Consider Others
A Sermon on Romans 14:13-16
Scripture
13Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way. 14I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that …
Sermon Description
While all Christians are Christian in the same way – through regeneration –not all are identical in every respect. There is, as Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains, ethnic diversity as well as differences in personality and temperament. But the apostle Paul classifies Christians in another manner in Romans 14. He classifies them based upon maturity: the strong and the weak. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, in this message on Romans 14:13–16 titled “Consider Others,” draws attention to the great principle that governs the Christian life: never put a stumbling block in front of a weaker brother or sister in Christ. Based upon the common membership in the family of God, the stronger Christian must remember their Christian brother or sister is more important than different opinions. Following Paul, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones warns of the danger of grieving a brother or sister by causing confusion and leading them to violate their conscience. When one grieves their brother or sister, they are no longer walking in love but seriously endangering their spiritual condition. The supreme argument of the apostle is that while Christ was willing to give up His life for the sinner, the strong hesitate whether they can give up meat for weaker members. Ponder Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones’s unique answer to the challenge of life together in the family of God.
Sermon Breakdown
- The governing principle for the Christian life is to never put a stumbling block or occasion to fall in your brother's way.
- There is nothing unclean in itself, but to him who considers it unclean, to him it is unclean.
- If your brother is grieved by your eating of certain meats, you are not walking charitably. Do not destroy him with your meat for whom Christ died.
- To grieve here means to distress, confuse, and trouble the weaker brother. It may also mean the weaker brother begins to eat the meat against his conscience, feeling condemned as he does so.
- By doing this, you are putting the weaker brother on the road to destruction by making him dispute his conscience, tamper with his conscience, and act against his conscience.
- Conscience plays a vital role in the Christian life. You must never produce a bad conscience in your brother.
- Some have put away a good conscience concerning faith and have made shipwreck. Conscience is compared to a ship's rudder. Without it, you will make shipwreck.
- Do not destroy your brother for whom Christ died. Christ sacrificed His life for your brother. Is it too much to ask you to forego eating certain meats for your brother's sake?
- Paul would eat no meat as long as the world stands rather than cause offense to his brethren, for whom Christ died.
The Book of Romans
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.