-
I want to read to you one verse
-
this evening.
-
I want to read you one verse this evening.
-
And I'll read it just
after I share with you
-
what I'm going be speaking on.
-
And I'll share with you what
I'm going to be speaking on
-
just after I pray.
-
So let's pray together.
-
Father, You told us
-
that without You we could do nothing,
-
and we believe it,
-
even though our flesh
would rage with pride
-
and try to convince us we'll be okay.
-
By faith, we believe we can do nothing.
-
Lord, faith is the assurance
of things hoped for
-
and we want to put our hope
-
in what You have promised.
-
Lord, You said that
whoever believes in You
-
would do the work that You do,
-
and greater works than these would he do
-
because You had gone to the Father.
-
Would You allow me to do -
-
it's almost unspeakable, Lord -
-
greater works than You did?
-
Would you equip Your saints so that
-
we could all do greater works than You did
-
because You have gone to the Father;
-
You've ascended, and You've poured out
-
the powerful Holy Spirit.
-
Father, I want to pray
that You would give us
-
a spirit of wisdom and of revelation
-
in the knowledge of You.
-
Lord, I want to pray that You would just
-
break chains this evening.
-
Lord, wherever there are those
-
who are in bondage,
that You would free them,
-
and wherever there are Christians
who are returning to a spirit of slavery,
-
that You would destroy it.
-
Lord, You know that this topic
that we're talking about
-
is one that has plagued me, hurt me.
-
I just pray that I would be able to pass
-
a little bit of the help I've received on.
-
Lord, I pray that You'd give
me clarity from Your Word.
-
Lord, that You'd give me prophecy
-
if there's something particular
that needs to be pointed out.
-
And that You would just allow us
-
to know that Your Spirit was among us,
-
speaking to us by Your Word.
-
Now, Lord, let us preach and listen
-
with confidence in Christ who loves us
-
and gave Himself for us,
-
and promises to be with us always,
-
even to the end of the age.
-
We pray this in Jesus' name, Amen.
-
The topic I want to talk
to you about tonight
-
is one that can cause
you either great pain
-
or tremendous pleasure.
-
What I want to speak to us about
-
is a topic that can either be
-
pure and perfect -
-
something that can either
be pure and perfect -
-
or, dirty and defiled.
-
It can be either good or bad.
-
Seared or soft.
-
I want to speak to you
about the conscience.
-
And isn't the conscience where we live?
-
So much of our lives as Christians
-
are lived interacting
with our consciences.
-
If the conscience is dirty,
-
there's no good day.
-
If the conscience is pure,
-
there is no bad day,
-
no matter what's happening.
-
If your conscience is clean,
-
communion with God is uninterrupted.
-
All hell can break loose against you
-
and you've got heaven in your soul.
-
If there's a hindrance
between you and the Lord,
-
then everything can be going right,
-
and nothing's going right.
-
There's no joy in your soul.
-
And I want to speak to us
about the conscience
-
from 1 Timothy 1:5
-
where we're told the goal
-
of all Christian teaching.
-
The goal of all Paul's teaching,
-
the goal of all Timothy's teaching,
-
the goal of every Sunday
school you ever teach,
-
and the goal of every interaction
you ever have with a friend
-
is summarized in this one verse.
-
1 Timothy 1:5.
-
"The aim of our charge..."
-
or as I believe the NASB puts it:
-
"The goal of our instruction."
-
"The aim of our charge is love
-
that issues from a pure heart
-
and a good conscience
-
and a sincere faith."
-
Everything that's ever taught
-
in the name of Christianity
-
ought to have a singular goal:
-
love.
-
If it's not helping people care
-
about other people more,
-
it's not Christian teaching.
-
If it's not warming your heart
-
to care more about God
-
and care more about the people He made,
-
it's not Christian teaching.
-
I don't care how orthodox it is,
-
if it doesn't result in love, it's bent,
-
and crooked, warped, and sinful,
-
and self-condemned.
-
The goal of all Christian teaching
-
is for you to care more about other people
-
for the glory of God.
-
The aim of our instruction is love.
-
And it issues, it flows out
-
of the inside.
-
And the inside of us is described
-
in three ways:
-
We're told that Christian teaching
-
that produces love -
-
that love actually ought to
issue out of a pure heart -
-
a heart that's been born again,
-
a heart that's been cleansed,
-
a heart that has pure motives before God.
-
And a good conscience - we'll get to that.
-
And a sincere faith -
not like the Pharisees.
-
They prayed in public, they acted holy,
-
they gave their tithes,
-
but it was all to have
other people watch them.
-
It wasn't a sincere faith towards God.
-
It was a show faith towards man.
-
And then, the Apostle Paul singles out
-
the importance of a good conscience
-
in producing love.
-
And it should be clear almost immediately
-
just how very practical this is.
-
It is very practical to think about
-
how much we need a good conscience
-
if we're going to get biblical love.
-
So you think about how abortion
-
is justified in our day.
-
The slaughter of the innocents.
-
Sixty million Americans dead since 1973 -
-
legally.
-
And justified how?
-
In many cases, because it's loving.
-
Loving.
-
It would sacrifice the mother's dreams
-
to have a child at this point,
-
and we want to be loving
-
and let her become all
that she was meant to be.
-
So, sacrifice the life of the child
-
so as not to sacrifice
the mother's dreams.
-
Or, it's argued that abortion is loving
-
to the child.
-
Because of course,
if you're born in poverty
-
or in a family that doesn't want you,
-
that couldn't be a life worth living.
-
So you see what happens
-
is that something is justified
in the name of love,
-
but it's not from a biblical conscience.
-
Not from a good conscience at all.
-
Really, it's self-deceived.
-
One in every three women in America
-
by the time they're 40
-
has had an abortion.
-
So I realize I'm speaking to dear sisters
-
who have had abortions,
-
and men who have helped
them get those abortions.
-
And I want to tell you,
I'm going to share things with you
-
that will cleanse your conscience.
-
That will let you know freedom
-
and peace and joy.
-
It should just be immediately apparent
-
that this whole idea of a good conscience
-
is really important in the issue of love.
-
Why do so many churches not practice
-
church discipline?
-
Well, it's not loving.
-
Rebuking,
-
correcting,
-
excluding,
-
putting out.
-
All of that's inconceivable.
-
That can't be loving.
-
And so you've got bad definitions of love
-
moving people into action,
-
and you've got a bad idea of love.
-
You don't have love
from a good conscience.
-
A good conscience says,
-
hey, Jesus decides what's loving.
-
And if you read Matthew 18,
-
it's all about love.
-
Go get that brother. Go win that brother.
-
Go get two or three to win that brother.
-
Go get the whole church
to try to win that brother.
-
It's all about love
-
and winning the sinner in,
-
and when love divorces
itself from the Bible,
-
you don't get love anymore.
-
And the Bible is interested
in cultivating love
-
from a good conscience.
-
This is important to know when
you're talking about new Christians.
-
I have a friend named Darren.
-
He went on to become a pastor,
-
but when he first got saved,
-
he was smoking pot,
-
he was smoking cigarettes,
he was drinking alcohol,
-
he was drinking coffee,
-
and he got saved and he got so convicted,
-
and he quit the coffee
and cigarettes right away.
