Discernment over Judgment
Righteousness Revealed: An Exposition of Romans

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Good morning church. We’re continuing our series through the book of Romans. We are in the latter part of Romans chapter 14 today. We’ve titled today’s sermon, “Discernment over judgment.”

One of the most heard accusations against Christians today is that we are judgmental. According to a recent Barna survey of people in the United States in ages 16-29, nearly 90% of respondents articulated this opinion that Christians are known for being judgmental. Yet, Jesus said that we should be known for how deeply we love, not how deeply we judge.

As Jesus said in John 13:35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” I know what you’re thinking, I know we’re supposed to love. I know we’re supposed to be known for love. But, if we love people, aren’t we supposed to tell them the truth? Shouldn’t we tell them the truth? Shouldn’t we tell them that they’re sinners, that they’re wrong and that they’re bound for hell? Shouldn’t we tell them that, I mean, in a loving way? Yes, I agree. Love, true love, authentic love, tells the truth, but not without grace, because love is grace and truth intertwined.

Remember, how crowds would travel for miles to hear and see Jesus? Was it because He was so judgmental or was it because He was full of grace and truth? It says in John’s gospel, John 1:14 (ESV) “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Is that the mark of our lives? Are we full of grace and truth? That’s what it means to walk like Jesus and to be full of grace and truth. Is that what it looks like for us? As we learned earlier in Romans, chapter 12, that were no longer to think, as they used to think. They were no longer to be conformed, which is outward pressure on our minds, by the world’s culture and the way we used to think. But we’re to have a new way of thinking. We are to be transformed, which is from the inside out, by the Holy Spirit, so that we have a renewing of our mind, so that we think as Jesus thinks on things which moves us, from being judgmental, which is our former way to being discerning. So, that we’re able to, with humility and love, really hear people and talk to people so that we have discernment on things.

What’s the difference between being judgmental and being discerning? Judgment condemns, but discernment seeks to understand, listen and point people to Jesus. Discernment recognizes that we’re all sinners. The motive in judging is self righteousness and a sense of superiority and, maybe, even wrapped up in anger. But, the motive for discernment is humility and love; this is the new mind. This is the transformed mind that we have in Christ, that we are to be discerning and not judging.

Have you judged anyone lately? Have you been doing any judging? Sadly, most of us have to admit, “yes,” that we have been judging others, from the homeless guy asking for money who looks able bodied to work. to the lady who cut you off in traffic on the way to church this morning, to your foul mouthed brother- in-law who just offends you every time he talks, to the weed-smoking neighbor who voted for the other guy, we’re always judging. That’s just our nature, strangely enough. We are accused of being judgmental by the world, but aren’t they judging when they judge us? Aren’t they judgmental? The truth is that we are all judgmental.

One of the earliest statements that a child will make, when they can put together, piece together, whole sentences, is, “That’s not fair!” That’s one of the first things that we learn – He got more than me; that’s not fair!” We are all judgmental, but Jesus gives us a new way of thinking, which no longer judges to condemn but has a discernment that understands and is humble.

That’s what we’re talking about today as we continue in the book of Romans. Wouldn’t you rather have spiritual discernment? Wouldn’t you rather have grace and truth in following Christ?

We’re looking at Romans chapter 14:13 through the end of the chapter. The apostle Paul wrote this letter to the believers in Rome and he explained to them that as a result of having this new transformed mind, this new gospel mind that’s been set free by Jesus, they no longer had to be judgmental, but they could walk in discernment. I believe that’s true for us today.

As we look at the text, I think we’ll see that the text gives us three ways that we can consider one another with discernment rather than judgment. So let’s dig in. Romans 14:13-23 (ESV) 13 “Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, butit is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. 20 Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats , because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” This is God’s word. Amen.

CONSIDERING ONE ANOTHER WITH DISCERNMENT RATHER THAN JUDGMENT…

1. We choose love over liberty.

Notice the opening verse here, “Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer.” This has been the way we used to be. We used to be a judgmental people. We were all born that way.

