Using Liberty to Glorify God

Transcript

GR 1475
06/12/11
Using Liberty to Glorify God
Romans 15:1-13
Gil Rugh


We're in Romans 15.  Paul, through the letter to the Romans, has emphasized and unfolded very clearly the gospel of Jesus Christ.  What he is doing in Romans 14-15 is showing how we are to function together as the body of Christ with our differences.  As the grace of God has come to the lives of different people, in particular as Paul is focusing on in these chapters, Jews and Gentiles, they are brought together in the church of Jesus Christ.  They are joined together in the local church at Rome.  But they have different backgrounds, particularly the Jews come from a position of having been brought up under the Old Testament Scriptures, which is a great blessing.  But with the coming of Christ and His finished work on the cross, there have been changes.  And some of the requirements under the Mosaic Law have come to completion.  But it is hard for the Jews, even when they come to faith in Christ, to realize now they are free from some of the obligations that before were placed upon them, like eating certain foods and not eating other foods, observing certain days and not observing other days, whereas Gentiles who have been saved and come into the church did not have that background.  Then with the maturing that comes through the ministry of the Word of God.  As Jew and Gentile alike come to understand more fully the grace of God in salvation and the change brought about with the coming of Christ and the completion of the Mosaic Law, there are different realms or levels of maturity going on in the body at Rome.  Some of the Jews think that it is still important to observe certain restrictions on foods, whereas other believers who have more maturity in their understanding of the grace of God, realize that there is freedom to eat according to your personal choices.  And the same with the observing of days.

Paul is concerned that these differences in levels of maturity and understanding not be a cause of division in the body.  Come over to Ephesians 2.  Paul talks about as he writes to the church at Ephesus, it's another church established in a Gentile region like the church in Rome.  And he reminded them that they were all dead in their sins, as Ephesians 2 began.  You were dead in  your trespasses and sins.  We lived alienated and separated from God, we lived, verse 3, in the lust of our flesh.  We were a selfish, self-centered, sinful people, each one of us.  But God was rich in mercy, verse 4.  And because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, He made us alive together in Christ.  For by grace you have been saved.  That's foundational.  And every single individual comes from the same background in that sense, Jew and Gentile alike.  Dead in trespasses and sins, enslaved to sin, living a selfish, self-centered life.  But set free by the power of God in Christ as a result of the display of His grace and manifestation of His love, we came to believe in Christ as the Savior, the One who loved us and died for us.  We experienced that transforming power of God that makes us new, causes us to be born again.

Reminds us, verse 8, for by grace you have been saved through faith.  And that salvation is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works so that no one may boast.  None of us have anything to brag about, anything to boast about, anything to be proud about.  We are saved by grace.  We were all in the same boat, in the same lost condition and there was nothing we could do to rescue ourselves.  But because of His great love He bestowed His grace upon us and brought us to salvation in Christ.

Verse 11, therefore remember that you formerly, the Gentiles in the flesh called the uncircumcision by the circumcision, because circumcision marked off the Jew from the Gentile, circumcision being the sign of the covenant that God had established with Abraham and his descendants.  So the Jews when referring to the Gentiles as the uncircumcision identified them as those separated from the covenant of promises given to our father Abraham.  They were separate from Christ, verse 12, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenant of promise, having no hope.  Paul is going to come to that point in our section in Romans 15 that we'll look at in a moment.  Without God in the world.  What a hopeless life, without God in the world.  That's the condition of man apart from the grace of God.  He is without God in the world.

But now in Christ Jesus you who were formerly far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  The Gentiles were outside the realm of the chosen people, Israel.  You've been brought near by the blood of Christ.  He Himself is our peace, who made both into one, Jews and Gentiles now brought together into one.  He broke down the barrier of the dividing wall by abolishing in His flesh the enmity which is the law of commandments and ordinances so that He might make the two into one new man.  Thus establishing peace.  Might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having by it put to death the enmity.  And so He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to you who were near.  To the Gentiles out here and to the Jews in here.  An emphasis Paul will have on the work of Christ for Jews and Gentiles alike in Romans 15.  Jews needed the salvation that could only be provided in the death of their Messiah as Gentiles needed the salvation that only could be provided by the death of the Messiah of Israel, the Son of God.  

