The Bible tells us
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It says to
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Join us now for the
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Our study today is
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The book of Romans.
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And we welcome you once again
to 3ABN's Sabbath School Panel.
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My name is C. A. Murray, and
it my privilege and pleasure to
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welcome you with some amount
of sadness to what has been a
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wonderful study in
the book of Romans.
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We come now to the last of
our studies in this wonderful,
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God breathed, God blessed book.
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And we invite you again to join
us, because we've got a lot to
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talk about as Paul continues
in his pivot from a purely
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theological treatise to the
practicality of being Christians
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and walking in the love
and way of Christ Jesus.
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We've got a
wonderful panel with us today.
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And I'm happy to
introduce Ms. Mollie Steenson,
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Pastor John Lomacang, Shelley
Quinn, and Jill Morikone.
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And we've been
studying together.
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And the Lord has
blessed us to all be together
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for most of this study.
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Many times with people who
have different things to do;
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people are in, people are
out, but we've been able to be
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together for the most
part, for most of this study.
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And God has shown us
some wonderful things.
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We sort of fed
off of each other.
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And sometimes we've even called
during the night season to kind
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of make sure
everybody's on the same page.
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And we found that by the grace
of the Holy Spirit that we have
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on the same page as we
study the Word of God together.
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And it is my prayer, and my
hope that you have been blessed
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in studying this book.
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And may I encourage you to
take some time apart from the
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Sabbath School Lesson
to go back and walk through
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the book of Romans.
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It will
establish, and re-establish,
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and reaffirm
your faith in Jesus.
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It will free you from some
things, maybe, that have been
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going in your mind as to
how to get right with God,
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as to how to stay right with
God, as to work and labor in the
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cause of God, as to
legalism and righteousness,
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as to grace and
faith, and justification and
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sanctification, and then finally
how to walk with your brothers
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and sisters in Jesus Christ.
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So take some time
and revisit this book.
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It will do you
good, and I guarantee you,
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you will be blessed.
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Pastor John, my friend
of, Oh, I hesitate to say,
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forty plus years. Would you
please open up this particular
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seating in prayer for us?
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Sure. Loving Father in
Heaven, what a blessing it is
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to open your Word.
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We pray that You open
our hearts and our minds.
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Those who are watching
and listening to this program,
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we pray that You'll connect
us by the power and the presence
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of Your Holy Spirit, and bring
these written words to life
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that they may affect the
way that we live, and the way we
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reflect Your righteousness.
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In Jesus' name, Amen.
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Amen! We are dealing with
the subject of Christian Living
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today, Christian Living.
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And let us read Romans 14:10.
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Before we do that I'm remiss,
I forgot to do something.
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Let me take
care of it right now.
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Hopefully, you have an
adult Bible Study Guide.
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If you do not, there are two
ways that you can obtain one:
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One, you can go to your nearest
Seventh-day Adventist church.
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And we'd like you
to do that actually;
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to visit your closest
Seventh-day Adventist church
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and ask them for one.
00:03:36.44\00:03:38.61
And they would be more
than happy to get one to you.
00:03:38.65\00:03:41.52
Or you can go to
your computer and go to
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And you can
download one for yourself.
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I like to have things in
paper so that I can write,
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and make notes and
that kind of thing.
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I'm not a Kindle guy, because
you can't write on your Kindle
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like you can on
a piece of paper.
00:04:04.24\00:04:05.64
So if you can do that you
can join us for this study,
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and for future studies, because
we're going to be here a long
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time doing the work
of God, and studying the
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Sabbath School lesson together.
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On the Saturday portion
we're dealing, as I mentioned,
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with the idea of
Christian living.
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And we've read
the text together.
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Have we not? We have not, okay.
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I've read it. Let's read it
together, it's Romans 14:10.
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The Bible says: Why dost thou
judge thy brother? or why dost
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thou set at naught thy brother?
for we shall all stand before
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the judgment seat of Christ.
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A wonderful text. And there's
a couple of things I want to
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deal with from that.
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I want to read that particular
text from the Amplified Version.
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It says: But you, why do
you criticize your brother?
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or you again, why do you look
down on your believing brother
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or regard him with contempt?
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For we shall all stand
before the judgment seat of God.
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And then there has been
added: Who alone is judged?
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So we get a little different
flavor in looking at this
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through the Amplified.
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A couple of words that I want
to just hone in on here from
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Romans 14:10, and then we'll
move out into our overview of
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this particular lesson.
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The word judge is
krino in the Greek.
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It deals with mentally or
judicially judging your brother.
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So it can be
used in a legal sense,
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in a law sense of judging him.
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But it is also, and perhaps this
is where Paul sort of leans to,
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mentally judging your brother.
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You look on your brother
and you see something you don't
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like, so you assign
them something in your mind.
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You are mentally judging.
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Well, I... No, she
can't be a Christian.
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A Christian would wear that,
or a Christian would do that.
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So you can
criticize, the Amplified says.
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And sometimes we are
wont to slip into that.
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And so Paul is saying now, As
a Christian that's something you
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need to shy away
from; don't judge.
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And he's not talking about
making a determination if he
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sees someone going into sin.
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That's a different thing.
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But he's saying,
Don't judge your brother.
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Don't pick at your brother.
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Don't pick away at
your brother or your sister.
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You know, sometimes we
have people, you do something in
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church, and sing beautifully,
or preach beautifully,
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and someone will find something
to sort of pull down at it.
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Well, the song was too loud,
or the rhythm was too fast,
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or the sermon was too long.
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You know, there are
things we can develop in
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our hearts to pick at.
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And he's saying, don't do that.
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Don't pick at your brother.
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Now, the reason we know that
it's talking about a believing
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brother is because the
word for brother is adelphos,
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from
Philadelphia, from your brother.
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So we're talking about
someone who is a loving
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brother in the
Lord; not a stranger,
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not someone
just passing through.
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These are people you know.
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These are people who are
walking the same way as you.
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Don't pick at your brother,
or your sister in Christ,
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your fellow believer.
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We need to encourage
our fellow believers.
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We need to hold them up.
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We need to lift
them up and not seek for
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ways to pull them down.
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I always tell people I don't
have a brand new automobile,
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but I know some people who
do, so I can ride with them,
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so I can rejoice with them.
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I don't need to pick
at them because I don't
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have a brand new car.
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I can ride with
them. Praise the Lord!
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So look for ways to rejoice
when your brother rejoices,
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and cry when your brother cries.
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You know, there's a story,
and I'll tell this very quickly.
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A fellow down the street passed,
and a mother was sitting on her
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porch with her little son.
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And the little son got off
his mother's lap and went down
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the street and sat
on the man's lap who was
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sitting out on his porch.
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And he stayed
there for a long time.
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And then he walked
back up to his house and sat
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on his mother's lap.
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And his mother said, Son, what
were you doing all that time?
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What were you saying?
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What were you doing with that?
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Were you talking with him?
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Were you encouraging him?
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And the little boy said,
No, I just helped him cry.
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You know, so you laugh with
your brother, you cry with your
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brother, you lift up your
brother, you hold your brother's
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hand, or your sister's
hand, and you provide what your
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brother and sister needs.
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You know, the truth is,
and I think you all know this,
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there are times when we can
be closer to our brothers and
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sisters in the Lord than
we are with our own family,
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because of the bond that
comes when you're walking
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in the same direction.
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So Paul's encouragement
here is lift your brother up.
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Do not tear your brother down.
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That's very, very important.
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Do not criticize. The lesson
goes on to say that this book,
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as we have talked about so many
times, was one of those books
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that was the foundation
for Martin Luther's study,
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and as such, became a foundation
for the Protestant Reformation.
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This idea that I don't
have to work my way to heaven,
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I don't have to
punish my way to heaven,
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and I don't have to
flagellate my way to heaven,
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I don't have to beg God, or take
pilgrimages, or do any number
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of things that the church
was suggesting that people do.
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I don't have to do that;
I simply have to believe,
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and come to Christ, and then
a whole series of things start
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and that follow
through from that belief,
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including justification,
including sanctification.
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Things that I cannot work my
way into, things that are a gift
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of God through grace,
through faith that He gives me.
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The lesson says that
Luther really wasn't the first
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to have these ideas.
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And the truth is you had people
as far back as Augustine in the
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300's, who had this idea
that maybe this idea of working
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your way into the
favor of God is wrong.
00:10:07.50\00:10:10.51
And, of course, we saw several
lessons ago that this idea that
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you can please God, or
work your way into His favor,
00:10:14.18\00:10:16.41
is at the heart or foundation
of all pagan religions.
00:10:16.44\00:10:20.02
So it is an anti-Christian
mindset that I have to work my
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way into the pleasure of God.
00:10:24.32\00:10:25.75
God so loved the
world that He gave.
00:10:25.79\00:10:28.49
We love Him
because He first loved us.
00:10:28.52\00:10:31.16
So we see that this idea
has been in the church for many,
00:10:31.23\00:10:36.60
many centuries, but it was
Martin Luther who codified it.
00:10:36.63\00:10:40.07
And, you know, the Axum is,
comes the man, comes the time.
00:10:40.10\00:10:44.31
Martin Luther, the
right man at the right time,
00:10:44.34\00:10:47.01
with the right
message, and it took fire.
00:10:47.04\00:10:48.94
There were those who preceded
him, and those who came after
00:10:48.98\00:10:51.15
him who gave more
energy to that fire.
00:10:51.21\00:10:55.68
But it was Martin Luther looking
at Johan Tetzel raising money
00:10:55.72\00:11:00.86
to build St. Peter's Basilica,
and doing other kinds of things,
00:11:00.89\00:11:04.03
and looking at the church,
and what the church was doing,
00:11:04.06\00:11:07.30
and said to himself, as
he read this wonderful book,
00:11:07.30\00:11:10.03
That cannot be right.
