City Harbor Church – Hampden, Baltimore, MD

Righteousness, Peace, Joy

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Romans 14:17 – ”  For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”

What is the issue?

Primary Issue – Jews and Gentiles in the same congregation bringing their life experiences into church. They are quarreling.

Romans 14:1 – Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters.

Weakness in faith,’ means an inadequate grasp of the great principle of salvation by faith in Christ; the consequence of which will be an anxious desire to make this salvation more certain by following a set of formal rules.

Paul’s correction is not about what we eat, drink or when we Sabbath but our treatment of each other as Brothers and Sisters, our family, in Christ.

Paul is saying that discounting or dismissing a weak brother or sister’s choices could cause him deep hurt and They may feel that their integrity as a believer is at stake.

How should we treat other believers? Accept them. This means not just “allow to remain to be a member” but welcomed with friendship.

How do we accept them?

  • Avoid impatient annoyance
  • Avoid ridicule
  • Avoid contempt

    • Essentials from Romans 14

    •  Do not judge
    • Pursue Peace
    • Don’t cause others to stumble

      • The Kingdom of God is:

      Righteousness

      (Yes: right relationships with God and others)

      Also: Giving others their due

      • Love
      • Put them first
        • Philippians 3:3-4 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

          • Peace. 

          • Everything that works for our highest good.
          • State of harmony

            • The Jews themselves often thought of peace as a state of right relationships between individuals. 

            Joy. 

            • Not a happiness that fades
            • Not just for the individual but a joy that is for everyone (infectious, kingdom of heaven is like yeast, it can permeate everything)
            • Fruit of the Spirit

              • We should see other believers through the lens of the Kingdom of God. This includes

              • How God formed and created them before they were born
              • Their past experiences and choices
              • Who they are today
              • Who God will mold them to be

                • This perspective challenges our motives and thinking, requires us to listen to understand and demands that we love them as Christ loves us, even by laying down our own freedoms for their sake.

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                City Harbor Church – Hampden, Baltimore, MDBy City Harbor Church