This idea of being judgmental here has a view of standing in the place of God and saying, ‘I’m going to condemn this person. I’m gonna say that I’m right and you’re wrong.’ That’s what this position is. We’re no longer to be in that position.

Notice that it starts off with the word, “therefore;” remember what we should always ask if we see this, “What’s it there for?” It points back, like an “equal sign,” to something previous in the text that leads to this conclusion. It says, in verse 10 of chapter 14, “Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Why do you despise your brother, for we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. Each of us will give an account of himself to God.” It is God’s job to judge. When we judge, we’re taking God’s job. We are not qualified because we can’t see the heart.

The bible says that man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart. We’re not qualified to judge, but we are qualified to walk in discernment. Now, Gary, where do you see this? Let me help you find it; verse 13 “Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.” This word, “decide,” could also be in contrast to judging, but it’s not judging. It’s noticing the particular differences with a different way of thinking. Now the way I’m motivated is how can I communicate with my brother that’s younger in the Lord perhaps than me, so that I don’t cause them to stumble or hinder him in his growth.

This is a command to stop judging and start discerning. Go down to verse 15 where it tells us that if you’re still judging, you’re no longer walking in love, but if you are discerning, the opposite would be, now you are walking in love. So this is what we’re talking about. We want to choose love over liberty. When we become a Christian and we begin to grow up in Christ, we begin to see that it is grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, that saves us. It’s not works that saves us . It’s not what we eat or it’s not what we drink. It’s not what holidays we keep or don’t keep, but it’s faith in Jesus. We begin to recognize we have liberty on these disputable matters, that the bible neither prohibits nor condones. We can have our own convictions about certain things; we have liberty. The thing we should live by and discern is love over liberty.

In verse 14, Paul says, 14 “I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.” Now, what is he talking about? What is this clean and unclean? If you go down to verse 20, it restates it in the positive, 20 “Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats.” What’s this clean/unclean conversation about?

Have you heard of the word, “kosher? “Kosher” has to do with the ceremonial laws described in the book of Leviticus, and then expounded on by Jewish teachers through the centuries, in the mission and other writings where they’ve described what’s clean and unclean in terms of dietary Jewish laws. We have people, in the city of Rome now, that are becoming Christians. Some of them come from a Jewish background and some of them come from a Gentile background. The Gentiles come over to your house and ask, ‘Where’s the bacon?’ You know, bacon makes everything better. Can I get a witness? But, if you come from a Jewish background, pork is unclean; it’s according to the Jewish laws. Pork is unclean. Jews come from that background and they’re offended by that. In fact, they even have a conviction about it. They were taught, growing up, that pork was unclean. For them, it’s unclean , so their conviction is, if they eat it, it will be sin to them.

Even though Paul tells us, in verse 14 “I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean,” he’s making, in a way, a case based on the book of Genesis. In Genesis, everything God made, He said, “It’s good.” He made this, it’s good. He made this, it’s good. He said it was good. In and of itself, it might be good, but that doesn’t mean it’s good in the way we use it or think about it. Besides, if you think it’s unclean, if you’re convinced that it’s unclean for you to eat it or drink it, it would cause you to convict yourself, to condemn yourself, to feel like you’re in sin. He’s saying, rather than practicing your liberty and trying to convince others to practice your liberty, it’s better to walk in love. It’s superior to discernment.