-
But it took a little more
conscience informing
-
before it started firing on all cylinders,
-
and he got convicted of what
he needed to be convicted of
-
in order to repent
-
and continue to walk
-
in a matter worthy of the gospel.
-
And so we need to
understand the conscience.
-
It's because of misunderstandings
-
about the conscience
-
that so many churches are so small.
-
Now listen, I believe
that a lot of churches
-
are small because they're so faithful.
-
I believe that.
-
I believe that in the midst of a crooked
-
and perverse generation,
-
a lot of times the remnant
is going to be small
-
and there aren't going to be a
lot of people that join them.
-
I believe that faithfulness
-
can keep churches small.
-
Did anyone hear me say that?
-
Okay, I said that. Right?
-
And I believe that if your church
-
all becomes about what
kind of bread you bake,
-
and what homeschooling curriculum you buy,
-
you're going to be small
for the wrong reasons.
-
And you're going to pat
yourself on the back
-
for your faithfulness,
-
while you keep people away
from the kingdom of God.
-
And that's bad.
-
And so understanding
issues of the conscience
-
is critical to living a life of love.
-
The goal of our instruction is love
-
from a pure heart,
-
a sincere faith,
-
and a good conscience.
-
Now, let's just ask:
-
what is the conscience?
-
We're looking at 1 Timothy 1:5.
-
It tells us that love is supposed to
-
come out of a good conscience.
-
What is a conscience?
-
And I think the best place to get a sense
-
of what a conscience is
-
is by watching a conscience in action
-
in Romans 2:14-16.
-
Romans 2:14-16.
-
Let us look at the conscience in action.
-
And as we see the conscience acting;
-
as we see what the conscience does,
-
we get a glimpse of
what the conscience is.
-
The Apostle Paul, you might remember,
-
in the first three chapters of Romans
-
is proceeding like a lawyer
-
against the human race;
-
showing the universal guilt
of the human race,
-
and how the whole human race
-
is under the guilt and
under the power of sin.
-
And, as he goes and proceeds to do this,
-
he explains that Gentiles -
that is non-Jews,
-
people who didn't deal with Moses;
-
didn't have the 10 Commandments;
-
didn't have the Bible;
-
the people Francis Schaeffer called,
-
"the man without the Bible."
-
He says these Gentiles, even though
-
they didn't have the 10 Commandments,
-
none the less, they had the law
-
written on their hearts.
-
And their consciences always spoke to them
-
about that law
-
that was written on their hearts.
-
Romans 2:14 says,
-
"For when Gentiles that
do not have the law..."
-
They don't have the law of Moses.
-
They don't have the 10 Commandments
-
outside their courtyards.
-
"...By nature, do what the law requires,
-
they are a law to themselves,
-
even though they do not have the law,
-
they show that the work of the law
-
is written on their hearts,
-
while their consciences also bear witness
-
and their conflicting thoughts accuse
-
or even excuse them
-
on that day when according to my gospel
-
God judges the secrets of men
-
by Christ Jesus."
-
Every single person has the law
-
written on their heart.
-
And we're not talking about this
-
in the way that Hebrews 8 talks about
-
the law written on the heart.
-
When Hebrews 8 talks about
-
the Christian having the
law written on their heart,
-
it means that the Christian
longs to do the law.
-
Here, when we look at Romans 2,
-
it's just talking about that every person,
-
whether they're a Christian or not,
-
is aware of the law.
-
They know the difference between
-
right and wrong.
-
I had the privilege of witnessing
-
to two gay friends the other day,
-
and I said to them,
-
"Listen, isn't it amazing
that you're living
-
in this time and this culture
-
where I know there's been persecution
-
and hatred against homosexuals,
-
but really, at the end of the day,
-
this is about as easy a
time as you can imagine
-
to be gay, and you both feel guilty now."
-
And they're like, "Yeah."
-
Because they have the
law written on their hearts.
-
Because their conscience has not been
-
completely silenced.
-
And what the Bible tells us
-
is that the law is written on the heart,
-
so we have this knowledge
of right and wrong,
-
we have this knowledge
of what's good and bad,
-
and the conscience is a witness
-
that's always telling us
-
whether we're doing the good
-
or doing the bad.
-
It's bearing witness.
-
It's like having, as one person put it,
-
a prosecuting attorney in your heart
-
and a defense attorney in your heart
-
at the same time.
-
So the attorney at one point is saying,
-
"You are guilty."
-
And then at the next point, it's saying,
-
"You are innocent."
-
That was good. That was bad.
-
There's this constant self-evaluation
-
going on within the heart
-
being done by the conscience
-
as it compares your behaviors,
-
your attitudes, and your actions
-
to God's law.
-
The conscience bears witness.
-
It's like an alarm that goes off
-
when you're about to do the wrong thing.
-
It's like a knife that stabs your heart
-
when you do the wrong thing.
-
And it's constantly reflecting you to you.
-
And it's a bit wrong to
say it's part of you,
-
but there's also a sense, isn't there,
-
where it's independent of you.
-
I can close my eyes. They're closed.
-
I can't see you now.
-
I've not figured out how to
shut my conscience off.
-
Sadly, there is a way. I'll show you.
-
But it's not easy to
silence the conscience.
-
It's there when you go to bed.
-
I believe the reason that so
many people stay so busy,
-
so distracted, so constantly
needing noise in their ears
-
and visuals in front of their eyes
-
is in many ways, just to keep
-
their conscience at bay.
-
They cannot bear the sound of silence
-
because as soon as you meet silence,
-
there's a sound.
-
And it's the sound of your conscience.
-
So, the conscience is a witness
-
given by God that reflects
-
whether we're either disobeying God's law
-
or obeying it.
-
It's either excusing us or accusing us
-
all the time.
-
And there's debate about how v. 16
-
fits into Romans 2,
-
but it does seem that the final judgment
-
is not far off from the
eyesight of the conscience.
-
"On that day, when according to my gospel
-
God judges the secrets of men
-
by Christ Jesus."
-
Your conscience right now is secret.
-
I can't see your conscience.
-
I don't know who in front of me
-
is tormented with guilt,
-
and who is genuinely joyful in the Lord.
-
I don't know.
-
And you can't see mine.
-
Our consciences have a secret operation.
-
But there will come a day
-
when those secrets are all brought up
-
before the Lord.
-
And where the Lord will assess
-
whether we've done right or wrong
-
on the judgment day.
-
And I'm going to tell you,
-
I believe the conscience knows
-
we've done wrong.
-
Look at Romans 1:32.
-
Romans 1:32.
-
He's speaking about the Gentiles.
-
He's just listed off this
whole list of sins.
-
Homosexuality, lesbianism,
-
gossip, slander,
-
disobedience to parents.
-
He's listed off all these things
-
that Kevin pointed out so well.
-
We ought to feel compassionate about
-
when we see them in other people.
-
And he tells us how the Gentiles
-
feel about all these sins they commit.
-
They tell you it doesn't bother them.
-
They tell you it's no big deal.
-
They tell you they stopped feeling
guilty about that years ago.
-
Romans 1:32.
-
"Though they know God's righteous decree
-
that those who practice such things
-
deserve to die,
-
they not only do them,
-
but give approval to those
who practice them."
