Kingdom Minded Freedom | Romans 14:17-19

Scripture

• Romans 14:17–19

About this sermon

Introduction: In the 16th verse we met with a unique imperative. We are to be sure that we do not exercise our freedoms in a way that can be blasphemed. What does he mean by blasphemed? He means that our good comes to be spoken of as evil. He envisions a situation where what we regard as good gets a reputation for being evil because of the reckless way that we have exercised our liberty. Our exercise of what we regard as good has grieved or destroyed a brother or sister in Christ. What this requires of those who are strong, is that we love our brothers more than we love our liberties. We do not value food more than a brother. When we come to verses 17-19, we are reminded of the mindset that keeps us from that kind of shortsighted living. We are reminded of what is most important in God’s salvation gifts to us. We are reminded of what is most important as we serve Christ. We are reminded of what produces the clearest and the best testimony in the eyes of people. To sum it up, we are taught that our freedoms are always to be enjoyed with God’s kingdom in mind. Tonight, we consider three ways that being mindful of God’s kingdom will save us from wrongly exercising our liberties in Christ. • AN UNDERSTANDING OF GOD’S KINGDOM SAVES US FROM MAJORING ON MINOR ISSUES (vs.17) What is the kingdom of God really about? What does “kingdom life” really consist of? And the answer is NOT eating and drinking. It is true that the Christian is no longer under the dietary laws of the Old Testament. It is true that nothing is unclean in and of itself, if is received with thanksgiving (qualified by the context). It is true that it is not what goes into the body that defiles but what comes out of the man himself. You and I are free. But if you ask me what it means to be a Christian, what it means that I now have been brought into the immediate experiences and realities of God’s kingdom, my answer is not going to be that I can eat pork or drink wine. Christ did not die for my eating and drinking. No, what has happened in my life is much more profound than that. • THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS A MATTER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, PEACE, AND JOY IN THE HOLY SPIRIT There has been some debate, with respect to the three things Paul mentions here, as to whether what he has in mind is primarily ethical — having to do with our relationships in the human realm, or spiritual — having to do with our relationship to God. It is a distinction that ends up in the same place. I lean toward the idea that this has to do with what salvation has produced in our relationship with God, but that will result in the transformation of how we relate to people. • A RIGHT STANDING WITH GOD RESULTS IN RIGHTEOUS DEALINGS WITH PEOPLE • THE ESTABLISHMENT OF PEACE WITH GOD RESULTS IN GOD’S PEOPLE BEING PEACEMAKERS IN THE REALM OF MEN • THE JOY THAT IS OURS IN THE HOLY SPIRIT RESULTS IN A JOYFUL LIFE AMONG PEOPLE So, in some sense, it is a distinction without a difference. But either way that you take it, the point that the apostle is making is that these realities are the result of being saved. These realities represent LIFE IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD. That which will one day characterize the golden age that Christ will usher in when He returns, is what the people of God are able to experience NOW, imperfectly, yet being perfected, IN THIS AGE. • THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS NOT A MATTER OF EATING AND DRINKING Christ’s death, its true significance, is not represented in what I eat for dinner tonight, as much as it is represented in the fact that I give thanks to God tonight, and that I care about you. When I keep in mind what has MOST CHANGED since Jesus saved me, what is MOST IMPORTANT since Jesus saved me, I WILL NOT PRIORITIZE MEANINGLESS THINGS OVER THE MOST MEANINGFUL THINGS. I will not prioritize what is here today and gone tomorrow, over my brother or sister for whom Christ died and with whom I will spend eternity. A kingdom mindset saves me from majoring on minor issues. • AN UNDERSTANDING OF GOD’S KINGDOM SAVES US FROM MISREPRESENTING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE (vs.18) What happens when I do not remember what we just talked about, is that I live a life that does not please God AND a live in a way that does not leave a good testimony before people. Do not be deceived. Exercising your liberties without regard for your brothers DOES NOT find acceptance with God. And the same can be said about the testimony you are leaving with people. • THE WAY IN WHICH CHRIST IS TO BE SERVED What does the “thus serves Christ” (ESV) or “in this way serves Christ” (NASB) refer to? It refers to all of verse 17. I am to serve Christ mindful of what matters most. I am to serve Christ mindful of what Jesus died to set me free for. I am to serve Christ mindful of what really belongs to a kingdom perspective. Mindful of righteous. Mindful of peace. Mindful of a supernatural joy. This is how Jesus is to be served.

Topics

• Overcoming Obstacles