Grow With Pastor Joe

I like what I like, and you like what you like. We don’t always like the same thing, so can we still like each other? If we love someone with a true biblical love, we are able to love them even when they don’t like everything exactly as we do. Now, as we have covered in Rom. 14, there are some non-negotiables. However, what Paul is dealing with in this section of Romans is the liberty that the Christian has in some “non-essential” matters of preference or doubtful things in the practical daily life of the believer. Paul is dealing with weak and strong believers NOT right and wrong believers. If we are honest, many times our personal preferences cause our hearts to swell up in believing that we are stronger than others because of what we can either enjoy or what we choose to avoid altogether. In this passage we see that both the “weaker” and “stronger” brother both held to their preferential convictions “unto the Lord.” That’s the key. Neither were “right” or “wrong.” However, they had both made themselves weaker by putting their preferences above the preeminence of Christ. They had fallen into the trap of losing a love for their brethren because they loved their preferences more. We want people to have the same preferences and convictions as we do so that we don’t have to really work so hard at loving, forgiving, or forbearing them. We don’t want to be challenged so it’s easier to have everyone conform to our image and likeness instead of Christ’s.

            As long as we have breath in our lungs and still have on this flesh, we will have disagreements with brothers and sisters in Christ. Differences are not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes they are a good thing if there is major doctrinal error or sin. However, within this passage, we see that the disputes weren’t dealing with sin or moral issues. Rather, the issue at hand was that minor differences weren’t being discussed and held up to the light of Christ. There was no forbearance. There was confusion and condemnation of other believers. Do we not realize that our differences and disputes will disappear at death? They will be dispelled before Christ as we enter eternity together. We won’t care anymore in eternity about these petty squabbles we have on earth. Christ will set both the weaker and stronger straight. He will unite us to Himself and one another forever without any further debates about our differences. As we have seen in the previous chapter of Romans, Christ is coming, and He is coming in judgment, power, and authority. Therefore, our lives should be lived in light of His coming and the judgment that awaits.

            There was a time when even non-Christians could recite (or at least paraphrase) John 3:16. Now, many Christians can’t do it. Strangely though, it seems that everyone can quote Matthew 7:1-6; well at least the first two words, “JUDGE NOT!” They don’t know the rest of the first verse, let alone the other five verses that actually instruct us on how and why we are to judge things (especially doctrinal and sinful things). People have said foolish things like, “Only God can judge me.” While it is somewhat true, it is foolish to think that the judgment of God for a sinner is something to cling to. It will actually be the eternal damnation of many. The fact that God is going to judge you should scare the daylights out of you if you don’t know Christ. The reality is that all of us are judgmental. We make judgments every day. What we eat, wear, go, say, do, etc. We must make judgments over doctrinal and sin issues, but we are commanded in today’s passage in Rom. 14:9-12 to not pass judgment on our brother over doubtful issues. Making judgments and passing judgments are two different things. We make judgments as a stoplight changes from green, to yellow, to red. We pass judgments when we see the homeless man with the cardboard sign standing in the intersection. Romans 14:9-12 says, “⁹ For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. ¹⁰ But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. ¹¹ For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. ¹² So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” We are commanded in the scripture to not make haphazard judgments when it comes to gospel doctrine. Furthermore, we are not to be hypercritical or hypocritical in passing judgments on preferential issues that often divide us from our brothers and sisters in Christ. Today, we are going to see the problems of our judgment, the preeminence of His judgment, and the promise of the coming judgment so that we may learn to live in the liberty that Christ “has set us free” (Gal.5:1) .