-
People know that God has decreed
-
the death sentence against their sin.
-
They know that.
-
Deeply.
-
Their consciences remind them
-
that they deserve to die
-
because of their sin.
-
And they gather around them people
-
who go, "that's okay. It's no big deal."
-
"Oh, don't get into that
old antiquated morality."
-
"That's all false. That's all lies."
-
"You need to understand that
we're free of all that stuff now."
-
And they surround
themselves with voices
-
that say it's all okay.
-
But when they put their
head on the pillow,
-
or have a moment of silence,
-
it's there.
-
I've done wrong.
-
And I deserve to die.
-
And I wonder how many of you here
-
know you've done wrong
-
and you deserve to die,
-
and tonight will be the
time you taste freedom
-
for the first time.
-
Wouldn't that be great?
-
Come out of the shadows?
-
Come out of the secrets?
-
And have your conscience cleansed?
-
I used to teach a Bible study in prison,
-
and there were a number
of men in the Bible study
-
who had killed their wives.
-
One of them denied it for years and years
-
and years and years and years.
-
And when he finally admitted
that he'd killed his wife,
-
they said he changed color.
-
It was just life giving
-
to come clean;
-
to confess.
-
So, here is a definition.
-
I've been helped out with this.
-
The conscience is that aspect
-
because we're made in the image of God -
-
the conscience is that aspect of us
-
that tells us what's right
-
and what's wrong.
-
The conscience is that aspect of us
-
because we're made in the image of God
-
that witnesses to us
-
about what is right and what is wrong.
-
We're made in the image of God,
-
and God is the kind of God who says,
-
that's good; that's good; that's good.
-
Man alone? Not good.
-
Man with a wife? Very good.
-
He is the God who says what's good,
-
not good, and very good.
-
We're made in His image.
-
And so we have a conscience
that bears witness
-
to good, evil, not good, very good.
-
We're made in the image of God
-
and so like God, we cannot help
-
but to witness to the reality of morality.
-
That's what the conscience is.
-
Everyone has one.
-
Only you experience yours.
-
It witnesses to what's
going on in your heart
-
regarding God's law -
-
whether you're obeying it and
you should be excused,
-
or you're disobeying it
and should be accused.
-
And ultimately, all of our secret thoughts
-
will be brought up to the judgment of God
-
on the last day.
-
This is my second point
if you're keeping notes.
-
If you're keeping notes, I'm sorry.
-
I'm just the worst preacher for that.
-
But, here's the second point.
-
We've looked at what the conscience is,
-
and now we want to look at the fact
-
that the conscience has different states.
-
The conscience can be in different states.
-
And I don't mean the conscience can be
-
in Mississippi and Alabama.
-
I mean that it can be in
different places before God.
-
It can be in different states.
-
This is implied in the verse.
-
We wouldn't really need to go
further than 1 Timothy 1:5.
-
We will go further than 1 Timothy 1:5,
-
but it's implied right
there in 1 Timothy 1:5.
-
The goal of our instruction is love
-
from a good conscience.
-
So one of the states
-
that a conscience can be in
-
is it can be good.
-
You can have a good conscience.
-
The implication of the verse is
-
that when you start your Christian life,
-
the conscience isn't as
good as it should be
-
and so you need Christian teaching
-
to learn how to walk
with a good conscience.
-
The conscience can be in different states.
-
And it's going to benefit us, I think,
-
this evening.
-
It's going to benefit us to think through
-
some of the states
-
the conscience can be in.
-
This isn't exhaustive,
-
but I hope it's helpful.
-
The first is the conscience can be weak.
-
The conscience can be weak.
-
Look at 1 Corinthians 8.
-
1 Corinthians 8, if you will.
-
And we'll read verses 7-12.
-
We'll put our fingers on v. 10.
-
1 Corinthians 8:7-12.
-
The situation is that
some of the Corinthians
-
were eating meat sacrificed to idols.
-
And they'd gotten saved;
-
they's realized that Zeus and Hermes
-
and all these idols, they were nothing.
-
They didn't even exist.
-
And so the fact that in Corinth,
-
all the meat in the meat market
-
was sacrificed to idols didn't bother them
-
because all the idols didn't exist.
-
But Paul says in v. 7,
-
not all possess this knowledge.
-
Not every Christian's worked it out.
-
Even though there's only one God,
-
and Zeus and Hermes don't exist,
-
not every Christian has
fully appreciated that,
-
fully understood that,
-
fully gotten that.
-
They're worshiping God and God alone,
-
but man, Zeus and Hermes are real,
-
and I don't want anything to do with them.
-
And it says there,
-
"not all possess this knowledge..."
-
this knowledge that there is only one God,
-
and there are no idols,
-
"...but some through former
association with idols
-
eat food as really offered to an idol
-
and their conscience being weak
-
is defiled.
-
Food will not commend us to God,
-
we are no worse off if we do not eat,
-
and no better off if we do,
-
but take care that this right of yours
-
does not somehow become a stumbling block
-
to the weak.
-
For if anyone sees you who have knowledge
-
eating in an idol's temple,
-
will he not be encouraged
-
if his conscience is weak
-
to eat food offered to idols
-
and so by your knowledge, this weak person
-
is destroyed,
-
the brother for whom Christ died,
-
thus sinning against your brother
-
and wounding their
conscience when it is weak,
-
you sin against Christ.
-
Therefore, if food makes
my brother stumble,
-
I will never eat meat,
-
lest I make my brother stumble."
-
The idea here is that
-
some of these Christians,
-
they couldn't get over the connection
-
between the meat and the idols.
-
They couldn't get over it.
-
They couldn't get it out of their mind.
-
It was like when I got saved.
-
I had been to every nasty punk show
-
before I got saved,
-
and when I got to Bible college
-
and found all these Christians
-
listening to Christianized punk music,
-
I couldn't understand
how it could be good.
-
It couldn't possibly be decent,
-
because it had too many associations
-
with the evil I had come out of
-
for me to even conceive
of it possibly being good.
-
And these Christians in Corinth
-
had so many memories of the pagan temples
-
and so many memories of the wickedness
-
that happened there,
-
that the idea of eating meat
-
that was sacrificed to those gods,
-
they just couldn't handle that.
-
They couldn't tolerate that.
-
And so their consciences were weak.
-
They were weak because they were not
-
walking in the fullness
of what God has revealed.
-
And what God has revealed
-
is that Zeus and Hermes don't exist.
-
Mohammad and Allah don't exist.
-
Vishnu doesn't exist.
-
All the gods, all the false
gods of this world,
-
don't even exist,
-
so you can sacrifice food
all you want to them,
-
they don't exist!
-
But these believers had not been
-
fully able to appreciate
-
all of God's truth.
-
Now, we're going to get into this later,
-
but notice Paul's approach is not:
-
"What's wrong with you not appreciating
-
all of God's revealed truth?"
-
His answer is:
-
care for the weak brother.
-
Don't offend him.
-
He doesn't understand
everything in the Bible,
-
but he understands the
things that save him.
-
Don't hurt him.
-
His conscience is weak.
-
And there are people in our day
-
who think that any touching of alcohol
-
is a sin even though Jesus made wine.
