← ArchiveWhen in RomansWhen in Romans – “When Love Becomes Law” (Romans 14:13-23)DateOctober 20, 2024SpeakerDr Josh BurnhamTextRomans 14:13–23Passages in this sermonRomans 14:141:55Romans 134:17Romans 144:56Matthew 517:04Acts 425:45TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00*music* *music* *music*0:25*music* Welcome to the church that gathers here locally at Bethel. Babis, we're glad you're here.0:53And we believe that you are not here by accident or incident. We believe fundamentally that you are gathered here today because the Holy Spirit is drawing you and working in your life. And not only working externally for you, but working internally in your life. Because as we've seen through testimony already, Jesus will change your life 100%.1:18Don't just dip your toe in. Faith, right? Christ is worth it all. And we say here we gather because of the gospel, which is Jesus in our place. So it's great to be in the house of the Lord with his people to do his work. Again, today we are in the book of Romans.1:44My name is Josh Burnham, lead pastor here. And I have the joy of bringing the word of God. Now, why Romans, you might add. And if you have your Bibles, and I hope you do, join me in Romans 14. 14, second half of 14, verse 13. Well, firstly, Martin Luther, a man who gave his life to Christ. He came to faith by reading this book of the Bible said about Romans.2:10This is the chief part of the New Testament and the very purest gospel. It is worthy not only that every Christian should know it word for word by heart, but also that he should occupy himself with it every single day as the daily bread of the soul.2:34If the word of God gets into your life, it will change your life. Day by day is daily bread for the soul. Secondly, why Romans? Well, for the first 12 chapters, the apostle Paul has been writing to us about the beautiful2:58excellencies of the gospel, the richness of God's grace. And for 12 chapters, the word of God has been pounding upon our hearts that Jesus died to reconcile sinners back to God. You might say it like this. For 12 chapters, Romans has told us that in Jesus, we are brought back in peace with God.3:20And now the script is flipped. And Paul says, okay, since you now have peace with God, the Holy Spirit is going to make peace through you. And so we are seeing very specific ways that as believers, the Holy Spirit should be working in your life to bring peace to other individuals.3:46And that is again where we land today. So we're going to do the gospel question and then we are going to uniquely do something different because we're Baptist and we love doing things differently. Actually, we hate new things, but we need to grow together. So if you would stand with me in the honor of a reading of God's word, we're going to read4:09the gospel question and I'm going to read Romans 13 with us. So here's the question and it will make sense. I'm going to read the question. We all together read the answer. If you do not help me read the answer, we will reread the answer until we all read it together. Okay. Okay. Question. How is the word of God to be read and heard?4:38So together with diligence, preparation, and prayer so that we may accept it with faith and practice it in our lives. Church, hear the word of the Lord, Romans 14. And in verse 13, therefore, let us no longer judge one another.5:01Instead, decide never to put a stumbling block or a pitfall in the way of your brother or sister. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. Still, to someone who considers a thing to be unclean, that one is unclean. For if your brother or sister is hurt by what you eat, you are no longer walking according5:30to love. Do not destroy by what you eat someone for whom Christ died. Therefore, do not let your good be slandered. For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever serves Christ in this way is acceptable to God and receives human approval. So then, let us pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another.5:57Do not tear down God's work because of food. Everything is clean, but it is wrong to make someone fall by what he eats. It is a good thing not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes your brother or sister stumble. Whatever you believe about these things, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves.6:25But whoever doubts stands condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith. And everything that is not from faith is sin. Let us pray. Father, the grass withers and the flowers fade, but your word stands forever. Open our hearts and our ears to hear your word. Open our hands to do your work.6:54We ask in Jesus' holy name. Amen. Church, you can be seated. Today's message is called "When Love Becomes Law." "When Love Becomes Law." Now, Romans is a typical church with typical people, which means that typical people have typical problems. It's an imperfect church because there are imperfect people in the church. I understand you don't know what that's like, but hypothesize with me, church.7:23There is a church in the world that has imperfect people, and that imperfect church with imperfect people has imperfect problems. And in the church at Rome, there are two unique situations. There were people who would walk in with tears. And they did their