Love In Disagreement Pt 2

Several years ago, I heard a story of some missionaries in Southeast Asia in the country Cambodia.

And they went to this tribal village and they are sharing the gospel with these folks, and by God's grace, there are a few dozen that come to faith.

And so as they come to faith and they begin to figure out how to form a church and a worship service, the missionary looks out, and the main instrument that they utilize is a gong.

And so there's actually this beauty to the gong system that he didn't know about.

So there's five big gongs that sort of form the rhythm.

The biggest one is like three feet across.

It's an enormous deal.

And then going along with it, there's these eight smaller gongs that provide the harmony, and together you get this just robust and rich, beautiful music.

And the missionary is like, man, we don't have anything like this in the States.

This is so cool.

So he starts writing songs to be played with the gongs.

And he goes to his recent converts and he starts to present it and thinking, I mean, he's just so excited, right?

Like, I can't wait to see how they respond to this.

And they freak out.

No, we can't have worship music with the gongs.

He can't understand what's going on.

Why is this a problem?

And for them, the only time they'd ever seen these gongs used was to call on their pagan deities.

And so the gongs themselves were so enmeshed with their culture of what it means to call on the false gods that once they'd been saved out of that, they said, we can't go back to the gong system.

And the missionary sees beautiful music and they see compromise to the world.

So what's interesting is they they teach on it, they talk about it, they figure out what we should do.

About 15 years later, this area became technology, basically came to this area in fresh ways.

And the tribal deities had a change, I guess, in how they would be worshipped, and the people sold their gongs so that they could purchase motorcycles and TVs.

And the only people that had the gongs after that were the Christians in their churches.

And within about 10 or 20 years, what used to be the symbol of pagan idolatry became the picture of church music, almost like we might think of a pipe organ today.

And so some looked at the gongs and they said, Oh, that's sinful to use those.

Others looked at them and said they should be celebrated.

Some didn't want to use them, and others might look and be like, you're being too strict.

Others did want to use them, and some would look at them and say, Oh, you're compromising in the name of missional.

Right?

You see how these matters of conscience are easy to see in other cultures and sometimes kind of tough to see in our own.

Because it seems so black and white.

Like, how could you ever do that?

Or how could you not do that?

And you cross an ocean and you start to see it a little more clearly.

Look, if if I can tell on myself a little bit in a culture closer to home, I remember as a kid going to church and seeing a man who is now my father-in-law.

He was not, obviously, my father-in-law at that point.

And I thought for sure he was not a very committed Christian.

It's funny, he's one of the godliest men I know.

But my the reason I was pretty sure he wasn't that committed as a Christian is when he came to Sunday night church, he sat in the back and he wore blue jeans.

And nobody had ever told me that that was like what second-class citizens do.

But somehow I had embodied this mindset.

Like if you sit in the back and you wear jeans, like clearly you don't love Jesus as much as the people who sit in the front and wear the khakis.

Look, so there's all kinds of ways that matters of conscience have a threat to divide us and really, really shouldn't.

We face similar challenges in today's American culture where we're saying, how do I avoid worldly compromise without becoming a Pharisee who sets up extra rules beyond Scripture and then judges others according to those extra rules I've set up?

Like that challenge persists today.

And in this context, Romans 14 is incredibly relevant.

It guides us in how to proceed in these matters.

It's very interesting.

The similar kind of challenge was being faced by the ancient church in the city at Rome.

And Paul writes the greatest letter in the history of the world explaining all the glories of the gospel.

And in the greatest letter ever written, explaining everything you would want to know about the gospel, he gives about 10% of the letter to resolving matters of conscience.

In other words, we should expect this to be a perennial challenge, and we should figure out how the gospel applies to it.

So Park said, I want you to catch this.

I've taken notes, I want you to write this down.

We are saved by the gospel, shaped by the gospel, and sent by the gospel.

So Paul is trying to tell us here.

I've explained to you up front.

Here's what it means to be saved by the gospel.

Romans 1 through 11, you might say.

And in 12 through 16, he's moving out and saying, yes, you're not only saved by it, but shaped by it and sent by it.

And if we're saved by the gospel, shaped by the gospel, sent by the gospel, then that means we need to face these matters of conscience head on and enter into them with a rich well of God's grace and not a strong legal spirit moving into them.

Now this is part two of the message that we started last week.

It is the exact same main idea that I gave you last week.