-
And your conscience is weak.
-
There are people who think
-
one day is holier than all the others,
-
and Paul says their consciences are weak.
-
Now, that's kind of hard, right?
-
Because when your conscience is weak,
-
you feel like it's pretty strong.
-
Right?
-
I've got a few of those issues myself.
-
I've got a pretty good unbiblical case
-
for what I believe.
-
Nonetheless, Paul identifies
-
certain consciences that have not
-
walked into the fullness
of God's revelation.
-
He identifies them as weak.
-
You're going to have a weak conscience.
-
And conversely, you can
have a strong conscience.
-
A strong conscience is
one that fully walks in
-
what God has revealed to be okay.
-
A conscience can also be seared.
-
1 Timothy 4:1 please.
-
A conscience can also be seared.
-
1 Timothy 4:1
-
Remember we're now in the same book
-
that our first passage comes from.
-
Paul says, "Now the Spirit expressly says
-
that in later times, some will
-
depart from the faith
by devoting themselves
-
to deceitful spirits
-
and the teachings of demons
-
through the insincerity of liars
-
whose consciences are seared,
-
who forbid marriage,
-
and require abstinence from food
-
that God created to be received
-
with thanksgiving by those who believe
-
and know the truth.
-
For everything created by God is good
-
and nothing is to be rejected
-
if it is received with thanksgiving,
-
for it is made holy by the
Word of God and prayer."
-
Now some of you could come up to me
-
after the service,
-
and if my experience is true,
-
some of you will,
-
and you've got burns.
-
Places where your skin has been seared.
-
And of course, you know,
-
if you put out a match
with your two fingers,
-
it's no big deal,
-
but if you fall onto the top of the stove
-
or you wind up in a fire,
-
you wind up with skin
where the nerve damage
-
is terrible, where you can no longer feel
-
what's going on on the skin.
-
And so what ought to be sensitive
-
and sensitive to touch,
-
you actually can't feel
because it's seared.
-
And the Bible says that the conscience
-
can become like that.
-
You know, one time, you say
-
your first cuss word.
-
Then years later, you're
swearing like a sailor
-
and you don't even notice.
-
A person looks at their
first pornographic image,
-
and it's seared into their minds.
-
It's blazed in there.
-
And then, ten years later,
-
they can't even remember how much
-
garbage they've seen.
-
The first time, it just bothered them,
-
it tormented them.
-
Ten years later, they didn't even realize
-
it was wrong.
-
That's a seared conscience.
-
It's not sensitive
-
the way it ought to be.
-
And we tend to think about that
-
with drugs and alcohol.
-
If you get into drugs and alcohol,
-
you'll sear your conscience,
-
and you really will.
-
But Paul's concern is
actually with legalism.
-
There's some people
that say marriage is bad,
-
and I'm here to tell you they're demonic.
-
Isn't that what the verse says?
-
"By devoting themselves
to deceitful spirits
-
and the teaching of demons."
-
Some people forbid marriage.
-
Some people make new rules and regulations
-
where you've got to be
just about like Jesus
-
before you're allowed to marry anybody.
-
They make it almost impossible
-
for anyone to get married.
-
You can court my daughter
once you're perfect.
-
That sounds godly.
-
Sounds a lot like 1 Corinthians 7.
-
If you're struggling,
let them get married.
-
Some people don't realize
-
that tacos are a gift from God.
-
Amen?
-
If you don't agree,
-
well, go back to that demonic verse.
-
And we need to watch those things
-
because it can feel very holy
-
not to do certain things.
-
When you get a zeal for the Lord,
-
it's very easy for Satan to hijack that
-
with a do not taste, do not handle,
-
do not touch mentality.
-
I used to do those things,
but now I don't.
-
Well, if what you mean is you used to be
-
an adulterer, but now you're not?
-
Good.
-
But if you mean you used to enjoy food,
-
but now you don't?
-
Bad.
-
Your conscience is being seared.
-
Another aspect or state of the conscience
-
can be in is guilty,
-
or in the words of Hebrews in the ESV,
-
"evil."
-
Hebrews 10:22.
-
Hebrews 10:22.
-
Here the writer of Hebrews writes
-
in Hebrews 10:22,
-
"Let us draw near..."
-
meaning, draw near to God.
-
"...With a true heart
-
in full assurance of faith,
-
with our hearts sprinkled clean
-
from an evil conscience..."
-
Or as some translations put it:
-
"from a guilty conscience,
-
and our bodies washed with pure water."
-
Isn't this interesting?
-
When we draw near to God,
-
the conscience comes up, doesn't it?
-
Because as soon as you
go to draw near to God,
-
ooh, that thing you said
to your wife pops up.
-
The fact that you weren't just
-
biblically correcting your children,
-
but you were screaming comes up.
-
Years ago, I was preaching,
-
and I hadn't planned on mentioned it,
-
I just mentioned,
-
maybe some of you have
cheated on your taxes,
-
and immediately, a lady
comes up to me
-
after the service and said,
-
"I've never cheated on my taxes before.
-
I cheated on them this year."
-
It's amazing how things can just surface
-
when we go to approach God.
-
And if we're going to approach God
-
and really enjoy it and actually
-
commune with God,
-
the guilt or the evil
-
that's on our consciences
-
needs to be cleansed.
-
It needs to be washed away.
-
Because otherwise, you know
-
you're approaching a holy God
-
as a dirty sinner.
-
And that's simply not possible,
-
because His eyes are too pure
-
to behold what's sinful.
-
So there's a guilty or evil conscience.
-
And then, let's remember
this one really quickly.
-
There is such a thing
as a purified conscience.
-
A cleansed conscience.
-
Hebrews 9:11-14.
-
We'll look at v. 14.
-
Hebrews 9, "How much more
-
will the blood of Christ,
-
who through the eternal Spirit
-
offered Himself without blemish to God,
-
purify your conscience
-
from dead works...
-
(works that call out for your death)
-
to serve the living God."
-
The apostle here is talking to us
-
about how in the Old Testament,
-
worship of God and the approach to God
-
was when you approached His temple
-
and approached His tabernacle,
-
and this was done by sacrificing animals
-
year after year after year.
-
And we're told that the
sacrificing of animals
-
never took away the knowledge of sin.
-
But how much more the blood of Christ,
-
who was the Sheep without a blemish;
-
who wasn't just one lamb,
-
but was the Lamb of God.
-
Behold, the Lamb of God,
-
who takes away the sins of the world.
-
It says here, "How much more
will the blood of Christ,
-
who through the eternal Spirit
-
offered Himself without blemish to God,
-
purify your conscience from dead works
-
to serve the living God."
-
Listen to me.
-
Your conscience screams
out for your death.
-
Your conscience gnaws away at you
-
for your death.
-
Your conscience screams
-
like the blood of guilt and says,
-
"you deserve to die for that thing you did
-
and for those things you did
-
and for those attitudes you harbor.
-
You deserve to die."
-
And then Christ comes
shedding His own blood
-
and says, "I died."
-
Your conscience screams
for the wrath of God
-
to be poured out on you.
-
And Christ stands before you
-
and takes the wrath of God;
-
propitiating the wrath of God;
-
taking all the wrath of God on Himself.
