Welcome to Life Group. We invite you to join
us in this verse -by -verse study through the
Word of God. In this session, we're going to
be looking at Romans 13, verse 8 through Romans
14. Romans 12 answered a question for us. And
this is the question. What does a transformed
life look like? Now, in Romans 13 and 14, We'll
answer another question. How does that transformed
life treat other people? Paul is going to show
us what Christianity looks like in everyday relationships.
We could easily title this session, Love, Liberty,
and Living for the Lord. We'll be discussing
three big themes. The first is loving other people
well. Next, we'll look at waking up. And we'll
conclude with talking about not judging other
people. So let's pick up Romans 13, verse 8.
Owe nothing to anyone except for your obligation
to love one another. If you love your neighbor,
you will fulfill the requirements of God's law.
When Paul says, owe nothing, He's not talking
about finances or financial borrowing. He's talking
about an ongoing obligation. There is one debt
that you and I will never pay off. The debt to
love other people. We will never reach a point
where we'll say, All right, I've loved enough.
I'm done now. Love is a permanent calling. Verse
9. For the commandments say, You must not commit
adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal.
You must not covet. These and other such commandments
are summed up in this one commandment. Love your
neighbor as yourself. So here's the challenge.
It's easy to love quote -unquote humanity. It's
easy to say we love everybody. But it's often
harder. To love your neighbor. You see, your
neighbor, that statement includes your co -worker,
a difficult family member, the slow driver in
traffic, the person who offended you, and even
the person who disagrees with you. See, real
love only shows up in real connections. Verse
10. Love does no wrong to others. So love fulfills
the requirements of God's law. Here Paul connects
love directly to obedience. Think about the commandments
he listed. Don't murder, don't steal, don't commit
adultery, don't covet. If you genuinely love
someone, you won't do those things. Love naturally
fulfills what rules try to enforce. Verse 11.
This is all the more urgent, for you know how
late it is. Time is running out. Wake up, for
our salvation is nearer now than when we first
believed. The night is almost gone. The day of
salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark
deeds like dirty clothes and put on the shining
armor of right living. We see here that Paul
shifts tone. He basically says, church, it's
time to wake up because it's possible to be religious
and spiritually asleep at the same time. Be dull
to the spirit. People can talk Christian talk,
they can sing Christian songs, attend church
services, you know, even on Wednesday night,
they can serve even on the volunteer teams, but
still be asleep, you could say, towards God and
the things of God. Verse 13, because we belong
to the day, we must live decent lives for all
to see. Don't participate in the darkness of
wild parties and drunkenness or in sexual promiscuity
and immoral living or in quarreling and jealousy.
Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of
the Lord Jesus Christ and don't let yourself
think about ways to indulge your evil desires.
Here Paul uses clothing language. Before you
put on, he's saying, we must take off the world.
Before we can put on Christ and the things of
God, we must lay aside the things of the world.
Now, that doesn't mean to like layer Jesus on
top of our old sinful patterns and cover our
sinful patterns that way. But he's just saying
you have to let go of the world in order to put
on Christ. Some things have to go for the believer.
You can't do both. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ
means that we don't just admire him. We need
to wear him, meaning like let his character cover
us, let his presence guard us, and let his life
shape our lives. It's important to not feed what
you're trying to starve. We don't set up conditions
that make sin easy. Spiritual maturity then often
looks like wise avoidance. I've heard this story
one time about a person trying to avoid, had
the conviction of like trying to avoid donuts.
They were just addicted to go into Krispy Kreme.
And so instead of just driving by on their way
home from work, They would circle the parking
lot over and over again, just waiting for the
hot now sign to be on. They would say, well,
God, if you don't want me to do that, don't let
the hot now sign to be on. But then they would
just continue to circle the parking lot until
that sign lit up. And it's kind of that same
thing, right? If you're convicted in an area,
you don't set yourself up to fail. Don't put
yourself in those old environments where you
know that you would be tempted. Right. You just
need to pass on by, keep driving by and keep
doing what you know to do is right. Now we're
going to move to chapter 14, and that could be
titled Don't Fight Over Secondary Things. Here,
Paul is going to address some of the biggest
sources of church tension. We could call it disputable
matters or gray areas, preference issues. So
let's look at Romans 14 verse 1. The weak referred
to here were believers with sensitive consciences.
In this case, some refused to eat meat. Why?
it was offered to idols or had been offered to
idols. Maybe it was about their Jewish dietary
background or some personal conviction. Picking
up with verse 2. For instance, one person believes
it's alright to eat anything, but another believer
with a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables.
Those who feel free to eat anything The stricter
believer is not always the stronger believer.
You see, legalism can sometimes present itself
like strength or even spiritual strength. But
love is the true indicator of spiritual power.
Picking up with verse 4. 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. Here Paul asks a very piercing question.
Who are you to judge another's servant? They
don't answer to you. They answer to God. And
God is the one who is able to make them stand.