00:11:10.07\00:11:11.40
That cannot be the will of God.
00:11:11.43\00:11:12.77
He said, If any man ever
became holy through his monkery,
00:11:12.80\00:11:16.91
I would be that man.
00:11:16.97\00:11:18.31
But he realized that that's
not the way to please God.
00:11:18.34\00:11:21.04
That's not the way to
draw closer to the Lord.
00:11:21.08\00:11:22.98
So out of that, of those
times, came this idea that
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justification
is indeed by faith.
00:11:31.02\00:11:34.26
Of course, we rest all of
these principles on the idea of
00:11:34.29\00:11:37.83
sola scriptura, the
Bible and the Bible only.
00:11:37.86\00:11:41.23
The church in the counter
reformation came back with,
00:11:41.26\00:11:44.10
in the late 1550's or 50 and
60 with the idea that tradition
00:11:44.13\00:11:49.70
trumps Scripture, but the
Protestant foundation is that
00:11:49.74\00:11:53.91
nothing trumps the Word of
God, that we are sola scriptura;
00:11:53.94\00:11:58.08
the Bible and the Bible only.
00:11:58.11\00:12:01.05
The lesson says, and
I like this, Acts 16:30,
00:12:01.08\00:12:07.89
the whole thing can be
summarized by the pagan jailer's
00:12:07.92\00:12:12.26
question, What
must I do to be saved?
00:12:12.29\00:12:15.73
And the book of Romans, as
much as any New Testament book,
00:12:15.76\00:12:20.50
answers that
question thoroughly.
00:12:20.54\00:12:22.44
Everything that you need to know
to put into practice to be saved
00:12:22.47\00:12:27.34
is found in the book of Romans,
and is beautifully summed up,
00:12:27.38\00:12:32.21
and is beautifully said.
00:12:32.25\00:12:33.68
So now Paul rounds out
the Christian experience.
00:12:33.72\00:12:38.32
After he has given us
his theological understanding
00:12:38.35\00:12:42.86
he now gives us ways and
means to put that theology into
00:12:42.89\00:12:47.30
day-to-day practice.
00:12:47.36\00:12:48.86
1 John 1, I think it's Verse 7,
says, if we walk in the light,
00:12:48.90\00:12:54.90
as he is in the light,...
00:12:54.94\00:12:56.30
One of the things we
have, brothers and sisters,
00:12:56.34\00:13:00.88
is fellowship with one another.
00:13:00.91\00:13:02.41
So walking with Jesus
gives us fellowship as together
00:13:02.44\00:13:06.51
we walk in the light.
00:13:06.58\00:13:08.32
And that feeds back into
what Paul is saying here.
00:13:08.35\00:13:11.65
Once you understand the light,
and you walk in the light,
00:13:11.69\00:13:15.66
one of the things that you
have is a brand new family that
00:13:15.69\00:13:19.73
fellowships with you, and
the blood of Christ, of course,
00:13:19.76\00:13:22.46
cleanses us from all sin.
00:13:22.50\00:13:24.97
So we praise the Lord for that.
00:13:25.00\00:13:27.00
We move now into
Sunday, into Sunday's
00:13:27.04\00:13:31.64
lesson, Weak in the Faith.
00:13:31.67\00:13:34.48
In the church of God, as it
began its march through history,
00:13:34.51\00:13:42.12
there are a number of very
pragmatic day-to-day issues
00:13:42.15\00:13:46.52
that had to be dealt with.
00:13:46.55\00:13:47.89
We've been dealing
with them over this quarter:
00:13:47.92\00:13:50.96
circumcision, how
important is that?
00:13:50.99\00:13:53.76
Do we come to
Jesus through Judaism?
00:13:53.80\00:13:56.46
Do Jews, those Jewish laws
have to be superimposed on the
00:13:56.50\00:14:01.44
Christian life in order
for us to be acceptable by God?
00:14:01.47\00:14:04.11
So we find another little, dare
I say, wrinkle in the fabric
00:14:04.14\00:14:09.48
of the church, this idea of
meat being offered to idols.
00:14:09.51\00:14:14.75
And sometimes what can seem
like a very small thing to some
00:14:14.78\00:14:18.15
people, becomes a
big deal to other people.
00:14:18.22\00:14:20.86
And we have that
even in the church today.
00:14:20.89\00:14:23.43
So you have some who are,
Paul says, weak in the faith,
00:14:23.53\00:14:28.23
and others who are
strong in the faith.
00:14:28.26\00:14:30.43
Now weakness and strength does
not have to do with conservatism
00:14:30.47\00:14:34.20
or liberal, because what
is interesting about this
00:14:34.24\00:14:37.57
particular issue is that those
classed as weak in the faith,
00:14:37.61\00:14:41.71
are those who did not eat.
00:14:41.74\00:14:43.91
Now we would think
that the liberals are weak,
00:14:43.95\00:14:45.91
and the conservatives are
strong, but in this particular
00:14:45.95\00:14:48.52
issue it is just the reverse.
00:14:48.55\00:14:49.98
The conservatives are in one
category, and the liberals are
00:14:50.05\00:14:56.32
in another category, and it
is interesting that it is the
00:14:56.36\00:14:58.93
conservatives who
are considered weak.
00:14:58.96\00:15:01.43
Whether or not meat offered to
an idol is contaminated or not
00:15:01.50\00:15:08.00
is not really the issue.
00:15:08.04\00:15:10.24
The issue is that
there are those who are
00:15:10.31\00:15:12.74
stumbling over that.
00:15:12.77\00:15:14.18
There are those who
find that an obstacle.
00:15:14.21\00:15:17.68
So the Spiritual question
becomes, How do we treat those
00:15:17.71\00:15:22.22
who are stumbling
over this particular issue?
00:15:22.25\00:15:25.85
It may not be big for
you, but it's big for them.
00:15:25.89\00:15:29.59
So it's not a treatise
on clean or unclean meats.
00:15:29.62\00:15:33.26
We need to touch on that.
00:15:33.33\00:15:34.76
That we're not talking about
eating clean or unclean meats.
00:15:34.83\00:15:38.27
And the reason we know that
is because in the New Testament
00:15:38.30\00:15:40.90
in Acts 10:14 Peter
makes the statement, I've never
00:15:40.94\00:15:45.74
eaten anything unclean.
00:15:45.77\00:15:47.14
So the idea that the regulations
for clean and unclean were done
00:15:47.18\00:15:50.41
away with is not an issue here.
00:15:50.45\00:15:52.31
It is simply meats, clean meats,
that are offered to idols;
00:15:52.35\00:15:56.28
is this acceptable,
or is it not acceptable?
00:15:56.32\00:16:02.76
Again, on non-doctrinal,
non-salvific issues,
00:16:02.79\00:16:07.60
people can have their own
opinions, and should be allowed
00:16:07.66\00:16:12.30
to have their opinions,
and should be allowed time
00:16:12.33\00:16:15.07
to grow in the Lord.
00:16:15.10\00:16:16.84
A person who's been in the
church 20-30 years cannot expect
00:16:16.91\00:16:21.18
the same kind of maturity in
a person who's been in 20 or 30
00:16:21.21\00:16:24.55
months, or 20 or 30
days, as one who has been in
00:16:24.58\00:16:27.98
so very many years.
00:16:28.02\00:16:30.49
I could go on, and that would
be unfair, so I think I'll just
00:16:30.52\00:16:35.82
yield to you, Mollie, and
let you pick it up from there.
00:16:35.86\00:16:37.83
Okay, I pick up on Romans 14:10.
00:16:37.86\00:16:42.83
And the subject
that Paul is addressing,
00:16:42.86\00:16:46.07
as C. A. so aptly put, is
concerning what people eat,
00:16:46.10\00:16:51.51
and certain days that
they keep, and so forth.
00:16:51.54\00:16:55.08
But then Paul does
the most amazing thing.
00:16:55.11\00:16:57.41
He just makes a turn very
quickly, and all of a sudden
00:16:57.45\00:17:02.08
he's not talking about
what people eat and drink.
00:17:02.12\00:17:04.32
You know what
he's talking about?
00:17:04.35\00:17:05.69
judging, being judgmental.
00:17:05.72\00:17:08.39
So let's look
here in Romans 14:10.
00:17:08.42\00:17:11.09
This was our memory verse.
00:17:11.13\00:17:12.46
But why do you
judge your brother?...
00:17:12.49\00:17:15.13
And C. A. told us that means
criticize, or look down on.
00:17:15.16\00:17:19.63
...or why do you show contempt
for your brother? for we shall
00:17:19.67\00:17:22.74
all stand before the... what?
the judgment seat of Christ.
00:17:22.77\00:17:27.38
Now that's a fact. We
do all stand before the
00:17:27.41\00:17:30.45
judgment seat of Christ.
00:17:30.48\00:17:31.81
And as it is
appointed for men to die once,
00:17:33.31\00:17:37.59
but after this the
what? the judgment.
00:17:37.62\00:17:40.56
Nobody gets away from this.
00:17:40.59\00:17:43.06
Our quarterly states, We tend to
judge others harshly at times.
00:17:43.09\00:17:48.10
And often for the same
things that we do ourselves.
00:17:48.13\00:17:52.47
Have you ever heard, we
judge others by their actions,
00:17:52.50\00:17:58.21
and we judge
ourselves by our intentions.
00:17:58.24\00:18:01.54
What we do doesn't seem nearly
as bad to us as someone else
00:18:01.58\00:18:09.52
doing the exact same thing.
00:18:09.55\00:18:11.25
You know what
that is? hypocrisy.
00:18:11.29\00:18:14.29
That's hypocrisy.
00:18:14.32\00:18:15.66
We might fool ourselves,
but we aren't fooling God.
00:18:15.69\00:18:19.36
Turn to Matthew 7:1-4.
00:18:19.39\00:18:21.73
We're going to look at a
warning that God gives us.
