscience, and Community: Romans 14–15

Transcript lightly edited for readability. Bracketed words are editorial.

Well, hey, good morning everybody. How's everybody doing? All right, yeah, we're doing good, doing good. Hey, we are nearing the end of our When in Romans series. We're going to finish up the book of Romans next Sunday. And next Sunday we're also going to be taking the Lord's Supper together as a family. We have the elements available actually every week over here. But next week we're going to be corporately taking the Lord's Supper together. It's going to be a really, really sweet Sunday. And today we're going to be talking about convictions, a clear conscience, and community. And I think it is just, honestly, just a timely word for the world that we live in right now.

But first, let's get our hearts ready for what God has for us this morning. Would you guys put your arms out with your palms up? Close your eyes. Just a posture of surrender. Take a deep breath, and remember, God is just as near as the air you're breathing. Let's pray. God, today would you guide us closer to you? Help our minds put away the frustrations of the past week, to put away the distractions of the coming week. We want to fully focus on you. We come empty with nothing to offer but surrender. Fill us up as only you can. Holy Spirit, move in here today with power.

We believe that in advance. And we ask all these things in Jesus' name. And all God's people said, amen. Amen. This past week I went on my very first hunting trip, alright. Just full disclosure, I'm not a sportsman, alright. I'm not a hunter by any stretch. I got to spend a couple days with my son and my father-in-law, and my son, he shot his first deer, alright. I got a picture of just him, alright, I didn't want to freak anybody out, but this is him right after he did it. He was like so excited, like, and you could see the Jolly Rancher that he's been like crunching on, his tongue's all blue.

He was so excited. It was honestly, again, I'm not a hunter, not a sportsman, outdoor at all, but I got to spend a day and a half with my father-in-law and my son, it was a good deal. We get up into the blind at 4:02, alright, 4:02 PM, not AM, PM, alright. I took this picture at 4:10 PM. 8 minutes. I was like, man, this hunting thing is easy. Not even 10 minutes, he got his first deer, and honestly, that picture just made the trip worth it. He was so amped. Like, just started off with a bang. Like, we finally got set up, we got going.

Like, my father-in-law went to another spot on his lease, and like, we called him and said, hey, we got a deer, before he even made it to his deal. It was a good deal. Everything just happened so fast. Fast forward to that evening, we go to an early— go to bed early. It's a little travel trailer he's got out there. I'm sleeping on the converted kitchen table, 'cause it's like an RV, you know what I'm talking about? Like, you fold it down, take the things out, and like, Ain't no thing, I fit. Just barely fit, but I do fit. And about 3 hours into the night, I wake up.

Mind you, it's a hunting lease, we're out in the boonies. You're there because that's where the wildlife is. About 3 hours into the night, I wake up and I just hear like this little critter scurrying around on the ground, right? And I can tell that it's like kind of amplified because it's running around on the metal tubes that were like holding up the kitchen table that you put down to make it flat. Like, it's really loud, I can hear it. So, I sit up, like, waking up, I'm like, what is that noise? And I mean, it's pretty clear, there's like a little mouse running around under our bed.

So, I sit up, you know, it's a mouse. I psych myself up. You're a grown man. It's a mouse. It's on the floor, just go to sleep. I mean, have you ever had these conversations with yourself? Like, I just gotta do it. I lay down, I put my hands over my head like this. I just go to sleep, and then I feel right there, scared. I've never gotten out of bed so fast, just like, nope, nope, nope. And after that, it didn't matter if I found a place that was comfortable or not, my brain was saying, we're not going to sleep tonight, we're good. So, around 1 AM to about 5 AM, I just stayed awake, could not go back to sleep.

I hopped over into, like, my son's little side of the RV, and I was just kind of sitting there, just like, What am I doing? I can't, there's no way. Could not have had 2 more polar opposite experiences that day. The hunt, incredibly fast, not even 10 minutes, we got one, right? That night, from about 1 AM to 5 AM, could not have gone any slower, right? You guys feel me on that? Like, complete opposites. Now, I'll say I enjoyed the experience. The bad or the slow part, it was worth it because of that fun and fast part. And just right now, as you think about it, I want you to remember Paul's audience in Rome.

