Sandusky Life Church
Sunday, May 3

      • Ephesians 1:3–7ESV

      • Bible Trivia
        Loading...
  • Nothing But The Blood
  • Nothing But The Blood (Plainfield)
  • You Have Searched Me
  • I Will Glory In My Redeemer
  • I've Got A Reason

  • Keep Your families Conscience: The Freedom That Builds Up

    Bible Passage: Romans 14:13-23

    I. Introduction: So we’ve been in this series through Romans, fleshing out what a transformed life in Christ looks like—often contrasting it with a mind conformed/bent toward the world. (world in scripture is often a metaphor for world ruled by satan and sin.)
    All of this flows from Romans 12:2. Before Christ, we are the driver of the vehicle. But once we humble ourselves and surrender our lives, our plans, and our rule to Jesus as our Lord, God, and resurrected Savior, He begins to transform us through the work of the Spirit. He changes the way we think, act, and respond—to the world around us and toward God. From chapter 12 on, Paul lays out what that renewed thinking and living looks like in the real world. A renewed believer:
    · Thinks about themselves with humility in relation to others
    · Loves other believers authentically
    · Responds to enemies with blessing, not revenge
    · Submits to and cooperates with governing authorities (unless it conflicts with the commands of Christ)
    · Loves without limit
    · Does not keep Israelite law for salvation, but loves their neighbor and seeks their good—thereby fulfilling the heart of the law
    · Makes the most of their time here on earth
    · Understands how the strong should treat the weak, and how those who are growing should relate to those more mature in the faith
    a. Recap
    i. We who are strong are to welcome the weak and honor the Lord. We who are weak are not judge the strong and honor the Lord.
    1. Those who are weak believe in Christ, but still battle legalism and don’t fully understand what faith calls them to live like.
    2. The strong are secure in their walk and know where they have freedom.
    3. Disagreement on secondary matters shouldn’t divide us or break fellowship. Unless it comes to major beliefs—the authority of Scripture, the character and nature of God, and the person and work of Christ—we should seek unity and grow together.
    4. We walk in unity when the strong don’t look down on the weak for their immaturity, and the weak don’t wrongly judge the strong by their own standards, but by God’s.
    ii. We are reminded to honor God’s authority.
    1. We welcome and unite with other believers because we all answer to the same Judge. None of us is the Master; our aim is to exalt Christ, not ourselves.
    II. This week, we continue looking at the relationship between the strong and the weak.
    III. A few weeks ago, I was reading Genesis and noticed something interesting. After the fall, we see relationships break in four ways:
    i. Genesis 3:23 — man is banished from the Garden. Our relationship with God is shown to be broken.
    ii. Genesis 4:9 — Cain kills Abel. Our relationship with one another is shown to be broken.
    iii. Genesis 4:19 — Lamech takes two wives. The relationship of marriage is evidenced to be broken.
    iv. Genesis 3:17–19 & Genesis 5:29 — the ground is cursed because of sin. Our relationship with the earth is revealed to be broken.
    The gospel restores all of these relationships. What Paul is addressing here is our relationship with one another—specifically our brothers and sisters in Christ If you’re familiar with the story of Cain and Abel, after murdering his brother in Genesis 4:9, God asks, “Where is your brother Abel?” Cain responds, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”
    Genesis 4:9 NRSV
    Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”
    A keeper is a “Watchman”-someone responsible for another’s safety. Cain asks this question, and God doesn’t answer. They see the answer differently.
    Because of sin, Cain doesn’t see himself as responsible for his brother’s well-being. But God’s intent for His creation was that we would see ourselves as responsible for one another.
    Today we look at what I would consider one of the major keys to thriving in a healthy relationship with Christ:
    · Our pursuit of truth
    · Our posture of prayer
    · Our dependence on the Spirit
    · Our witness to others
    · Our life within the body
    This life in Christ does not thrive if a believer doesn’t see themselves as a link in the chain of the body. If one link is weak, the whole chain is compromised.
    IV. Romans 14:13-15
    Romans 14:13–15 NRSV
    Let us therefore no longer pass judgment on one another, but resolve instead never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of another. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. If your brother or sister is being injured by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not let what you eat cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died.