best just to bring themselves to a place where they could make it to the front row. And the Jewish Christians struggled because they knew that God had given them in the Old Testament7:52laws that said you are not to eat certain animals of the flesh. And you are not to drink any blood or eat anything that has the life blood in it. For the Old Testament Jews, dietary laws were not simply matters of health. They were matters of holiness. They were markers given by God to show the world that they were separated by God to be a light in the darkness.8:18And these Jews had come to faith. And they were wrestling with God. I know that nothing you have made is unclean, but God, I cannot forget what you have given us. Lord, how do I live out your word in my life? And I can imagine them with difficulty bringing themselves and sitting on the front and saying,8:44Lord, soothe my heart today. God, how does my faith and my life interact in a way that is holy and pleasing to you? And on the back row of the church in Rome, you had these pagan Christians. Sorry, Ken, you're on the back row. I'm not talking about Ken necessarily. But these back row pagan Christians who had lived a pagan life where they had worshipped the God of Jupiter9:13and they had worshipped the God of love, Venus, and they had worshipped the God of fire, Vulcan. And on the way to church, they walked by meat butchers and they had walked by grocery stores that were selling food to the gods that they had worshipped. And with deep concern, they walked by with tears in their eyes and said,9:41Lord, I used to be that, but you've redeemed me. I never want to go there again. And so you had front row Romans who were struggling with God. How does dietary laws work with my faith? And you had back row Romans who walked past these difficult places and they were worshipping in the same place and saying, Lord, how does your word meet our faith, meet our life? And Paul for both groups and for us today says,10:09I can't give you an easy rule to abide by, but I will give you a greater law. And that's the law of love. And if you are living according to the law of the love of Jesus Christ, trust the spirit, live by faith, and all will be made new. We're going to walk back through this passage. Some of you do not struggle with vegetables. You believe that anyone who eats a vegetable is a pagan.10:37Some of you struggle with meat and believe anyone who eats meat is an unholy reprobate. But what if neither are correct? And what if God is calling us to live by the rule of law of love in Jesus Christ? So we're going to see the laws of flesh and the laws of the spirit, how that meets our lives today.11:01Verse 13. Therefore, let us no longer judge one another. Instead, decide never to put a stumbling block or a pitfall into someone's way. Now, a stumbling block, and I have a really funny story I can tell you after service about this. A stumbling block is something left in the path unintentionally. That if you leave it there, you can fall and hurt yourself.11:31And I have personal experience with that. My mom, who is here worshiping today, can verify what I say is true. Short answer, I broke my arm in eighth grade, tripping over the backpack that I left in the room that I was told to pick up. I tripped over a stumbling block. But there's more than that. It says, do not leave a pitfall. Now, a pitfall is an intentional pit that you dig with the purpose of entrapping someone.12:00So whether it's intentional or whether it's unintentional, Paul says, do not do that. So let me give you the law of flesh. The flesh digs pits for people. But the spirit removes traps. We live in a world that says, I'm going to live for me, myself, and I. I've heard it said, you can't tell me how to live.12:29Or you do you, and I will do me. Or if I'm not hurting anyone, then what does it really matter? But the law of love says, look out for other people, not just yourself. Don't leave stumbling blocks in people's ways. Firstly, yours, and secondly, others, and do not dig pits for one another. And it's the reminder that church, with the same shovel, you can dig a pit.12:57And with the same shovel, you can fill a pit in. Which shovel are you using today? The shovel of the spirit which is filling in potholes for your brothers or sisters. Are you digging traps for other people by the way you live? The spirit of freedom should never be a hindrance for one another. And maybe, church, maybe today, when someone this morning prayed, Lord, lead me not into temptation.13:25Maybe you are God's answer to their prayer. What if you are here today because you are the reminder for someone else? Don't go down that path. Don't fall over that stumbling block. Don't fall into that pit. What if you are God's answer to their prayer of, Lord, lead me away from temptation? Are you digging pits or are you removing stumbling blocks in another's life?13:50This is the law of love at work. May we fill in rough places. Secondly, we see this. Verse 15. If your brother or sister is hurt by what you eat, you are no longer walking according to love. So we see that the spirit of the flesh, the law of flesh is deeply offended.14:14It's easily offended. It's easily offended. But the law of love is a spiritual person who has thick skin and soft hearts. You see, we live in a