Living A Life Of Goodness And Peace And Joy In The Holy Spirit (How Christian Ought To Behave)

Sermon “Living a Life of Goodness and Peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit”

Scripture Lesson: Romans 14:1-17 “Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. 2 For instance, one person believes it’s all right to eat anything. But another believer with a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables. 3 Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don’t. And those who don’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive his approval.

5 In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable. 6 Those who worship the Lord on a special day do it to honor him. Those who eat any kind of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who refuse to eat certain foods also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God. 7 For we don’t live for ourselves or die for ourselves. 8 If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 Christ died and rose again for this very purpose—to be Lord both of the living and of the dead.

10 So why do you condemn another believer[a]? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For the Scriptures say,“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,‘every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will declare allegiance to God.[b]’”12 Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God. 13 So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall. 14 I know and am convinced on the authority of the Lord Jesus that no food, in and of itself, is wrong to eat. But if someone believes it is wrong, then for that person it is wrong. 15 And if another believer is distressed by what you eat, you are not acting in love if you eat it. Don’t let your eating ruin someone for whom Christ died. 16 Then you will not be criticized for doing something you believe is good. 17 For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

Introduction: As I bring the last message in this Series of messages from Romans, the Apostle Paul continues his teaching on how Christians ought to behave. In Romans Chapter 12, we are invited to present ourselves to God as living sacrifices. How do we do that? We give our bodies to God; give our minds to God; give our ministry gifts to God's Body; and give our love to all. We are the only ones equipped to love others in a pure way. We should give love to all. Then in Chapter 13, we are to Give respect and obedience to God's Delegated Authority. Paul carefully explained why. We should give respect and obedience to God’s delegated authority for wrath's sake; for conscience's sake; for love's sake and for Jesus' sake.

Romans Chapters 14 and 15 offer some valuable lessons on living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit with each other. Most Christians understand how we are supposed to live in the world. We are salt and light in a dark world. We are Christ’s ambassadors, His personal representatives in a foreign land. Yet sometimes we struggle to live peaceable with fellow believers. The principles Paul teaches here is the principle of tolerance or acceptance. Tolerance and acceptance are more than just putting up with each other. It's really walking in a loving, accepting, and appreciating attitude that has the power to maintain unity in the body of Christ. If Satan, our chief adversary, cannot prevent us from being saved, he then seeks to prevent the believers from walking in unity. To preserve the unity and influence of the church, believers must offer mutual acceptance in non-essentials of the Christian faith. They should also resist the temptation to judge one another or condemn one another for what we believe about non-essentials tenets of the faith.

Paul first addresses the benefit of practicing mutual acceptance. Practicing mutual acceptance ensures that the believer’s personal liberty in Christ does not become a stumbling block for other believers in Christ. Then Paul moves to assure the believer that mutual acceptance enables one to be completely forgiving and accepting of others in the body because Christ has forgiven and accepted them in His family.