Title: SERVING THE LORD WITH FREEDOM AND FEAR

Focus: We serve the Lord with freedom and holy fear.

Function: To encourage the people to give each other “space” to serve the Lord with a sense of freedom and holy reverence

Text: Romans 14:1-12

INTRODUCTION

I can think of at least three reasons why this passage should “ring a bell” for us today. First of all, today is the first day of the week—Sunday. And for Christians, Sunday marks the day of Christ’s resurrection. This is the day on which Jesus conquered the power of sin and death and arose from the grave. Sunday is the day that Jesus revealed himself as sovereign Lord. The apostle Paul says: (vs. 9) “…Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.”Every Sunday, the church celebrates Jesus’ resurrection and Lordship over all.

Secondly, today marks the 4^th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York. It’s 9/11 today—a date that is stamped into America’s collective memory. 9/11 signifies America’s war on terror, and it has become part of America’s story. We observe the horrific, and senseless attack of terrorists who consider rampant killings an acceptable means to enforce their religious ideology and worldview on the rest of the world. On this day we do well to take note that all people—nations, kings, queens, presidents, politicians, tyrants, and terrorists—all people must give account someday of all their actions. All must stand before Jesus Christ, our judge. As Paul reminds us in vs. 11 “It is written: ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’” Surely this text rings a bell today!

Here’s the third reason why this passage connects with us today: This Sunday marks the beginning of a new season of ministry and service at Calvary Church. Today we pick up steam again, seeking to lead each other into a growing and committed relationship with Jesus and his church. Ministries and programs are in place; staff, volunteers, and all kinds of people, young and old alike, are ready to lead people to a deeper knowledge of Christian faith and service. Everyone of us has an opportunity today to begin anew a time of serving the Lord. My question today is this: how will you and I serve the Lord together?

I raise this question because in 22 years of ministry I’ve observed that people can “make” or “break” each other in the context of serving the Lord. I’ve noticed that certain attitudes or approaches either help or hinder us in doing the work of the Lord.

Encouragement, for example, will get the best out of a person. Incessant criticism, however, paralyzes people in the work of ministry. Looking down on people because they are not on the same level of spiritual growth or understanding, or making people feel less accepted because they have different opinions shaped by different experiences lead to discouragement and divisions in the church.

Such things spoil the atmosphere of serving the Lord. And that’s why I believe that God has a word for us today as we hear the scripture say: (vs. 1,9,10).

“Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters…You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother?” In light of this passage, then, I want to encourage all of us to give each other “space” to serve the Lord with a sense of freedom and holy reverence or fear.

SOME OBSERVATIONS

In the days of the apostle Paul, the church in Rome consisted of Christians with various, diverse backgrounds. Many of the members are from a Jewish background. They are familiar with the Law or O.T. scriptures; they have learned to observe the rituals and ceremonies prescribed by the Law and the Prophets: fasting and tithing and observing certain feast days have been part of their religious training from childhood on. Others are from a primarily pagan background; they may have served many gods or no particular god at all. Their familiarity with Jewish practices and religious observances is minimal. But there they are—Jews and Gentiles alike!

They have heard of Jesus’ wondrous work. They believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of the world. Together they confess: “Christ has died; Christ has risen; Christ will come again!” And now together they must learn to apply the scriptures through the eyes of Jesus. The challenge for the Jewish Christians is to accept and know how Jesus’ work has fulfilled the Law of God; and for the Gentile believers the challenge is to overcome and abandon their former pagan ways and to conform their lives to the scriptures or will of God.

In practical terms this led to tension or divisions in the church of Rome. Some Christians from a Jewish background, for example, had a difficult time believing that circumcision was no longer necessary, or that the observance of fast days and festivals was no longer a religious duty or obligation. And others, primarily from Gentile background, stressed the freedom we have in Christ; they were persuaded that Christ has set us free from observing principles and ceremonies and practices—all meant to save ourselves by the bootstraps of works.