world that says be on edge and you just look around and wait for someone to offend you. We're easily offended. But the law of love actually says, verse 15, it says something different.14:42If your brother or sister is hurt by who? By you. So the law of the flesh says, look around here and you figure out who has hurt you today. Get them back. That's the world we live in. But the law of love says, look around here today and see whom you've hurt and confess your faults and redeem them15:07and find that love covers a multitude of sin. Church, may we live by the law of love that says, who have I hurt? Lord, bring that to my attention. And may we find reconciliation through the blood of Jesus Christ. May we be people who have thick skin and soft hearts. May we not be easily offended, but may we look for our offenses in other people's lives.15:35Live by the law of love. But there's more. Paul reminds the church. He reminds us. Verse 15. He says, do not destroy by what you eat. It's a reminder that the flesh cancels people, but the law of love builds people up.15:57We live in cancel culture. A culture that says, if you have hurt me, I will destroy you. If you offend me, I will cancel you. If you disagree with me, well, then you forfeit your voice. And that's not a surprise. Because the world we live in is a world of destruction.16:26We're reminded that Jesus says about the chief destroyer. That Satan only wants to kill, steal, and destroy. So if you are in destruction mode, you are not living according to the father of light. You are living according to the devil's work. May we not be people who live according to the flesh that says, let me cancel you. May we be people who say, let me edify. Let me build you up in the name of Jesus Christ.16:54You say, well, that's not easy. Who can understand these difficult words? Jesus reminds us this of Matthew 5. He says, okay, let me make it easy and difficult at the same time. If someone sues you, you're thinking, okay, I'm about to lawyer up. One call, that's all. Some of you already have on speed dial, right?17:25Call me, Alabama. But Jesus changes. He said, that's what the flesh wants us to do. I'm not discounting. We need godly legal counsel. Thank God for Christian lawyers that I know that are doing the Lord's work. But Jesus says, if someone sues you to take your shirt, give him your coat as well. He said, well, I don't like that, pastor. Then Jesus says, well, if anyone forces you to go a mile, go two.17:54So I don't like that either. Jesus says, there's more. If someone, give to the one who asks and don't turn away from those who want to borrow from you. Church, the flesh wants only to cancel. But it's the spirit of God who builds others up. Let's choose to lift others, edifying the love of Christ in a world that desperately needs to see Christian community once again.18:20Do not destroy but build up. There's more though. The law of flesh sees people in a difficult way. Look at verse 15 once again. Do not destroy by what you eat. Someone form who? Someone for whom Christ died.18:48It's a reminder that the world, flesh, sees people as pieces of work. But the spirit of God sees people as God's handiwork. He says, look at others as people form whom Jesus Christ died. And we live in a broken world where people are often viewed as commodities. We hear slogans all the time. It's my body. I can do with it what I want to.19:17You are so much more than just a body. You're not a commodity. You're a soul created in the image of God. And the world judges us, right? And fosters divisions based on ethnicity and income, based on education status or even past mistakes. And some of you are dealing with that struggle today. You say, well, the world judges me by what I did or what I look like. But the spirit of God is much more and much more holy.19:44The spirit of God actually looks like this. You are someone for whom Christ died. What if we lived a life that we saw every single person that we interacted with as someone for whom Jesus died for? The world needs that spirit and the people of God. So here's what we're going to do.20:13That's your right, my left. I want everyone to look to your left. I know you're... Look to your left. Just seeing if you're paying attention. Listen, I've told y'all before, I'm from Mississippi, okay? Give me a break. And I know you're looking at the back of their heads because everyone's looking at the left now. But just say to them, Jesus died for you.20:40Okay, now look the other way, which should be your right. My left. If you would say to that person, Jesus died for you. What would it look like in our lives if we did that more often? That people who were broken, people who were canceled, people who would say, why are you loving me?21:04Because the world hates me. Don't you understand what I've done or what I look like or where I come from? And we look at them and say, no, Jesus died for you. This is the spirit of the love of Jesus Christ. And may we live with that spirit. Church, we are different and we are holy. But there's more.21:33Verse 20, the spirit of love versus the spirit of flesh. Paul says in verse 20, do not tear down God's work, right? God's handiwork, not pieces of work. He says, everything is clean, but it is wrong to make someone fall by what he eats, what he