You know , if I might have a conviction, then it’s okay for me to drink wine. I recognize it comes from grapes and God makes grapes; if I’m drinking wine, I can have one glass with a meal. I can stop. If I go out to eat with a brother who’s new in the Lord and his problem in the past has been that alcohol has destroyed himself and his family, but now he has been saved and he’s getting back on his feet again, is I order a glass of wine, knowing that he has this background, I can cause him to stumble with my liberty. I can cause him to stumble through my practice of my liberty rather than walking in love. If I walk in love, what I would rather do is to make sure I don’t talk about it or in front of him. Even though I might be able to do it in the privacy of my home , ‘m not gonna do it in front of him. I told you last week that I made a decision as a young man not to drink. I reaffirmed that decision, as a pastor, because we have so many people in our church and in this community that struggle with addictions. I just think it would be a bad testimony for me. Now, you might decide, ‘Well, Gary, you have the freedom to do that.’ I know that I have the freedom, but I don’t have the freedom to get drunk because the bible says, “Do not be drunk with wine,” so it’s a command. I don’t have that freedom and neither either do you. I might have the freedom, but I’ve decided to live by the rule of law rather than love. That’s just a decision I have made; I’m not superior to you, if you’ve made another decision. What I’m saying to you, it’s better to use discernment on these things, not just seeing things through legalism or through black and white.

Paul says that it’s important that you walk in love over your liberty for if your brother is grieved by what you eat. Verse 15 says, “For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.”

Who did Christ die for? He died for you. Did He die for the people around you? Did He die for everyone? Did He die for that one that you really can’t stand? What does the bible say, “For God so loved (most?) people that He sent His only begotten son? For God so loved (the people that you like?) That’s not what it says. We are to walk in love. The real test of whether or not we’re walking in love is how we treat those that are most unlike us and most offensive to our particular taste, personality and so forth. Walk in love. Don’t destroy the one. Be careful around that one.

Do you have a conviction about Halloween ? Have you ever been convicted about that? I just believe it’s the devil’s day. I’m not gonna let my kids trunk or treat. I am not even going to put a pumpkin on my front porch because I want people to know that I follow Jesus and I’m anti-Halloween. What I would say to you is that I can’t find a verse in the bible that either prohibits nor condones it. In fact, I find many verses in the bible, saying that we’re free to celebrate or not celebrate holidays and that it’s a cultural holiday. It actually began as a church holiday. “Hallow” means holy and it means “the night before.” So,it’s the day before November 1st, which used to be celebrated and still is among the Greek Orthodox and the catholic church as “All Saints Day.” The idea seemed to be, Well, let’s just get as evil as we can, because tomorrow we have all Saints Day. I don’t know how it started .

You might have a conviction that you’re against Christmas trees. Christmas trees, I understand, came from some German celebration of the first day of winter solstice. It has a pagan background and, therefore, I will not have a christmas tree in my house. That is your conviction and you’ve decided to keep that conviction or you have the liberty to have christmas trees.

Did you hear about the church that got in an argument over having a christmas tree in their church lobby? It was in a small town; they actually broke out into a fist fight. Somebody put up a christmas tree in the church lobby. This started a fight with the anti-christmas tree people; they dragged the christmas tree out into the parking lot, kicked it around and got rid of it. Then, the pro christmas tree people went and bought another one and put it back in the lobby. Ultimately, they ended up suing each other, taking each other to court over this, and made front page news in their small town newspaper. That church was known not for love, but for their anti-stance on christmas trees, their fight over christmas trees.

What Paul is talking about here is to be known for love, not your liberty or not your conviction about a certain thing. The words, “stumbling block” have to do with something that would cause someone to trip and fall. The word, “hindrance,” has the idea of a snare or a trap that entangles them. Don’t allow your liberty to do this, Paul says, you know what, nothing is really unclean in itself. He says in verse 14, “I know, and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus.” That’s an interesting phrase – “I know, and I am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is really unclean in itself in and of itself.” He could be saying, ‘Now that I have this new, transformed mind in Jesus, I now see that things are really neutral. It depends on what you do with them.’ Or, he could be saying, ‘I know that Jesus taught this.’

In fact, Jesus did teach this in Matthew 15:11 (ESV) “it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” If you read Matthew chapter 15 and just see the context, he was talking to the Pharisees, who were so good at keeping the dietary laws. He said this and it blew their minds. I can’t believe you said that. In fact, Peter was so blown away by it that he said to Jesus, ‘I don’t know if you realize this, but you really offended those Pharisees.’ I think he knew that they were putting these limitations on the people as if that would save them somehow. What He is saying is that it’s not what you put in your mouth, but what comes out of your heart that your mouth utters that proves what is evil in you.