It is printed in your bulletin, but it's worth restating again.

Here's the main idea of Romans 14 and the first part of 15.

We glorify God by pursuing peace and mutual upbuilding instead of quarreling over opinions for the sake of the gospel.

That's how you glorify God.

Pursue peace, mutual upbuilding.

Don't quarrel over opinions for the sake of the gospel.

And Park said, I want to commend you.

This past week, I was so encouraged.

You know, you get into a text like this, and you know, last week, if you were here, we did not shy away from issues that could be contentious, did we?

Like we talked about a lot of them, and we're gonna talk more about them this week.

But do you know what happened last week?

I was so encouraged.

I had many people, many people come to me saying, Justin, I heard what you're saying, I see what's in the passage, I see how this gets to the heart of the matter.

Would you help me to think through and pray through how I think about or talk about this issue?

It shows receptivity to the Spirit of God, and I praise God for that in you, Parkside.

Well done.

Keep seeking the Lord and saying, there's a chance that we could fight over this stuff.

We're gonna set that aside.

We're gonna go before the Lord and say, Lord, by your spirit, I want you to change me.

I pray that continues to be the theme of our song.

Outline this morning three parts.

I hope it's pretty easy to remember for you.

Freedom is good, love is better, Jesus is best.

Freedom is good, love is better, Jesus is best.

Freedom is good.

I hope you've got Romans 14 still open.

We are gonna go back to it a lot.

Look at verse 14, see what Paul says.

I know and I am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it is unclean.

So Paul is writing here from the perspective of a strong conscience.

You'll recall last week we said a strong conscience means you have more Christian freedom.

Paul would have felt the liberty to play cards, Paul would have felt the liberty to smoke a cigar or go dancing at various points.

Strong conscience, more Christian freedom.

He says, nothing is unclean in itself.

Now, you need to understand he's not talking about things that are explicitly sinful.

So he might say, alcohol is clean in itself, getting drunk is clearly sin.

Sex is clean in and of itself, adultery is sin.

Youth sports are clean in and of themselves, but according to Hebrews 10, 25, if it becomes a habit to skip church for the sake of this other thing, it's become a sin.

So Paul's saying these are the matters of conscience, nothing is unclean in itself.

But he recognizes not everyone has a strong conscience like he does.

There are some with a weak conscience, which means you have less Christian freedom.

It means your conscience is easily wounded.

You are prone to fret where God says you are free.

And if you have a weak conscience, I want to say a couple of things specifically to you from this text.

Number one, having a weak conscience, having less Christian freedom, does not mean you're a JV Christian.

It does not mean you're on the B team.

We'll say more about this in point two.

If you have a weak conscience, one of the things that I think this text exhorts us to is to pursue more Christian freedom over time.

Right?

Paul says, I know that nothing is unclean in itself, and let's pursue that over time.

But whatever your conscience says, you should obey it.

Look at verse 14 at the end there.

It says, It is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.

In other words, if your conscience says, Don't go do this, to override your conscience and say, No, I will go against it, that act itself is sinful, even if the thing we're talking about is not unclean.

So listen to your conscience.

Last week I told you that 1 Corinthians 8 through 10 is a parallel passage.

I didn't quote from it very much, but we'll spend a little bit more time in 1 Corinthians 8 through 10, kind of bouncing back and forth.

And it's relevant when it comes to obeying your conscience.

1 Corinthians 10, 23 is a helpful text to have in mind.

It says, all things are lawful, but not all things are helpful.

Or another translation says, all things are permissible, but not all things are constructive.

So some with a weak conscience, some with a strong conscience, you have more or less Christian freedom, will feel that change across issues.

So I know some of you love Halloween, and it's a fun, you know, carefree holiday for you to observe, but you really struggle even being in the presence of alcohol.

And for others, it's the exact opposite.

You don't mind enjoying a beer, but partaking in Halloween feels like nearly a sinful activity.

Right?

So the strong and weak conscience can be applied in different ways in different issues.

Part of the reason for that is our conscience is formed by scripture, but also by the community of faith that we live in, and also by the culture around us.

Okay, I know that for some, you've had a very traumatic experience in the past, perhaps even in the present, with someone who is abusive to you and to others around you as they abuse alcohol and other substances.

I want you to understand that having a tender conscience in those spaces does not make you a JV Christian in any way.

It makes complete sense.

