Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 1:00:02
0 ratings
· 15 viewsFiles
Notes
Transcript
The Strong and Weak
The Strong and Weak
Here we return to Romans 1:17
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
If you’ve listened to any sermon you know the word faith in greek is pistis.
It can be translated, trust, faith, fidelity, pledge
The core question here is, how do we demonstrate our trust in or allegiance to Jesus?
vv. 1-3 The Weak don’t eat
vv. 1-3 The Weak don’t eat
Imagine bumping into someone at Safeway who has GARBAGE FOOD - Cheezwhiz, the chicken with the yellow clearance sticker on it. - ‘Come Join me for dinner’
Here we look at the implications of our trust in Jesus.
The old adage applies ‘you are what you eat’
How do you know someone is a vegan (paleo, crossfitter, insert sect here)- they’ll tell you.
We’re all somewhat on a search for our identity- something we trust that will make us acceptable to others and before God.
The word for ‘welcome’ here is proslambano- to receive one into their home.
Whenever we can welcome folks into our homes again there are two things assumed here:
We will actively be inviting fellow believers into our homes
We will graciously spend time together
Gluten Free for a summer
DO- Invite people, permit people to entertain their habits.
DON’T- Entrap people, Judge people
vv. 4-9 Who are you?
vv. 4-9 Who are you?
Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
Visited Camp Sweyolaken and all the kids slept w/out a counselor in their cabin (Isn’t that a HUGE liability?
Whose are you- who do you belong to? Lordship requires an allegiance
Going to church or at least attending church is a demonstration of your allegiance
There are so many things we do in life that are indifferent regarding our Lord.
Where you buy your coffee largely does not matter
The color of your alb or the position of your stole. IS A MATTER OF INDIFFERENCE
The tune to which we sing hymns… hard to believe, does not matter
Adiaphora
The Book of Concord Article X: Concerning Ecclesiastical Practices That Are Called Adiaphora or Indifferent Things
a dispute arose among some theologians of the Augsburg Confession over ceremonies and ecclesiastical practices that are neither commanded nor forbidden in God’s Word but have been introduced into the church with good intentions for the sake of good order and decorum or to maintain Christian discipline.
The center of each issue in the life of the christian is whether or not we think we are righteous on our own. Whether or not we think we can defend our actions.
This last week P spiked a fever and then was tested for COVID. For about 30 hours we had to wonder whether or not we were going to be the 1st CLC family to get it.
We felt like we could defend our actions. We’ve been abundantly safe.
We wanted to be righteous. To be better than ‘those people’ - “Unclean”
The reality of the fallen world is that we are ‘those people’ - we are not isolated from weakness
For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself.
In the 17th Century Poet John Donne wrote this poem:
No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as any manner of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
He seeks to illustrate the same point Paul makes in Romans 14 - we are all connected. Especially under death, especially under the resurrection. Especially in faith. We are one household in faith - part of one another.
vv. 10-12 The Judgement of the Weak and Strong
vv. 10-12 The Judgement of the Weak and Strong
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;
The Bema is the judgement seat. It looked like this, and if you remember Paul himself stood in front of this very bema in Acts 18 (it was probably brand new or being constructed at this time)
But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.” But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. But since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things.”
Paul wrote his letter to the Romans FROM Corinth and had to be remembering this time that the courts said ‘these are your own laws’ - a judge recognized that something was out of his jurisdiction.
Friends, the Kingdom of God is not ruled by mere mortals or marble courts. They will all bow before the Lord. When we look down on others we are out of our jurisdiction.
Frankly, if you’re confident that abstaining from coffee is righteous then why do you need Jesus? If I am so confident that I could drink a beer in church and not sin, then why would I need Jesus?
This is not about our actions, it is about our self righteousness and our hearts that have turned inward.
Paul exhorts the church to trust in Jesus not our perceptions.
Trusting in Jesus both limits and encourages behavior- it is not our will but the will of Him who sent us.
Dr prescribes more salt for one person and less salt for another
Practically speaking- EASE UP ON EACH OTHER.
Thanks be to God that we are not our own Judges. If life is about lordship and loyalty then we have pledged the wrong allegiance. Who has demonstrated their allegiance their loyalty to God’s cause more than Jesus?
Jesus is the King who rules with Justice.
Jesus is the King who forgives debts
Jesus is the King who has paid what we owe.
The book of Romans is a book about righteousness, not ours but God’s. The righteous live by faith in the God who is both righteous and makes you righteous.
May you trust the Love of God in Christ who welcomes you into His kingdom. Amen.