This week’s sermon in Romans 14:17-23 was part 8 of the series, “Welcoming the Weak”.  This week we focused on a set of important heavenly practices we ought to be employing in our daily lives in order that we might be able to fellowship in peace with the weaker brothers and sisters among us. Those heavenly practices are: Acceptable service, pursuing peace, self-restraint, discernment, and condemning doubt. 

Last week, we were reminded of the principle that a person’s life reflects their kingdom allegiance. Who a person chooses to serve demonstrates their citizenship and whether or not they belong to the kingdom of God. The people in the church at Rome, and we ourselves, often lose sight of what the kingdom of God looks like and therefore we act as though we are not a part of that kingdom, especially in the way we treat our brothers and sisters in Christ. The people in the church at Rome demonstrated that they were no longer living in love because they chose to put emphasis on the outward actions of eating and drinking rather than on a heart of service for the Lord. They had shackled themselves to a law that God had already freed them from. 

“For freedom Christ has set us free” Galatian 5:1. He set us free to embody righteousness, peace, and joy which is done through a heavenly presence and through heavenly practices. By taking part in heavenly practices, we are partnering with Christ in the paradigm of His ministry. The following heavenly practices are practical guidelines for living peaceful lives among the brethren in service to Christ. 

Heavenly Practice 1: Acceptable Service (v18)

In verse 18, Paul begins to explain the service that we have which is a spiritual service. That service begins and is rested in the heart of man. Paul’s use of the word “thus” in verse 18 is a call back to the previous verses and the explanation of the way we receive peace, righteousness, and joy which is through service towards Christ. Everything we do should be through and for Christ and that service must come from a heart that is submissive to God. That service is good and acceptable before God. It pleased God to sacrifice His Son to bring us into the kingdom because He loved His son and the people that belong to Him. We are now sons and servants of God, freed from sin to serve Him with our whole hearts. 

How do we know the service we give to God is acceptable to God? Because it is approved, or recognized as genuine by the world. Not that we need human approval for our service to God, but a life marked by peace and joy is a life and a service that is acceptable before God and clearly seen by others. Proverbs 3:3-4 reminds us that a life lived in love and truth will be a life that finds favor in the eyes of God and the people around us, specifically those who are the weaker brothers. Self-restriction in our service is an acceptable act before God. 

Heavenly Practice 2: Pursue Peace (v19)

In verse 19, Paul charges the believers to pursue peace. This is not a lackadaisical, wandering pursuit but an intense, aggressive chase after peace. The words Paul used here bring to mind a runner at the starting line. Every part of the runner is straining towards winning the race, likewise, every part of our focus should be devoted to running towards the goal of peace within the body. This is the same word picture Paul builds in Philipians 3:13, we strain forward towards the prize of Christ and His peace! 

The peace being described is not a peaceful feeling inside ourselves. The more accurate way to describe the peace we should be striving for is harmony, as in harmony in a relationship. Peace is a fundamental aspect of the kingdom of God because He highly values peace. For the sake of peace, God sacrificed His Son so that we could be at peace with Him.Those who are peacemakers are called children of God and blessed ones.  The peace and harmony God calls us to pursue can never be passive. There is no “Jesus take the wheel” in our striving for peace! When Olympic sprinters train, they do not do it in a week. Instead, they devote nearly a decade of their lives to the running of one single race and they do it with joy because the goal is so precious to them. Likewise, we should consider this striving and chasing after peace a great joy in our life because it will bring joy to God.

One of the easiest ways to pursue peace in the body is to focus on the things we have in common with the believers around us. By hyperfocusing on the things that we disagree on between the weaker and stronger brethren we drive wedges into the body. Seek peace with those who are weaker in their faith by self-sacrificing for them. Instead of focusing on what is best for you, rejoice in the things we share in common. Much of the conflict felt between believers will dissipate when peace and harmony are the main focuses of our relationships. Peace gives us a platform to share the gospel with the world outside of our fellowship. 

Heavenly Practice 3: Practice Self-Restraint (v20-21)

Pastor Ben shared a great example of self-restraint from his training as a safety officer. A good officer must show immense self-restraint while dealing with difficult situations and must be able to read the crowd to know what tool to use from his belt. God grants us many tools to use in our life as christians, including freedom, and He wants us to use restraint and wisdom when using those tools. Sometimes, our freedom can be turned into a weapon when used wrongly. God never intended that our freedom be used to harm the conscience of other believers. 

When we use our freedom to the harm of others, we are tearing down the work God is doing. The tool He gave us to use in love, we have turned into a weapon of destruction because we do not exercise self-restraint in its use. The life of every child of God is like a blank canvas, God reveals new parts of the masterpiece as we walk with Him.  When we step into the life of another believer flinging our freedom around their canvas like a paintbrush, we are destroying the masterpiece God is creating, sometimes accidentally and sometimes intentionally. Guard against this in your life!

In verse 20, Paul used the example of food and drink to illustrate the way we can use (or abuse) or freedom and because food and wine were commonly used in Roman religious practices. If a nonbeliever offers you something to eat, take it because the earth is the Lords. If eating or drinking something offends another child of God and causes them to be uneasy, do not take part in it. Love your brother in Christ more than you love yourself because you are allowing a brother to continue his growth in Christ. Come alongside our weaker brothers. 

Food, drink, and other things in life are not bad but when our intentions are to use them for self comfort or as a show of how broad our freedoms are, they become sinful. The sin comes in the way we conduct ourselves. When considering whether or not you should set aside your desire in support of another believer, remember what Christ said aside for you.

Heavenly Practice 4: Practice Discretion (v22)

Paul spoke to the stronger brother in this section of scripture. What you understand your freedoms to be and your convictions are to be cultivated between yourself and the Lord. Prayer, giving, and fasting as well as your freedoms and convictions are meant to be kept intimately between yourself and the Lord. For the sake of others and ourselves, those things must be kept discrete. 

Blessed, or happy, is the one who has no reason to pass judgment because they are filled to the brim with joy by their own personal relationship with God. If someone is lacking joy in their life, it could be that they are not focusing enough on their own relationship with God and instead are spending too much time flaunting their freedoms. A life spent cultivating a joyful and obedient relationship with the Lord will be overflowing with righteousness, joy, and peace. Welcoming the weaker brother will be no trouble when a healthy personal relationship with the Lord is pursued. 

Heavenly Practice 5: Condemn Doubt (v23)

In this last section of the text, Paul spoke to the weaker brother in the Roman church. If you come to a situation, whether that is surrounding food and drink or anything in life and you are feeling a hesitation in your spirit about what to do, be aware of that hesitation in your heart and mind. Grab on to that hesitation because that could be the Lord pricking your conscience. If you violate those convictions you will be judged. Stay sensitive to the working of your conscience and have faith in the truth of God!

 When a person acts on their convictions, as long as they are in line with the truth of God, they are living out the will of God for their lives. For a person to go against what they believe is the Lord’s will for their lives is disobedience and a sin and a sign of a wavering faith and an unsteady conscience.Do not extend any further than the boundaries of your conscience, for you, that is a sin and you will be condemned.  Stronger brothers and sisters in Christ, see the charge here! Do not cause the weaker Christians around you to sin!

Welcoming the weaker brothers into our fellowship does not have to be a difficult or frustrating task! When we live as kingdom citizens and apply the 5 kingdom principles from this section of scripture, welcoming those weaker than us should be a joy. We have received the special privilege of helping our brothers and sisters in their walk with Christ. Apply these principles to your life and see how good it is to be a citizen in the kingdom of heaven!