    a. Explanation
    i. Paul brings two ideas together to make his point. A stumbling block is exactly what it sounds like—an obstacle placed in your path to make you trip. It’s like my son’s skateboard left out in the living room that I trip over in the dark while searching for a midnight snack. The second word he uses is hindrance, often translated as a trap, temptation, or snare—something that doesn’t just trip you up but can cause real harm. It moves from a simple stumble to something more like Wile E. Coyote or Home Alone—traps that do damage. With these two words, Paul gives a strong warning: DON’T LET OUR CHRISTIAN LIBERTIES BECOME A TRAP OF TEMPTATION FOR ANOTHER BELIEVER.
    1. Echoing the words of Jesus in Gospel of Mark 9:42:
    Mark 9:42 NRSV
    “If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea.
    a. We don’t know the person’s eternal fate here, but Jesus uses strong language—saying it would be better to suffer a horrible death than to cause someone else to disobey God.
    ii. To fully grasp what Paul is saying, we have to understand Christian liberty. I explain it a couple of ways. First, to paraphrase a theologian Falcone, it describes how Christ frees believers from sin’s enslaving power and the law’s external constraints. Simply put, Christian liberty means believers have freedom in areas not explicitly forbidden in Scripture. In Rome’s case, this centered on eating meat. Though you are free to eat meat, if another believer struggles with meat sacrificed to idols and, in their conscience, it is sin, then my freedom must give way—otherwise, my liberty becomes harmful.
    1. For example,some people are often shocked to find out I drink alcohol.   
    a. a. In Psalms104:15, the psalmist celebrates God’s creation, saying He makes “wine that gladdens human hearts.”
    Psalm 104:15 NRSV
    and wine to gladden the human heart, oil to make the face shine, and bread to strengthen the human heart.
    b. In Deuteronomy 14:26, God commands the Israelites to spend their tithe on whatever they desire—including wine and beer—and to drink and celebrate in the Lord’s presence.
    c. With that said, the Bible is not against alcohol; it is a sin to get drunk. In the Epistle to Ephesus, chapter Eph 5:18:
    Ephesians 5:18 GW
    Don’t get drunk on wine, which leads to wild living. Instead, be filled with the Spirit
    We are not to seek wine for peace or comfort—that’s God’s role. And we are not to be controlled by anything except Him.
    2. Though I see this as a matter of Christian liberty, you will almost never see me drink beer in public spaces, especially around people I know who struggle with restraint. It’s my freedom to do so, but if my freedom causes one of Jesus’ sheep to stumble, it would be better for me to have a cinderblock around my neck and be sitting in Lake Erie. That would be a grievous sin on my part.
    iii. In these verses, Paul also explains why this isn’t acceptable within the family of believers.
    1. It’s not walking in love. Earlier in the letter, Romans 13:8, he just said, “Owe no one anything, except to love one another.” Here, he makes it clear—we are not walking in love. To carelessly cause someone else to sin is the opposite of love. It’s neglect. It brings pain. It causes harm.
    2. Because Christ died for them. In the Old Testament, part of the purpose of the sacrificial system was to show that sin requires a costly payment. The only thing that could save humanity from sin was God giving His life to satisfy His justice. We think Gas & Ground beef is high. Our sin bill is devastating. When Jesus went to the cross, it wasn’t so you could live however you want. His blood purchased our lives for His purposes. Twice in 1 Corinthians, Paul says we “were bought with a price.” Chapter 6:20 continues and  “Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
    a. Christians, we belong to Christ. I used to drive valet, and I was extra careful with clients’ cars because they weren’t mine. In my own car, I might do donuts in a snowy parking lot—it’s mine. But if it’s someone else’s, I handle it with a different level of care.
    If we cause another believer to stumble, we are mishandling what belongs to God. In this case, it was over food. But we’re trading a prized possession of God for a drink, a meal, some cheap indulgence—something that pales in comparison to the value of what that person’s life cost.
    3. Because it ruins your witness. Romans 14:16
    Romans 14:16 NRSV
    So do not let your good be spoken of as evil.
    Verse 16 points to becoming an object of slander—likely from unbelievers. In Epistle to the Colossians 4:5, Paul says,
    Colossians 4:5 NLT
    Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity.