            First, we must see the problem of our judgment. Isn’t it interesting that we rarely think that our thinking is wrong or that our judgment is incorrect. We love being right. Frankly I love being right too much. We love saying, “I was right, and you were wrong,” or the good ol’ “See, I told ya so!” The problem of our judgment when it comes to this passage is that from Rom. 14:1-12 we see the theme that problems arise when our preferences become preeminent instead of Christ. In the early church, Paul is dealing with believers who come from Jewish and Gentile backgrounds which impacted their beliefs and behavior of either avoiding certain foods or festivals, acceptance of brethren with disagreements on practical matters, and associating with those who were “weaker” in their Christian liberty through liberalism or legalism. How quickly we forget grace. The believers that Paul is writing to had begun to discount, discard, and dismiss fellow believers that “God hath received” (V.3). Because God has gladly and graciously received them in Christ, so should and must we. We are far too quick to dismiss someone as either a liberal or a legalist. Our preferences make us presumptuous in believing that we are the stronger, more mature brother because of what we either accept, associate with, or avoid. The issues of Christian liberty and fellowship come down to the problem of authority. All doctrinal and practical struggles in the Christian life come down to this. Either Christ has all authority, or I have some too. As we clearly seen throughout Rom. 12-14, Christ has all authority and ability to redeem, rule, and reign over His own. He is good at being God because that’s who He is. Jesus Christ is Lord who holds all authority. You and I are not in a position of power over our relatives in Christ. We are our brother’s keeper, but not his judge, jury, or executioner. We don’t hold authority over one another, but we are all under the authority of Christ being held accountable to Christ and His Church. We are not in the position of sitting on the throne of judgment. It has one seat and you and I aren’t in it. Christ alone is. Nor do we have the power or purity to judge. I’m not in the position of authority, but I don’t have the power or purity to be able to righteously rule in judgment over others. I can’t even keep myself straight; what makes me think that it is my job or that it is in my wheelhouse to straighten out others with whom I disagree. Here in the passage, we are told that passing judgment on our brother assumes authority over them and announces judgment from our own set of law books. Both you and your brother will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, but neither of us will ever sit on it. We don’t have the authority or ability to do so, both now, and in eternity. When we pass judgment on others according to our own standards, convictions, or preferences we pretend that we know the thoughts and intents of our brother. We have enough discernment (or at least should) to see if there is deep doctrinal or sinful error; however, we can’t peer into the dark recesses of their heart. We see the outside, but God sees the inside (1 Sam. 16:7; Heb. 4:11-13). You can’t even discern the thoughts and intentions of your own sinful heart (Jer. 17:9). Get off your throne and give your brother a bone of grace! Stop being hypercritical and hypocritical. By the way, I’m preaching to myself here. I love judging people. So do you. It is time though that we love the Lord and our brethren more than we love our own personal preferences. Extend grace with humility to your brother in Christ.

            Second, we must see the preeminence of His judgment. Once we see that we are not in the position or have the power to judge rightly, then we must humbly bow before the preeminent Christ who sits upon the eternal throne where He alone executes righteous judgment. Today’s section covers this thought that Christ is the one who will judge His own. His preeminence prevails over all of our preferences and at His throne our preferences must bow. Jesus Christ was executed and exalted so that He may execute judgment over believers and non-believers alike. All will and must stand before His throne. There are a couple of things we must note about the preeminence of His judgment. One, notice His right to judge. Clearly, we don’t have the right, and we can’t even do it right; however, Christ has the right to rule and judge the nations. It the gospel, grace, and glory of Jesus Christ that gives Him the right to judge the living and the dead. He has all authority and ability to judge because of His atoning work for sinners. His atoning work is the grounds for His authority and ability to judge the living and the dead. The gospel is the grounds for the believer’s justification, judgment, and joy in Christ. No man can be justified apart from Christ, and all will be judged by Christ, but the believer can have joy in our eternal judge because He is our eternal savior as well. He is no longer my prosecutor, but He is my advocate, defense, evidence, and judge who has already judged my sins in His own body on the cross of Calvary. Because Jesus “died, and rose, and revived,” (V.9). He is exalted in Heaven to execute judgment over all things. Everything falls under His jurisdiction and law books. Two, notice His ruling as judge. He has never made a bad decision or ruling. He can’t. He hasn’t. He won’t. All that He is and does is right and just. Psalm 96:9-13 says, “⁹ O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth. ¹⁰ Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously. ¹¹ Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. ¹² Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice ¹³ Before the Lord: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.” All things are under His authority and will be held accountable before Him. His rulings will be done in righteousness and truth. He is a wonderful savior, Lord, and judge. He will judge and reward both the wicked and righteous (Rev. 5; 19-20). More of this can be seen in Isa. 45:22-25, but perhaps most familiarly in Philippians 2:1-11. Jesus’ active and passive obedience in life and death has exalted Him to be the Lord in death and life to execute judgment over the living and dead. The Lord’s judgment is preeminent. It is supreme and sufficient. When we pass judgment on our fellow believers, we are trying to dethrone Christ and sit with our own authority and ability and pronounce judgment over our brother’s preferences. How foolish and faithless!