It's because through Him, verse 18, we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.  There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.  No one, no Gentile, no Jew has access to God the Father but through Jesus Christ.  Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life.  No man comes to the Father but by Me.  That's the only way that God has provided, but it's the only way needed because it is a way for Jew and Gentile alike.

Now with that diversity Gentiles who were formerly cut off from the fellowship provided in the covenants made with Israel, the blessings God provided for Israel now have been provided access.  And the Jews alike.  But with this great diversity and background, they are now to be one body, brought in peace together, a relationship of peace with God, and a relationship of peace with one another.

So turn over to Ephesians 4.  Paul exhorts them to walk in a manner worthy of the calling that they received in Christ Jesus.  Verse 3, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  That concern and diligence to preserve the unity that the Spirit has produced by His work in causing us to be born again, placing us into the body of Christ, the church.

Come back to Romans 15.  This is Paul's concern in Romans 14-15, that this unity and oneness between Jew and Gentile alike be recognized and preserved.  Now there are weaker Christians and there are stronger Christians in the church at Rome.  The stronger Christians are those who understand the grace of God and understand that in Christ the commandments of the Mosaic Law have been fulfilled and abolished.  The Jews or weaker Christians, and most of those would come out of Judaism in this section, still believe that God will be more pleased with them if they don't eat certain foods and if they continue to observe certain days.  The important thing is to realize there is liberty here, there is no allowance for teaching false doctrine, for teaching that it is necessary to observe the Mosaic Law to be saved or to grow in grace.  But there is liberty and freedom to practice according to your own conscience.  Those who have a more mature understanding of God's grace must be careful to use their maturity to help the weaker, less knowledgeable Christians continue to grow and mature and come to a fuller understanding while they live consistent with the convictions of their conscience.  There is no possibility or allowance here that we could start a different church for those who have different beliefs on these matters.  This is not the matter of what is required for salvation, how is a man saved, how is a man sanctified.  These become matters of personal conviction.  

And so Romans 14 ended, whatever is not from faith is sin.  You should not violate your conscience.  But you cannot impose your personal convictions on another believer.  But you should not violate your conscience in your own personal practice.  So a Jew who comes out of a Jewish background and has come to trust Christ and is growing but still is uncomfortable eating ham sandwiches, shouldn't eat a ham sandwich.  And if he believes God is more pleased with him when he doesn't, it would be sin for him to do it.  And the stronger Christian who understands ham sandwiches are not a problem in my relationship with the Lord and I rather enjoy ham sandwiches, he is free to eat.  But he should not put pressure on the weaker Christian to eat the ham sandwich.

So we come to Romans 15 as he pulls this all together in the first 13 verses, it's primarily addressed to the stronger Christian, the more mature Christian.  Because the more mature Christian has the understanding of liberty, that what I eat or don't eat doesn't affect my relationship with the Lord.  The food in and of itself is not the issue.  So he understands he has freedom to eat what he wants and to not eat what he doesn't want.  So he has to be careful to use that freedom in a way that won't discourage the weaker Christian or put the wrong kind of pressure on him to violate his conscience.

So Romans 15 opens up, now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those who are without strength and not please ourselves.  Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good to his edification.  So the exhortation is to the strong and basically, don't be selfish.  Don't be concerned about pleasing yourself.  And sometimes as believers grow and they come into a fuller understanding of God's grace, they fail to use that fuller and more complete understanding properly.  And they make statements like, I am free to do what I please here and nobody can restrict me.  Well you may understand you are free to do as you please in this, but it's not true that you don't have restrictions.  The restriction is we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those who are not strong, and not please ourselves.  So it's not enough that I understand God's grace and I have liberty here.  Now I have to use that liberty properly and I use it in the context of being understanding and recognize not everyone has that understanding yet.  I don't look down on them because they are full recipients of God's grace and His salvation and have been welcomed by Him, as Paul is going to reiterate in a moment, but they have not grown to understand and appreciate the fullness of the liberty.  So I want to encourage them to continue to grow and follow their convictions and not put pressure on them to do otherwise.  