00:18:21.76\00:18:25.57
He says, Judge not,
that you be not judged.
00:18:28.40\00:18:35.11
For with what judgment
you judge, you will be judged:
00:18:35.14\00:18:38.55
and with the measure you use,
it will be measured back to you.
00:18:38.58\00:18:41.62
And why do you look at
the speck in C. A.'s eye,
00:18:41.65\00:18:44.62
but do not consider the
plank that's in your own eye?
00:18:44.65\00:18:48.19
Or how can you say to your
brother, Let me remove that
00:18:48.22\00:18:52.16
speck, C. A., and look at the
plank that is in your own eye?
00:18:52.19\00:18:56.10
1 Corinthians 11:31.
00:18:56.13\00:18:59.93
You don't have to turn to it.
00:19:00.07\00:19:01.40
It's a short verse.
00:19:01.44\00:19:02.77
And I want to end with
this Scripture as well.
00:19:02.80\00:19:04.27
For if we would judge ourselves,
we would not be judged.
00:19:04.34\00:19:10.31
Now let me say that again.
00:19:10.38\00:19:11.71
If we judge ourselves,
then we wouldn't be judged.
00:19:11.75\00:19:14.62
Paul continues in Romans 14:11.
00:19:14.65\00:19:18.52
For it is written, As I live,
says the Lord, every knee shall
00:19:18.55\00:19:22.76
bow to Me, and every
tongue shall confess to God.
00:19:22.79\00:19:28.03
Paul is quoting the Old
Testament, Isaiah 45:23.
00:19:28.06\00:19:33.77
I have sworn by Myself, the
word has gone out of My mouth
00:19:33.84\00:19:38.21
in righteousness, and shall not
return, That to Me every knee
00:19:38.24\00:19:42.81
shall bow, and every
tongue shall take an oath.
00:19:42.84\00:19:46.05
Now when we're talking
about this knee bowing,
00:19:46.08\00:19:49.52
and oath taking;
tongues making an oath.
00:19:49.55\00:19:53.19
Where does that take place?
00:19:53.22\00:19:55.02
That's at the
judgment seat of Christ.
00:19:55.06\00:19:59.23
Where is every knee going to
bow? every tongue is going to
00:19:59.26\00:20:02.53
confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord.
00:20:02.56\00:20:04.97
That's at the
judgment seat of Christ.
00:20:05.00\00:20:07.20
Now Paul goes on to say in Verse
12, So then each of us shall
00:20:07.24\00:20:12.84
give account of himself to God.
00:20:12.87\00:20:15.04
Now remember, he's talking
about, Paul is talking about
00:20:15.08\00:20:19.41
unclean foods, and what we eat,
and what days we worship on.
00:20:19.45\00:20:25.09
He makes this veering
that says not to be judgmental,
00:20:25.12\00:20:29.56
and then he says that
we're going to all be before the
00:20:29.59\00:20:33.86
judgment seat of Christ.
00:20:33.90\00:20:35.36
And so then each of you
shall give account of who?
00:20:35.40\00:20:39.87
himself to God. We don't need
to give an account of ourselves
00:20:39.90\00:20:46.71
to anybody but God.
00:20:46.74\00:20:48.44
I'm going to say that again.
00:20:48.48\00:20:49.84
You don't need to give an
account of yourself to anybody
00:20:49.88\00:20:52.35
but God, but by the same token,
nor does anybody need to give
00:20:52.38\00:20:58.05
an account for
themselves to you.
00:20:58.09\00:21:00.26
We, nobody has, nobody needs
to give an account of themselves
00:21:00.29\00:21:05.56
to me; it's between you and God.
00:21:05.63\00:21:08.56
Where is it that each of us give
an account of ourselves to God?
00:21:08.60\00:21:13.23
Where's that going to be?
00:21:13.30\00:21:14.64
Again, it's at the
judgment seat of Christ.
00:21:14.67\00:21:17.61
Now we give an account for
ourselves, we don't give an
00:21:17.64\00:21:20.68
account for each other.
00:21:20.74\00:21:22.08
And I wrote this down: You will
not be able to get your Momma,
00:21:22.11\00:21:27.18
or your Pastor, or your
best friend to stand with you
00:21:27.22\00:21:31.45
at the judgment seat of Christ.
00:21:31.49\00:21:33.36
Nobody will give
an account for you.
00:21:33.42\00:21:36.49
Honey, you are on your own
when you're standing there.
00:21:36.52\00:21:39.33
Nobody can answer
for another's sin.
00:21:39.36\00:21:42.66
Nobody can give
an account for you.
00:21:42.70\00:21:45.97
You don't need to give an
account to anybody but God,
00:21:46.00\00:21:49.57
and nobody needs to
give an account for you.
00:21:49.60\00:21:52.34
We give an account
for ourselves to God.
00:21:52.37\00:21:55.04
Now we're in Romans 14:13.
00:21:55.08\00:21:58.05
Therefore... Now you
know when there's a therefore,
00:21:58.08\00:22:01.58
what do you do? you look
to see what it's there for.
00:22:01.62\00:22:05.02
Therefore because of
what I just told you,...
00:22:05.05\00:22:09.32
And what had he just told? what
had God just said? that we will
00:22:09.36\00:22:15.03
give an account for ourselves.
00:22:15.06\00:22:16.73
Therefore, because of what I
just told you, let us not judge
00:22:16.83\00:22:21.90
one another anymore.
00:22:21.94\00:22:24.07
Let's not be judgmental.
00:22:24.11\00:22:26.11
And, you know, Pastor, you made
it so clear, in judging I don't
00:22:26.14\00:22:29.78
have to verbalize that
judgment; it's just thinking it.
00:22:29.81\00:22:33.15
And we do that. Somebody
can walk into our congregation
00:22:33.18\00:22:38.55
and be dressed a
certain way, and we think, Oh,
00:22:38.59\00:22:41.56
and form an opinion.
00:22:41.59\00:22:43.63
Or we can watch them
eating and form an opinion,
00:22:43.69\00:22:48.56
and it's based on what we see.
00:22:48.60\00:22:51.67
Aren't we so glad that God
doesn't look at the outward?
00:22:51.70\00:22:55.07
What does God look at?
00:22:55.10\00:22:56.44
God looks at the heart.
00:22:56.47\00:22:57.81
And, see, things that I could
do, I'll say ten years ago,
00:22:57.84\00:23:03.75
God has put His
finger on and I can't do now.
00:23:03.85\00:23:07.62
It's called that walk,
that work of sanctification.
00:23:07.65\00:23:11.39
So you may be looking at
somebody that's only been a
00:23:11.42\00:23:15.09
Christian; they're still a baby
Christian, and they're doing
00:23:15.12\00:23:17.69
things that you're just
way too Spiritual to do.
00:23:17.73\00:23:20.50
It's because God is
working with them in their
00:23:20.53\00:23:23.23
walk of sanctification.
00:23:23.26\00:23:24.90
And what God will need to do
is do a work of sanctification
00:23:24.93\00:23:28.90
in your judgmental heart.
00:23:28.94\00:23:30.27
Let me change that
to our judgmental heart,
00:23:30.31\00:23:32.47
or my judgmental heart.
00:23:32.51\00:23:33.94
Paul goes back now to his
original subject in Verse 14.
00:23:33.98\00:23:41.12
He's talking
about what people eat,
00:23:41.15\00:23:44.05
and of keeping certain days.
00:23:44.09\00:23:46.15
And really he's looking at
the violation of conscience.
00:23:46.19\00:23:50.89
He's saying we're
not to be judgmental.
00:23:50.93\00:23:53.66
He goes on, Verse 14: I know,
and am convinced, Paul says,
00:23:53.70\00:23:58.90
by the Lord Jesus, that there
is nothing unclean of itself:
00:23:58.93\00:24:04.21
but to him who considers
anything to be unclean,
00:24:04.24\00:24:08.01
to him it is unclean.
00:24:08.04\00:24:10.25
So if the person's
conscience is convicting them,
00:24:10.28\00:24:16.05
or they're weak in an area,
and they are saying that you
00:24:16.08\00:24:21.12
absolutely should
not eat pinto beans...
00:24:21.16\00:24:23.53
Now what Adventist
doesn't eat Pinto beans?
00:24:25.13\00:24:27.83
That's our
favorite food: haystacks.
00:24:27.86\00:24:30.73
But if somebody, if you're with
somebody and their conscience,
00:24:30.77\00:24:34.44
they're saying, Oh, no,
you can't eat that; that's bad.
00:24:34.50\00:24:36.97
What should you
do on their behalf?
00:24:37.01\00:24:39.37
You should try to be an
encouragement to your brother,
00:24:39.41\00:24:43.14
and leave those Pinto beans
off until you're by yourself.
00:24:43.18\00:24:46.98
I don't know if that was a
real good illustration for us,
00:24:47.02\00:24:49.22
but the subject is still
not judging people for what they
00:24:49.25\00:24:53.02
do, or they don't do.
00:24:53.05\00:24:54.39
A person shouldn't be made to
violate his or her conscience.
00:24:54.42\00:24:59.39
It's between them and God,
not you, and them, and God.
00:24:59.43\00:25:03.06
It's between them and God.
00:25:03.10\00:25:04.43
Now I'm going to go
back to that Scripture that
00:25:04.47\00:25:06.77
we looked at before.
00:25:06.84\00:25:08.17
For if we would judge ourselves,
we would not be judged.
00:25:08.20\00:25:12.57
If we would judge ourselves...
00:25:12.61\00:25:14.28
Don't you want to know right now
those things that are unlovely,
00:25:14.31\00:25:19.11
and unlike God that are in your
heart so that we can look into
00:25:19.15\00:25:23.99
our hearts and see those things
that need to be purified and
00:25:24.02\00:25:27.82
perfected, that need to
be, that you need to repent of
00:25:27.86\00:25:31.13
and walk away cleaned from?