            Third, we must see the promise of coming judgment. Hebrews 9:27-28 states, “²⁷ And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: ²⁸ So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” I include verse 28 to remind believers that though we will face physical death if the Lord tarries, yet our judgment is not over our salvation, but rather our service. Our sins have been paid for as He bore them in Himself. Now, we look unto Him awaiting His soon return to judge and rule the world. It is a promise of God that all will stand before Him, but if you haven’t trusted Christ then you will stand before Him guilty without hope for grace. Grace can only be received in the gospel in this present time. There is coming a day when all will stand before Him in His glory as He sits upon His throne executing judgment upon every soul. If you are saved, then you are secured in Christ, but you too will still stand before Him for your service to Him. To “stand before” is in the future tense meaning judgment is coming. It is a promise with a guaranteed appointment that no one can evade. To stand before someone is to stand and yield to their disposal of judgment or verdict. That’s precisely what it means to stand before the throne of Christ’s judgment. Notice the phrase in the passage, “judgment seat of Christ.” This judgment seat is the word “bema” which was an ancient platform for rendering judgment in legal cases or athletic events. In both cases, a reward or wage is given for what has been earned. Those who know Christ can rest knowing that their sins have been judged at the cross, but we must remember that at the Bema seat of Christ we must still face review for our life to either receive reward or lose rewards. The believer has no need to fear losing salvation, but we should grieve over the loss of reward because of our own disobedience in this life. This particular place of judgment is for believers only (2 Cor. 5:9-11). It is for the saints to receive rewards for their service to Christ. This is where our intentions and works of the flesh or of faith will be reviewed. Either it will burn up as “wood, hay, and stubble” (1 Cor. 3: 9-15). When will this take place? It is a future judgment that we must all face. It will occur after the rapture (resurrection of dead in Christ first – see 1 Thss. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15) and the return of Christ to rule and reign in the Millennial Kingdom upon His second coming after the Tribulation period. Each person in Christ has the privilege to enter the Kingdom with Christ at His second coming after the Tribulation; however, not all will enjoy the same rewards entrusted to them. Much of the rewards given to believers will be focused on the coming Kingdom and will be enjoyed by exercising dominion in the coming Kingdom (See Isa. 11-12; 1 Cor. 6:3; Eph. 1-2; 2 Tim. 2:11-13; Rev. 19-22). With this in mind, the promise of a coming judgment should convict us and comfort us. If we are in Christ there is the comfort of knowing that I will enter into His Kingdom and enjoy His eternal presence. There is also though the conviction knowing that “every one of us shall give account of himself to God. (V.12).” One day I will stand before Him and give account for my service to Him. Nothing is more humbling than that. But remember, on that day that is promised for us all, we will not worry about our brother’s preferences or the differences that divide us when we stand before Christ. It is better for us to see our works of wood, hay and stubble burned up at the Bema seat judgment for believers than to stand at the Great White Throne Judgment (those without Christ – Rev. 20) with a lifetime of self-righteousness to cling to.

            As we bring this section to a close, we must remember that there is a promised judgment to come for all whether they are lost or saved. Everyone will stand before the throne of God one day and will either enter into His glorious presence by His grace or will enter into an eternal flame clothed in guilt. Have you been justified by the blood of Christ? If so, then hallelujah! If not, repent and believe the gospel because it is the very grounds for your justification and coming judgment. We must live in light of not just the promise of judgment but the fact that Christ’s judgment is preeminent. He is sovereign and supreme. He will rule and judge righteously. Who can stand before Him? Make sure that in your Christian liberty that you submit your personal preferences to the preeminence of Christ so that you would not so easily offend your brethren or be offended by the personal preferences and convictions. Maybe you have been passing judgment and dismissing or disassociating with a true brother or sister. Now is the time to get that right with God and them. Who are you and who am I that we would usurp authority and pass judgment over our brethren who are growing in grace unto the Lord. You will give account for you. Worry about you. Pray for your brother, but make sure that you have a surrendered heart to Christ so that you may experience and extend His grace through your Christian liberty to freely serve the Lord Jesus Christ today, and forevermore.