Why I said, boy, I don't want to go anywhere near that stuff.

So it's very important to see there's a multitude of factors that form and inform our conscience.

Look at verse 23 and what Paul says.

This is continuing with listening to your conscience.

He says, Whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith.

For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.

Now when he says you're condemned, he does not mean condemned in terms of going to hell, but rather you did the wrong thing because you went against your conscience.

Why was that the wrong thing?

Because your conscience was bound.

So right now obey your conscience, but also seek to calibrate it over time, because freedom in Christ is a good thing to be pursued, but it's not the ultimate thing.

Freedom is good, but love is better.

And what do we do when one brother or one sister says, there's freedom in this area, and another one says, No, you shouldn't be doing that?

How do we get along with ourselves?

That's kind of where the rubber meets the road, right?

That brings us to our second point.

Number two, love is better.

So, one, freedom is good, nothing is unclean in itself.

Number two, love is better.

And this section of Romans, the overarching theme is to walk in love.

Romans 12, 9.

Let love be genuine.

Paul would go on to say, love is the fulfillment of the law.

Love is the mark of maturity, is one way that we summarize that.

So I want to show you this ongoing theme of love being the better way throughout this text.

Look at Romans 14, 15.

Paul writes, For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer, catch it there, walking in love.

That's what you're supposed to do.

Verse 17.

Paul continues the argument.

The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking.

Pause.

So freedom is good to eat or drink these foods or beverages, but that's not the main deal.

He keeps going.

What is the kingdom of God a matter of?

Righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Now notice this is why someone with a weak conscience, they have less Christian freedom, can be a very mature believer.

Because although they do not partake, they can still warmly welcome others who do partake and not judge them or look down on them.

That's the mature position.

And someone with a strong conscience could be an immature believer because they rightly have Christian freedom to pursue, yet they look at those who do not partake, who have less Christian freedom with a spirit of condescension.

And so though you have a strong conscience, you're an immature believer.

Hopefully that's starting to make sense how those go together.

Look at verse 19.

Verse 19 is where I take the main idea for last week and this week together.

Here's what Paul says.

So then, let us pursue what makes for peace and mutual upbuilding.

Like there's the main central command and thrust.

So the simple question for us on how do I know that I'm walking in love?

What does that look like?

Am I eagerly pursuing peace and mutual upbuilding?

That's the question we want to keep going back to.

And there are some tricky parts that'll take us a minute to unpack, but the simplest form is to ask yourself and pray over this.

Am I pursuing what leads to peace and mutual upbuilding?

Now, let's come to the tricky part.

How do I know when to abstain for the sake of a brother?

Or when do I know when to allow someone else to partake?

Takes a minute to explain some of these things.

To those of you with a weaker conscience, let me say this: requiring everyone in the church to abide by the strictest conscience of anyone here is not walking in love.

I might imagine someone who's kind of analytical like myself wants to try and figure out what's the different consciences on a different matter.

And so let's just say we form a church-wide spreadsheet.

Down the left side is your family, your own name, across the top goes the set of issues.

It's like one of those uh NFL quarterback, like with the cheat sheet flap on his arm.

He opens up the playbook, he's like, all right, the Cook family goes over, you know, okay, issue, rated R movies not about Jesus, hasn't watched one since the Obama administration.

Okay, I guess we're not supposed to do that.

And then you go to the next family and it's like strong conscience or weak conscience about microplastics, therefore, no one is allowed to drink Coke Zero anymore.

And you go to the next family and it's like really firm conviction uh that you shouldn't shop at Target because of their stance on LGBT issues.

Now, nobody in the church is allowed to shop at Target anymore.

And you see how like applying this on a grand scale is not walking in love and it's practically not livable either.

But if I flip it around and I talk to those with a strong conscience who sense more Christian freedom, if the primary driving factor is what each individual Christian has in their own conscience, and hey, I'm free, I'm free to do this, and that's the number one consideration: you are no longer walking in love.

Christianity is not a solo sport.

God made you a new person and placed you in a new people and said, you're gonna set aside your rights to pursue what leads to peace and mutual upbuilding.

Now you might be listening and saying, Justin, I'm tracking.

You told us not what to do, but could you please tell us positively what to do?

Well, I'll tell you, this is an area where I need to give you the spirit of the law, not the letter of the law.

Grace has to rule and it has to reign.