00:25:31.16\00:25:33.70
So, again, we aren't to
look at other people to see what
00:25:33.73\00:25:37.47
we can judge them of.
00:25:37.53\00:25:38.87
1 Corinthians, Paul's
telling us, judge yourselves,
00:25:38.90\00:25:43.47
look into your own heart.
00:25:43.51\00:25:44.84
And so I'm going to close
with this, that's Psalms 139:23,
00:25:44.87\00:25:49.58
a prayer that we all
need to pray on a daily basis
00:25:49.61\00:25:53.82
which is, Search me, O
God, and know my heart: try me,
00:25:53.88\00:25:57.99
and know my thoughts; And see
if there be any evil way in me,
00:25:58.02\00:26:03.06
and lead me in the
path that is everlasting.
00:26:03.09\00:26:06.59
Wow! Thank you, Mollie.
00:26:06.63\00:26:09.43
That was a speed round.
00:26:09.46\00:26:12.10
Wow, got that one out!
00:26:12.13\00:26:13.47
When you get going
your fire burns all the way
00:26:13.54\00:26:15.10
from beginning to end.
00:26:15.14\00:26:16.47
Thank you for that.
00:26:16.50\00:26:17.84
This is another interesting
part of the lesson, No Offense.
00:26:17.87\00:26:21.54
This is so instrumental.
00:26:21.58\00:26:24.61
And I'm so glad that what I
could say about the Apostle Paul
00:26:24.65\00:26:28.62
is under
inspiration. Can we all agree?
00:26:28.65\00:26:31.82
He has left no stones unturned.
00:26:31.85\00:26:34.26
Yes. That's true. True.
00:26:34.29\00:26:35.62
I mean he has
gone from law, grace,
00:26:35.66\00:26:38.43
what I can't do, what I can do.
00:26:38.46\00:26:40.20
Now he's going to what
you shouldn't do in light of
00:26:40.23\00:26:43.57
what you want to do.
00:26:43.63\00:26:44.97
Because what he
couldn't do, he tried to do.
00:26:45.00\00:26:48.50
Now that he has become aware of
what he can do, he says it may
00:26:48.54\00:26:53.11
not be the best thing to do.
00:26:53.14\00:26:54.71
That's why I think
the lesson, no offense,
00:26:54.74\00:26:56.75
is vitally important.
00:26:56.81\00:26:58.15
I'm going to read the
passages that go along with it
00:26:58.18\00:27:00.15
and lay some foundational
principles that I think are
00:27:00.18\00:27:02.98
the very essence and essential
for us when it comes to
00:27:03.02\00:27:07.12
practicing our Christianity.
00:27:07.19\00:27:08.59
I think one of the
reasons why New York City has
00:27:08.62\00:27:11.89
taken the principles...
00:27:11.93\00:27:13.26
I go back to the story, a number
of years ago before my dad
00:27:13.29\00:27:15.96
passed away, and my natural
father passed away in 2006.
00:27:16.00\00:27:18.90
The man who raised
me passed away in 1995.
00:27:18.93\00:27:22.20
When my dad, who was a musician
all of his life in jazz music,
00:27:22.24\00:27:25.41
finally became the victim of his
desire to smoke when they said,
00:27:25.44\00:27:31.28
there will be no
smoking in public.
00:27:31.31\00:27:33.28
He said the Mayor of New
York City's lost his mind.
00:27:33.31\00:27:36.35
I said, No he hasn't.
00:27:36.38\00:27:37.72
He's finally heard my cry.
00:27:37.75\00:27:39.12
I don't want you to
blow smoke in my nose.
00:27:39.15\00:27:41.76
And we should not do
that because we feel that it's
00:27:41.79\00:27:44.93
our right to smoke.
00:27:44.96\00:27:46.29
So what I want to begin
by saying is, Paul lays these
00:27:46.33\00:27:50.23
principles down: what
may be a preference of mine,
00:27:50.27\00:27:56.97
may be an
offense to someone else.
00:27:57.01\00:27:59.57
Let's read the Scriptures
and I'll go ahead and break
00:27:59.61\00:28:01.84
this down independently.
00:28:01.88\00:28:03.21
Yet if your brother is
grieved because of your food,
00:28:05.61\00:28:09.85
you are no
longer walking in love.
00:28:09.88\00:28:11.55
Do not destroy with your food
the one for whom Christ died.
00:28:11.59\00:28:18.06
Therefore do not let your
good be spoken of as evil.
00:28:18.09\00:28:22.10
Oh I can just... That's a
whole sermon for those of you
00:28:22.13\00:28:26.03
who would like to preach.
00:28:26.07\00:28:27.44
That's the whole sermon; how
sometimes those who are ready
00:28:27.47\00:28:31.04
for translation can offend
people to the highest hilt
00:28:31.07\00:28:36.48
because of butter or cheese.
00:28:36.51\00:28:38.91
Now I'm going to meddle a little
bit here because I'm talking to
00:28:38.95\00:28:41.85
those who should know better.
00:28:41.88\00:28:43.22
When God gives us principles
of dietary parameters for our
00:28:43.25\00:28:48.32
health, and our
strength, and our wealth,
00:28:48.36\00:28:50.06
don't translate those
things into tools of judgment
00:28:50.13\00:28:54.50
in other people's lives.
00:28:54.56\00:28:55.86
That's often been the case.
00:28:55.90\00:28:58.00
I've gone to fellowship
lunches where people say,
00:28:58.03\00:29:00.37
Is that butter? Is that...
00:29:00.40\00:29:01.77
You know, vegan is
a good way of life,
00:29:01.80\00:29:04.47
but vegan is not salvation.
00:29:04.51\00:29:06.11
Vegetarian is a
healthy way of life,
00:29:06.14\00:29:08.18
but vegetarian is not salvation.
00:29:08.21\00:29:10.18
We can have clean colon's,
but have corrupt hearts.
00:29:10.21\00:29:14.92
And sometimes it's
not what we're eating,
00:29:14.95\00:29:17.32
but what's eating us.
00:29:17.35\00:29:18.69
Sometimes it's not what's going
in our mouths, but what's coming
00:29:18.72\00:29:21.16
out of our mouths
that are become an offense.
00:29:21.19\00:29:23.02
And that's what
Paul is talking about.
00:29:23.06\00:29:24.43
He says in Verse 17, For
the kingdom of God is not eating
00:29:24.46\00:29:27.56
and drinking; but
righteousness, and peace,
00:29:27.60\00:29:30.67
and joy in the Holy Spirit.
00:29:30.70\00:29:33.74
My sister has told
this to people before.
00:29:33.77\00:29:36.27
My sister left the church
when she was sixteen years old.
00:29:36.30\00:29:38.37
Pastor C. A.
knows her very well,
00:29:38.41\00:29:39.77
and some of you have met her.
00:29:39.81\00:29:41.14
She says, When I go out to eat
my brother does not condemn me.
00:29:41.18\00:29:47.15
Now she knows what's right.
00:29:47.22\00:29:49.25
She was raised in
a healthy lifestyle.
00:29:49.32\00:29:51.85
But if she goes ahead, and
I'd say sometimes, Pha, don't!
00:29:51.89\00:29:55.82
If I'm going to pay for
it, you can't order that.
00:29:55.86\00:29:59.36
I tell her that jokingly.
00:29:59.39\00:30:01.50
And sometimes when we go
to the restaurant she'll say,
00:30:01.56\00:30:04.40
I'm paying for this,
so I'm ordering shrimp.
00:30:04.43\00:30:06.27
And I just sit there and
say, I don't like shrimp,
00:30:06.30\00:30:09.04
but I'm not going to spend
my whole meal just dogging her
00:30:09.07\00:30:11.17
about what she decides to eat.
00:30:11.21\00:30:12.54
Because what's more important
is that as she has said to
00:30:12.57\00:30:15.61
people in the past,
When I'm around my brother
00:30:15.68\00:30:19.58
I don't feel condemned.
00:30:19.61\00:30:20.95
Praise God. Important.
00:30:20.98\00:30:22.32
And for that reason
she still comes when I...
00:30:24.15\00:30:25.99
She came to church
when I'd preach at Ephesus.
00:30:26.05\00:30:27.86
She was there when I did
the series on Unclean Spirits,
00:30:27.89\00:30:30.29
about music; the kind
of music she listens to,
00:30:30.33\00:30:32.13
the kind of life she lives.
00:30:32.16\00:30:33.50
But she's there supportively
because she recognizes,
00:30:33.56\00:30:35.96
my brother loves me more than
the things that he practices.
00:30:36.00\00:30:40.47
He loves me. And I'm praying
that that love for her will be
00:30:40.50\00:30:44.91
the reason why she
gives her life back to Jesus,
00:30:44.94\00:30:47.41
not because I'm
condemning everything she does.
00:30:47.44\00:30:49.84
And that's what
Paul is talking about.
00:30:49.88\00:30:51.21
He says in Verse 20,
well actually Verse 18:
00:30:51.25\00:30:55.48
For he who serves Christ
in these things is acceptable
00:30:55.52\00:30:58.45
to God, and approved of by men.
00:30:58.49\00:31:00.66
Therefore let us pursue
the things which make for what?
00:31:00.69\00:31:05.03
peace, and the things by
which one may edify another.
00:31:05.06\00:31:09.33
Do not destroy... Verse20.
00:31:09.36\00:31:11.47
Do not destroy the work
of God for the sake of food.
00:31:11.53\00:31:14.60
I mean he's really dealing with
this because the Jews sometimes
00:31:14.64\00:31:17.41
said, Was that offered to idols?
00:31:17.47\00:31:19.34
Was that not offered to idols?
00:31:19.37\00:31:21.21
And sometimes those who were
just involved in financial gain,
00:31:21.24\00:31:25.48
they would offer a sacrifice,
then knowingly sell it to
00:31:25.51\00:31:29.35
somebody else to make
money in the food market.
