A BIGGER VISION: Are we thinking of denominational correctness or of the expansive kingdom of God?
- Romans 14:17a.
- [Note: focus here on the Kingdom; leave the other for the second point.]
- So often we get down into the weeds on all these disputable matters that we’ve been discussing for the last few weeks. We get focused on our church or our denomination and why it’s right.
- This morning we want to talk about what our focus should be instead.
- I want to get to the larger point in a moment, but the first few words of v. 17 are a good place to start this morning. It speaks of “the kingdom of God.”
- There are various ways you can define “the kingdom of God.” You could talk about it in terms of what all the churches are doing all over the globe. You could talk about it in terms of where God is working in the lives of all the Christians around the world. You could talk about it in terms of the proclamation of the glorious gospel of the crucified and resurrected Jesus. You could talk about where all the Holy Spirit is moving and changing lives.
- For our purposes this morning, any and all of those are perfectly fine.
- The reason is that the big point I want to begin with this morning (and this is such an important truth in the arena of disputable matters) is that there is one big kingdom of God that God is working in and through today.
- Sometimes we get caught up in the smaller divisions: we like other Baptists but we’re not sure about the Pentecostals. Or we are ok with Methodists but aren’t sure about Mennonites. Of course, throughout this, we like people like us.
- We should have a far more expansive view: we are all part of one kingdom of God. If you’re a follower of Jesus, then we are on the same team. It doesn’t matter what the name on the door of the church says as much as who is in your heart.
- We have far more in common with those who are followers of Christ (whatever their denomination) than we have differences. Why? Because we are all part of the redeemed Body of Christ!
- We rejoice wherever the name of Jesus is lifted up.
- Now, this all takes us back to something we’ve talked about earlier in the sermon series. There are a few core issues that are essential. Things like the deity of Christ and the inspiration of the Bible and the Trinity.
- When we think about this, it should be an exciting truth for us. We are part of a global move of God. We are part of a worldwide brotherhood and sisterhood.
THE WRONG FOCUS: The point is not to win arguments about secondary spiritual issues.
- Romans 14:17b.
- Paul tells us that the kingdom is not about eating and drinking. What does he mean? That we aren’t supposed to eat and drink? No.
- Looking up at v. 15, Paul references a disputable matter of his day that he also talked about in vv. 2 and 6. It was a controversy in Paul’s day about whether it was appropriate for a believer to eat meat sacrificed to idols. Some said yes, some no. It was a disputable matter. Today, that issue has no resonance with us, but we have our own issues.
- So you could rephrase v. 17 there to say, “For the kingdom of God is not about disputable matters.”
- As we’ve discussed earlier in this series, that is not to say they are of no importance. We are called to be “fully convinced in our own mind.” (v. 5). But we are to keep that between us and God and not spend our time arguing with everyone.
- The verse here is saying that disputable matters are not supposed to be our focus. That’s not what the kingdom is really about.
- This is essential to say because far too often the church is about these secondary spiritual issues.
- There is endless arguing over relatively minor points of theology. There is enormous energy given to denominational theology and potential splits. There are lots of Christians who seem to believe that spiritual maturity is measured by your ability to vehemently argue your viewpoints.
- This should be obvious . . . and maybe it is. But far too often we certainly don’t live like it’s obvious. Probably all of us could tell stories of a church we went to (or a family member went to) where they split over some relatively minor issue. You can see by the innumerable denominations that are out there that we like to divide up over theological differences.
- This may be the greatest sin of the Protestant church over the centuries. We are far too willing to split.
- People wonder sometimes about the Bible and the host of denominations.
- Skeptics might look at those denominations and say, “You say the Bible is easy to understand, so why are there so many denominations.”
- I think that misses the point. With the multitude of cultures, personalities, and backgrounds, there was never any doubt that the Bible could not cover every possible issue and debate. Further, different people may emphasize different points. All of that is just the nature of the world and the nature of people.
- The larger issue there, I want to argue, is our failure to embrace Romans 14. The Bible itself, rather than being a book that is cut apart by these issues, gives us clear and helpful instruction on how to handle these issues. The Bible anticipates these issues. The problem is that we keep falling back into our fleshly habits of loving to argue and wanting to always be right and being unwilling to sacrifice for each other.
- If we heeded Paul’s instructions here on this issue, so much of the problem would simply vanish. The problem isn’t that the Bible doesn’t solve the issue – the problem is that we won’t do what it says.
- A final note. I think this is so tempting to us because we like to be right. More than that, we like to prove ourselves right.
- I’ve preached many times on how countercultural the gospel is. How it pushes us in directions that are not “business as usual.” How it is wholly different than the world’s system.
- This is just another example of that. What we are being asked to do is not something we are used to. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it.
THE RIGHT FOCUS: A life overflowing with righteousness, peace, and joy brought by the power of the Holy Spirit.
- Romans 14:17c.
- Now we get to the bigger issues that we should be focusing on instead of disputable matters.
- I want to unpack the four parts of what Paul points us to here, but let me start with the big picture. The big picture is that Paul is not pointing us to a belief but to a life.
- This does not mean that beliefs are not important. They are. But far too often today we have myriads of people who say they believe in Jesus without any change in their life. In fact, there’s an argument to be made that that is the biggest problem in the church in America today: people who say they believe in Jesus without any evidence in their life of being a follower of Jesus.
- Paul is pointing us here toward a transformed life, not merely stated beliefs.
- Now, when you really believe in what Jesus said and become a follower of His, that is transformative.
- Our life will be different than it was before because the life of Christ is in it.
a. Righteousness.
- We will be made right with God. We will have the ability to follow God.
- Our sinfulness has been taken away through the death of Christ.
b. Peace.
- There are multiple ways we could talk about the peace that comes from God. One of the most important is the peace that we have in facing death.
- Another is the peace we have to know that our relationship with God is good because of Christ.
c. Joy.
- We have joy of knowing that we are loved by God and that isn’t going to change.
- We have joy that comes with walking with Christ and enjoying the benefits of His wisdom.
d. In the Holy Spirit.
- This is important because the presence of the Holy Spirit within us gives us the comfort, direction, and encouragement that we need to make it through this life.
- These things we just mentioned aren’t the product of our own effort. No, we’ve been given the Holy Spirit to be God-in-us.
A WILD FINAL THOUGHT: Our lives can be pleasing to God.
- Romans 14:18.
- The “approved by men” is also interesting, but the phrase “pleasing to God” is the one that grabs my attention.
- It’s easy for us to think of God looking down on us from heaven constantly shaking His head and having little more than annoyance at us. But this verse points us to something else.
- The verse isn’t saying we’re perfect. The verse isn’t saying we got our lives together on our own. The verse isn’t saying we get saved and then don’t do anything else.
- No, it’s telling us about the door that God has opened up to us. It’s a door where experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit within our lives can lead to a life of righteousness, peace, and joy. Seeing that come about in our lives pleases God. I think it pleases Him for two major reasons: first, that His children are experiencing that good life, and, second, that His plan is working.