-
The way to deal with the conscience
-
is not to say, "Oh, everybody does it."
-
"Oh, it's not that bad."
-
"Oh, I'll forget about it eventually."
-
Beloved, some of you will find
-
that the conscience comes to haunt you
-
in your last minute
-
before you die.
-
Those secrets will not go away.
-
They must be dealt with
by the blood of Christ.
-
You feel dirty? He is clean.
-
You feel defiled? He is pure.
-
You feel like your conscience rages
-
and calls out for the wrath of God?
-
He has satisfied the wrath of God
-
by taking upon Himself in His body
-
on the tree.
-
Beloved, you can be clean.
-
I don't care if you killed your children,
-
or if you drove your girlfriend
to the abortion clinic,
-
or if you've shot someone
-
that you've never told anyone about,
-
or if there's a harem in your mind
-
from all the pornography you've looked at,
-
or if you told a lie to your
mother or your father,
-
or you stole from your children,
-
or you stole from your parents,
-
or you stole from your boss -
-
whatever it is, if you
will lay it before Jesus,
-
He will cleanse it.
-
And He will take away
-
even the consciousness of guilt.
-
He will cleanse your conscience.
-
A cleansed conscience is not a conscience
-
that managed to forget guilt.
-
It's a conscience that has experienced
-
guilt dealt with by the
price being fully paid
-
at the cross.
-
Oh, in the sea of God's forgetfulness.
-
That's good enough for me.
-
Praise God, my sins are gone!
-
And then a conscience - 1 Timothy 1:5 -
-
can be good.
-
What's a good conscience?
-
A good conscience is a conscience
-
that is purified
-
and is learning God's path.
-
The good conscience is a conscience
-
that is purified
-
and is learning God's path.
-
Think about the rest
of the book of 1 Timothy.
-
It unfolds how we ought to behave
-
as people of the church.
-
It teaches us how a person ought to behave
-
when they are part of
the household of God.
-
And they way they ought to behave
-
is explained and it's
conscience-liberating
-
to read the Word of God
-
to realize what God expects of you.
-
There are some pastors
who feel terribly guilty
-
because they're caring for their wives,
-
caring for their children;
-
they feel like they should
be out every night.
-
They need to go, go, go, go, go
-
because people are
dying and going to hell.
-
And then the Bible comes
along to their conscience
-
and says no, you need to manage
your own household well.
-
Because if you can't manage
your own household well,
-
how will you manage God's church?
-
And there's moms who think,
-
I should be counseling;
I should be evangelizing.
-
but instead I'm just caring for these
kids and caring for this husband.
-
Kids and husband.
Kids and husband.
-
All the time. All the time. All the time.
-
And then 1 Timothy comes along
-
in 1 Timothy 2 and says,
-
you'll be saved through childbearing.
-
"...If you continue in faith and love
-
and holiness with self-control."
-
That doesn't mean you have
a baby, you go to heaven.
-
It means the ordinary context
-
in which a woman who's married
-
will work out her salvation
with fear and trembling
-
will be in the task of mothering.
-
Are you preoccupied with mothering?
-
Well, if you're a mother, praise God!
-
Let the truth of God's Word
-
inform your conscience
-
so that it's good.
-
You know how many
places it says in the Bible
-
that if you have a pile of
laundry in the basement,
-
you're in sin?
-
Nowhere.
-
And if you let it bind your conscience,
-
it will ruin you.
-
We're laughing, but there are
-
depressed, demoralized, discouraged women
-
who are binding their consciences
-
with the things the Word of God
-
says nothing about.
-
You've got a friend,
-
and they're selling vitamins,
-
and if you buy these vitamins,
-
you'll be broke but your
kids will live forever.
-
What kind of a mother am I
-
buying Happy Meals?
-
Well, you're a good mother.
-
There's good toys in the Happy Meals.
-
We don't dare bind ourselves.
-
It's no small issue.
-
Calvin said people think that we reformers
-
are making a big deal
-
by speaking about holy days and vestments
-
and saying that they have
no place in the church.
-
He said we are right on target
-
because as soon as the conscience
-
binds itself with things that are
-
beyond the Word of God,
-
it produces no end of misery.
-
He says that first, a person will say
-
I can't drink wine.
-
And then, they'll think,
-
I can't drink sparkling water.
-
And then they won't be able to
find a water that's clean enough.
-
That's what your conscience will do
-
if it's not gripped by the Word of God
-
and the Word of God alone.
-
I remember as a young pastor,
-
I was pastoring all these young people.
-
I'm still pastoring all
these young people.
-
And I was really young.
-
I'm still pretty young,
but I was even younger.
-
And they were even younger.
-
So we were just the
blind leading the blind.
-
And I thought I need to preach
on marriage and the family,
-
and I need to give them
-
all kinds of instructions
on how dad's need to
-
take their kids deer hunting
-
to make them real men
and eat steak with them.
-
And moms need to do this and that.
-
I need to give them all these
-
incredible, great family values
-
to protect them from the
ungodliness of the world.
-
And then you read your Bible, and?
-
None of it's there!
-
Paul's writing to pagans
-
converted to Christianity in Colossians.
-
And he's going to teach them
-
how to do marriage.
-
Husbands, love your wives. Next verse.
-
What about the date night?
-
What about the full financial plan?
-
What about putting a
maximum security prison
-
around your daughter until she's 25?
-
Who forgot that part?
-
Listen to me.
-
Believing in the
sufficiency of Scripture -
-
that's the doctrine that
Scripture is enough
-
to lead us into all godliness -
-
believing in the sufficiency of Scripture
-
not only means that you
-
say all that Scripture says,
-
but that you don't say
-
what the Scripture doesn't say.
-
Because if God shuts His mouth,
-
He knows what He's doing.
-
And what happens when you pare down
-
godliness to those basic things,
-
is you get a gospel that can
-
take the planet by storm,
-
instead of getting caught up
-
in your cultural baggage.
-
You wind up with a gospel
-
that can go to every
single part of the planet
-
not wrapped in American clothes
-
or Victorian English clothes,
-
but wrapped in the clothes of Christ,
-
bringing people to the
essence of godliness.
-
Love your wife. How do you do it?
-
Well, we do a date night.
-
Oh yeah? We don't. But I love her too.
-
Which one of us is godlier?
-
That's not the point.
-
A good conscience is one
-
that is led by the Word of God alone!
-
And it's not a little holier to add to it.
-
It's demonic.
-
And it wrecks people souls,
-
and it eats their consciences up,
-
and it steals their joy from loving
-
the pure sacrifice of
the Lord Jesus Christ.
-
It's not a joke.
-
We've got people who are so serious
-
about not being worldly
-
in the drugs and alcohol way,
-
but who love to flirt with worldliness
-
in the legalism way.
-
Deadly!
-
Now, what I want to do with the time
-
we have remaining -
-
and I'm planning to have
quite a bit of time remaining,
-
just in case you're curious -
-
what I want to do in the time remaining
-
is I want to discuss the relationship
-
(incomplete thought) -
-
three different relationships
your conscience is in.
-
The relationship between your
conscience and the devil.
-
The relationship between your
conscience and the world.