00:31:29.38\00:31:32.39
So this animal was
sacrificed on, was, you know,
00:31:32.42\00:31:35.69
the hand was laid on him.
00:31:35.72\00:31:37.09
He was a sacrifice.
00:31:37.13\00:31:38.46
But now, all of a
sudden they said, You need
00:31:38.49\00:31:40.60
to make some money.
00:31:40.66\00:31:41.96
I'll give you the sacrifice
after the temple is closed.
00:31:42.00\00:31:43.33
Later on can make
some money in the city.
00:31:43.37\00:31:45.03
And people would
say, Now was this offered
00:31:45.07\00:31:46.97
to idols or was it not?
00:31:47.00\00:31:48.37
The Lord says, Is it clean?
00:31:48.40\00:31:49.97
Then don't ask that question.
00:31:50.04\00:31:51.54
And that's what happened.
00:31:52.54\00:31:53.91
They became offended with
the knowledge that it could have
00:31:53.94\00:31:56.88
been, or it might not have been.
00:31:56.91\00:31:58.25
That's why Verse 20, Do
not destroy the work of God
00:31:58.28\00:32:01.02
for the sake of food.
00:32:01.05\00:32:02.38
All things indeed are pure;...
00:32:02.42\00:32:04.52
It's saying everything that
God made has a function in it;
00:32:04.55\00:32:08.16
but God has not make
everything to be eaten.
00:32:08.19\00:32:12.03
But it is evil for
man who eats with offense.
00:32:12.06\00:32:15.76
It is good neither to eat meat,
nor drink wine, nor do anything
00:32:15.80\00:32:21.44
by which your brother stumbles,
or is offended, or is made weak.
00:32:21.47\00:32:25.74
Paul is not addressing
the dietary principles.
00:32:25.77\00:32:28.48
He's addressing the
motive behind why we do,
00:32:28.51\00:32:31.21
or why we do not do things.
00:32:31.25\00:32:33.05
So let me make a few points.
00:32:33.08\00:32:34.82
We may not be doing things
that are personally offensive,
00:32:34.85\00:32:38.65
but is offensive to others.
00:32:38.69\00:32:41.52
In other words, don't insist
on your way that will offend the
00:32:41.56\00:32:45.93
conscience of others.
00:32:45.96\00:32:47.56
Romans 14:7, in
the very context.
00:32:47.60\00:32:50.00
For no one lives to himself,
and no one dies to himself.
00:32:50.03\00:32:53.20
A few other
points I want to make:
00:32:53.27\00:32:55.04
preference is not a standard.
00:32:55.07\00:32:56.87
Can we agree on that?
00:32:56.94\00:32:58.27
Preference is not a standard.
00:32:58.31\00:32:59.64
I have been praised and
condemned at the same time.
00:32:59.67\00:33:06.15
I got a letter recently
from somebody who said to me,
00:33:06.18\00:33:08.78
and you know, you
guys have heard my music.
00:33:08.82\00:33:11.69
But some of my older
CD's have a rhythm in it.
00:33:11.72\00:33:14.52
So somebody says, I was able
to listen to you until I heard a
00:33:14.59\00:33:19.33
song on one of your old
CD's, and now I can no longer be
00:33:19.36\00:33:22.03
blessed by anything you sing.
00:33:22.06\00:33:23.93
Hypocrite! How can we say to
somebody, and I'm going to get
00:33:23.97\00:33:29.10
kind' a, I'm going to
put my hands in the mud here,
00:33:29.14\00:33:30.97
for those of us who judge people
on the first and third beat,
00:33:31.01\00:33:33.94
or the second and the
fourth beat, it's exactly what
00:33:33.98\00:33:36.08
Paul is talking about.
00:33:36.11\00:33:37.45
For those who say, Instruments
are evil; is exactly what
00:33:37.51\00:33:41.05
Paul is talking about.
00:33:41.08\00:33:42.42
We have established a
standard based on preference
00:33:42.45\00:33:45.29
that's not doctrinal.
00:33:45.35\00:33:46.72
Based on preference,
that is not a standard.
00:33:46.76\00:33:49.89
And even medicines are
not necessarily good or bad.
00:33:49.92\00:33:54.10
Let me go further. Good
choices could be bad choices,
00:33:54.13\00:33:58.27
and bad choices
could be good choices.
00:33:58.30\00:34:00.57
Now how is that possible?
00:34:00.64\00:34:02.47
I must give credit to my
dear friend, Dr. Panditt,
00:34:02.50\00:34:05.77
who has done a beautiful
study on world religions.
00:34:05.81\00:34:09.01
He says, A good choices is a
bad choice when it could have
00:34:09.04\00:34:13.08
been a better
choice or the best choice.
00:34:13.11\00:34:14.92
So sometimes we say,
Well, that's not good to do.
00:34:14.95\00:34:18.12
Well, what's
better, or what's best?
00:34:18.15\00:34:20.26
So if what you feel is good,
the Lord has convicted you on,
00:34:20.29\00:34:25.93
do not make your good a
standard of someone else.
00:34:25.96\00:34:30.93
And that's what
he's talking about.
00:34:30.97\00:34:32.73
He's not saying the commandments
are good, or the commandments
00:34:32.77\00:34:35.04
are bad, or the Sabbath is
good, or the Sabbath is bad,
00:34:35.07\00:34:36.91
or unclean food is
good, or clean food is bad.
00:34:36.97\00:34:40.44
He's not saying that at all.
00:34:40.48\00:34:41.81
He's saying the standard by
which the Lord has convicted
00:34:41.84\00:34:46.11
your heart, it must be
the point of self-examination.
00:34:46.15\00:34:50.65
Self-examination,
because, as Mollie stated,
00:34:50.69\00:34:53.66
and the Bible says this: Judge
not that you be not judged.
00:34:53.72\00:34:57.09
For the very standard you use
to judge someone will become the
00:34:57.13\00:35:00.86
standard by
which you are judged.
00:35:00.93\00:35:02.53
Also, the other thing, a bad
choice could be a good choice
00:35:02.56\00:35:07.64
when it could have
been the worst choice,
00:35:07.67\00:35:09.67
or the worst choice.
00:35:09.70\00:35:11.04
So what am I
saying as I wind up?
00:35:11.07\00:35:14.18
I'll read a Scripture,
but I want to make this point:
00:35:14.21\00:35:16.61
cultural conditioning
should not be broadly applied.
00:35:16.64\00:35:20.92
Now if you're from Sweden,
and you're from Zimbabwe,
00:35:20.95\00:35:27.06
the person from
Zimbabwe should not say,
00:35:27.09\00:35:29.19
I don't like Swedish
music; that's a preference.
00:35:29.22\00:35:32.29
Or the person from Sweden
shouldn't say, Zimbabwe music
00:35:32.33\00:35:34.83
is not acceptable to God.
00:35:34.83\00:35:36.20
When we get together as a world
church, and I've heard this
00:35:36.23\00:35:39.07
at the General
Conference Session,
00:35:39.10\00:35:40.44
people have heard music that
are from other cultures that
00:35:40.50\00:35:42.50
they sway as... you
know, in their culture,
00:35:42.54\00:35:45.61
they say, God
doesn't accept that;
00:35:45.64\00:35:46.98
and other people stand perfectly
still, and other people say
00:35:47.04\00:35:50.81
they have no emotion;
God doesn't accept that.
00:35:50.85\00:35:53.48
We broadly apply our
principles that are cultural.
00:35:53.52\00:35:56.12
Case in point, as I wind, place
of origin, hear me carefully,
00:35:56.15\00:36:02.12
place of origin
should not be preferred
00:36:02.19\00:36:05.96
above place of destiny.
00:36:05.99\00:36:08.20
Live your personal life
as you prepare for eternity,
00:36:08.23\00:36:13.34
and let the Lord
convince others how they
00:36:13.37\00:36:15.47
should live their lives.
00:36:15.50\00:36:16.84
Well done, and I just want
to add, John, that all of this
00:36:16.91\00:36:19.37
comes after his counsel to
live peaceably with others,
00:36:19.44\00:36:22.41
and to prefer others.
00:36:22.44\00:36:23.85
Sometimes you've got to swallow
it and let the Lord lead.
00:36:23.88\00:36:26.51
Shelley, please.
00:36:26.55\00:36:27.88
Thank you. Well,
mine is Wednesday,
00:36:27.92\00:36:29.75
and the title is,
Observance of Days.
00:36:29.78\00:36:31.95
But it kind of instructs
us to go back and look at
00:36:32.02\00:36:34.52
Romans 14:4-10, so I
think it would do us well.
00:36:34.56\00:36:37.93
Romans 14:4. Who are
you to judge others servant?
00:36:37.96\00:36:41.13
To his own master
he stands or falls.
00:36:41.16\00:36:43.47
Indeed he will be
made to stand, for God is
00:36:43.53\00:36:47.67
able to make him stand.
00:36:47.70\00:36:49.04
So we see that the
Roman church had a problem.
00:36:49.07\00:36:52.34
And, as we have established,
so do we today in judging others
00:36:52.37\00:36:57.85
over... And I want to make sure
we point out this is to judge
00:36:57.88\00:37:02.35
others in disputable matters.
00:37:02.38\00:37:04.69
It is not saying that we
cannot discern when somebody
00:37:04.72\00:37:08.12
is breaking the law of God.
00:37:08.16\00:37:10.36
We're talking about
where they're in a grey area;
00:37:10.39\00:37:14.30
when the matter is disputable.
00:37:14.36\00:37:17.57
And, as you've said,
most of our judgments
00:37:17.60\00:37:21.00
are based on opinions.
00:37:21.04\00:37:23.00
And we have to say that
certainly none of us can say
00:37:23.04\00:37:27.98
that all of our opinions are
accurate, but our own personal
00:37:28.01\00:37:31.58
dislikes, or on cultural basis,
whereas what we need to be
00:37:31.61\00:37:36.72
looking at is the Word of God.