eats. You see, the flesh only sees the temporary. The flesh only sees food. Let me fill my mouth and get energy for it this moment right now.22:01But the spirit sees manna. Now, manna was God's gift to his people when they wandered in the wilderness. Wandering in the wilderness because of their sin, but God still provides for his people. Now, manna fed their mouth and their soul for a day. But manna ultimately is a reminder that God is our Jireh. God is provider. You see, the flesh only sees what's in front of me today.22:29But the spirit, we need to say, God, let me see eternally. Because everything we do in faith is a matter of eternal significance. May we be people who are not feeding the flesh, but feeding the spirit. Let me give you a really good, fancy word. The matter of eating and drinking. Matters of vegetation or protein are what scholars would call adiaphora.22:56Meaning it is neither required or prohibited. I know, parents, I'm causing you difficulty. Because in scripture, vegetables are not required. No matter what you tell your kids at the dinner table. Broccoli is not required. It's adiaphora. But it's also not prohibited. Okay? So then parents' rules rule the house.23:24But there are things in our life that are not required and they're not prohibited. And these are moments where we need to live by the spirit. We need to not see simply food, but see manna. We need to see eternally and not with temporality. So how's your vision today? Are you only seeing what's in front of you? Are you setting your eyes on Jesus and saying, "Lord, let me see more than I could ever see." Manna is not just about food.23:54It's about God being our daily provider. And that he is. The spirit of flesh says, "God, give me now." The spirit says, "Lord, you are my provider." Verse 22. The spirit of flesh has an appearance of authenticity. Whatever you believe about these things, keep between yourselves. Which again is a reminder, if you're a vegetarian, I don't want to know it.24:22Keep it to yourself. And if you are a carnivore, I don't want to know it either. Keep it to yourself. But you see, there's something in the flesh that makes me make you want to know how good I am. You see, the flesh has the appearance of good. The flesh has the appearance of faith, but it does not have faith.24:50And I often see in my life, those that want me to know that they are good and those that want me to know that God is working in their life are actually the most fragile of spirits. Because the flesh has the appearance of good. You show me someone that is constantly singing how good their life is, and I will show you someone who is crumbling inside. The flesh has the appearance of authentic faith, but the spirit actually enjoys closeness with the Father.25:19Why would Paul tell you and I to keep our faith between us and God? He's not saying keep your faith quiet. But what he is saying is if you are close to the heart of God, you don't have to tell people that. They will see it. May it be said of us, what was said of the early church in Acts 4.25:45Peter and John are speaking about God and the learned folk are confused. They're like, they don't even have their religious GED. They grew up in Galilee. There's not even a higher education institution in Galilee. There's not a reputable, accredited rabbi school in Galilee.26:13But listen to what they say about the disciples. When they observed the boldness of Peter and John, they realized they were uneducated and untrained. Comma. They were amazed and recognized that they had been with Jesus. You see, the flesh has the appearance of authenticity.26:41But the spirit enjoys closeness with God. May it be said with us and about us that you and I have been with Jesus. If that is true, you don't have to tell people, they'll see it. Enjoy closeness with the Father that is found in the Holy Spirit. Let's pursue genuine intimacy with God and let that relationship be enough.27:10Then verse 23. The flesh remains in doubt. But whoever doubts stands condemned if he eats. That means if you eat asparagus in doubt, that's sin. Just for you kids, throwing that out there again. But if you eat steak in doubt, that's also sin.27:35He says, because his eating is not from faith and everything that is not from faith is sin. You see, the flesh remains in doubt, but the spirit lives by faith. Doubt is the hallmark of a life rooted in the flesh. Ultimately, idolatry lives in doubt because idolatry is, God, I can do it on my own. Idolatry is the life that says, God, I am self-sufficient.28:05I am okay. Leave me be. And if that is you today, you will always live in doubt. Because what I have found in my life is that I make a horrible God. I am not all-sufficient. I am not omnipresent. But the Lord is. And if you are living in doubt today, are you living in doubt because you don't have a clean conscience?28:33And if you are in Christ and you're living in doubt, that's the Holy Spirit's nudge to say, stop what you're doing. Don't do that. If you are going to the grocery store to the God of Vulcan and you are eating meat to that God and you have doubt about that, don't eat. But if you know that that Vulcan God, the God of fire, is not even a real God, and that you can eat meat sacrificed to a not real God because your conscience is clear, do that by