Loving Those with Whom We Differ | Romans 14:1-12

Scripture

• Romans 14:1–12

About this sermon

Introduction: The Christian life is a life of love. Love for God, love for His people, and love for the lost. That IS NOT A LIFE WITHOUT CHALLENGES. LOVE IS CHALLENGED BY SIN Living a life of love is often challenging because of sin. It is challenging because of the sin that still dwells in us. It is challenging because of the sin that we meet with in others. But, for the Christians that is not a surprising challenge. We are often prepared for THAT challenge. We know that SIN is a great enemy to our obedience as a Christian. We know that Satan, and his kingdom of darkness and sin is a great force of resistance when it comes to our desire to glorify God in all things. But what we sometimes forget is that this life of love will also be challenged by things that are NOT necessarily sinful. LOVE IS CHALLENGED BY HUMAN WEAKNESSES Our desire to live a life of love is often challenged by the weaknesses of humanity that are not necessarily sinful. THIS SECTION REMINDS US OF THAT. WE COME TO A NEW ISSUE IN THESE VERSES BUT THE LIFE WE ARE CALLED TO LIVE IS THE SAME. ESV Romans 14:15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. OUR LOVE IS TESTED BY OUR DIFFERENCES. And those differences exist for more than one reason. OUR LOVE IS TESTED BY THE DIFFERENCES THAT EXISTS BECAUSE OF CHRISTIAN IMMATURITY We are not yet glorified. We do not yet know what one day we will know. We are not a finished product. We are not yet conformed to the image of Christ. Our minds still lack perspective. Our responses often fall short of where they would if we were more mature. Our JUDGMENTS often reveal our immaturity. And we live our lives, in the church, surrounded by people who are all like us — we are all in process. We go home to people who are also in process. But it is not just the variety of spiritual maturity that tests us in the church. OUR LOVE IS TESTED BY DIFFERENCES THAT EXIST BECAUSE OF NATURAL HUMAN VARIETY We are often tested by the natural differences we meet with in each other. Different life stages Different personalities. Different backgrounds and upbringing. Different lives prior to salvation. Different spiritual heritages even after salvation. Different natural affinities. All this variety — variety in the realm of Christian maturity, and variety in the realm of natural humanity — leads to the NEED for love to be chosen and leads to SITUATIONS where love is tested — whether we would wish it so or not. After teaching us about the life of love in Romans 12 and 13 — and doing so in a way that calls us to think about dealing with sin and its hostility — NOW THE SPIRIT OF GOD CALLS US TO CONSIDER HOW LOVE RESPONDS IN THE FACE OF OUR WEAKNESSES. Weaknesses that, in this passage, exist because of spiritual immaturity. This morning we think about loving those with whom we differ.

Topics

• Love & Compassion