So when the Jew and the Gentile in the church at Rome went out to lunch together, the more mature Christian doesn't have to say, I'll take a ham sandwich and tell the weaker Christian, you could have a ham sandwich, too, if you would be a little more mature and appreciate a little more fully God's grace.  But go ahead, continue to live in immaturity.  Doesn't bother me.  Well what kind of attitude is that?  I go out with members of the church at Rome and here I am with a believer who still is troubled by eating certain foods.  I understand I can order a turkey sandwich because I understand that I have freedom to do both.  But freedom doesn't mean I have to flaunt my freedom and make this fellow Christian feel like a pygmy spiritually or feel pressured to do what he is uncomfortable before the Lord doing.  I want to take into account his thinking.

We're going to have a church dinner, maybe they had them in the church at Rome.  They all get together.  Well, what will we serve?  The stronger Christian might say, I've really come to enjoy a ham sandwich and I think we ought to have ham sandwiches and just demonstrate to the world that we have been set free in Christ.  But wait a minute, what does that do to the believer who is still struggling with these things and working through these matters?  Well I guess he can bring his own sandwich.  Well wait, now we're making a division in the body that doesn't have to be there.  Because the more mature understands, I am free to eat a ham sandwich but I don't have to eat a ham sandwich.  To appreciate that difference and keep it clear in our mind is important.  

We who are strong, the mature Christian, fuller understanding of God's Word and God's grace gives you strength spiritually.  That's the contrast.  We ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, without power.  In that sense they are weak, they are powerless.  We oughtn't to be concerned about pleasing ourselves.  And that is true maturity.  Not just knowing the facts that I am free to do this, but now putting what I know into practice properly.  Not pleasing myself.  Now where is this fellow believer in this?  Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good to his edification.

Romans 14:19, so then let us pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.  I want to do what is good for them, to help them grow.  Putting pressure on them to violate their conscience is not good for them.  That is sin for them and sin always inhibits growth, prevents growth and maturity.  Now when it says each of us is to please his neighbor, that's not becoming a man-pleaser as is wrong.

Turn over to Galatians 6.  Brethren, if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness.  Each one look into yourself so that you will not be tempted.  So again, here in the context where sin may occur we do what is necessary to help that stumbling brother get back on track.  Verse 2, bear one another's burdens and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.  If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.  That's what Paul is talking about in Romans 15:1, we who are strong ought to bear the burdens of the weak.  He picks up that same word in Galatians 6:2, bear one another's burdens.  That's a constant responsibility in fulfilling the law of Christ, in demonstrating love to one another as He loved us and not thinking about ourselves.

Come back to Galatians 1, it parallels with what Paul is saying in verse 2 with the other side.  We are each to please our neighbor, not ourselves.  In Galatians 1:10 Paul says, am I now seeking the favor of men or of God?  Or am I striving to please men?  If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond servant of Christ.  And now that sounds like the opposite of what he said in Romans 15:2, each of us is to please his neighbor for his good.  Now in Galatians 1 Paul says that he doesn't try to please men because then he wouldn't be a servant of Christ.

Obviously he is talking about two different things.  There is no adjustment to the gospel, there is no alteration of the truth that is acceptable.  That would become a man pleaser.  We don't please anything other than the clear grace of God when it comes to what is involved in salvation, what is involved in sanctification and growth.  That's the problem in the churches in Galatia.  The Judaizers who were infiltrating there were saying that keeping the Mosaic Law was a necessity to be saved, or at least a necessity to grow to maturity.  Paul said there is no room for that kind of teaching.  That's a different issue than what he is talking about in Romans.  He has taught clearly the grace of God but there is room for personal conviction here and growth.  The Jews are not permitted to teach that the Gentiles are going to have to observe the Law to be saved or sanctified, nor can they teach other Jews that.  But they can observe their personal convictions on this matter.  Paul was free to observe certain food laws on certain occasions and to observe certain feasts of Judaism if he chose.  He was not free to teach that that was a requirement.  And he has put that into practice as we see in the book of Acts.