We go back to the question of pursuing peace and mutual upbuilding.

But the text does give us some hints as far as practically how we ought to proceed.

So let's look at a couple of these quickly.

And I'm just gonna read a couple verses and then try and piece it together at the end what it means.

Chapter 14 and verse 13.

Decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.

1415, skip down just a little bit.

Don't grieve your brother.

1420, skip down.

Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God.

A little later in verse 20.

It is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats.

Keep going down to chapter 15, verse 1.

We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak.

Now you should know in 15.1, when it used that word bear with, bear with them does not mean put up with them.

It's the same phrase as Galatians 6, 2, bear one another's burdens and love.

It means you are actively modulating your own strength to help carry the load of one who is weaker.

Bearing with someone is not just putting up with them.

It's a far richer term than that.

Okay, so we read several verses that give this idea what exactly are we supposed to do.

And chapter 14, verse 13 references the stumbling block.

What is meant by this stumbling block sort of thing?

There's two basic ideas that go into it.

Number one, don't force participation, and number two, don't flaunt your freedom.

So don't force someone to participate against their conscience, and don't flaunt the freedom that you have.

As I say that, you need to be careful around the stumbling block language because this can easily be weaponized.

Maybe the easiest way to see it being weaponized against people is when we think about modesty and ladies' clothing, and you might hear someone say, They've that that blouse, lady walks in, that blouse causes me to stumble.

It could be a perfectly modest blouse.

And he says, but it's a stumbling block for me.

Like, no, you should learn to control your own thoughts and your own urges and train your mind to resist lustful thoughts and not blame it on somebody else's blouse.

While recognizing at the same time, modesty does matter, and you can dress in immodest ways that are not helpful.

But we need to be careful weaponizing the stumbling block because you can then say, well, nobody else can do anything as long as I label it a stumbling block for me.

Maybe you've heard that kind of teaching before.

So if we take what we read in Romans 14 and 15 and we combine it with the parallel passage in 1 Corinthians 8 through 10, there's two Two parts from 1 Corinthians 8 through 10 that kind of pull into this.

On the one hand, 1 Corinthians 9, Paul says, I become all things to all people, so that by all means I might save some.

I'm gonna bend over backwards and do everything I can, basically.

But then in the very next chapter, chapter 10, he says, all things are permissible, but not all things are beneficial.

So there are times where it's appropriate to refrain.

What is the goal for how I proceed with others when our consciences are calibrated differently?

I told you this would take a minute.

We're working through it, but here's the goal for you: that you would be fully persuaded in your own mind.

You would not look down on others, but would welcome them gladly.

That you would not cause someone to stumble, but be willing to take steps for the sake of the gospel.

Now let me give you a couple examples of what this could look like, and then try and give you a couple principles for how you live it out.

One example, I had a friend who had a very weak conscience around the issue of gluttony.

He did not have much Christian freedom.

And so one of the ways I tried to modulate my own sense is if I'm gonna go over to his house, I'm gonna be really careful with the portions that I serve on my own plate, and I'm gonna make sure I don't go back for seconds.

Was I free to eat more than the 650 calories that I did?

Yes, but for the sake of conscience, I'm gonna hold back and I'm not gonna go get more because this might be damaging for him.

Okay, well, let me give you another example here.

Uh I heard a story from one of our Parkside members who had been on a multi-year relationship with someone they met through Community Christmas.

Building this relationship, this individual was a refugee who had fled their own country, come to this country, and after years of building that relationship, the person from Community Christmas invited our member to their home.

Now, this is one of our members who does not like alcohol in any way, shape, or form, is bothered by the sight and smell of it.

And when she got to this individual's home, do you know what happened?

She was served a festive drink from the native country that was an alcoholic beverage.

And our member said, I don't like this stuff at all.

And yet I have been bending over backwards for the sake of the gospel to build this relationship with this person.

And I think it would be highly offensive if I didn't drink this right here.

And so even though I don't like it at all, I'm gonna drink this because it's taking a step, according to 1 Corinthians 9, becoming all things to all people, so that by all means I might save some.

Right?

So it's spirit of the law, not letter of the law.

It's grace that runs where we're going here.

Let me give you some practical considerations, some principles to think through.

I have four be careful statements that I want to give you that might help to guide us a little bit.

What does it mean on putting stumbling blocks up and destroying the work of God?

