Grow With Pastor Joe

The whole point of Christian liberty and living is to look to the Lord Jesus Christ to behold His grace and glory in the gospel. As Paul finishes off this major section on Christian liberty, he reminds us that the point of focus of our individual liberty is the corporate good of the church (both weak and strong) and the glory of Christ. When we make Christ the preeminent and dominant focus of our life and liberty in Him, then we can live liberated and united as the Body of Christ for the glory of Christ. Galatians 5:1, 13 says, “¹Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. ¹³ For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.” Our liberty is to be enjoyed, but not at the expense of others. Our liberty in Christ is the freedom to serve others and the Lord with a deep love that the work of grace produces in our hearts. Notice with the above verses and our study of Romans that we must go back to the key to all theological and practical Christian truths in Rom. 11:36 which says, “³⁶ For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” The life and liberty of the believer is “of Him, and through Him, and to Him.” This means that the focus of Christian liberty is not the Christian, but Christ in all of His infinite grace and glory.

            As Paul closes this section, he is summarizing the whole explanation and exercise of Christian liberty while emphasizing that our liberty is to be used for the good of others and the glory of Christ. In this passage and further into Romans 15, Paul develops the key idea of the hope that each believer has in Christ and can the hope they can live with. This may seem like an odd combination or transition but hope and liberty go hand in hand. The hope of all believers is that Christ has united us together in Christ (Jew/Gentile or Weak/Strong) and our expected hope of Christ’s coming will eliminate anymore unnecessary disagreements, disruptions, or disasters in the fellowship of believers. The hope that the believer has in Christ is fixated on the perfect promises of His past, present, and future work being accomplished for, in, and through us. With this in mind, our hope in Christ should keep us humble enough to exercise our liberty rightly for the good of others, especially the weaker brothers and sisters in Christ so that Jesus would be glorified in His Church. Today, we will finish this section on Christian liberty by examining Rom. 15:4-7 which says, “⁴ For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. ⁵ Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: ⁶ That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁷ Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.” Christian liberty is explained and must be exercised in light of the word, work, and will of God. As we close this issue of Christian liberty, we will see in this summarizing passage that we must fix our eyes not so much on our liberty, but on the Lord of liberty if we are to live for the good of the local church and the eternal glory of Christ.

            First, we must see our liberty and the word of God. Rom. 15:4 says, “⁴ For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” In the previous verse, Paul quotes Psalm 69:7-9 as he shows that Christ is the example to live for the sake of others and the glory of God. The Lord Jesus had the right to please himself, but in His incarnation humbled Himself to live as a servant as a man to do the will of God in the world. The liberty of the Christian must be learned and lived according to the Bible. While not all of the Bible was written to us it was written for us. Nothing could be more presently relevant to all of life than the word of God. Notice that Paul includes all of the scriptures together here. He isn’t unhitching from the Old Testament but rather showing that all of scripture is for all Christians for all times. Isa. 40:8 says, “⁸ The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” Later, Paul writes in 2 Tim. 3:14-17, “¹⁴ But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; ¹⁵ And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: ¹⁷ That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” The whole counsel of God is focused on the gospel, grace, and glory of Christ. Though hidden behind a dark veil in the Old Testament, now in the New Testament in Christ we see Him clearly in the word of God. From cover to cover, the Bible that you are holding holds up Christ for all to see. Our liberty should do the same which is why we must see our liberty according to the Bible. The Bible was written to reveal to us who God is, what God is like, what He has done, is doing, and will do. All of this is most fully seen in the person and work of Christ, but we can’t know His person or work outside of the scriptures. The whole Bible is to teach us and transform us from the inside out. There are two things we must see with our liberty and the word of God.