He's writing to followers of Jesus who are Jews and are Gentiles. And in a lot of respects, these people are coming from polar opposites, right? A totally different background. In our text today, we're going to see Paul talking about really clearly about convictions, a clear conscience, and community. And honestly, I think this is one of those passages that the church, like the capital C Church as a whole, really needs to live out. Because if we did this well, we would see God move in our lives because we'd be living on mission instead of getting distracted and fighting over the details. So let's dive into it this morning.

We're going to start Romans 14, verse 1. It says, accept those, accept others. Accept other believers who are weak in faith. Don't argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. Accept other believers. Don't argue with them. And it says believers who are weak. He really will unpack that a little bit further as we go in the book of Romans, but he's not saying that they're like— that their faith is weak. He's not saying that the object of their faith is weak. He's communicating just What he's trying to communicate is they're immature believers. They don't know what they don't know. They haven't been walking with Jesus a long time.

They haven't been in the Word. They don't know these things. Accept them. Don't argue with them. Have you ever been in a— I'll say not an argument because we're Jesus followers. Have you ever been in a debate with someone? A debate with someone? And you knew 100% you were right. And as you talk to them, it just becomes clear, it doesn't matter what you say, they aren't hearing you. And it's not because they're stubborn. Some people are like that. It's not because they're stubborn, but it's because they just don't know the information that you know. Have you ever been there? Where you're like, I promise I'm trying to help you.

And they're like, mm-mm, I saw this post on Facebook. I know. You know, he's saying, don't argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. Or wrong. He says accept them. And then he kind of gives us some examples here. Let's go to verse 2. It says, for instance, one person believes it's all right to eat anything, but another believer with a sensitive conscience will only eat vegetables. Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don't, and those who don't eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. Who are you to condemn someone else's servant?

Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall, and with the Lord's help they will stand and receive his approval. Alright, so Paul takes it to the next level there. He's not just saying hypothetically, accept them, don't argue with them. He gives an example of what they're arguing about, and it makes sense. They are arguing about food. That's funny, right? The Jewish followers of Jesus would have had strict laws of what to eat, what to not eat. Those values would have been ingrained into them for generations. They'd been doing this their families Families have been doing this for years and years and years. Generations. And the Gentiles would have not had that.

They just would have ate whatever they wanted. So they'd be saying, don't eat bacon. They'd be like, but I love bacon. I mean, I feel like that's the conversations they're having there. And Paul is reminding them that they're— that servants don't judge other servants. It's the master who will judge them. Let's keep going. He's going to unpack that more. Verse 5. While others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whatever day you choose is acceptable. Those who worship the Lord on a special day do it to honor him. Those who eat any kind of food do so to honor the Lord since they give thanks to God before eating.

And those who refuse to eat certain foods also want to please God and get— please the Lord and give thanks to God. So, Paul takes it a little bit further. He starts out with food. He's saying it's not just about food. It's really about anything. It's about what day the Sabbath is. It's not just about what food you eat, but also maybe in that time, like, food was offered to idols. Back in that day, one of the things that would happen is people would offer these meals, these foods to false gods, and then people would sell those foods so they could make money. So, just like hypothetically picture yourself in this conversation.

Like, I can see us doing this if this was today. Like, I could see us doing it. It would quite literally be like, that food that you're eating is the devil's food. That food was offered to a false god. That would be one half of the equation. And then you have people over here who, they say, I'm doing this to serve the Lord. This is idol food. It's older. It wasn't as fresh. It's offered to me at a discount. Right? It's like a second purpose food, it's a little cheaper. I'm being a good steward of the money that God has given me, right? Like, they're saying this is the devil's food, they're like, I don't know about you, but I'm saving money over here, this is a good job, I'm thinking about it that way.