It says this, in 1 Corinthians, talking about this idea of food being offered to idols, which could somehow cause people to be confused about eating meat or not. He sets it up by saying this in 1 Corinthians 8:9-13 (NKJV) 9 “But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. 10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols? 11 And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died ? 12 But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.”Paul’s saying, ‘let’s live by love rather than liberty.’ Even though I have this knowledge, my brother might not have this knowledge. So I’m gonna limit my liberty by love and it will cause me to discern things differently.

It says in Galatians 5:13 (NKJV) “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” Don’t let your liberty, your celebration of it, cause opportunity for the flesh.

Pastor Tim Keller tells a story of a high school girl he once knew who was from a strict church background and in this background she was taught it was sinful for women to wear makeup. The peer pressure at school from other Christian girls who went to other churches, caused her to secretly start putting makeup on on the bus, on the way to school, and take it off very quickly on the bus on the way home so her mother and father would not know. Now, as far as I can tell in the bible,, there’s no prohibition against wearing makeup. We do see in the scripture that God prefers the inward beauty of a woman and it’s not the outward beauty that makes her beautiful. I don’t really see a ‘Thou shalt not make up thyself.’ There seems to be freedom in this disputable matter. Nonetheless, you could tell that she was convicted in her conscience by the fact she kept it a secret; secrets begin to take power over people. Pastor Keller says that what eventually happened was she was not convinced. Remember what Paul said there in verse 14, ”I know and am persuaded that nothing is unclean in and of itself.” She was not convinced; she was still feeling convicted, which is why she’s hiding it. What it does in her, Tim Keller says, seemed to break down a boundary, a necessary boundary in her life, so that she felt even though she was doing it, she wasn’t doing it by faith in the Lord or for the Lord, she was doing it for popularity. She was bending a conviction that her parents had taught her, for popularity. As a result, she soon stumbled into sexuality, became pregnant before she got out of high school and ended up quitting school. Now, was it because she put on makeup? Not necessarily. It was because she broke a conviction she had that caused her to stumble; it caused her to fall into a trap. It was not against the bible to do it, but was against her conviction,

Paul is warning that, when we try to put our convictions or lack of convictions on disputable matters, we can cause someone younger in the Lord to stumble and fall.

Will you choose love over liberty? Does your sister struggle with alcohol? Then, choose love over liberty when you’re with her. Does your brother have a conviction against smoking, because he’s trying to quit or used to smoke? Then, I wouldn’t offer him a cigar the next time you’re together. If you feel the liberty to do so, this is just a matter. I know I have to be careful because I’ve already stepped on several of your disputable matters. If I keep listing them, it’ll give you an opportunity to be more stirred up. But I’m just thinking with you on disputable matters. Don’t let that be the mark of your Christian life. Let it be the mark of love rather than the liberty you feel on these certain things or the liberty you don’t feel on these things.

CONSIDERING ONE ANOTHER WITH DISCERNMENT RATHER THAN JUDGMENT…

2. We choose eternal over external.

We can choose eternal over external things. We’re at verse 16 and following now; I would have you look closely at verse 17, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

Here’s what Paul is saying – all this stuff is temporary; it’s just external. It doesn’t really show you what’s in a person’s heart. He’s saying that the kingdom of God, which is the kingdom that’s already inaugurated when Jesus came, is already moving forward. We’re already part of it. We’re supposed to be living according to the kingdom of God that eventually will come to its fulfillment. It’s not about what you eat and drink. It’s not about external things; it’s not about whether you wear makeup or not, whether you color your hair or not, it’s not about the car you drive. It’s about peace. It’s about joy. It’s about righteousness. These things will continue. Paul is saying that if you’re discerning , you’ll be thinking about this person in front of you that you’ve been judging. Christ died for them. The thing that we need to transmit to them, to communicate to them, is not what I believe about eating and drinking or some other external thing, but the righteousness of God, which is found in Jesus Christ; the peace of God that’s found in Jesus Christ. The joy of the Lord, which is found. We need to be talking to them about things that are everlasting. Discerning is always thinking, How can I move the conversation from external things to eternal things? Paul is reminding us of the importance of this here.

