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Return to Ministry of Restoration Series Return to Wed. Bible Study Series
Romans
15:1-3 “The Ministry of
Restoration—part 4”
There is a great need for the ministry of
restoration in the church. Christians
are not perfect. Sometimes they
stray, get bruised by sin, and even fall. Then
what? The Bible gives us valuable
counsel which we have been investigating on Wednesday evenings in our series
entitled, "The Ministry of Restoration."
Tonight we come to our fourth week.
Why is restoration so important? Why
must we be involved in the ministry of recovery?
We learned from II Cor 5 that we have been given the ministry of
Reconciliation. And according to Gal
6:1, we are to take the initiative when we see a fallen fellow-Christian.
Last week we learned about the process of restoration by looking at
Jesus' example of restoring fallen Peter, in John 21. The
Ministry of Restoration--Romans 15:1-3
There are times in the church when we disagree.
Christians are not clones. We
have differences in background, personalities, and tastes.
At times we'll have differences of opinion.
And when that happens, some Christians become paralyzed by the
differences. They lose their
effectiveness for Christ.
How do you help a fellow-Christian who may disagree with you?
How do you restore a brother whose opinion happens to differ with yours?
We find out in Romans 15.
READ Rom 15:1-3 Background/Setting: Romans
14-15 When Christians Disagree
A. The People
1. Jewish Christians
2. Gentile Christians
B. The Disagreement
1. Special Diets (14:2)
2. Special Days (14:5-6) I.
The Individuals (1)
A. The Strong
=those not enslaved to diets and days
B. The Weak
=immature believers who felt obligated to obey legalistic rules
(Wiersbe, 558)
Key: The person who lives by
extra-biblical rules is the "weak" Christian. II.
The Responsibilities (2)
A. All of us are to
"receive one another" (14:1; 15:7).
B. The strong are to bear
with the failings of the weak. III.
The Reason (3)
*Be like Christ. Background/Setting: Rom
14-15 When Christians Disagree (Wiersbe)
What should we do when we disagree over issues not addressed in
Scripture? Christians come out of
different backgrounds. This was very
true in
A. The People
1. Jewish Christians--grew up
with Judaism
2. Gentile Christians--grew
up with raw paganism
The Jews were saved out of a strict, legalistic background.
It was not easy for them to forget this after they were saved.
Two areas were very important to the Jews.
This was the heart of the disagreement.
B. The Disagreement
1. Special Diets (14:2)
The Jews had tremendous, detailed dietary laws.
They had lists of rules on what you could eat, when you could eat, even
how you could eat. After they became
Christians, they had trouble dropping these rules.
Some Jewish Christians even thought it was a sin to eat meat, so they ate
only vegetables. Others couldn't
bear the thought of eating meat bought at a market place which sold meat offered
to pagan idols.
You can understand their position, can't you?
But can you also understand how the Gentile Christians felt?
"Meat is meat! Why NOT
eat the meat bought at Jupiters' Butcher? It's
the best meat in town! We don't
believe in the false god it was offered to, so what's the problem?"
2. Special Days (14:5-6)
The Jews had an elaborate list of "holy" days on their
calendar. Special days were sacred.
Especially the sabbath. They
had a long list of rules (non-biblical) about how to behave on the sabbath.
You don't cook on the sabbath. You
don't walk more than 1/2 (?) a mile on the sabbath.
The Gentiles had no such convictions.
So what should a church do that has two groups that have such different
opinions/convictions? Briscoe (245),
"One solution would have been simply to put the conservatives in one group
and the liberals in another and keep them away from each other."
But Christ didn't say He would build His "churches" but His
Church, singular. Unity in
diversity.
What's the biblical way to handle such a dilemma?
Key: We're talking about
"gray areas." Some
activities we know are right because the Bible commands them (worship, giving,
love, taking care of parents). Others
we know are wrong because the Bible condemns them (gossip, immorality,
stealing). Romans 14-15 has to do
with issues NOT clearly defined in Scripture.
Objection: "Do we have
issues like that today?"
eg--Studying on Sunday (playing ball)
eg--Clapping in church worship (raising hands)
eg--Clothing styles
eg--Going to church at 10:30 and 6:00 on Sunday (why not Saturday at 6:00
and Sunday at 10:00; or only Sunday PM?)
How should we deal with issues of disagreement in the church?
How do we do "recovery work" when there are divergent opinions? I.
The Individuals (1)
A. The Strong
Who are the strong Christians?
=those not enslaved to diets and days
B. The Weak
=immature believers who felt obligated to obey legalistic rules
Key: The person who lives by
extra-biblical rules is the "weak" Christian.
Wiersbe offers this insight (558), "Many people have the idea that
the Christians who follow strict rules are the most mature, but this is not
necessarily the case. In the Roman
assemblies, the weak Christians were those who clung to the Law and did not
enjoy their freedom in Christ."
Here was the problem. The
"weak" Jewish brothers condemned the Gentiles brothers ("How can
you do THAT?"). The Gentiles
despised their Jewish brothers ("Don't be a stick in the mud!
Get with the times!").
Contemporary parallel: "I
don't see how you can come to Wednesday PM church without a tie on.
Good Christians wear a tie when they come to church."
Response, "Oh, don't be old-fashioned!"
What's the biblical way to work through this? II.
The Responsibilities (2)
A. All of us are to
"receive one another" (14:1; 15:7). 14:1
"Receive" 15:7
"Receive one another"
Discuss: What does that mean?
Practically, it means we are not to "judge" each other in
matters of personal preference (14:1, 10, 13).
I have no right to "play God" in your life.
We are to defer our rights. We
are not to let personal preferences be more important than the good of the
church (14:20-21).
Did you realize there was a time when some dedicated Christians were
opposed to Christian radio? Why?
Because Satan is the prince of the power of the air! (Wiersbe, 559)
Charles Spurgeon and Joseph Parker were great preachers of the gospel in
Ok, we are to receive each other. But
the difference still exists. It's a
barrier. So now what?
B. The strong are to bear
with the failings of the weak. 15:1
"The strong are to bear the infirmities of the weak"
Who is to take the initiative? The
strong.
Listen. Some of the things we
do in church are based on tradition, not Scripture.
Like what?
eg--organ music; passing offering plates; preaching behind a pulpit
Does that mean these things are not important?
No. They are very important
to some people.
Discuss: What are strong
Christians to do when there are areas of difference?
See V 2--I must focus on what is good for my brother, not myself.
I must aim to please my brother, not myself.
Unity takes work (14:19).
Key: I must not let personal
preferences be more important than the work of God in the church (14:20-21).
Why is it so important? V 3 III.
The Reason (3)
*Be like Christ.
Our Goal: Vv 5-6
Seek unity so God will be glorified in and through us. |