    If we don’t value the wholeness and holiness of other believers, the outside world won’t see love—they’ll see phoniness. (possibly Francis Chan story). But when we do, it shows something real. (Juanita story)
    a.  Underneath the average tree is something called a mycorrhizal fungi network—often referred to as the “wood wide web.” It’s a system plants use to communicate, sharing carbon, nutrients, and water. They even support one another when one is under attack. In a sense, they work for each other’s protection as if it were their own.
    We are connected by the blood of Christ, and we are called to love one another the same way—protecting each other as we would ourselves.
    V. In the second part, we get to see what freedom truly is.
    ii. Romans 14:17-23
    Romans 14:17–23 NRSV
    For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The one who thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and has human approval. Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for you to make others fall by what you eat; it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes your brother or sister stumble. The faith that you have, have as your own conviction before God. Blessed are those who have no reason to condemn themselves because of what they approve. But those who have doubts are condemned if they eat, because they do not act from faith; for whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
    iii. Here Paul calls us to do some divine auditing—I’ll explain that more in a moment. But first, we have to deal with this line: “for whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.”
    a. This is a debated passage, but if we read it in the context of the whole letter to Rome, Paul gives clarity. In Romans 4:20–21:
    Romans 4:20–21 NRSV
    No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
    This means our daily lives should reflect real trust in God—confidence in His power, His promises, and His character to carry them out.
    Doubt is the opposite of faith. So Paul is saying any action not done with a sincere belief that God approves, is sin. When in doubt, don’t do it.
    Even though Paul doesn’t see eating meat sacrificed to idols as a universal sin, he drops a hard truth: if something is a gray area in Scripture, and you’re convinced God doesn’t want you to do it, yet you do it anyway, it’s not just a violation of conscience—it’s sin before God.
    b. With that in view, Paul calls those of us who are strong—who feel no conviction in certain areas—to audit our priorities. He’s calling us to rethink how we view our freedoms, even our power, in light of the Kingdom of God. When you put someone else’s faith next to:
    i. Food
    ii. Wine
    iii. Freedom
    None of it compares to the Kingdom. On this same idea of Christian liberty, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 8:13:
    1 Corinthians 8:13 NLT
    So if what I eat causes another believer to sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live—for I don’t want to cause another believer to stumble.
    iv. The Kingdom is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit—that’s true freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17
    2 Corinthians 3:17 HCSB
    Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
    Galatians 5:13–14:
    Galatians 5:13–14 NRSV
    For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
    c. Freedom in Christ isn’t about becoming stronger, better, or more powerful. The truly free love their neighbor. They
    · Uphold the weak
    · Show empathy to the outsider
    · Humbly realign people back toward the cross
    · Give generously
    · Love indiscriminately
    · Protect their brother
    · Protect their sister
    · It always Protect—Protect--Protect—because that’s what love does
    VI. TAKE HOME QUESTIONS TO WRESTLE WITH
    DO YOU CONSIDER YOUR BROTHERS OR SISTERS HOLINESS A PART OF YOUR RESPONSIBILITY?
    IS THERE SOMETHING YOU MAY ENDORSE, CONDONE OR PARTAKE IN THAT CAN NEGATIVELY EFFECT OTHER BELIEVERS WALK?
    WHEN AROUND OTHER BELIEVERS, DO YOU CONSIDER THE KINGDOM OF GOD?
    TIPS TO PUT GOD FIRST IN EVERY INTERACTION
    STARTING YOUR DAYS, WITH PRAYER. ASKING “FOR THE SPIRIT OF GOD TO LIVE THROUGH YOU AND THAT CAN YOU WALK AMONG OTHER CHRISTIANS IN A WAY THAT BUILDS THEM UP.
    PRAY THAT GOD CAN REVEAL TO YOU SPEECH, PRACTICES OR ACTIONS THAT MAY DIRECTLY CAUSE OTHER BELIEVERS TO STUMBLE IN THEIR FAITH.
    THIS PERSON IS MY FAMILY AND I WANT TO SEE THE BEST FOR THEM.

      • Genesis 4:9NBLH

      • Romans 14:13–15NBLH

      • Mark 9:42NBLH

      • Psalm 104:15NBLH

      • Ephesians 5:18NBLH

      • Romans 14:16NBLH

      • Colossians 4:5NBLH

      • Romans 14:17–23NBLH

      • Romans 4:20–21NBLH

      • 1 Corinthians 8:13NBLH

      • 2 Corinthians 3:17NBLH

      • Galatians 5:13–14NBLH

  • Song
Sandusky Life Church
4 members