Unity In Christ’s Lordship | Romans 14:5-9

Scripture

• Romans 14:5–9

About this sermon

Introduction: Our call to walk in love is challenged, not only by sin issues, but by our differences. We have differences explained by spiritual maturity. We have differences explained by natural human variety. Regardless of our differences, if we are not dealing with matters of sin, then we sin by not welcoming one another. We don’t welcome each other to argue everyone’s conscience into submission to our own. We welcome each other for the reasons God sets forth here. God has welcomed them. God is their master and mine. God is faithful to finish what He starts. We learned all this last week. When we come to verse 5, we come to another issue that threatened to divide the church in Paul’s day. Believers differed, not just on matters of diet. Believers also differed on the question of special days. Remember that the problem envisioned in our text is that of a Jewish Christian who still feels pains of conscience related to the observance of diet and days as set forth by the law of God given through Moses. It appears that what we have here is vastly different from what you find in Galatians, for example. There is no indication that these people were debating over the gospel. What you have are people who have trusted God’s grace in Christ but still want to observe certain aspects of the Old Testament code due to their identity as Jews. How do you handle such differences? In 1 Corinthians 8 we learn that this is NOT just a Jewish issue. Differences of conscience can arise among those saved out of pagan backgrounds. Indeed, anywhere we are making decisions without biblical imperatives in view, it becomes a matter of judgment and of conscience. As Paul continues the instruction, he shifts from food as his example, to the observance of days. NOW THE CHURCH, FROM ITS VERY BEGINNING, OBSERVED THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK AS THE DAY FOR ITS GATHERINGS. IT DID SO BECAUSE CHRIST WAS RAISED ON A SUNDAY. Despite what some would want to argue, the church was not meeting on Saturday. Paul often employed an evangelism strategy that would have involved Saturdays. He would begin his evangelization of a city in the synagogues. ESV Acts 17:1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ." 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. But on the other side of conversion, as churches were formed and gathered, Christians met on the first day of the week — on Sunday. Luke records an incident that occurred in Troas.

Topics

• Church & Fellowship
• Jesus Christ
• Christian Living