Turn over to I Thessalonians 2.  Very important, I know I belabor the point, but it's very important that we keep this clear, otherwise Christians slide from one side to the other.  And they think we oughtn't to take such a stand on doctrine because there are people who don't agree.  Well, we cannot compromise doctrine otherwise we have come to be men pleasers, rather than those pleasing God.  Or we don't allow for personal conviction on matters and then we fall off on the other side.  Writing to the Thessalonians in I Thessalonians 2:3.  For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak.  Not as pleasing men but God who examines our heart.  For we never came with flattering speech and so on.  You see there is no alteration in the gospel and the presentation of truth.  That would be being a man-pleaser in the wrong sense.  But to recognize and allow for different personal convictions in the implementation of the truth, foods are nothing.  We saw Jesus taught that.  It's not what you put in your mouth that defiles you, it's what comes out of your heart.  Now that doesn't mean you have to eat everything.  Some of us like certain foods, some of us don't like certain foods.  We are free to choose.  Well when it came into does the Word of God require this?  No it doesn't require certain foods or forbid certain foods.  But if an immature believer says, I'm more comfortable before the Lord if I don't eat a ham sandwich.  As a more mature believers you can say, that's fine.  You should not feel obligated or pressured to eat what you are not comfortable with.  Now you understand that is not what makes you acceptable before God.  I understand that.  But in my personal life, well that's, yeah.  And we be sensitive to that.  And for the church at Rome where there is obviously a strong Jewish contingent, from what has been said about the Jews going all the way back to Romans 2, the more mature believers have to be sensitive to this.  And I'm not saying all Jews were immature because Paul is writing this and he is a Jew.  But he's saying how important it is to use our liberty properly.

Come back to Romans 15.  So we are to please our neighbor and our fellow believers, verse 2, for their good, for their edification.  So I can help them to continue to grow and mature.  The example he is going to use is Christ.  For even Christ did not please Himself.  If I am a mature believer, claiming to understand God's grace, I need to be careful about becoming focused on what I like and what pleases me.  I have liberty and nobody can restrict my liberty and I'm not going to let it happen.  Wait a minute.  Did Christ please Himself?  We are not arguing whether you have liberty or not.  Now we're arguing whether with your liberty you have a right to lead a selfish life, doing what pleases you.  Well, that moves it to a different realm.  We have liberty, we're not debating that.  We're debating how we use the liberty.  And Christ is the example.  Even Christ did not please Himself.  

But as it is written, the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on Me, from Psalm 69:9.  So what happened?  Those who would reject God as the psalmist wrote, their reproaches were rejected by the psalmist who was serving God.  Christ the ultimate fulfillment of that.  What happened to Him going to the cross?  Those who rejected God and His plan and provision for them pouring out their animosity toward Christ.  He wasn't there pleasing Himself, He was there ultimately pleasing the Father and doing what was necessary for us.  And when we do what pleases God, that is reflected in what we will do for the good of one another.  Why is Christ ________________?  Bearing the animosity of an unbelieving world directed toward Him.  All those reproaches fell on Him as He is crucified, scorned by men.  He wasn't pleasing Himself, He was pleasing His Father who was pleased to have Him suffer to pay the penalty for our sin.

Now a reminder in verse 4, whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction so through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scripture we might have hope.  As he has quoted from Psalm 69, you shouldn't think that he has gone too far here because the Scriptures were given for our benefit.  And even those Old Testament Scriptures, even though we are not under the Law, even though portions of them are not in effect as thought we have to obey certain things, it was all written for our benefit.  And this passage from Psalm 69, the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on Me.  You know what Christ in pleasing the Father, not Himself, bore the reproaches.  What is he asking the strong to do?  Step up and do the same thing.  You might have to do what is uncomfortable.  You sacrifice something.  You say, it seems like hardly a valid comparison.  

But he has used it before.  Back in Romans 14:15, if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love.  Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.  So you see it seems like a huge chasm here to compare the suffering and death of Christ with my willingness to forego the use of my freedom in an area for the benefit of a fellow Christian.  I mean, it hardly seems like those would be two comparable things.  The sufferings of Christ and His death on the cross is of such magnitude, how can I compare my being willing to give up having a ham sandwich, for example, for the benefit of a fellow believer.  But the comparison is purposeful.  So why am I making such an issue over this nonessential?  Because where he is going to carry us is that we are to be functioning to bring God the glory.  If that's the goal, I want to please Him.  So I have to be careful I don't use my liberty in a detrimental way or harmful way to a less mature believer.  I'll get him sidetracked, I'll get him violating his conscience, sinning against God, his growth is thwarted.  And Christ died for him, didn't please Himself at all.  But for me nobody restricts my liberty, nobody tells me.  I know grace and nobody is going to put restrictions on my grace and my ability to function.  Well, wait a minute.  So Christ is not the One that I am following.  I please me, I know about liberty.  No, no, no.  You don't know anything about liberty, you have a distorted view of liberty.  Christ didn't please Himself.  That's the point.