faith.28:57And church, anything that you do by faith in your life, if your conscience is clean by the Holy Spirit and it is lived by faith, it is joyous. Live by faith. But is it possible you are living in doubt because you don't know Jesus as your Lord and Savior?29:24And if your life is riddled with doubt, maybe that's the Holy Spirit's reminder that he is drawing you in and asking you to repent of your sins. Because if you are living the life for yourself, you will always live in doubt. And that is the Holy Spirit's joyful conviction to turn from yourself and turn to Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior.29:48To not dip your toe in the water as we heard earlier, but to go all in for Christ. The flesh remains in doubt, but the Spirit lives by faith. And we read passages like this and some of you think, well, I hate vegetables, I'm good. Some of you say, well, I hate meat, I'm good. That's not the point. The point is that we should live our lives by faith in the Son of God.30:17And everything done by faith is good, right, and pleasing. And if you don't know what to do, well, then just do what you know until you know what to do. If you know what to do is love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and love others as yourself. Church, if we live by the law of love, you cannot go wrong. May we live by that guiding principle in our life.30:47I see Romans as us walking a tightrope. On one side, there's freedom in Christ. And on the other side, there's the love of the Savior and the love of other people. The danger is if you lean too far, if you're walking a tightrope, and I've never had, but this is what they tell me. If you lean too far one way, you'll fall off. You say, okay, am I overcorrect?31:16Well, if you lean too far the other way, guess what? You fall off. Is it possible today that some of you are leaning too far on the liberality of Jesus Christ? And you're saying, well, it doesn't matter what I do because the Spirit has set me free from everything. But in so doing that, you're setting stumbling blocks for other people who are going behind you. Would you come back to the center where you say, God, I will use my freedom as a joy in the Spirit, but I will also love my neighbor as myself.31:46Some of you are too far on the love side. You emphasize love so much that you forget that there is obedience needed with love. Because if you say, well, God, I love you with all my heart, my soul, my mind, and my strength, and we say, well, okay, live that out. No, no, no, no, no. I just wouldn't love God with all my heart, soul, my mind, and strength.32:13What Jesus says, you will know that you love me if you keep my commands. It is possible to keep the commands of God and to have the heart of the Holy Spirit at the same time. And Paul is recentering our lives on the command and the law of love once again. Are you living by faith?32:43And again, is it possible that some of you here have never given your life to Jesus and you are living in doubt right now? I want to echo what Chris said at his confession. He said, I'm not dipping my toe in the water anymore. I'm going all in for Jesus Christ. Would you go all in today? Say, Lord, I'm tired of playing games. I'm tired of having an air of authenticity. I want you to be Lord of my life.33:12Or maybe you've walked in broken. You say, I don't know if God could ever pick up the pieces. Listen to the testimony of Andreas. Who said, Jesus will change your life 100%. Today, would you run to him through conviction of the Holy Spirit and say, God, I'm sorry that I'm a sinner. Forgive me. I believe that you sent Jesus to die on the cross.33:40I believe he died and I believe he rose again and I believe that his blood will cover my sins. And so, Lord, today I confess you as my Lord and my Savior. I believe in my heart and I confess with my mouth that you are Lord. Would you do that? In a moment, we're going to participate in the Lord's Supper. So, I'm going to invite our praise team. I'm going to invite our deacons.34:09We're going to ask you to stay where you are and our deacons are going to serve you. Firstly, Corinthians says, do not eat the table of the Lord without a clear conscience. Would you spend some time confessing your sins? Say, God, purify me. Renew me. Give me a steadfastness of the mind and the heart. So, the Lord's Supper is a supper for the people of God.34:41If you've not given your life to Jesus, if you've not been baptized, I'm going to ask you not to partake because that is what Scripture says. Do not eat the judgment of the Lord upon yourself. My invitation to you is not to come to the table, but to come to Jesus. And if you come to Jesus, you are invited to the table. I will be out front in a moment as we worship. If you have not given your life to Christ, come today and get your heart right. I would love to speak with you and pray with you and encourage you.35:12Church, as we worship, spend time in prayer. Renew your heart and your mind and our deacons will serve you today. And then after the worship song, we will eat together as one body under the law of love and by faith in the Spirit. Let's pray.← Previous in When in RomansWhen in Romans – Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death! 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