Does it help the believer grow or does it tear them down? Paul says in verse 16, “So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil.” This could be because you’re practicing something that others would think is wrong and you get a bad testimony. Be consistent. Make sure that what you’re doing in your liberty is something that’s a good witness . He’s concerned about the witness here. “So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil” literally, the things you’re doing that you call good could be blasphemy. Think about this; this is a pretty radical statement. “Nothing is unclean of itself,” he says in verse 14.

Then Paul restates it in the positive in verse 20, “everything is indeed clean.”Okay, let’s think about that for a second. A knife is neutral unless you use it to kill someone, then it’s not neutral. The marijuana leaf or the coca plant – did God make those plants? Yes. but you What medicines come from these? The poppy plant is neither clean or unclean, but opiates come from that. I think morphine comes from that, but so does heroin. Medicines that help with pain, nausea and other ailments come from these. So, in and of themselves , they might be a gift from God, but when we misuse them rather than using them according to a doctor’s orders or we use them unlawfully against the laws of our state, these are things that now can cause us to fall into sin and evil.

You’re thinking about these different things. Do I have liberty? Are they good? It depends on how you use them. Don’t let what you call good become evil in your life because you’re over expressing your liberty. God made sex; it was His idea and so was marriage. This is why He said, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be united to his wife and the two shall become one” because sex is so powerful that it was designed for a man and a woman in marriage. This is the first institution that God built even before He instituted the making of nations. Sex outside of the bounds of marriage between a man and a woman is evil. The bible is clear about these things. We have to think about what God has created is good. What happens to us then, as sinners, though? It depends on what you do with it. He says in verse 16, to be careful about that.

Paul goes on and talks about these beautiful attributes that we are to pursue. In fact, that’s how he concludes. He says in verse 18, “Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.” “Whoever thus serves Christ” in what way? By pursuing righteousness, peace and joy; whoever lives like that is acceptable to God. This discernment allows you to talk about righteousness, peace and joy; that’s the mark of your life. You’re a peacemaker and full of joy in your life; you’re approved by God and man.

Verse 19, “So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.” This is what we’re to chase after; this is what we’re to pursue, The one with discernment, with spiritual discernment, will put eternal things ahead of external things.

1 Corinthians 10:31-33 (NLT) 31 “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Don’t give offense to Jews or Gentiles or the church of God. 33 I, too, try to please everyone in everything I do. I don’t just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved.” Paul’s aware of his witness. He’s not just going around celebrating his liberty. He limits his liberty by love and he focuses less on the external and more on the eternal. He looks at each person and says, ‘Christ died for that person. Instead of me making a big deal about the things they need to change externally, I want to pursue mutual building up and mutual peace with this person so that I can take them to Jesus, so I can lead them to Jesus.’

Have you heard the old cliche? “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” Yet, that’s what we do. The one who is discerning, seeks to look beneath the surface, to look beneath a person’s race, color, gender, length of hair, shortness of hair…You fill in the blank. Whatever the externals are, they seek to discern not to judge based on outward. They seek to say, ‘How can I speak to this person and view this person through the lens of God rather than the externals.’

Do you judge someone by their externals? If you’re older than someone and they have some opinion, some comment, you think, They’re too young. They just don’t know. You dismiss them because of their youth. Perhaps, you dismiss them because of their accent. If you’re from the north and you hear somebody say, “you all or y’all,” you immediately dismiss whatever opinion they offer. Perhaps, you prefer someone with a different accent. If it’s somebody from the north who says, “you guys,” you think, I’m not gonna listen to that person. You just decide on accents, culture, jobs, houses and politics. You judge by the externals rather than saying, ‘How could I really hear this person who’s different from me and has different opinions and convictions? How could I point them to what really matters?’