Whatever was written in earlier times, verse 4, was written for our instruction.  So all the Scriptures are for our benefit and we learn from it.  From Psalm 69 we all can learn that the reproaches directed toward God fall upon us.  Learn from that, we don't do what pleases us, we do what pleases God.  Christ being the ultimate example of that.  It was written for our instruction, our teaching so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.  And here we come, hope becomes a key emphasis through this section.  Verse 5 he says, now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement, grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus.  We want to put these two together, verses 4-5.  Verse 4 says it is the Scriptures that give us perseverance and encouragement.  In verse 5 we're told it's God who gives us perseverance and encouragement.  And you see how the two go together.  The Scriptures were written for our instruction, our teaching so that God through His Word might give us perseverance and encouragement.  Important to see the connection.  And that focuses us ultimately on our hope.  We sometime in difficulties and trials and under pressure, we go to God in prayer.  And God, I need your strength, I need you to hold me up.  And that's true, we should go to Him in prayer.  But you understand, if we haven't gone to His Word, we've closed the door, really, on His help.  That's why one of the ways the devil works is to try to wean us away from the Word of God, in little, subtle ways move us away from the Word of God so that the strength that God provides for us through His Word, that ability to endure and do what we must to be pleasing to Him and have the encouragement that He brings to our hearts and minds that keeps us going, and focuses our lives on the hope that we have.  If we are not in the Word, that shrivels up.  We can pray and pray but we close the door to what God has to say.  

So the Scriptures that were written, and now we have a completed Scripture with the New Testament as well as what would have been written through the Old Testament, this is for our benefit.  That's why we don't take in too much, that's why we try to provide multiple opportunities to be in the Word, to take in the Word, to fill our hearts and minds with the Word so that through the perseverance and encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.  You know what happens as we get weaned away from the Word?  Our focus on the hope, all that God has promised us in Christ and the ultimate realization of it gets weaker.  Down in verse 13 he'll say, now may the God of hope fill you with joy and peace in believing so that you will abound in hope.

Back up to Romans 8:18.  For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.  That glory is our hope and the present sufferings aren't worthy to be compared with the glory.  So you're going in surgery, you're not going into surgery because you just love to be cut up.  You're going into surgery because the doctor says this will fix the problem, it will restore you to health and the ability to function as you should function.  It's the hope.  So the sufferings of the present time, part of God's plan but it sharpens the hope.

So you come down to verse 23, not only this, but we ourselves having the first fruits within ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for the adoption of sons, the redemption of the body.  For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope.  For who hopes for what he has already seen?  But if we hope for what we do not see with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.  See the perseverance there.  So that hope and the sharpness of it, the clarity of it.  I mean, the book of Job was written about Job, a man whose sufferings happened thousands of years ago.  It's a nice story, but what about me?  I learn from the book of Job.  The sufferings he went through and the trials and difficulties were part of the plan of a sovereign God to bring greater blessing to him.  So I learn, I'm encouraged, I'm blessed with it.  It gives me perseverance.  I, too, want to endure.  And I'm encouraged by the Spirit using the Word in my heart.  And that keeps me going.  Doesn't mean the believer is free from trials and difficulties but he has the enablement of the Word of God.

Come back to Romans 15.  Let me read you what S. Lewis Johnson said on these verses.  Some of you remember S. Lewis Johnson, he spoke here many years ago.  The practical value of the Word of God cannot be more strongly emphasized.  The Scriptures give us the power to endure affliction and temptation and too often our contemporary believers have neglected their benefits.  In difficulty we flee to our counselors, some amateur, some professional.  But they can never do the work of the Word of God.  It is possible through the Scriptures to have the Lord Jesus Christ as our constant companion and permanent moment-by-moment counselor.  Let us not run to men, but to Him.  And that's what he is saying here, we have the Word of God to give us perseverance, to give us encouragement.  The God who gives it, gives it to us.  