00:37:36.79\00:37:38.75
And it's interesting
that he says here that;
00:37:38.79\00:37:42.02
he's just got through saying
that people's faith is weak.
00:37:42.06\00:37:47.83
Do you realize that when
we judge others, he says,
00:37:47.86\00:37:50.93
God is able to make him stand.
00:37:50.97\00:37:53.40
If I'm judging Jill for doing
something, basically I'm showing
00:37:53.44\00:37:58.01
that I have weak faith, because
I don't think that God can
00:37:58.04\00:38:02.04
bring her around and save her.
00:38:02.08\00:38:04.71
So that's just kind of something
that I want to point out.
00:38:04.75\00:38:08.22
Okay, Verse 5, One person
esteems one day above another:
00:38:08.25\00:38:12.95
another esteems every day alike.
00:38:12.99\00:38:16.42
Let each be fully
convinced in his own mind.
00:38:16.46\00:38:20.16
Here he's talking
about the Jewish feast days.
00:38:20.23\00:38:22.93
Now you have to understand,
most of these early Christians
00:38:22.96\00:38:27.07
were transitioning from the old
covenant to the new covenant.
00:38:27.14\00:38:30.21
And it was a sense of
their national identity,
00:38:30.24\00:38:34.28
all of these feast
days, the annual Sabbaths,
00:38:34.31\00:38:37.05
everything that they'd
been brought up all their life
00:38:37.08\00:38:40.52
to esteem these days.
00:38:40.55\00:38:42.38
So they kind of had a
little bit of difficulty
00:38:42.42\00:38:45.75
in letting go of it.
00:38:45.79\00:38:47.16
And now the Gentile Christians
who had been taught, Hey, all
00:38:47.19\00:38:52.83
of this was
symbolic, pointing to Christ,
00:38:52.86\00:38:54.63
it was kind of, Yeah, okay.
00:38:54.66\00:38:56.63
But what Paul is saying here is
that if some man still felt in
00:38:56.67\00:39:03.77
the Roman church that he
needed to be keeping Yom Kippur,
00:39:03.84\00:39:07.41
the Day of Atonement, let him
be fully convinced in his mind.
00:39:07.44\00:39:10.88
Don't be judgmental.
00:39:10.91\00:39:12.35
Because it's all
about our conscience
00:39:12.38\00:39:15.12
before God, is it not?
00:39:15.15\00:39:16.72
But it's interesting to me that
a few years later Paul takes a
00:39:16.75\00:39:20.42
little more strident stance
on this topic when he comes to
00:39:20.49\00:39:23.69
Colossians in Colossians 2:16-17
where, you know, he's talking
00:39:23.76\00:39:28.93
about, Hey, alright already,
these old ceremonial things
00:39:28.96\00:39:35.44
have been nailed to the cross.
00:39:35.47\00:39:36.81
Don't let anybody judge you.
00:39:36.84\00:39:38.44
Because actually I think
it's because false teachers were
00:39:38.47\00:39:41.11
coming in and teaching
them that they had to do this.
00:39:41.14\00:39:43.68
So he's saying, Don't
let anybody judge you on the
00:39:43.75\00:39:48.25
observance of days.
00:39:48.28\00:39:49.92
Because these things, and he's
talking about annual Sabbath's,
00:39:49.95\00:39:53.15
not about the weekly Sabbath
that is in the Word of God.
00:39:53.19\00:39:57.26
So then he goes in Verse 6
and he says, He who observes
00:39:57.33\00:40:02.43
the day,
observes it to the Lord.
00:40:02.46\00:40:05.17
He who does not
observe the day, to the Lord
00:40:05.20\00:40:08.14
he does not observe it.
00:40:08.17\00:40:09.50
He who eats, eats to the
Lord, and he gives thanks;
00:40:09.54\00:40:14.94
he who does not eat,
to the Lord does not eat,
00:40:14.98\00:40:20.08
and gives God thanks.
00:40:20.12\00:40:22.08
Boy, that is a tongue twister.
00:40:22.12\00:40:23.85
Eating anything, once again,
we've already established this,
00:40:23.89\00:40:27.86
we're talking
about the food that was
00:40:27.89\00:40:30.69
sacrificed to pagan idols.
00:40:30.73\00:40:34.13
In the Roman culture the ancient
system of sacrifice was part of
00:40:34.20\00:40:40.37
the religious
social, and domestic culture.
00:40:40.40\00:40:43.00
And what they do is they would
sacrifice this to a pagan idol,
00:40:43.04\00:40:47.41
but they only
burnt halt the offering.
00:40:47.44\00:40:49.61
They took the other half to the
marketplace and they sold it.
00:40:49.64\00:40:53.58
So here Christians,
particularly Christians who,
00:40:53.65\00:40:57.85
that were acutely
aware of this, is if they'd
00:40:57.89\00:41:00.69
come out of paganism.
00:41:00.76\00:41:02.09
So, you know, they
understand now how wrong
00:41:02.12\00:41:05.29
this is; these idols.
00:41:05.33\00:41:06.80
So some of them, it was
like Oh, has this meat been,
00:41:06.83\00:41:12.30
has this been
offered to an idol?
00:41:12.33\00:41:14.60
And they, quote
unquote, some thought okay,
00:41:14.64\00:41:19.04
idols aren't anything.
00:41:19.07\00:41:20.44
You know, that's
kind of no big deal.
00:41:20.48\00:41:22.48
That's probably more
the way the Jews felt.
00:41:22.51\00:41:24.71
But then some of these
other Christians knew Gentile
00:41:24.75\00:41:29.68
Christians who'd been pagans,
may have been feeling like,
00:41:29.72\00:41:32.35
Wow, I'm just going to eat
vegetables because I'm afraid
00:41:32.39\00:41:37.59
that this has been
offered to an idol.
00:41:37.63\00:41:40.10
Now I just want to make sure
that we point out Paul nowhere
00:41:40.16\00:41:45.00
relaxes the standards of
God's ten commandment law.
00:41:45.03\00:41:48.54
I mean throughout every one of
his epistles, throughout all of
00:41:48.57\00:41:52.84
his books he
does not relax this.
00:41:52.87\00:41:55.64
He is dealing with
controversial issues that...
00:41:55.68\00:42:00.32
He's just saying, Hey, you don't
have the right or the wrong.
00:42:01.58\00:42:06.76
Let this man
follow his conscience.
00:42:06.79\00:42:08.42
You're looking to God for this.
00:42:08.46\00:42:10.43
So then he goes on
in Verse 6 and he says,
00:42:10.46\00:42:16.46
um excuse me, Verse 7.
00:42:16.50\00:42:18.53
He says, None of us lives to
himself; no one dies to himself.
00:42:18.57\00:42:23.57
No man's an island.
00:42:23.61\00:42:25.51
And we are all in some
sense our brother's keeper.
00:42:25.54\00:42:28.38
Verse 8. For if we live, we
live to the Lord; and if we die,
00:42:28.41\00:42:31.98
we die to the Lord:
therefore whether we live
00:42:32.01\00:42:34.32
or die, we are the Lord's.
00:42:34.35\00:42:36.28
For to this end Christ
died, and rose, and lived again,
00:42:36.32\00:42:40.86
that He might be Lord of
both the dead and the living.
00:42:40.92\00:42:46.19
You know, Jesus, as Mollie
pointed out, in Matthew 7 said
00:42:46.23\00:42:51.57
Judge not that
you be not judged.
00:42:51.60\00:42:53.57
He even said that He didn't
come to judge the world while
00:42:53.60\00:42:57.27
He was on the earth.
00:42:57.34\00:42:58.67
That is reserved for later.
00:42:58.71\00:43:00.61
So we have an unconditional
admonition not to be judgmental.
00:43:00.68\00:43:08.05
The only time that we can
be judgmental is when it is
00:43:08.08\00:43:13.12
expressly authorized.
00:43:13.15\00:43:14.56
In other words, when Jesus said
to beware of false prophets,
00:43:14.59\00:43:20.23
you've got to be able to
judge a man's teaching by the
00:43:20.30\00:43:23.93
Word of God, do you not?
00:43:23.97\00:43:25.40
And it goes beyond discernment.
00:43:25.43\00:43:27.74
I mean there's judging.
00:43:27.77\00:43:29.10
You are looking at it to that.
00:43:29.14\00:43:30.97
And it gives you rules
for that judgment, too.
00:43:31.01\00:43:33.01
Absolutely. So at that
point he's not saying that.
00:43:33.04\00:43:36.44
What he's simply
saying is that we should not,
00:43:36.48\00:43:40.88
in the grey
areas; butter, you know.
00:43:40.92\00:43:44.69
Or like I'll give this example,
some Adventists have been taught
00:43:44.72\00:43:49.26
that wearing any
makeup is a dreaded sin.
00:43:49.29\00:43:52.69
I can see the
Biblical principle.
00:43:52.73\00:43:56.26
Many of us believe that
there is a principle not to wear
00:43:56.30\00:43:58.93
very colorful makeup.
00:43:58.97\00:44:00.44
But I always go back to
what H.M.S. Richards said.
00:44:00.47\00:44:06.81
If the barn
needs paint, paint it.
00:44:06.88\00:44:08.61
So I don't feel that this
is something that is sinful
00:44:08.64\00:44:12.48
if I wear a little makeup.
00:44:12.51\00:44:13.85
And this is because, I
mean, now I'd have to be careful
00:44:13.92\00:44:18.52
if I were ministering in
an area where they're all,
00:44:18.55\00:44:21.69
and nobody wore makeup; I'd
have to be careful about that.
00:44:21.72\00:44:24.79
Let me see. I wanted to
get one more thought in.
00:44:24.83\00:44:27.60
And I just have a few minutes.