I can absolutely see people just arguing about this stuff. And just an aside, this is before the internet, right? This is just people arguing because they're arguing. And God— Paul is telling them they are both trying to please God. They're trying to abstain from something that they feel like is bad. And these people over here are trying to be good stewards. They're trying to do things the right way. Here's what I want you to pick up. They both have convictions. They're not the same, but they both have convictions. And convictions are a good thing. They are a good thing. One of my favorite quotes is, there's nothing in the middle of the road but white lines and armadillos.

Have convictions. Hold to them. Now, a conviction isn't the same as doctrine. There are some things that are black and white in God's Word. That's really not what we're talking about. We're talking about the areas of life where there's some grace on how we can operate. Another quote, it's attributed to a bunch of different people, but it's, in essentials we need unity, in the non-essentials liberty. There's some grace there. And in everything Charity. It's going to be done in love. Essentials of the faith are things that are clearly defined in Scripture. The non-essentials are things you have liberty. You can and should have personal convictions. But the thing about personal convictions is that they're personal.

You don't need to impose them on others. And in all things, charity. It doesn't matter what you do, you have to have charity in everything you do. You have to love people. And if you miss that, it doesn't matter. In all things, love. It's not actually about what you're doing. That's kind of what Paul's getting at. Or not doing. It's about who you are serving when you are abstaining or partaking in those convictions. Who are you serving? Look at how he lays it out in verse 7. For we don't live for ourselves or die for ourselves. If we live, it's to honor the Lord. And if we die, it's to honor the Lord.

So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Christ died and rose for this very purpose, to be Lord both of the living and of the dead. Verse 10, so why do you condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. A lot to unpack there. You are to live for the Lord. If you are to die, you're supposed to honor the Lord. Live to honor the Lord. How does condemning the convictions of another honor God? How does looking down on a brother or sister in the gospel, how does that honor God?

God, I just don't see it. Remember what it said in verse 1? Accept them and don't argue with them. Verse 12, yes, each of us will give a personal account to God. So let's stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall. Church, this is so needed today. Like, stop condemning each other. There are literally like entire platforms, like sub-Christian platforms that are just built on tearing down other believers because they're doing it wrong. That's crazy. Stop condemning each other. Live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall.

In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, and in all things charity. Don't use your liberty to harm another. Not because it's wrong for you, there's grace there, but because you want to help somebody else who might struggle. Can I give you just a real tangible one that I've heard, honestly, from many people? It's a conviction, and I think it's a good thing. There are a lot of— and I think it's tangible right now in this time. There are a lot of Jesus followers who have convictions about not being a part of [a certain fall holiday], right? Abstaining, they're not going to do it. It's a day rooted in darkness.

They've got some reasons for that. There's people who have strong convictions about that. And there are people who haven't thought about that at all. All they've thought about is their kids getting dressed up in a cute costume and getting free candy. Haven't given any thought. Some haven't given any thought and some have. There is— I want you to be very clear. There is nothing wrong with having convictions at all. Have them. I think it's important to have them. But what Paul has told us twice in this passage, don't argue about them. Also, don't make others stumble and fall. Don't use your liberty to hurt others. And that usually isn't intentional.

Like, people don't intend to make others stumble and fall, but it happens. But when there's no love involved, instead of thinking, of others, you're thinking to yourself, what can I do? What do I want to do? But when love enters the equation, it's how can I best serve them? The arrow's not on us, it's on the person next to us. That's where our mindset should be. How can I serve the people around me? Verse 14, I know— this is the Apostle Paul speaking here— I know and am convinced on the authority I mean, he's pulling out the big stops. On the authority of the Lord Jesus, that no food in and of itself is wrong to eat.