-
And then your relationship
-
between the conscience and the church.
-
First, your conscience and the devil.
-
You can turn to Colossians 2.
-
Relationship between your conscience
-
and the devil.
-
It all sounds so easy
when I say it, right?
-
A good conscience is one that's purified
-
and follows God's path.
-
Go.
-
A good conscience is one that's purified
-
and follows God's path,
-
but we have an enemy who's called
-
the accuser of the brethren.
-
And he loves to accuse our consciences.
-
He likes to throw fiery darts at them.
-
He likes to hail us with accusations.
-
He likes to assault us
-
by reminding us of the
condemnation of God's law,
-
and then he'll even condemn us
-
with laws that go beyond God's law.
-
And you need to know
how to deal with the devil.
-
Because you can lay hold of Christ,
-
and you can try to follow God's path,
-
and the devil will be there pelting you
-
with accusations.
-
You didn't do that one perfectly enough.
-
Have you ever thought about it -
-
the devil doesn't have a conscience
-
holding him back.
-
He doesn't have a heart holding him back.
-
Even the wickedest human being
-
has some semblance of good left in them.
-
There is no good in the devil.
-
He is all evil.
-
And he wants us all dead and destroyed.
-
He will accuse you until your joy is gone.
-
And if he can, he'll have you leave Jesus.
-
And you need to know what to do
-
when he comes to you with accusations.
-
And I would suggest one thing to do
-
is to remember Colossians 2:13-15.
-
Paul talking to Christians says,
-
"You were dead in your trespasses and sins
-
in the uncircumcision of your flesh."
-
You were dead - walking in the way of sin,
-
following the way of the devil,
Ephesians 2 says.
-
Unresponsive to God.
-
"And God made you alive
together with Him..."
-
Together with Christ.
-
"...Having forgiven all of our trespasses
-
by cancelling the record of debt
-
that stood against us
-
with its legal demands.
-
This He set aside,
-
nailing it to the cross."
-
So the law says to you,
-
"you owe God perfect obedience
-
and if you're not perfectly obedient,
-
you deserve to die.
-
You owe God your life.
-
You deserve to die."
-
But Christ came and died for believers.
-
He came and took the curse of the law,
-
says Galatians 3, on Himself,
-
so that the death penalty
that you and I deserve
-
was poured out on Christ,
-
so that that death penalty
is no longer there to be had
-
because it's been, as our
brother said yesterday,
-
paid in full.
-
Now what the devil will do
-
is he will put a gun to your head,
-
and he will say, "you are guilty
-
and you will be condemned.
-
You are guilty and you will be condemned.
-
You have not loved God
with all your heart,
-
with all your soul,
-
and with all your mind,
-
and you have not loved
your neighbor as yourself,
-
and you are going to be condemned."
-
And when the devil does that
-
with his gun to your head, you say,
-
"There's no bullets in the gun, devil."
-
"This He set aside,
nailing it to the cross.
-
He disarmed (that is, God disarmed)
-
the rulers and authorities
-
(that's the satanic powers -
-
the principalities and
the powers of this world) -
-
He disarmed the rulers and authorities
-
and put them to an open shame
-
by triumphing over them in Him."
-
The devil comes and tells you
-
you're condemned;
-
your sins can't be forgiven,
-
you've got that one sin;
-
or your sanctification
hasn't been fast enough,
-
and he puts you under God's law,
-
and he tells you you're condemned,
-
and he will roar and he will rage
-
and he will do everything to convince you
-
that he has all the power to condemn you,
-
and you need to remind him,
-
he is disarmed.
-
Because what's he threatening you with?
-
The condemnation of the law?
-
Well, if Jesus did anything,
-
He took the condemnation of the law away.
-
"God made Jesus who knew no sin
-
to be sin for us, that we might become
-
the righteousness of God in Him."
-
"There's no condemnation for
those who are in Christ Jesus."
-
And the devil has only empty threats.
-
You remember that when
he comes to rage at you.
-
You hold on to that, and he will flee.
-
The other thing you need to remember
-
when you're dealing with the devil
-
is that he always wants
you in front of the law,
-
not in front of the Father.
-
The devil always wants
you in front of the law,
-
not in front of the Father.
-
The law says you've got to do everything
-
I've commanded, or you're dead.
-
The Father says I had everything done
-
for me in Christ, and you're Mine.
-
The law accepts only perfect obedience
-
or you're dead.
-
The Father has received perfect obedience
-
through Christ and now delights
-
in your growing imperfect obedience.
-
The law expects perfection
-
and executes perfect righteousness.
-
The gospel says perfect righteousness
-
has been satisfied
-
and now delights to see
-
the flower of the new birth
-
growing in your soul.
-
You say, where's that in the Bible?
-
Well, there's one example in John 17:6.
-
John 17:6.
-
Here's Jesus praying for Peter,
-
and James, and John,
-
and all those disciples who would
-
fight about who was the greatest.
-
And who would stumble
-
in their discipleship.
-
And Jesus prays in John 17:6.
-
Now remember, He's praying to God.
-
He's not putting on a show for man.
-
He's praying to God.
-
He says, "I have manifested Your name
-
to the people whom You
gave Me out of the world."
-
I showed Your people You.
-
I have manifested Your name -
-
Your character -
-
to the people You gave
Me out of the world.
-
"Yours they were,
-
and You gave them to Me,
-
and they have kept Your Word."
-
Do you know who He's talking about?
-
Have you read the Gospels?
-
Peter, James, John...
-
the other ones.
-
"I want to be on His right hand."
-
"Go tell mom to argue that I should be
-
on His right hand."
-
These guys.
-
"They have kept Your Word."
-
Now Jesus isn't saying they were perfect.
-
But He's saying that the direction
of their life was pleasing.
-
And He was assessing their life
-
like a father assesses his own child.
-
Have you ever seen a 5
year old clean their room?
-
It's fairly pathetic.
-
But if you walk into that room
-
and see that the covers were basically
-
moved in the direction,
-
and the toys weren't all
just hidden under the bed,
-
if you're a halfway decent father,
-
you celebrate right then and there.
-
You did what I said.
-
And the Lord loves to delight
-
in the imperfect
obedience of His children.
-
Oh, He will discipline His children
when they're disobedient,
-
but there's only imperfect obedience,
-
and He delights in it.
-
And you need to know
-
that the devil will
never let you see that.
-
But Christ will keep that
before your eyes.
-
Without that, you'll have no
freedom in your conscience.
-
Second one, real quick.
-
Your conscience's
relationship to the world.
-
2 Corinthians 4:1.
-
Our brother gave such a good definition
-
of natural Christianity;
-
being a normal person;
-
hanging out with your unbelieving friends
-
and relatives in a normal way.
-
Kevin did such a great job of that.
-
What's your job once you're
washing the dishes with them?
-
Maybe even occasionally
singing the secular song
-
that's in the background
while you're doing it?
-
But not if it's a bad one.
-
What's your job then?
-
2 Corinthians 4:1.
-
"Thereby having this ministry
by the mercy of God
-
we do not lose heart.
-
But we have renounced
disgraceful, underhanded ways.
-
We refuse to practice cunning
-
or to tamper with God's Word..."
-
We're not slick and fancy in our ministry.