00:44:27.60\00:44:30.27
I want to say this: when you're
judgmental, if you've got a new
00:44:30.33\00:44:34.44
baby Christian and you're
being judgmental, you know what
00:44:34.47\00:44:37.87
judgmental attitudes do?
00:44:37.91\00:44:39.31
Often it cements
the wrong behavior.
00:44:39.34\00:44:43.11
Because people, a
spirit of rebellion
00:44:43.14\00:44:45.98
kind of comes up in them.
00:44:46.01\00:44:47.38
You now, when somebody is
giving them a hard time over
00:44:47.42\00:44:51.95
something it
kind of cements that.
00:44:51.99\00:44:54.16
We've got to be
gracious and give people
00:44:54.22\00:44:58.03
time to grow in grace.
00:44:58.06\00:45:00.33
And, as you said, Mollie,
we've got to remember what
00:45:00.36\00:45:04.17
he says in Verse 10.
00:45:04.20\00:45:06.30
He said, Why do
you judge your brother?
00:45:06.33\00:45:09.90
The weak, and you're judging;
the weak in faith should not be
00:45:09.94\00:45:13.78
judging those who
are stronger in faith.
00:45:13.81\00:45:15.94
Or why do you show contempt for
your bother? the strong should
00:45:15.98\00:45:20.12
not be demeaning the weak, for
we shall all stand before the
00:45:20.15\00:45:24.72
judgment seat of Christ.
00:45:24.75\00:45:26.59
We're not
responsible for our brother.
00:45:26.62\00:45:29.69
Our accountability
is to Jesus Christ.
00:45:29.72\00:45:32.89
And given that, we need to make
certain that our convictions are
00:45:32.93\00:45:38.73
based on the Word of
God and not on tradition.
00:45:38.77\00:45:42.67
Let me repeat that.
00:45:42.70\00:45:44.07
Our accountability
is to Jesus Christ.
00:45:44.11\00:45:46.94
Make sure your convictions
are based on the Word of
00:45:46.98\00:45:50.61
God, not on tradition.
00:45:50.65\00:45:52.41
But I guarantee you, when
we are standing before the Lord
00:45:52.45\00:45:58.25
the last thing that...
00:45:58.29\00:46:00.39
And we're having to
give a personal account.
00:46:00.42\00:46:02.69
The last thing we're going
to be worried about is what our
00:46:02.72\00:46:05.19
Christian brother
or sister has done.
00:46:05.23\00:46:09.33
We're not going... That
will be the antidote to the
00:46:09.36\00:46:14.57
self-exalted
opinions that we have in being
00:46:14.60\00:46:18.41
judgmental to others.
00:46:18.44\00:46:19.77
Amen! Well done, Shelley.
00:46:19.81\00:46:21.51
Thank you so much. I
have the very last day
00:46:21.54\00:46:24.91
here for our Quarterly.
00:46:24.95\00:46:26.95
This is Final Words; that's
Thursday's lesson: Final Words.
00:46:27.02\00:46:31.62
And we look at some of the
final words of Paul here in
00:46:31.65\00:46:34.19
Romans, Chapter 15,
and Romans, Chapter 16.
00:46:34.26\00:46:37.69
We're going to spend the balance
of our time in Romans 15:1-6.
00:46:37.73\00:46:42.76
So I invite you to
just flip over a page.
00:46:42.80\00:46:44.87
Romans 15:1-6. And we'll
read it and then discuss it.
00:46:44.90\00:46:49.44
And I came up with five
takeaways from this passage.
00:46:49.47\00:46:53.04
Verse 1. We then who are strong
ought to bear with the scruples
00:46:53.07\00:46:58.28
of the weak, and
not to please ourselves.
00:46:58.31\00:47:02.28
Let each of us please
his neighbor for his good
00:47:02.32\00:47:06.45
leading to edification.
00:47:06.49\00:47:08.92
For even Christ did not please
Himself; but, as it is written,
00:47:08.96\00:47:13.83
The reproaches of those
who reproached you fell on Me.
00:47:13.86\00:47:18.30
Verse 4. For whatever
things were written before,
00:47:18.33\00:47:22.27
were written for our learning,
that we through patience and
00:47:22.30\00:47:26.88
comfort of the
scriptures might have hope.
00:47:26.91\00:47:30.45
Now may the God of patience
and comfort grant you to be
00:47:30.48\00:47:35.25
like-minded toward one another
according to Christ Jesus:
00:47:35.28\00:47:39.59
that you may with one mind
and one mouth glorify the God,
00:47:39.62\00:47:44.43
and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
00:47:44.46\00:47:46.63
I think Paul is really saying
we who are strong in the Lord
00:47:46.70\00:47:50.13
should not live selfishly,
should not live for ourselves,
00:47:50.17\00:47:55.07
but for sacrificially,
selflessly building up others.
00:47:55.10\00:48:00.11
The five takeaways: 1. Godly
relationships in the body of
00:48:00.14\00:48:04.68
Christ are important. Amen.
00:48:04.71\00:48:07.88
Godly relationships in the
body of Christ are important.
00:48:07.92\00:48:11.32
Verses 5 and 6. I just
want to touch on that again.
00:48:11.35\00:48:14.09
May the God of patience
and comfort grant you to be
00:48:14.12\00:48:16.89
like-minded toward one another,
according to Christ Jesus,
00:48:16.96\00:48:20.96
or like Christ Jesus.
00:48:20.96\00:48:22.43
Now the word for
patience is a remaining behind;
00:48:22.46\00:48:26.03
a patient enduring.
00:48:26.07\00:48:27.97
We're called to be patient
and bear with each other.
00:48:28.00\00:48:31.37
I love the word there for
comfort though: Paracelsus,
00:48:31.41\00:48:36.21
which would come from
parakletos, John 14 and 15.
00:48:36.24\00:48:40.45
Remember when Jesus left
He said, It is expedient for
00:48:40.52\00:48:44.02
you that I go away.
00:48:44.09\00:48:45.42
For if I go not away I
cannot send another helper;
00:48:45.45\00:48:49.46
the Comforter, the Holy Spirit.
00:48:49.49\00:48:52.16
So the word for helper
or comforter is parakletos,
00:48:52.19\00:48:56.03
meaning one
called alongside another,
00:48:56.06\00:49:00.27
one called to
the aid of another.
00:49:00.30\00:49:02.47
Now in their ancient society
a parakletos was someone who
00:49:02.50\00:49:05.94
would help; say you were
going to a trial or something,
00:49:05.97\00:49:08.81
someone who
would help physically,
00:49:08.84\00:49:10.88
maybe bringing food or water,
someone who would emotionally
00:49:10.91\00:49:14.25
support that person,
and stand in for them as
00:49:14.28\00:49:17.89
well, as an advocate.
00:49:17.92\00:49:19.52
That's right; legal defense.
00:49:19.55\00:49:20.89
So God calls us. The
God of patience and comfort,
00:49:20.92\00:49:25.76
He comes to our aid.
00:49:25.79\00:49:27.40
He offers us that.
He is our advocate.
00:49:27.46\00:49:29.93
He is the Paracelsus,
parakletos, and comfort;
00:49:29.96\00:49:34.04
wants us to be like-minded, and
extend that same patience and
00:49:34.07\00:49:37.87
comfort, that same
aid, like-mindedness
00:49:37.91\00:49:40.88
toward each other with
one mind and one mouth.
00:49:40.91\00:49:44.15
Therefore if we come in
relationship as sisters,
00:49:44.18\00:49:47.02
as brothers, then we
can properly glorify God
00:49:47.05\00:49:50.82
because we love one another.
00:49:50.89\00:49:52.89
2. Godly relationships consider
other people's needs above
00:49:52.92\00:49:58.43
my own rights and needs.
00:49:58.46\00:50:00.53
Verse 2 talked about, Let each
of us please his neighbor for
00:50:00.60\00:50:04.53
his good leading to edification.
00:50:04.57\00:50:07.00
It reminds me of Philippians 2.
00:50:07.04\00:50:09.44
I love that whole chapter.
00:50:09.47\00:50:10.81
But the mind of Christ.
00:50:10.87\00:50:12.64
But it talks about, let
each esteem the other as
00:50:12.67\00:50:15.18
better than themselves.
00:50:15.21\00:50:17.31
So Godly relationships
look at other people.
00:50:17.35\00:50:20.38
Now as we, as I seek to esteem
my sister Shelley, I need to be
00:50:20.42\00:50:25.39
careful never to
compromise the gospel.
00:50:25.42\00:50:27.69
So in our esteeming of
someone else we're not talking
00:50:27.72\00:50:31.03
about compromise here.
00:50:31.06\00:50:32.39
We're talking about
saying, You can go first
00:50:32.43\00:50:35.13
in the line for food.
00:50:35.16\00:50:36.50
Saying, Oh, you have a need.
00:50:36.60\00:50:38.03
I will see what I
can do to provide that.
00:50:38.07\00:50:39.83
Or, Oh, I will
be praying for you.
00:50:39.87\00:50:41.60
Those are all ways we
can get out of ourselves
00:50:41.64\00:50:43.87
and esteem someone else.
00:50:43.94\00:50:45.27
3. Godly relationships
help and support the weaker.
00:50:45.31\00:50:49.51
And you all
have touched on that.
00:50:49.54\00:50:51.55
Not looking with contempt
or judgment on someone else.
00:50:51.58\00:50:56.15
Verse 1. We then who are
strong ought to bear with the
00:50:56.18\00:50:59.49
scruples of the weak.
00:50:59.52\00:51:00.96
The word for bare means to take
up, carry, to bare or endure.
00:51:00.99\00:51:05.53
It's the same word used
in Galatians 6:2, Bare ye one
00:51:05.56\00:51:09.00
another's burdens, and so
fulfill the law of Christ.