Can I get an amen? I love me some bacon, okay. But catch this next verse. But if someone believes it is wrong, then for that person it is wrong. So, if it is your personal conviction that something is wrong, then for you, it's wrong. Let's keep going. And if another believer, verse 15, is distressed by what you eat, and you are not acting in love if you eat it, don't let your eating ruin someone for whom Christ died. Then you will not be criticized for doing something you believe is good. Live your life so that you are lifting up the body of Christ. You are lifting the body of Christ.

You're lifting up other believers. Not arguing with the body of Christ. Live your life so that you're helping other believers, not making them stumble. What does love make you? Love makes you serve the people around you. Put their interests above yours. You love them because that's somebody who Christ gave his life for. Verse 17, for the kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God and others will approve of you too. So then let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.

God's kingdom is not about what you eat or drink. It is a life of goodness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Aim for harmony in the church. Try to build each other up. Harmony. Aim for harmony in the church. This week is fall break, right? The fact that these front 2 rows are empty over here, it's probably because fall break, right? That's just kind of how it goes. But it's fall break for my kids and my wife. My wife's a teacher. On Thursday, I took the kids. We went to my in-laws, all right? Eldest and I went on that hunting trip. And I dropped the 2 youngest off with my mother-in-law.

So, I'm there, the kids are there, my wife, fall break, she had about 36 hours of the house to herself. Love her, right? She's earned it, alright? Got to do whatever she wanted for about a day and a half. I mean, honestly, the only decision she had to make was which side of the dog, which side the dog would like lay next to her so that she could read her book and still pet him. Like, I mean, it was good for her, good deal. I'm glad Mama got a little free time from the kids. But just a little question, was that harmony? Is that living in harmony?

I would say no. 'Cause it's not living in— it might have been peaceful, it might have been well-earned, all those things, but it's not harmony. You can't be living in harmony when it's just you. When you are the lone decision maker, it's pretty easy to do whatever you want, right? It would be easy to achieve— harmony would be so easy to achieve if it weren't for those other people. What are they doing? Paul is telling us to aim for harmony in the church and to build each other up. And I just feel like I have to say this. It's implied and almost assumed that the church, the people of God, they are active in each other's lives.

It's not just an hour on Sunday mornings. It's more than that. You don't need to work with harmony when it's just you. When you're isolated. But the more people that are involved, the more you have to work at it. Then the real hard part is to aim for harmony and build each other up. God doesn't just want us to coexist with other believers. Yep, we're not fighting. Like, he doesn't want us to just avoid that. That's not harmony. He wants us to build each other up. To grow, and one way we grow is by building each other up, because church, we need each other. We do.

We don't need to go through life alone. And people are messy. They got rough edges. We need each other to kind of soften those tough spots. Verse 20, let's keep going. Don't tear apart the work of God over what you eat. Remember, all foods are acceptable, but it is wrong to eat something if it makes another person stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else if it causes another believer to stumble. You may believe there's nothing wrong with what you are doing, but keep it between yourself and God. Blessed are those who don't feel guilty for doing something they have decided is right.

But if you have doubts about whether you should or should not eat something, you are sinning if you go ahead and do it. For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning. That's what the Apostle Paul said, not me, right? Don't let the body of Christ be separated by what you eat or drink. He's talking about an issue that was very common in that day with those people. I think sometimes we've got bigger issues than that in our world. Follow your convictions. If you don't, you're sinning. That's not me, that's the Apostle Paul. Follow your convictions.

If you think that something is wrong and you do it anyways, that's a sin for you. Convictions are a good thing. It is. We also don't need to impose our personal convictions on others. That's a recipe for disaster. That's not working for harmony. Now, we're going to go to chapter 15, verse 1. We're going to keep going here. We who are strong should be considerate to those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves. Just— that's not about us. It's not just about us. We should help others do what is right and build them up in our Lord Jesus. Follower, if you are around someone who has a sensitive conscience, live in harmony with them.

Don't just please yourself doing what you want. Help others and build them up. Arguing with somebody else about how what you're doing is okay is not a great use of your time. This is okay. It's alright. Maybe just don't do it. Live in harmony, build each other up. He kind of comes off the top ropes here, verse 3 in chapter 15. For even Christ didn't live to please himself. As the Scriptures say, the insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me. Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us, and the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God's promises to be fulfilled.