If you have a strong conscience, you have more Christian freedom, be careful about flaunting your freedom.

Be careful about flaunting your freedom.

I recall 10 or 15 years ago, um, at that point in my life, I did not drink alcohol.

It was very uncomfortable, and but it didn't bother me if other guys did.

And I was in a conversation with a couple of guys, and it it felt like to me for an hour or two hours, they just went on and on and on about how different beers are brewed and how different whiskies are formed and how the mash does this and does that.

And after a while, I was like, guys, I feel like you're just trying to poke me in the eye that I don't do this thing, and I wish you would just like back off and give me a little space here.

I don't know if they're trying to flaunt their freedom or not, but if you have more freedom, be careful about flaunting it, how you talk about things.

Now, if you have a weaker conscience, be careful expecting others to be as strict as you.

Be careful expecting others to be as strict as you.

Now notice Paul says implicitly in this passage that theologically your view is incorrect.

Nothing is unclean in itself.

And yet, do you know what Paul never says to the person with a weak conscience?

He never says, you must change your mind.

Isn't that interesting?

He never makes that command.

So it's not bad to have a weak conscience, but be careful expecting others to have as strict of a conscience as you do.

Now, parents, this one's really important for us to think through whether you have a strong or a weak conscience, because what can easily happen is kids grow up and there's certain ways that you handle matters of conscience inside your own home.

And if you have a stronger conscience, your kids can implicitly think, well, this is just the way that it is to act with liberty in this way, and easily look down on others who don't have those liberties.

And the inverse is also true.

If you have a weaker conscience and you don't engage in certain things, it's easy for the kids to think, well, this is what it means to be a Christian.

And when your kids are three years old, it's like, do what mom and dad said because mom and dad said the end.

Like ethical reasoning with a three-year-old is bad parenting.

But when they're 13, you have a responsibility to educate on the why behind it and to clearly teach.

This is matters of conscience.

Maybe dad has a weaker conscience here, mom has a stronger conscience there, Christians disagree, but this is not a black and white, thus saith the Lord, issue.

It's important that we guide and instruct our kids in these ways.

Now, I said weak conscience, strong conscience, I've given you two be careful.

So let me give you the third be careful, and this is for all of us.

Be careful if you're the majority or the minority.

That way it's for everyone.

What do I mean by that?

Well, let's just get practical for being at Parkside in this moment, breaking down different issues.

Probably the majority of families at Parkside right now, from a school choice standpoint, send their kids to Bethesda.

That's good.

We celebrate that.

We praise God for the work that's happening at Bethesda Christian School.

But what can happen in social dynamics is when you have a majority of people in one space, there's kind of a snowballing effect of sorts that's not through your intentional misdeeds or your intentional rejecting of others, but it just kind of becomes here's what the cool kids are doing, and you don't realize the ways that you might be failing to warmly welcome others.

So if you're in the majority, you need to be extra careful to be warmly welcoming others.

Last week I referred to having people over for dinner that might have made a different school choice, or making sure when it comes to kid birthday parties, you're inviting your entire faith family, not just the faith family that goes to the same school that you do.

One of the other ways I think you can practically embody this is to say to whatever family you're talking to, hey, I know you guys are super intentional about your school choice.

Could you show me how you've seen, or could you tell me how you've seen evidence of God's grace in the life of your kids through this kind of schooling?

And hear how God is at work.

Very simple thing to do.

Now, if you're the minority, you also need to be careful here.

Because in the minority, it's easy to adopt a sort of a martyr complex, everybody's out to get me, the people that do the other thing that's the majority of you, it's a big click.

These kinds of things.

Is it possible that it's a big click?

Well, absolutely it is.

But it's also possible that you're quick to judge just because there's more people there, and that's how the social dynamic tends to work.

So you need to recognize there's some real dangers around the majority-minority piece, and we need to be careful there.

Here's your fourth be careful statement.

And this is for everyone, and this is honestly probably the most important.

Be careful about a self-righteous spirit.

Be careful about a self-righteous spirit.

Because what can happen is you try to ask yourself, how do I pursue what leads to peace and mutual upbuilding?

I modulate my strength for the sake of the weak.

The weak are trying really hard to welcome the strong, even though their decisions don't make sense to them.

And in your mind, although your outside is doing the right thing, in your mind it can go like this.

Well, I'm doing this, but it's really just for their sake because they're kind of unreasonable.

