Sermon Tone Analysis

Romans Series #20

*Romans 14:8-12*

*I Am Not My Own*

 

READ 14:8-12

 

Eating and Drinking

Under the New Covenant they are NOT limited to what they can eat or drink.

They have the right to eat whatever they want.

Some Christians however were choosing to follow a conviction that had them eating vegetables ONLY which was even MORE of a restriction than the law.

Their reason was that in the gentile countries they lived in, they weren't sure about the meats.

Perhaps the meats were sacrificed to idols and since they didn't know and didn't want to defile themselves with this meat sacrificed to idols, then they chose to not eat meat at ALL.

Also some of those who had COME OUT of Pagan religions didn't want to eat the meat because it reminded them of the sacrifices to idols so for them it was too similar to what they had come out of

 

Paul teaches that there is nothing to eat or drink unclean of itself but it boils down to the teaching of scripture and the personal convictions from God that determine it's uncleanliness or not.

He talks about "Special Days" whether it is the Sabbath or other "Holy Days"  Some of the believers held days as precious and holy while others saw EVERY DAY as a day dedicated to the Lord and thus equal

 

How does Paul teach us to determine.

We are responsible for the conviction of God within us.

He says we should be fully convinced that your actions are acceptable.

In other words, if you are in DOUBT then Don't.

Some questions to ask yourself regarding a choice and whether it's acceptable or not

1) Will this please the Lord?

Will it displease the Lord?

2) Will this negatively affect my brother~/sister

3) Am I convinced that it is acceptable

 

But Hey IF I am "FREE" then why do I even care?

I am FREE to do as I want right?

 

1 Corinthians 8:1-8 (NIV)

/Food Sacrificed to Idols /

8     Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge.

Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2 The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But the man who loves God is known by God.

4 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one.

5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

7 But not everyone knows this.

Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.

8 But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.

"

 

Knowledge is important but knowledge by itself PUFFS up but LOVE builds UP

 

I believe in training and teaching.

I want New Life to be known as a place where from the Pulpit to the Sunday School to Small Groups to Awana Club, we teach with integrity, faithfulness, and truth.

But if we have Knowledge and have NOT love we will FALL apart!

Love is the mortar that holds the bricks of this household of faith together.

So why should I have to worry about this?

I'm FREE right?

Well, NO ONE LIVES to Himself ALONE

Freedom is NOT Free

Freedom does NOT give way to Spiritual Anarchy

 

You remember from scripture that we are forbidden from "doing what seemed right in their own eyes"

 

God is STILL a God of ORDER not Anarchy

Training and Submission are STILL part of God's Order.

We can't throw out the Chapter's previous, we must build on them

 

Anarchy, which is doing what I want, doesn't care about the Needs of Others

But LOVE demands that I care for the needs of others

 

If my freedom binds you, then I'm not really free nor are you

If it's all about me then chances are someone is NOT free

 

Every knee bows to Christ NOT to my way of thinking

 

If I'm bowing my knee to Christ then It's going to give YOU freedom to respond to him as Lord and I'm going to trust Christ to bring you where he wants you to be

Part of the evidence of the immaturity of the Roman Believers was that fact that they were labeling themselves as "Strong" and "Weak".

If you have to tell me how mature and strong you are then chances are that you are not.

As we read in 1 Cor 8:2 "the man who thinks he knows something, doesn't yet know what he ought."

So, am I "free", I think not "FREE" in that we are not responsible nor accountable to others

 

So, Why Not?

 

*1.

I Belong to the Body*

(1-3, 7, 10-13, 19)

 

/Romans 12:5 (NIV)/

/5 //so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

/

 

If my actions done in "freedom" cause my brother to be harmed or discouraged, it is not worth it.

You must be careful that you don't give someone your "freedom" before God gives it to them or you could plunge them back into the bondage to sin that they were freed from by Christ in the first place.

V 19 teaches us to do what leads to peace and mutual edification, and v 23 tells that everything that doesn't come from faith is sin

 

I love my WHOLE Body.

If my hand has lost its sense of touch, then my eyes are going to be extra careful to watch that the hand doesn't get hurt.

If my hand is about to come to rest on a Hot Stove, then my eye will tell my Brain which will in turn tell my hand to pull back.

My other body parts don't ignore the pain of my hand.

My legs will move me away

 

Why?

Because all of my body parts belong to each other as members of the same body.

I belong to the body and thus while I only answer to Christ, I still am responsible to the body.

V 12 says that we will give account to Christ

Luke 12:41-48 tells us that the Master is returning and while it may seem like a long time until he returns, we still need to be ready

 

As we learned last week though, we learn to respond to Christ's leadership by learning that we belong to a society.

We respond to leadership in our home, through the body of believers, through participating in the community in which we live.

We are to continue in him 1 John 2:28 so we will not be ashamed when he returns

Submit to authority within the body that the work of the leadership might be a blessing and a joy and not a burden or a chore.

(Hebrews 13)

We don't have time to be fighting or nit-picking because we are a body and we're preparing for the "bema" seat of Christ where our work on this earth will be rewarded or burned up

 

 

*2.

I Belong to the Mission of Christ*

(4, 15-17, 19-22)

Don't "flaunt" your freedom

That's between you and God

 

*  A.

Mission More Important than my Freedom*

There are 3 levels of Convictions

1) Biblical Commands - if the Bible is clear on an issue then we are all bound by the Biblical commands and it is even our responsibility within the body to lovingly encourage and correct other Body members that they might come in line with Biblical Commands

It is most effective out of relationships of love and trust.

We are all responsible for obedience to Biblical Commands and must respond to the leading of the Spirit in correction and training in righteousness

2) Personal Convictions - there are some things that are permissible for some and not permissible for others.

It is NOT a conviction because scripture specifically forbids this action, but God has made it clear that for YOU it is not permissible or best for God's plan for your life.

I Am Responsible before God for obedience to this conviction but you might NOT be.

For me this would be a SIN because of God's revelation, but for you it might NOT be -

I also must exhibit Grace and liberty to others who may not have the same convictions

3) Personal Preference - There is no Biblical basis for this it's just a matter of personal taste, perhaps even bad taste or out of date tastes.

But is it just a matter of preference

I am NOT bound by God to keep or be obedient to this preference because it is just about me

No one ELSE is bound to be obedient to this preference

I must exhibit complete liberty to others in this issue

 

The Cause and Mission of Christ are more important than my personal preferences or even my personal convictions and there are times when liberty is expected and even demanded.