May God who who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. I mean, he hit it again. We're supposed to live in harmony. We're supposed to build each other up. Christ didn't leave— live to please himself. He lived to please us. He served us. He sacrificed himself for us. Then he says, you join together with one voice giving praise and glory to God. That we are united, one voice giving praise and glory to God.

Our worship team does an amazing job week in and week out, but I'm just going to be honest, my favorite part of Sundays. So I'm sitting on this front row, and I'm right in front of the speaker. I love it. I love it loud. I love it when the team pulls back a little bit, and I hear all you guys behind me unified praising our God. There's something really powerful about that. Truthfully, it builds me up. When there is a room full of Jesus followers united lifting up one name with one voice, it's a powerful thing. And here's the deal, you can give praise to God alone, and there should be times when you do that.

My steering wheel turns into a drum set so fast when I'm driving around, I love it. But there's something special when we praise him together. We need to live in harmony with each other, we need to build each other up, we need to Be unified. And here's the deal. That means putting aside different convictions and uniting on the gospel. You should hold clearly to— dearly and clearly to your convictions. You don't need to impose them on others. But we need to be united on God's Word. We need to be united on the gospel. Therefore, verse 7, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you, so that God will be given glory.

Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is And is true to the promise he made to their ancestors. He also came to the Gentiles that might give God glory for his mercies shown to them. Remember, Paul is talking about 2 very different groups of people. He's reminding them that their unity, their harmony isn't in themselves. They're different people. They've come from different backgrounds. They've got different values. They've been ingrained different ways. Their unity, their harmony is in God. I think it's a reminder for us that most of us, We— most of the people we interact with daily, we have a lot more in common with than these people in Rome did.

Like, they were 2 completely different ways of life. And even those people who are polar opposites from you, there are people that are totally different in this room. Different backgrounds, different values. Different in just about every way. We got Sooners fans. I know we're sad today. We got Pokes fans. I guess also sad today. It's just kind of a gloomy day, all right? But we got every side of the aisle. We got everything. We're different in so many different ways. But this is what keeps us together. There's nothing greater than this that unifies. It's the gospel of Jesus. Keep your convictions so that you can live with a clear conscience.

That's good. In community. Paul has hit harmony hard. And that only happens when you are with people. Again, if you're by yourself, that's really not harmony. It's really easy to just do whatever you want to do. It's a lot harder when people are involved. You've got to be saturated in biblical community. We need each other. We can't just isolate. Now, to end chapter 15, Paul, his focus changes a little bit. He's starting to wrap up this letter that he's written to Rome, and it only goes to chapter 16, but in 15 he's starting to zoom out a little bit and give you a little insight into his motive, why he's written this, who he's written it to.

Verse 14 says, I am fully convinced, my dear brothers and sisters, that you are full of goodness. You know these things so well you can teach each other all about them. I mean, he's laid it all out in crazy detail. These past 15 chapters. He said, you know them so well you could even teach each other about them. Even so, I have been bold enough to write about some of these points knowing that all you need is the reminder. He said, hey, come back to this. Remember this. I know you already know it. Remember this and teach it to others. For by God's grace I am a special messenger from Christ Jesus to you Gentiles.

I bring the good news so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit. So I have reason to be enthusiastic about all Christ Jesus has done through me in my service to God. He says, yet I dare not boast about anything except what Christ has done through me, bringing the Gentiles to God. By my message and by the way I worked among them. They were convinced by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God's Spirit. In this way I have fully presented the good news of Christ from Jerusalem all the way to the boonies.

He's gone everywhere. Verse 20, my ambition has always been to preach the word of God where the name of Christ has never been heard rather than where a church has already been started by someone else. I have been following the plan spoken of in the Scriptures where it says, those who have never been told about me— been told about him will see, and those who have never heard of him will understand. Paul's saying, I'm going to boast in what Christ has done through me. It's not about me, it's about Jesus. And then we get a peek behind the curtain as to Paul's why. Why has he written his letters?