-
"But by the open statement of the truth,
-
we would commend ourselves
-
to everyone's conscience
in the sight of God."
-
That's all we're called to do.
-
Openly state the truth
-
and place it on people's consciences.
-
But when I say that we're sinners,
-
they don't listen.
-
When I say Christ died for sins,
-
they don't listen.
-
No, they just haven't
repented and believed yet.
-
They heard you.
-
That seed's been sown.
-
It's laying on the conscience.
-
It can do its work when the head
-
goes on the pillow.
-
And God will redeem all of His own
-
who hear the Gospel.
-
You lay it on their conscience
-
in gentleness and love.
-
If they hate you or love you,
-
you simply make an open
statement of the truth
-
and lay it on men's consciences
-
in the sight of God.
-
You don't need to be fancy.
-
You don't need to get a blimp
and get the gospel up in the air.
-
You don't need to do anything like that.
-
You just need to talk to people honestly
-
about sin and salvation,
-
laying it on their consciences
-
and God will do His work.
-
You know, oftentimes people think,
-
well, I can't share the gospel.
-
These people don't even believe in God.
They don't understand the Bible.
-
They don't really believe any of the
same things I do about right and wrong.
-
We have missionaries now in our day
-
who don't think they can just go to
other countries and share the gospel.
-
They have to do like six months
-
of ethnographic research
-
before they can even share the gospel.
-
Listen, there isn't a place on the planet
-
where people don't have consciences.
-
It's part of the image of God.
-
You have an ally in evangelism
-
everywhere you go.
-
And the minute the Spirit wants to
-
make that conscience alive and awake,
-
He will do it.
-
You just ask Him that you would speak
-
the open statement of the truth
-
and commend yourself to
every man's conscience
-
in the sight of God.
-
What a liberating look at evangelism!
-
Lastly, and by lastly,
I don't mean briefly.
-
So turn to Romans 14.
-
Romans 14.
-
This issue of the
conscience is so critical
-
in our relationships in the local church.
-
All of the members of local churches
-
have consciences.
-
And when they're members
of churches like ours,
-
they have enlightened consciences.
-
And when they're members
of churches like ours,
-
they have convictional consciences
-
that believe things strongly.
-
And that's good.
-
But you've got to know how to handle it.
-
You've got to know how to handle it.
-
It's good to have 50 people
-
or 100 people or 1,000 people
-
who are fully convinced in their own mind
-
that they are doing the will of God
-
in every detail of their lives.
-
That's good.
-
I'm not saying anything to lessen that.
-
We need more of that, not less of it.
-
But you need to know how to handle it.
-
Or it will destroy the unity
-
and the love of the church,
-
and if you destroy the unity
-
and the love of the church,
-
you destroy the witness of the church.
-
Let me read to you Romans 14:1.
-
We'll bring out a few things,
and then we'll be done.
-
"As for the one who is weak in faith..."
-
That's another way of saying
has a weak conscience.
-
"As for the one who is weak in faith,
-
welcome him, but not to quarrel
-
over opinions."
-
My brother used to have a
"Whole Foods" bumper sticker.
-
You know Whole Foods grocery stores?
-
Everything in there is awesome.
-
We call it "Whole Paycheck" at our church.
-
And that bumper sticker said,
-
"Friends don't let friends eat junk."
-
And I cleared it with him
before I preached on this.
-
But I said according to Romans 14:1,
-
sometimes friends do let friends eat junk.
-
"As for the one who is weak in faith,
-
welcome him, but not to quarrel
-
over opinions."
-
Secondary, tertiary matters
-
that are so far from
the center of the gospel.
-
Do you use nutberries in your bread?
-
I had a guy show up on
my doorstep one time -
-
one of our members -
-
and he said to me,
-
"You know, Ryan, I've just
been learning so much
-
about the biblical diet lately."
-
And I just said, "No, you haven't."
-
"As for the one who is weak in faith,
-
welcome him, but not
to quarrel over opinions.
-
One person believes he can eat anything,
-
while the weak person
eats only vegetables."
-
No, I don't mean to harp on this,
-
but do notice that the weak person
-
is the more restrictive person.
-
It's humbling.
-
"Let not the one who eats
-
despise the one who abstains.
-
And let not the one who abstains
-
pass judgment on the one who eats.
-
For God has welcomed him.
-
Who are you to pass judgment
-
on the servant of another?
-
It is before his own master
-
that he stands or falls.
-
And he will be upheld,
-
for the Lord is able to make him stand."
-
Even if he listens to Christian
hip-hop, he can stand?
-
Yes, even him.
-
He can be made to stand.
-
What if he only listens to the Gaithers?
-
Yes, he can stand too.
-
God can keep him standing.
-
I know it's hard to believe.
-
You get these differences
in the church, right?
-
One guy's like, "I would
never get a tattoo."
-
Another guy's like,
"Revelation 7's right here."
-
You're like, how is this
guy going to stand?
-
His Master is going to make him stand.
-
That's how it's going to happen.
-
His Master has a personal interest in him.
-
And He's going to make him stand.
-
"He will be upheld, for the Lord is able
-
to make him stand.
-
One person esteems on day
as better than another,
-
while another esteems all days alike.
-
Each one should be fully
convinced in his own mind."
-
We're not diminishing
convictional Christianity.
-
We're learning how to deal with it.
-
If you will never get a tattoo,
-
you should be fully
convinced in your own mind.
-
If you're going to get a tattoo,
-
you better not get one because
everyone else got one.
-
You should be fully
convinced in your own mind
-
or you ought not to touch that thing.
-
"The one who observes the day,
-
observes it in honor of the Lord.
-
The ones who eats,
eats in honor of the Lord
-
since he gives thanks to God,
-
while the one who abstains,
abstains in honor of the Lord
-
and gives thanks to God.
-
For none of us lives to himself,
-
and none of us dies to himself.
-
For if we live, we live to the Lord,
-
and if we die, we die to the Lord.
-
So whether or whether we die,
-
we are the Lord's.
-
For to this end, Christ
died and lived again,
-
that He might be Lord both of the dead
-
and the living."
-
Three principles and I think we're done.
-
Your primary responsibility
-
towards people who differ with you
-
on secondary matters
-
is to have them over for dinner
-
and make it a welcoming, warm experience.
-
"As for the one who is weak in faith,
-
welcome him, but not to quarrel
-
over opinions."
-
If all the people who
ever get into your house
-
homeschool just like you homeschool,
-
you're doing something wrong.
-
If you only let your kids play with
-
the other public school kids,
-
you're doing something wrong.
-
If two Christians can't differ
on schooling methods,
-
we've got a problem.
-
If you only invite people
who eat your special diet,
-
you've got a problem.
-
And maybe you ought to be willing,
-
if it's not a convictional issue,
-
to not eat your diet,
-
to be able to get over and show
-
hospitality in someone's home.
-
And when you get together,
-
the point isn't:
-
here's the roast beef.
-
There are some issues I've been
wanting to talk to you about
-
in the Lord, brother.
-
Just let it go.
-
Just let it go.
-
Now, that doesn't mean there can't be
-
those conversations among the body,
-
but let there first be
-
a warm environment of hospitality and love
-
where it's abundantly
clear that I view you
-
as a fellow servant of Christ.