What really matters is are we right with God? Are we at peace with God and with one another? Do we have joy? These are eternal things that never end. Discern their eternal value before God. Stop “majoring in the minors;” stop just judging on the externals. Instead be discerning.

CONSIDERING ONE ANOTHER WITH DISCERNMENT RATHER THAN JUDGMENT…

3. We choose edification over condemnation.

We’re at the latter part of verse 19 and then we’ll work through the end of the chapter. Notice “mutual upbuilding. “That’s kind of a “clunky” way to say “edification”- up building. In fact, I’ve rarely ever seen that word, “up building,” but it could be translated, “edification.” It has the idea from the Greek word, “oikodomē.” “Oiko” sounds Japanese, doesn’t it? It sounds like a Japanese word, but it’s actually Greek. “Oiko” means house and “domē” is where we get the word dome. It, literally, means “to build up from the foundation to the roof.” This mutual upbuilding is the idea of helping each other and the way you behave towards them, so that you build them up rather than tearing them down because condemnation seeks to destroy.

Look at verse 20,”Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats.” That word, “destroy,” means to tear the house down. Whose house is it? It’s God’s because your younger brother or sister in the Lord, that’s new in the Lord, their body is a temple of the Lord. In other words, their “house” is God’s; He’s the one building them up. So, be careful about tearing down the work of God in someone else because God’s already at work even in that person that’s lost and far from God. God’s already trying to reach them.

Are you participating in what God’s already doing in their life or are you trying to tear them down? Judgment always seeks to condemn, to prove that the judge is right and the recipient is wrong and has a view of ultimate, you are filling the blank. You are this name.

Remember what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount? If you call your brother, “Raca,” you’ve committed murder in your heart. “Raca” is the Aramaic word that means, “empty head.” We say that, except we say stuff like “fool,” “stupid,” “dummy,” “ignorant” or things like that. Jesus says that if you’ve done that, if you’ve judged someone like that and you’ve you’ve passed judgment on. and I’m not gonna listen to anything you say because you’re just a fill in the blank. That’s judgment.

But discernment says, ‘ I used to think like that and I know how the Lord brought me out.’ You’re thinking to yourself, How can I communicate? How can I understand this person because God values them? How can I discern and build them up? Everything is indeed clean. That’s a restatement from earlier, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. That’s a restatement of earlier that even though the person disagrees, don’t in your liberty cause him to stumble. It’s good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. Again, he’s restating this, but now he comes up with some new insights.

Verse 22, “The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment.” Is he saying to stop talking about your faith? Certainly not, not whenever Jesus gave us The Great Commission, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations teaching them and baptizing.” So, that can’t be it. So, we look at the larger part of scripture, “Blessed is the one who…” What does he mean here? What does he mean to keep it to yourself?

What if that word, “faith” is conviction because it could have the same Greek word underneath. It could be translated “faith;” it could be translated “belief.” It could be translated “trust;” it could be translated “conviction. “ Let’s try that. So, the convictions you have about disputable matters, which is the context of the chapter. Can we agree on that? He’s not been talking about faith as in the gospel faith. That’s not his content. His content here is is judging and or not judging, being discerning about disputable matters. So, then we can say it like this– The convictions you have about whether or not you celebrate trick or treat, the convictions you have about whether or not you have a christmas tree, the convictions about what you believe about alcohol, smoking, wearing makeup, dancing, playing cards… keep to yourself. Keep it between you and God. I think that’s what it means when it comes to disputable matters, where the bible doesn’t clearly prohibit or condone it, but you have a conviction about it. That’s fine. You have a conviction that’s between you and the Lord. He’s giving you that conviction; you’re not going to do that because it would be sin for you to do it. But, you don’t need to go around telling everybody else they have to live by the same. That seems to be what he’s saying.