Or I know they think that's Christian freedom to go do that, but there's really no way a Christian could do that with a clean conscience.

They must have a seared conscience.

And that kind of stuff, guys, that creeps up in our heart in the most insidious way, like a nasty vine that just wraps itself around our heart with our own self-righteousness and it chokes the life out.

We gotta be so careful to watch our own hearts there, asking ourselves, am I seeking to glorify the Lord by pursuing peace and mutual upbuilding, warmly welcoming others without standing in a position of judgment?

I said this last week and I want you to hear it again.

The attitude of judgment, the attitude of judgment will come through clearly, regardless of the words that you say.

People will know.

And far more significantly than anybody knowing or how they receive you, the attitude of judgment is just as offensive to God as the words of judgment.

So be really careful about a self-righteous spirit.

And maybe you're thinking, Justin, this is this is kind of a lot for us to think through.

It feels like a lot of dying to myself on difficult issues, a lot of bearing with others.

Is it really worth messing with it?

Like, like maybe it would be better.

Maybe it'd be better if it's okay.

Here's the strong conscience community group.

Here's the weak conscience Sunday school class.

Here's the dot dot, fill in the blank, right?

Like, wouldn't that be easier?

Of course it would.

Of course it would.

But you know what Ephesians 3.10 says?

It says the manifold wisdom of God is put on display in the local church when our diversity comes together and we're united by something besides our affinity groups and our interests.

Like I there's something really beautiful about that.

And I know sometimes we like we think, well, let's have a retiree's class, let's have a young adult's class, let's have, you know, raising kids together community group or whatever.

And I don't think that stuff's sinful.

Don't don't hear me say that at all.

But I do think there's real beauty and real value in us having intergenerational groups in both the Sunday school time and in our community groups.

And I know that we've got some new Sunday school classes are about to multiply and some community groups about to multiply, like by the end of this year.

And maybe your action item coming out of these couple of sermons is to talk to Pastor Rob and say, you know what, Pastor Rob, I've been in a group that's all people like me.

And when one of these multiplies, I'd like to know about it so I can get into a group with some people that are not like me, so we can embody this together, and it'll be hard, but it'll be worth it.

Freedom is good, yes, you have freedom, but walking in love is better.

What's best?

Number three, Jesus is best.

Now I know that sounds like the complete Sunday school answer, right?

Like, what's a preacher got to end with Jesus is best?

Here's the thing, guys.

This welcoming others, laying down rights, Jesus did it perfectly.

Right?

And you gotta get this.

He is the picture of what to do and the power of how to do it.

He's the picture and the power, and you need to look to him for both of them.

The model and the mediator.

This is what it actually means, to delight in the gospel.

Like I look at what Jesus did, and my heart is so stirred like Christ, you would lay aside your rights for me to bring me into this family, to warmly welcome me when I was not your people.

Wow! And I have an opportunity, an invitation to live out that same kind of welcome.

What a gift.

And as I delight in what he's done for me, it motivates me to go and do as he has done.

And let me show you that Jesus is better from the text, and then let's just think about how we drive this together.

Verse three of chapter 15.

For Christ did not please himself.

Boy, how's that for a verse to memorize and meditate on?

Chapter 15, verse 7.

Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you for the glory of God.

Chapter 15, verse 8.

Christ became a servant to the circumcised.

In other words, what they're saying here is the Roman church was divided on Jew and Gentile wines.

And he's saying, guys, the Jew-Gentile divide that has been all through the Old Testament is way bigger than the Trump divide that we fight about today.

It was a way bigger thing.

And if Christ would break down that dividing barrier, then there's nothing that we face today that cannot be broken down and unified by the blood of Jesus.

Why did he do that?

So that you wouldn't have to be concerned with receiving the scorn of others.

Rather, you can just warmly welcome others.

Because others will throw shade at you.

They will scorn you if you warmly welcome somebody.

Like, no, you shouldn't warmly welcome them.

They're too free in their conscience, or they're too strict in their conscience.

And all these Old Testament quotations at the back half of chapter 15, chapter verses 9 through 12, all they're saying over and over is this was the plan from the beginning.

This was the plan from the beginning, that there would be a new unity that came from Christ, and from the outset, this was the goal.

To show the beauty of a people put together, and everything is written down so that you would have hope.

Hope of a unified people with a certainty of a unified future with Christ.

Look at verse 5.