And He, verse 5, will grant us to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus.  So that perseverance and encouragement has to do with the practical value of getting along together.  Be of the same mind so that you with one accord may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  This is the goal, to glorify Him.

Turn over to I Corinthians.  In our next study we're going to look at some passages from I Corinthians.  But I Corinthians10:31, whether, then, you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.  Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks, Jews or non-Jews, or to the church of God.  So don't give offense, if possible, to unbelieving Jews, unbelieving Gentiles or to believers, part of the church.  Just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of the many so that they might be saved.  Paul is thinking, how can I benefit others, not how can I please myself.  And he lived a life of sacrifice to be pleasing to the Lord and pleasing to others in the proper sense so that they might come to know the Lord, so that they might grow in the grace of God.

Come back to Romans 15.  So we are to be of the same mind with one another so that with one accord we may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Now that doesn't mean we agree on everything.  You have the weaker Christian and the stronger Christian.  The weaker Christian believes it is better for him and his relationship with the Lord not to eat certain things.  The stronger Christian knows that doesn't make a difference, foods don't make a difference.  But what unites us, we have one voice, we want to glorify the Lord.  He is the One who has brought us salvation by His grace through the death and resurrection of His Son.  That's what unites us together.  Not that we agree on what we're going to eat or not eat.  But we do agree the grace of God has brought salvation to us and we have one mind, we are of the same mind on this.  Doesn't mean that we agree on all the details of things in which there is liberty.  Obviously in the church at Rome the weaker Christians and the stronger Christians don't agree on all the details, they agree that it has been the grace of God that brought them salvation.  And He deserves all the glory.  And they have one voice to glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  That's the goal, to bring glory to Him.  What happens when we divide?  We hinder the growth, we mar the testimony.  

Therefore accept one another just as Christ has accepted us to the glory of God.  We have that word accept back in Romans 14:1 as we began this section.  Accept the one who is weak in the faith, welcome them.  This is not just to be the church of the mature.  That's what we are and only those are welcome here.  We understand grace, we understand sovereignty, any who understand it like we do are welcome.  Wait a minute, there is no room for false teaching here, no teaching that is contrary to the grace of God.  But understand we are at different levels in our maturity, different levels in our growth.  We want to accommodate one another the best we can, the mature want to be open to that, helpful in that.  

I use the example of our elders, men who come to the board of elders.  We have the scriptural requirements.  We have some additional requirements that we have agreed to as elders that there are certain things we won't do or practice while we are serving as elders.  We recognize there is liberty here, it's not a biblical issue, from where our body is and the mix we have in the body, it would not be helpful to the body at this point for that to be an issue.  It just is how will we use our liberty.  We have to make those decisions.  We want to be sensitive to that so we can bring glory to God.

So we are to welcome one another, just as Christ welcomed us.  I mean, what was I like when He saved me?  I didn't know anything.  Then I realized I'm a sinner, I'm lost and without hope in the world.  Christ died for me.  What do I do?  I cast myself on His mercy.  Lord, be merciful to me, the sinner.  I believe you died for me.  I didn't know much else.  But believers welcomed me and helped me grow, helped you grow.  And now as we mature we do that as well.  And we're careful not to make issues that don't have to be made issues.  But at the same time we preserve the purity of the Word as it is presented so people may grow.

For I say, verse 8, that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises to the fathers and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy.  So we see Paul here, Christ became a servant.  That's what we're talking about, isn't it.  We don't please ourselves.  We use our liberty to serve God and to serve one another.  Christ became a servant to the Jews, the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers.  I mean, He's the Messiah, He had to come and suffer and die so that the promises given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob could be fulfilled.  So He became a servant to Jews.  He also became a servant to Gentiles because the Messiah of Israel had to die on the cross so that Gentiles could enter into the blessings of God's salvation.  And for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy.  I mean, that's mercy upon mercy because at least the Jews had the covenant of promises given to the fathers.  We Gentiles were excluded, were outsiders.  But now we can glorify God for His mercy.
Now we have a series of quotes.  The Jews divided the Old Testament into the Law, the Prophets and the Writings.  He is going to quote from the book of Deuteronomy, the Law; the book of Isaiah, the Prophets; and the book of Psalms, the Writings.  So all three divisions and parts of the Jewish Old Testament testify to the fact God in giving the Messiah as He became a servant giving His life, He became obedient to death, even the death of the cross as Philippians 2 says.