Don’t make it about the externals. Don’t make it about condemning everybody because you are gluten free and we should be gluten free, too. Or you are a vegetarian and you meat eaters are killing animals. Keep that to yourself, between you and God. Blessed is the one, happy is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. In other words, whatever your convictions are, that you can do certain things, you’re happy if you do them, you’re not gonna be, but whoever has doubts. In other words, you’re not convinced of your conviction. If you do them, You’ll be condemned for doing them. You’ll have self condemnation.

Look at the New Living translation for verse 23. I like the way this kind of wrestles with these words. Romans 14:23 (NLT) “But if you have doubts about whether or not you should eat something, you are sinning if you go ahead and do it. For youare not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.” So, God does give us a variety of convictions about certain things and we’re to keep those between ourselves and God, but we should also go with what He’s convicted us about.

Colossians 2:16-17 (NLT) 16 “So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. 17 For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality.” So, whether you allow your kids to have Easter eggs and go egg hunting on Easter or not, or whether you have a christmas tree or not, what does he say? It’s not about Holy days. Don’t let that be something that you’re condemned for or condemn others for.

In fact, this is what we should be doing in 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (ESV) “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” This is what Christ is leading us to to live according to discernment so that we’re not making it about the externals. We’re not seeking to condemn other people with our own convictions about disputable matters.

People often take Christ’s words, “Judge not,” from the Sermon on the Mount out of context. But what He really seemed to teach was stop hypocritical judging and start transformed discerning in considering your brother. Then, you’ll be able to help him get the “speck” out of his eye. Matthew 7:1-5 (ESV) 1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. . 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

Does He say not to judge? Yes. Does He say not to discern? No. In fact, He says, ‘If you get that log out of your eye, you’ll be able to see clearly, so you can help your brother get the speck out of his eye.’ That’s discernment. That’s the difference. People forget that part. Discernment is more about the new mind, the new mind that’s transformed in Jesus so that we know how in grace and truth to really help our brother because we first recognize, ‘Look, I used to have a log in my eye and the Lord Jesus helped me get it out and now I hear that you’re talking about this speck in your eye. Would you like help with that? Can I take you to Jesus? Can we talk about this?’

Discernment is humble, loving and graceful, but it also speaks the truth in love. Is your goal to tear them down and to destroy them, or is it to build them up? That’s how you’ll know. If you’re being discerning. The goal of discernment is edification. It builds up. It doesn’t condemn.

Will you recognize that, as believers, we are given a new mind, a transformed mind, the mind of Christ so that we can choose love over our liberty, limiting our liberty, our freedom by love. We can choose eternal things over external things and the way we discern ourselves and others and we can choose edification over condemnation.

I want to quote this passage to you as I pray for us this morning. This is from Philippians chapter one and let this be the beginning of our prayer as we close. Philippians 1:9-11 (ESV) 9 “And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” I pray, first of all, for that person that came in far from You today. May I say to you right now, I invite you to come to Jesus, right where you are, right in your seat. It’s just a matter of coming to Him and admitting you have a “log in your eye,” that you’re a sinner. “Lord, I know that I’m a sinner and I need help and I believe in You. I believe You died on the cross for my sin, that You were raised from the grave and that You live today. Come and live in me, forgive me of my sin, make me the person You want me to be. I want to be a child of God. I want to be right with the Father. I trust You as my Lord and Savior. If you are praying that prayer, believing, He will save you and He will give you righteousness, peace and joy. Others are here today and you know the Lord but you’ve been “majoring in the minors.” You’ve been judging and calling people names. You’ve been giving people the truth without any grace or love. I pray for you right now and I pray for all of us that have been acting in anger and acting in judgment. Give us the transformed mind, the discerning mind that knows how to humbly and carefully admit that if it weren’t for Jesus, we would still have a “log in our eye.” Maybe if we go together, He can help us get that small speck out of your eye. Help us to live like that. Lord, help that to be the mark of our church. In Jesus’ name. Amen.