Oh man, this is like glorious stuff right here.

Five through seven, one of my favorite passages in the whole Bible.

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you for the glory of God.

So that all that's left is this beautiful harmonizing of joyful unity in the church, declaring your praise to God.

It's like you're seeing the altos and the sopranos coming together, the baritones and the tenors, the harmony of love going up to the Lord amid our diversity, the people who wear their suit every Sunday, and the people who wear their shorts every Sunday, the guy with the sleeve tap, and the person who would never be found dead in a tattoo parlor.

Like, yes, together harmonizing, praise going up to God.

You say, Justin, like I hear you, but like there's people, maybe they're in this room, and like they're not my people.

They rubbed me the wrong way.

Bro, I get it.

But you weren't Jesus' people either.

Romans 5, 8.

But God demonstrates his love toward us and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

He said, Justin, I know, but I mean I can I can sing with these people.

We can do a Bible study.

I could even get like in a prayer huddle with them.

I kind of don't want to be seen with some of these people out in public, though.

Like they're gonna think I'm a judgmental person like them, or somebody else is gonna think I'm a compromiser like them.

You know what Hebrews 2 says?

Christ is not ashamed to call you his brother.

Are you united to that brother or that sister by the blood of Christ or by your shared interests?

You see, this goes on and on.

Christ is the picture and the power of what we are called to do.

And when he's not ashamed to call you his brother, listen to me, guys.

He does not welcome you to the back patio, saving the dinner table for those who are really his people.

He welcomes you to the dinner table.

He welcomes you to the inner sanctum of the family vacation.

He writes you into the will.

You are a co-heir with Christ, fully adopted, full inheritance.

First Peter chapter 1, kept in heaven for you, that is undefiled, unfading, imperishable, guarded by Jesus for you.

1 Peter 1 · chapter mention

There's nothing off limits for you.

He's welcomed you all the way in, therefore, welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you to the glory of God.

And he started to try and put it into practice.

And I'm like, gosh, I know that's what Jesus did, but it kind of feels like he has that whole son of God thing going on.

And I don't have that power.

I got the like sinful me thing going on.

Like, how am I supposed to do that without his superpowers, right?

There we discover the heart of the gospel.

There's a righteousness demanded by God, missing in us, revealed in Christ, received by faith.

And when I come to the end of myself and realize I can't do this on my own, Jesus is not only the picture, but also the power of how to live this out.

Then I've really got something.

This is why in Ephesians chapter 6, the Armor of God passage, you know what it says?

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

Ephesians 6.14?

Put on the breastplate of righteousness.

Like we don't have breastplates that we wear around a bunch.

Maybe you've seen like movies about his ancient Rome or Gladiator or something like that.

You put on that breastplate.

What does it look like?

It looks like the dude is jacked.

Like perfect pecs.

He's got an eight-pack.

You're like, man, that's amazing.

Like righteousness, perfect righteousness on you because Jesus made you his own.

And it's like, fellas, you may have gone for a donut run yesterday, and all you can see is like the jiggly business underneath.

But if you are in Christ, he has put his breastplate of righteousness on you.

And see yourself as he sees you.

And go and be who he has already made you.

This is 2 Corinthians 5.

He became sin, who knew no sin, so that in him you might become the righteousness of God.

He doesn't say you're going to get close to the righteousness of God.

You'll get a whiff of the righteousness of God.

You'll learn about the righteousness of God.

You become the righteousness of God.

So when you come to the end of yourself and you say, Justin, I know that freedom is good and love is better, but I don't have the power to do it, you've got to go back and remember Jesus is best.

And I put on the breastplate of righteousness, looking to him as the source of all of it, and trying to live out this text on our own will result in division.

But when you're saved by the gospel and shaped by the gospel and sent by the gospel, it produces a beautiful harmony of unity in the body that goes up and it glorifies God and it brings peace and mutual upbuilding in the church and it testifies to a watching world that there's truly something supernatural happening.

Lord Jesus, we need your help.

We can't do this on our own.

We are so aware of our weaknesses and our limitations.

We're so aware of our tendency to judge and be sub-righteous.

Would you please change us by your grace?

Would you please work a miracle in our hearts?

Melt our hearts by your grace.

Delight us by your gospel.

That you who knew no sin would become sin for us.

That we could become your righteousness.

That we would then welcome one another as you have welcomed us for the glory of God.