Note the emphasis on Gentiles here.  He's going to first quote from the Psalms, then Deuteronomy, and then Isaiah.  Therefore I will give praise to you among the Gentiles and I will sing to your name.  Again he says, rejoice, oh Gentiles, with His people, the Jews.  And again, praise the Lord all you Gentiles.  Let all the peoples praise Him.  Again Isaiah says, there shall come the root of Jesse and He arises to rule over the Gentiles.  And then the Gentiles shall have hope.  So you see the Scriptures promise God's blessings to the Gentiles as well as the Jews.  Christ became a servant.  He emphasizes the Gentiles here because they would be those probably who don't have the same problem with foods.  They have a more mature understanding at this stage.  You understand Christ became a servant for the Jews and a servant for the Gentiles.  And if anyone has a reason to practice servanthood, we Gentiles do.  So he elaborates on that.  So the acceptance of the Jews and the welcoming of them and the giving of them room to grow and being willing to bear their burdens to help them grow and to sacrifice our freedom in practice for their good.  When Christ __________ the Messiah of Israel, gave Himself that we Gentiles could benefit, enter into that salvation.

Verse 13, now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  I mean, this is what the God of hope, the God who gives perseverance, the God who gives encouragement, the God who gives hope.  He's the One who gives peace and joy.  If we are serving Him, pleasing Him, these things fall into place.  This fellow believer becomes precious to us, even in his immaturity because Christ gave Himself for them.  I don't want to do anything harmful to them, I want to not please myself, make whatever sacrifice I can for their good so they can continue to grow.  I mean, what is that compared to the sacrifice Christ made for me that I might enter into all the fullness of the promises of God and the glory He has bestowed upon those who love Him.

Joy and peace.  Isn't it sad the church gets torn apart by non-essentials.  We have to stand for doctrine.  Paul does battle in the churches at Galatia for doctrinal truth, pronounces curses on those teaching otherwise in the church.  But you know we don't have to take that stand on everything.  There is room for difference, there is room for diversity of opinions, there is room for levels of growth, even on the implementation of the doctrine of grace.  And someone who doesn't fully understand the freedom they have in Christ, they are still welcome in the body.  They are not welcome to teach false doctrine regarding the grace, but they are free to practice their convictions and not have me look down on them or put pressure on them.  It's a place we grow because we are here to glorify God and have His joy and His peace.  And you know what happens when the peace is shattered.  The joy is gone and we have turmoil.  Then we lose focus on the hope because these side issues distract us and they become occasions to divide us.  And now we no longer have the same mind glorifying God with the same mouth.  Doesn't mean we think alike, that's the whole point.  We don't on certain issues, but we do agree on the basics.  For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, lest any man should boast.  We are agreed in that, now we are all at different stages in growing in grace.  And the more mature have a greater pressure, the understanding of the less mature.  And the Gentiles would have Jewish believers come in, they would have more understanding and more tolerance.  And in our differences among ourselves, that's fine.  And we'll talk more about the principles that guide us in our differences as we look into this further next time.

Let's pray together.  Thank you, Lord, for your grace.  Thank you for the Savior who loved us and died for us, who became obedient as a servant to your will, even to the point of dying, dying the death of crucifixion.  Lord, He became a servant to the Jews and a servant to the Gentiles so that through Him all the promises to Israel and all the promises to the Gentiles might realize fulfillment.  Lord, what a wonderful salvation we have in Christ.  Thank you for the greatness of your grace, its breadth, its depth, the love that was bestowed upon us in Christ.  Lord, may we not become selfish in our living out the truth of grace.  Lord, may we manifest your love, your grace, your acceptance in our dealing with one another in order that we might be one in heart and mind and voice in bringing glory to you.  We pray in Christ's name, amen.