Why has he traveled so much? Why is he doing all this enthusiastically? He says his ambition to preach the good news is because there are people who have never heard about Jesus. And he quotes Isaiah, that those people who've never been told about him, they will see. Those people who've never heard, but they will understand. His motive, the thing that keeps him going, telling others about Jesus. The church as an organization, it's unique because it doesn't exist for the people in here. It's for the people out there who don't know Jesus. And we have a responsibility to evangelize, to tell others about Jesus. That's what Paul is saying here.

I'm doing this because there's people who don't have a faith in him. They've never heard about him and they haven't put their faith in him. They need someone to go and to tell them. If we tie this all together, what kind of a witness do we have in the world if we aren't even living in harmony with the people who believe in the same Jesus that we do? Have convictions. Hold them. Don't argue others. Don't try to argue others into holding those same convictions. Live in harmony. Give each other grace. But most importantly, remember the mission. That's what Paul is saying keeps him going. Paul, he's gone through some tough times.

You go back to the book of Acts. This is just in the book of Acts. He is stoned, left for dead. He is beaten, jailed. He is in a storm at sea for 2 weeks. He's shipwrecked. He crash lands on an island where he is then bitten by a snake. A poisonous snake. I mean, it's like a terrible week, all right? He's going through all these things. He's gone through all this stuff. And why does he keep going? He says, because there are people who don't know Jesus, and I want to share the gospel with them. That's the mission of God. And if you're a Jesus follower, God's got you here.

To join the mission. Who are you telling about Jesus? If you're here and you've never put your faith in Jesus, the good news, that's what gospel means, it's pretty simple. It's that Jesus came to this earth. He's the Son of God. He lived a perfect life on this earth. And even though he'd never done any sin, he'd never done anything wrong, the world crucified him. They hung him on a cross. And the devil thought that he had defeated his problem, but here's the deal. The grave could not hold him. And after 3 days he laid in the tomb, his body rose. He took the punishment for the sins of the world.

He paid for our sins on the cross, but when he rose from the tomb, he defeated sin and death once and for all, and he offers salvation to anyone. Who believe in him. That is the good news of the gospel, that Christ came to save sinners. Do you believe that? Do you believe that? It's really simple, just put your faith in him. Church, if you do believe that, If you are a Jesus follower, have you gotten distracted about your convictions and this is right and that is wrong? Remember the mission? It's to share the good news with those around us. We can't do that living in isolation.

We need each other, and we need that witness to show the world that, hey, this church, these Jesus followers, we're different from the world. The world argues about everything. As a group of Jesus followers, we're not going to argue about our convictions or this and that. We might have beliefs that are different, and that's okay, but we're going to lift up Jesus above everything. We're going to be united that the world needs to hear his good news. That's what it's about. Don't forget that. Remember your mission. Accept other people in the faith. Build them up, and aim for harmony. Let's pray, church. God, I'm so thankful for the good news, that we don't have to have it all together, that we don't have to get everything right, that God, you got it right for us when you sent your Son Jesus.

I'm so thankful for the gospel that you have saved us, that anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. God, I pray if there's anybody here who has not put their faith in you, God, that they would call out to you. They would say they believe in your death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. They would put their faith in you, God. And we know that anyone who calls to you in faith, God, Thank you that you answer that prayer. God, for those of us who are Jesus followers, would you help us to walk worthy of the calling you've given us? That we'd walk in harmony with one another, that we would build each other up, God, and that we would share our faith with those around us.

We'll be bold, we wouldn't shy away from what you've done for us, we would lean into that in every conversation. God, we're so thankful for all you've given us, how much you've loved us. Help us to not hide that, but God, to share it at every opportunity. We ask all these things in Jesus' name, amen. Church, let's stand and worship together.