00:51:09.10\00:51:13.23
4. Jesus as our example;
did not please Himself but bore
00:51:13.30\00:51:19.91
insults for God's sake.
00:51:19.94\00:51:21.91
We saw that Paul quoted there
in Verse 3, For even Christ did
00:51:22.01\00:51:25.98
not please Himself; as it
is written, The reproaches of
00:51:26.01\00:51:29.85
those who
reproached you fell on Me.
00:51:29.88\00:51:32.32
God calls us to get out of
our own selves; get out of our
00:51:32.35\00:51:35.29
selfishness and think of others.
00:51:35.36\00:51:37.39
Focus on the
needs of other people.
00:51:37.43\00:51:39.43
And 5. Godly relationships
keep Scripture as their focus.
00:51:39.46\00:51:44.00
Verse 4. For whatever
things were written before were
00:51:44.03\00:51:48.60
written for our learning...
00:51:48.64\00:51:49.97
And he's talking about the
Word of God, the Scriptures.
00:51:50.04\00:51:52.84
...that we through
patience and comfort of the
00:51:52.87\00:51:55.41
Scriptures might have hope.
00:51:55.44\00:51:58.51
Some years ago I
received a letter from a woman.
00:51:58.55\00:52:02.15
And I know we all have
received various letters.
00:52:02.22\00:52:05.69
And this one had eight pages
where she expressed the issues
00:52:05.72\00:52:11.89
that she saw in my life.
00:52:11.96\00:52:13.70
And I read it, and I cried a
little bit, and then I just kind
00:52:13.73\00:52:17.43
of put it aside like, I
don't need to deal with that.
00:52:17.47\00:52:20.90
She's judging, she's whatever.
00:52:20.94\00:52:23.81
Jill you just
cast that letter aside.
00:52:23.87\00:52:26.14
So some weeks went by, and then
in my morning devotional I just
00:52:26.17\00:52:31.18
happened to be in Romans 15.
00:52:31.21\00:52:33.05
And I read Romans 15:5.
00:52:33.08\00:52:36.55
May the God of patience
and comfort grant you to be
00:52:36.58\00:52:39.62
like-minded
toward one another...
00:52:39.65\00:52:41.19
That you may with one mind
and one mouth glorify God,...
00:52:41.22\00:52:45.09
And then Verse 7.
Receive one another,
00:52:45.13\00:52:47.96
just as Christ has received you.
00:52:48.00\00:52:49.93
And as soon as I read that it
was like the Holy Spirit spoke
00:52:50.00\00:52:53.40
to me... Not audibly, but in my
mind, and said, Jill, you have
00:52:53.47\00:52:56.47
not received the woman
who wrote you the letter.
00:52:56.50\00:52:58.67
She is your sister.
00:52:58.71\00:53:00.71
You are not being of
one mind, of one accord.
00:53:00.78\00:53:04.25
You are judging her for
writing you this letter.
00:53:04.28\00:53:07.82
And so I said, God forgive
me, and repented of that.
00:53:07.85\00:53:11.35
And He put in my
heart love for my sister.
00:53:11.39\00:53:14.39
And I wrote her back,
Thank you for sharing.
00:53:14.42\00:53:17.33
And there was a lot of
validity to what she said.
00:53:17.36\00:53:20.33
There were many things I
could learn and grow from.
00:53:20.40\00:53:23.33
And she became my friend.
00:53:23.37\00:53:25.37
That's the beautiful thing;
God calls us in these Godly
00:53:25.40\00:53:28.54
relationships to
have like-mindedness
00:53:28.57\00:53:31.51
one toward another.
00:53:31.54\00:53:32.87
Now let's just look
at the final charges.
00:53:32.91\00:53:35.44
The lesson brought out
several that Paul gives
00:53:35.48\00:53:38.21
right at the end
here: Romans 15:13.
00:53:38.25\00:53:40.32
We'll go through
these real quick.
00:53:40.38\00:53:42.32
Now may the God of hope fill
you with all joy and peace in
00:53:42.35\00:53:46.02
believing, that
you may abound in hope,
00:53:46.05\00:53:48.46
by the power of the Holy Spirit.
00:53:48.49\00:53:50.69
The attributes of joy, peace,
believing, hope, are from the
00:53:50.73\00:53:54.40
presence of the
Spirit in the believers life.
00:53:54.46\00:53:57.77
Let's jump over to Romans 15:33.
00:53:57.83\00:54:03.91
There's another one.
00:54:03.94\00:54:05.27
Now the God of peace
be with you all, Amen.
00:54:05.31\00:54:08.98
And then Paul gives special
greetings to the brethren at
00:54:09.01\00:54:13.18
Rome; special greetings to them.
00:54:13.21\00:54:15.22
And then after that
he has Romans 16:20.
00:54:15.25\00:54:18.69
And the God of peace will crush
Satan under your feet shortly.
00:54:18.72\00:54:22.79
The grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ be with you, Amen.
00:54:22.82\00:54:26.09
Then Paul sends
greetings from his friends
00:54:26.13\00:54:29.76
to the brethren at Rome.
00:54:29.80\00:54:31.87
And then he adds Verse 24.
00:54:31.93\00:54:33.94
The grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ be with you all, Amen.
00:54:34.00\00:54:36.77
Now to him who is
able to establish you
00:54:36.81\00:54:39.87
according to my gospel...
00:54:39.91\00:54:41.81
That's what we've been
studying this whole quarter.
00:54:41.84\00:54:44.11
...and the
preaching of Jesus Christ,...
00:54:44.15\00:54:47.38
God is able to establish us in
the gospel of justification by
00:54:47.42\00:54:51.65
faith, and
sanctification by faith.
00:54:51.69\00:54:54.56
...according to the
revelation of the mystery,
00:54:54.59\00:54:57.29
kept secret since the world
began, but now made manifest,
00:54:57.33\00:55:01.30
and by the prophetic scriptures
made known to all nations...
00:55:01.33\00:55:05.30
All of us have access to
see and understand what we have
00:55:05.33\00:55:09.27
been discussing here.
00:55:09.30\00:55:10.64
...according to the commandment
of the everlasting God,
00:55:10.71\00:55:13.04
for obedience to the
faith: to God alone wise,
00:55:13.07\00:55:16.85
be glory through
Jesus Christ forever, Amen.
00:55:16.88\00:55:20.62
I want to close with
a quote, this is from
00:55:20.65\00:55:22.78
Review and Herald, May 29, 1900.
00:55:22.82\00:55:25.55
Paul was a living
example of what every true
00:55:25.59\00:55:29.72
Christian should be.
00:55:29.76\00:55:31.09
He lived for God's glory.
00:55:31.13\00:55:33.53
His words come sounding
down the line to our time.
00:55:33.60\00:55:36.73
For me to live is Christ.
00:55:36.77\00:55:39.47
He who was once a persecutor
of Christ in the person of His
00:55:39.50\00:55:43.57
saints now holds up before
the world the cross of Christ.
00:55:43.61\00:55:47.68
His heart burned
with a love for souls.
00:55:47.71\00:55:50.21
He gave all his energies
for the conversion of men.
00:55:50.25\00:55:53.68
There never lived a
more self denying, earnest,
00:55:53.72\00:55:57.05
persevering worker.
00:55:57.09\00:55:58.72
His life was Christ.
00:55:58.75\00:56:00.39
He worked the works of Christ.
00:56:00.42\00:56:02.86
All the blessings he
received were prized as so many
00:56:02.89\00:56:06.13
advantages to be used
in blessing other people.
00:56:06.19\00:56:09.40
Amen, Amen. Our
time is very, very short.
00:56:09.43\00:56:12.47
Give me one line in
summation, Mollie Steenson.
00:56:12.50\00:56:15.20
Judge not lest you be judged.
00:56:15.24\00:56:16.91
Pastor John Lomacang.
00:56:16.94\00:56:18.27
Talk of Christ, and when the
heart is converted everything
00:56:18.31\00:56:20.58
that is out of harmony
with the Word will fall off.
00:56:20.61\00:56:22.84
And Shelley Quinn.
00:56:22.88\00:56:24.25
Read Romans again and again.
00:56:24.28\00:56:26.55
Walk in unity and love
with your brothers and sisters.
00:56:26.58\00:56:31.05
Amen! Thank you so very much.
00:56:31.09\00:56:33.22
It is with sadness that
we come down to the end of
00:56:33.25\00:56:35.56
this wonderful study.
00:56:35.59\00:56:37.03
I'm enthused and saddened
because we've done such a great
00:56:37.06\00:56:43.63
study and gone
through this Word.
00:56:43.67\00:56:45.97
C. D. Brooks used to say, Do not
let the ethic suffer under the
00:56:46.00\00:56:51.57
weight of the ethnic.
00:56:51.61\00:56:52.94
So, and you put it so
beautifully, Shelley, let your
00:56:52.97\00:56:57.11
convictions be of the Lord.
00:56:57.15\00:56:59.35
And it is important
that they be of the Word.
00:56:59.38\00:57:01.58
And, Pastor John, you said
preference is not a standard.
00:57:01.62\00:57:04.45
Love it! Great thought.
00:57:04.49\00:57:06.59
There is much to think
about and much to pray about.
00:57:06.62\00:57:10.46
We ought to get into
the Word and study the Word.
00:57:10.49\00:57:14.20
But we are admonished, Don't
be just hearers of the Word,
00:57:14.23\00:57:18.57
or studiers of the Word.
00:57:18.60\00:57:20.27
It is in the doing that we
are made like Christ Jesus.
00:57:20.34\00:57:23.91
So do these things.
00:57:23.94\00:57:25.41
Happy are ye if you do them.
00:57:25.44\00:57:28.61
Thank you for spending
just a little time with us.
00:57:28.64\00:57:30.58
We'll see you again soon.
00:57:30.65\00:57:32.18
Keep on studying
and God will bless.
00:57:32.21\00:57:34.58