-
Now, I'm going to talk to people
-
who watch movies I wouldn't watch,
-
and I'm going to have
a conversation with them.
-
Sure I am.
-
If I'm worried about something,
-
I'm going to talk to someone about it.
-
But first, first is not
-
the quarreling over opinions.
-
First is the warm relationship
-
of welcome and love.
-
Second, you need to realize
-
that the weak and the strong
-
both have unique temptations.
-
The weak and the strong both
-
have their unique set of temptations.
-
You notice that?
-
"One person believes he may eat anything,
-
while the weak person
eats only vegetables.
-
Let not the one who eats despise
-
the one who abstains.
-
Let not the one who abstains
-
pass judgment on the one who eats."
-
Despising and judgment.
-
Okay, strong people are
tempted to despise.
-
Weak people are tempted to judge.
-
And this was so clear years ago
-
when everything on the blogs was about
-
who could drink beer and who couldn't.
-
The people who could drink beer
-
despised - "how do you even live
-
without tasting a craft beer?"
-
"How do you even be a Christian?"
-
"How do you enjoy life to the full,
-
you fundamentalist fools?"
-
And then on the other side,
-
nothing but judgment.
-
Worldly.
-
Backslidden.
-
Heathen.
-
Both are displeasing sins to Jesus.
-
Both of them.
-
They are both wrong.
-
It's wrong to judge someone
-
in a way that condemns them,
-
when they're different than you
on a secondary matter.
-
And it's wrong to despise someone
-
who doesn't have the same freedom as you.
-
It's wrong because the
goal of our instruction
-
is love.
-
Love. It's always love.
-
We're always after love.
-
But Ryan, how do I love
-
when I feel the person's compromising?
-
I mean, I'm really, I'm
trying to be faithful,
-
and I really believe that I should only
-
listen to Christian music.
-
I believe it.
-
I'm not trying to be a legalist.
-
I love Jesus.
-
And that's just where I'm at.
-
And that's where a lot of you are at,
-
and praise God for you,
-
for just trying to live before
the Lord in everything.
-
And others of you are like,
-
Ryan, I really believe I have the liberty
-
to do this, and I'm not trying to sin.
-
I'm not trying to get away with anything.
-
I want to be holy in everything I do.
-
Praise God for you.
-
How do those people get along
-
without feeling like they're compromising?
-
Because that's what
you're afraid of right?
-
You're afraid if you
welcome this person in,
-
you're going to compromise
your walk with Jesus.
-
How do you do it?
-
You learn to recognize something deeper
-
than the superficial stuff.
-
You learn to recognize a heart
-
that wants to honor the Lord,
-
even though they're not honoring the Lord
-
exactly the way you would.
-
You see that in the text?
-
It says there,
-
"Who are you to pass judgment
on the servant of another?"
-
We're in v. 4.
-
"It is because of his own master
that he stands or falls,
-
and he will be upheld, for the
Lord is able to make him stand.
-
One person esteems one
day as better than another,
-
while another esteems all days alike.
-
Each one should be fully
convinced in his own mind.
-
The one who observes the day (listen here)
-
observes it in honor of the Lord.
-
The one who eats,
eats in honor of the Lord
-
since he gives thanks to God,
-
while the one who abstains,
-
abstains in honor of the Lord,
-
and gives thanks to God."
-
When we put all the focus
-
on these secondary matters,
-
all we notice is:
-
you watch movies I wouldn't watch.
-
And we miss a heart to honor the Lord.
-
Come on, are there too many hearts
-
in the world that want to honor the Lord
-
that you want to miss even one of them?
-
What we want to learn is how to detect
-
a heart that wants to honor the Lord
-
and is thanking the Lord.
-
Now, you may not be able
to do what they do.
-
And don't do what they do,
-
if you're not convinced in your own mind.
-
But notice a heart that wants to honor
-
the Lord, and when you notice that,
-
you have the most
important bond in the world.
-
And God's going to uphold people
-
who try to honor Him.
-
Even if they don't get it
exactly right in every detail.
-
Let me give you an example of this.
-
In the church I pastor,
-
if I knew a guy was
looking at pornography,
-
was messing around sexually,
-
and was watching movies -
-
they weren't pornographic,
but they were just risque,
-
I would get right into his face
-
and say you are so compromised.
-
You are just flirting with
all kinds of temptation
-
and you need to get out of that.
-
You need to cut off your hand
-
and gouge out your eye.
-
End of story.
-
That's absolutely what you need to do.
-
In the words of Titus,
-
I insist on these things.
-
I will not let you ignore me.
-
And then I've got another
guy in the church
-
who teaches the Bible,
-
loves the Bible, visits widows,
-
cares for his wife,
-
seeks to honor the Lord,
-
and there's a few movies he watches
-
that I wouldn't watch.
-
I'll be honest. I don't like that.
-
I don't like it.
-
I want everyone to draw their movie lines
-
right where I draw them.
-
I do.
-
I'm fully convinced in my own mind.
-
And I'm going to have a warm lunch
-
with that guy.
-
I'm going to commend
all the godliness within him,
-
and then, we may get
around to talking about,
-
hey, what are these different convictions?
-
Because this is looking like
it would be bad for me.
-
For me, that would be sin.
-
How do you do that?
-
But the way you're handling that
-
is so different,
-
than just going on a
tirade against everyone
-
who is not holding the
exact same convictions as you.
-
So beloved,
-
I leave you with this.
-
The goal of every sermon you ever hear
-
is love.
-
Caring for people.
-
Having a warm regard for them.
-
And it needs to come
from a good conscience.
-
You get one of those by plunging
-
your dead, evil conscience
-
under the blood of Jesus
-
that purifies you from
all unrighteousness.
-
And then you begin to walk in His path.
-
And as you walk in His path,
-
you will face many people who aren't quite
-
figuring out His path
exactly the way you are.
-
And our job there is to discern
-
an honor for the Lord,
-
and a thankfulness for the Lord.
-
And to just shower those people with love.
-
When that kind of
love relationship exists,
-
you will have the best kind of context
-
to actually have the good discussions
-
to refine our consciences with
-
and to think about
following Him more closely
-
and walking in love before Him together.
-
Oh, may God make us as free
-
as the gospel wants us to be,
-
and just enjoy Jesus as much as the gospel
-
wants us to enjoy Jesus.
-
Father, thank You so much
-
for Your grace.
-
Lord, I have probably revealed
-
some convictions of my own
-
in the course of this sermon
-
that would tempt some to despise me.
-
I pray that You would just
keep us from despising.
-
I'm probably sure I'll meet some folks
-
who hold convictions that I think
are weaker than my own.
-
I pray that I would not judge them
-
or despise them.
-
Lord, fill us with love.
-
Lord, we pray that this teaching
-
would not be used to justify anything
-
that is clearly wicked or sinful.
-
Lord, Christian liberty is meant
-
to help us walk in love and holiness;
-
not sin and degradation.
-
Lord, we pray that You'd use this teaching
-
to free us from all the
extra-biblical expectations
-
we heap on ourselves
-
that destroy our joy.
-
Lord, we pray this in Jesus' mighty name.
-
Amen.