These are men and women of faith. They all are trying to learn what it means that God sent his Son Jesus into the world to save us from sin and death. And they are all at different points or stages of growth in their understanding of the Christian faith and good news. It’s in this historical context that Paul gives them (and us today) guidance and instruction.

One commentator (John Stott,358) has summarized Paul’s teaching in this passage as follows: “We must not elevate non-essentials, especially issues of custom and ceremony, to the level of the essential and make them tests of orthodoxy and conditions of fellowship. Nor must we marginalize fundamental theological or moral questions as if they were only cultural and of no great importance.” Paul teaches us to distinguish between the essentials and the non-essentials of the Christian faith. And in that process we must learn to give each other “space” to serve the Lord with freedom and holy reverence.

Paul begins by stating positively a fundamental principle: (vs. 1) “Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.” Negatively speaking that means, says Paul, “do not look down” on a person who fasts or abstains from certain foods or do not condemn a person for eating all kinds of foods, including, for example, pork. For with the coming of Christ and his victory over sin and death, these things are now matters of indifference. They do not touch the essentials of the Christian faith.

Why must we give each other “space” to grow in our understanding of Scripture and knowledge of Christ? Paul states four reasons:

Because God has welcomed us: (vs. 2-3) “The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.”

In other words, if God accepts such a person, who am I to look down on such a person?

Because Christ died and rose again to be our Lord or Master: (vs. 4,5) “ Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” In other words, do not Lord it over your brother or sister in the Lord, for it is the victorious Christ who is Lord and Master over all. Rather, we must welcome each other, accept each other, as servants of the Lord.

Because you and I are brothers and sisters in the Lord: (vs. 10a) “You then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother?” I appreciate the observation of John Stott, a Christian pastor/theologian, when he says: “Whether we are thinking of the weak, with all their tedious doubts and fears, or of the strong, with all their brash assurances and freedoms, they are our brothers and sisters. When we remember this, our attitude to them becomes at once less critical and impatient, more generous and tender” (363). We are members of the household or family of God, and as such we must accept each other and give each other “space to grow in our understanding of Scripture and knowledge of Christ. There’s one more reason, says Paul.

Because we will all stand before God’s judgment seat: (vs. 10b) “For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written: ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’”

We begin a new season of serving the Lord. In all our ministries, we pray for and work toward leading each other to a growing and committed relationship with Christ and his church. On the continuum of a living faith in Christ, we are all at different places: some of us are strong in faith, firmly established in making ethical and moral choices, and gifted with many abilities to serve the Lord. Others of us are just beginning the journey of faith; some of us barely know how to pray, or how to read the scriptures; others struggle with giving up behaviors and attitudes that are selfish and unbiblical, unlike Christ’s.

Here’s what I invite us all to do: serve Christ with freedom and holy reverence.

The freedom comes to us when we embrace the Bible’s teaching that each one of us belongs to Jesus: (vs. 7.8) “…none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”

Our security and our identity are with Jesus. As you serve the Lord in the days and weeks to come, remember that you belong to him.

To belong to Jesus means to belong to his sphere of grace; it means that we live and serve and have our being in the context of God’s favor, of God’s acceptance of us. He loves us and accepts us. He values us as his servants, for we belong to him. Serve the Lord with freedom, in the knowledge that he accepts you as you are, while you seek to serve and obey him.

But also serve the Lord with holy reverence. For you and I are accountable to the Lord our judge. The psalmist reminded the earth to “tremble at the presence of our God” (Psalm 114) Let there be a realization in our hearts that God calls us to serve him in accordance with his will found in Scripture. Let there be a deep sense among us that Christian obedience and respect for God’s will are not options for us to pick and choose at random. Let there be a realization among us that serving the Lord with freedom is a wonderful privilege and at the same time a sacred duty for all who belong to Jesus Christ. That sacred duty calls for a holy fear—a reverence of the Lord as our judge to whom we are accountable.

So, in that context of service, let’s us give each other space to grow in faith and knowledge, always encouraging each other to serve the Lord with freedom and with holy fear.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.