One, the Bible is written for our learning. To live in the liberty that Christ has given we must learn what that liberty really is. You can’t live what you don’t learn, but whatever you learn is what you’ll live. The Bible enlightens us to our liberty in Christ as we have seen in this study and the many other passages that have been referenced. In the scriptures, our liberty is explained so that we can rightly, humbly, and faithfully exercise it for the good of God’s people and the ascribing of God’s glory. Everything in the word of God was written “for our learning.” The word learning is the word “didaskalia” which means instruction of doctrine used to renew our minds. This is something that must be taught and caught. It is elementary that we must learn in order to live. However, this learning is not merely an academic or intellectual ascent. It is brought about by the work of the Holy Spirit as the scriptures are preached, taught, read, and pondered by believers. Yes, learning is for the obtaining of information, but the purpose is for transformation. As we learn the word of God our eyes are opened to the gospel, grace, and glory of Jesus Christ. To walk in our liberty, we must live in the word of God to learn what it means to be free in Christ.

Two, the Bible is written for our living. This has already been touched on but notice the next phrase in the verse. “that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” The word of God isn’t just how you learn about liberty it is how you live out your liberty. The Bible is the most applicable and practical book for the believer. Yes, by it, we learn about the patience, comfort, and hope that Christ offers; however, the truth that is learned in our head must then be lived out in our hearts and hands. It should transform us from the inside out so that we would practically live with the patience, comfort, and hope of Christ. We see that all three of these gifts are not obtained any other way, but by the scriptures. It is no wonder that so many believers today don’t live with these virtues of the liberated Christian. Through the word of God, we are strengthened to suffer and be sustained through minor disagreements with brothers or deal with major disasters in life. The word of God is sufficient for every need (2 Pet. 1). By the scriptures we are enlightened of our liberty, but we are also enabled to have endurance and encouragement in our daily life. The word patience is the word “hupomone” which comes from the word “hupo” meaning under and “meno” meaning abide or remain. So, Biblical patience in the scriptures is the ability to remain or abide under the circumstances of life and continue onward. It is the idea of patient persistence and perseverance of faith. Remember, all of scripture gives us countless examples of this to encourage us to endure as others in the faith have done (See Heb. 11). Some examples of this would be Joseph, Job, and Daniel who each endured deep suffering and persecution, yet they endured in faith by trusting in God who is faithful to His word. Other examples like Noah and Abraham took God at His word and faithfully endured. Then, we see the word “comfort” which is the word “paraklesis” which means to come alongside to comfort or console (also seen in the ministry of the Holy Spirit through the scriptures in John 14:25-26). What can comfort the troubled soul like the truth of the scripture? The timeless transformational truth of the Bible comforts our hearts giving strength to endure together in the faith and fellowship of Christ. The endurance and encouragement that the scriptures give is seen in the phrase that we “might have hope.” The word hope is the word “elpis” which is an assured expectation of a future fulfilment or realization. This is not wishful thinking; this is confident expectation. Paul has dealt with hope in other places in Romans, but look at what he says in Rom. 5:1-5 which says, “¹Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: ² By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. ³ And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; ⁴ And patience, experience; and experience, hope: ⁵ And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” Our confidence is in the gospel, grace, and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our confidence of hope is in the cross of Christ in which we glory in. We have been eternally united to Christ and His Church. Therefore, our hope is that all of these petty distractions and disagreements will soon disappear. They get smaller the bigger Christ becomes to us. Without the word of God we can never learn to live in liberty for the good of others or glory of Christ. Jesus said in John 8:32, “³² And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Hallelujah!