Verse 5. In the same way, some think one day
is more holy than another day, while others think
every day is alike. You should each be fully
convinced that whichever 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 it. And those who
refuse to eat certain foods, also want to please
the Lord and give thanks to God. In these verses,
Paul is reminding us to let our conscience have
its place. Some believers honored certain holy
days. Others treated every day the same. Here,
Paul doesn't force uniformity. Instead, he says,
let each be fully convinced. in his own mind.
The key is, whatever you do, do it unto the Lord.
Not unto culture, not unto pressure, not unto
appearance, but unto the Lord. 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 again for this very purpose, to be Lord
both of the living and of the dead. These verses
teach us that our life is not our own. Christianity
is never intended to be practiced apart from
others, despite what people say. Your life affects
those around you. Your choices have a ripple
effect outward. And Jesus didn't just save you.
He owned you. He purchased you. He is Lord of
the living and 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. For the
scriptures say, As surely as I live, says the
Lord, every knee will bend to me, and every tongue
will declare allegiance to God. Yes, each of
us will give a personal account to God. Here,
Paul commands us to stop acting like we are the
judge. We each have our own God -given assignments
to fulfill in his kingdom. And it's important
to remember not to try to fix our brothers and
sisters in Christ. Like Paul here is not saying
you need to fix the people around you. He's saying
that we need to focus on ourselves and our mission
that God has called us to. He says for us to
prepare ourselves. Every believer will give an
account, and this is not talking for salvation,
because salvation was settled at the cross. But
every believer will give an account for how we
lived. This is called the judgment seat of Christ,
and this is where believers are rewarded. All
of our works will be judged by fire, and only
the things we did for Christ that were directed
by the Holy Spirit. will last and be rewarded.
It's important for us to keep in mind that God
is the only one capable of judging the intentions
and the motives of the heart. He's the only one
who knows what he directed you to do or not to
do concerning the things not specifically directed
by his word. And when we remember that, criticism
loses all its appeal. Picking up in verse 13.
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. So here
we see that two dangers exist. Legalism can crush
someone, and also careless liberty can trip people
up. But love towards others asks, Before doing,
will this help them? Will my actions help someone
or will they harm someone? Verse 14. I know and
am convinced on the authority of the Lord Jesus
that no food in and of itself is wrong to eat.
But if someone believes it is wrong, then for
that person it is wrong. And if another believer
is distressed by what you eat, 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. Paul says plainly here that love is
more important than being right. Nothing is unclean
in itself. But if exercising your freedom knowingly
troubles someone, then that is when we step out
from walking in love. And if Jesus gave his life
for them, surely we can give up our preference.
Picking up with verse 17. For the kingdom of
God is not a matter of what we eat or drink,
but of living a life of goodness and peace and
joy in the Holy Spirit. Now, if you've been around
the Galatian church much, you've heard this verse,
and normally I read it out of the New King James
Version, which says the kingdom of God is about
righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Moving on to verse 18. If you serve Christ with
this attitude, you will please God, and others
will approve of you too. Paul calls us to remember
what God's kingdom is really all about. It's
not about rules. It's not about preferences.
It's about righteousness, peace, and joy in the
Holy Spirit. Now, if you drive a car, it's very
important to regularly check the gauges in your
car. How often do you look at the fuel gauge
or the temperature gauge to make sure your car
is not running hot or to make sure that you're
not about to run out of gas? We need to regularly
check these gauges. And now we can look at these
verses that we just read to be like our spiritual
gauges. We need to keep our eye on. These two
things on our level of peace and our level of
joy, because those are the gauges of life in
the kingdom of God. If our peace gauge is registering
low or if our joy gauge is registering low, then
we need some spiritual adjustment to our focus.
Let's continue with verse 19. So then let us
aim for harmony in the church and try to build
each other up. 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
might cause another believer to stumble. In these
verses, Paul, being led by the Holy Spirit, is
telling us to use our freedom to build, not to
tear down. A mature believer should always consider
these questions. Does what I am doing or saying
edify and build up another person? Does what
I say or what I'm doing strengthen other people?
See, just because something is permitted doesn't
mean it's always beneficial in every setting.
Sometimes, to walk in love, we limit ourselves
when necessary. To walk in love, especially concerning
what you could say is a gray area. All right.
Verse 22. 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
or not. You should eat something. You're sinning
if you go ahead and do it. For you aren't following
your convictions. If you do anything you believe
is not right, you are sinning. So as followers
of Christ, we need to walk in faith and not walk
in an inner conflict. See, this is one of the
greatest tests for anything. that we would call
a gray area. We need to ask ourselves, can I
do this with a clear conscience? Can I thank
God while doing it? Would I do it with my Christian
friends? If not, then we don't need to do it.
Ultimately, mature Christianity is not... proven
by how free you are, but by how well you love
other people. Thank you for joining us for Life
Group. Allow God's Word to build your faith and
transform your life.