            Second, we must see our liberty and the work of God. It is critical to understand that God’s word and work always go together. Truly, the word, work, and will of God is the three strand chord of grace in the life of the believers. Rom. 15:5 says, “⁵ Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:” It is the work of God that gives us unity with Christ and one another. This is God’s great goal for His own that we would be a united church focused on the glory of Christ alone. The verse opens up with the idea of the previous verse being rooted in God. It is God who bestows patience, comfort, and like-mindedness. God enables unity through the enlightenment, endurance, and encouragement of the word of God. God works through His word to grow us in the grace and knowledge of Christ so that we may walk in liberty in union with one another, including our weaker brother. Christian unity is essential. God creates it and calls us to cultivate it through humility and love. God mandates it but it must be maintained through the right exercise of our liberty. In this verse, Paul prays that God would work through His word to unite the believers together in fixing their eyes not on their disagreements on liberty but fixing their eyes on Christ. There is a key word in this verse. The word “grant” shows us that our life, liberty, and unity in Christ is a gift of grace (See Rom. 12:3-8; Eph. 2-4). We see the work of God is able to have us live in liberty and unity at the same time (See Phil. 2:1-11). It is the work of God that unites both the weaker and stronger believers in the same message, mission, and motivation of the gospel, grace, and glory of Christ. When the work of God becomes primary, then our secondary differences will truly be secondary. When the gospel is primary then my preferences aren’t. When God’s grace is our strength then it can’t be my own. When God’s glory is the primary and preeminent focus of the church then we won’t try to look bigger or better than our brother. It is the work of God that gave us liberty and unity; therefore, it is the work of God that will empower both.

            Third, we must see our liberty and the will of God. God’s will includes all of His designs, decrees, and desires. It is God’s will for each believer to be enlightened to enjoy their liberty in Christ. It is God’s will that we would use our liberty for the good of others, furtherance of the gospel, and the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Rom. 15:6-7 says, “⁶ That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁷ Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.” The whole point of Christian liberty is not for you to glory in how free you are to eat or drink, but to glory in the Lord who made you free. It is for His glory alone! God isn’t glorified by grumblers and gripers. Our nitpicking of each other of foolish preferences only grieves the Spirt, hurts our unity, and hinders the work of the gospel in our community. The will of God for His church is that we’d get over ourselves and never get over the gospel, grace, and glory of Christ. We are many members but should have one mind, one mouth, and one mission: the gospel, grace, and glory of Jesus Christ! We must use our liberty to live in unity and unanimity according to the word, work, and will of God for us. The glory of Jesus Christ is at stake. Can we not get over our petty squabbles and temptation to assert dominance over weaker brothers? When division comes in the church, the church cannot function for its ultimate purpose which is the worship of Jesus Christ. We’ll be too busy to battle each other if we learn to be worshippers of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we are united and singularly focus on Jesus we can’t help but be united to and loving of one another. Notice the relationship though of our mind and mouth. Whatever is in your mind will eventually be in your mouth. When our mind is renewed by the word and work of God, then our mouth can proclaim the will of God which is the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Keep Jesus on your mind if you want to keep Him in your mouth. These two verses summarize the entirety of Christian liberty, both in explanation and exercise. We are to “receive ye one another as Christ also received us to the glory of God.” The gospel and grace of Jesus liberated us to the glory of God. Now, by the grace of Jesus we can walk in the liberty that He has given so that we may do God’s will which is to live in unity for the good of others and live for the unending glory of Jesus Christ. We are to receive one another which is the word “proslombano.” This takes us back to Rom. 14:1. The word receive means to take toward oneself or grasp for oneself. So, we are to gladly and graciously grab hold of one another, not to gain control, but to embrace our brethren as Christ has embraced us. It is all by grace, love, and humility. Truly those three things have been the thrust of Rom. 12-15 so far for the practical life of the believer. How have we been received by Christ? Not by merit, but by mercy. The only merit we have to be accepted and be acceptable is the merit of Christ on our behalf. It is all of and through His grace to the praise of His glory. The will of God for our life as brothers and sisters in Christ is to live freely to His glory. We have been liberated by the Lord of liberty to walk in liberty and love for the good of others and the glory of Jesus Christ.

            How do we sum up seven weeks of preaching? The whole issue of Christian liberty comes down to this question. Is this for my glory or His? All of life comes down to that. Is this “of Him, through Him, to Him” or is this of me, through me, and to me? All of the life and liberty of the believer is focused on the glory of Christ. When we fix our hearts and eyes on Him then we won’t be so easily offended by others, nor will we so easily offend. The issues of exercising our Christian liberty in relation to one another comes back to our relationship with Christ. Does my life honor Him? My thoughts? My words? My everything? May we be more in love with the Lord of liberty than we are with ourselves.