Diets, Days, and Judgments (Part B)

So Paul telling the Christians, hey, watch your step. There is accountability. We're all going to be judged. You're not the judge. Christ is the judge.

We have the scripture. And yes, we can judge based on that. If someone is going around stealing things, they can't say to you, Oh, you don't judge me, brother. No, I will judge you. I can judge you.

Overt actions and what comes out of your mouth, it says that allows us to make judgment. But not on the hidden things and not on those doubtful things as he mentioned. This is Cross-Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Aston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Romans.

Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Cross-Reference Radio, specifically, how you can get a free copy of this teaching.

Now, here's Pastor Rick in Romans chapter 14 with this edition of Cross-Reference Radio. There can be guilt by association. Paul says, I don't want you to have fellowship with demons. But there can also be unfounded guilt by association. And here's an example.

Here's an example of rushing to judgment, being cynical of somebody. and being short-sighted at the same time. This 2024 Blasphemous Olympics that we've been observing. Upon learning how its overlords went out of their way. to blaspheme Jesus.

What do you say? about a Christian athlete that remains in the Olympics in spite of that. Do you say that they're sinning? What if they counted with I will remain. And I will witness in the midst of darkness.

This ain't me. I find it as blasphemous as you do. But I also see a target-rich environment, and I'm not missing the opportunity to preach Christ. You see how it works? Be careful.

about judging appearances. What about the attitudes behind them? Where's the heart? You know, we saw this with homes when homeschooling became very popular. There were some Christians just really.

Ragging on those who kept their kids in public schools. And some of the parents had no choice. But others were like, well, that's where the battlefield is. You you know, don't don't cause these divisions. Don't put your foot In your mouth.

before the Lord on matters that he is ruling over and that's why he's Lord.

Well, verse four, who are you to judge another's servant? Mm-hmm. To his own master, he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

So he puts them in their place. Who do you think you are? The pastor cared too much. to care. If the guilty were offended by this question, because it needed to be dealt with, because Paul knew, having dealt with it in Corinth, dealt with it in the regions of Galatia, he knew this stuff broke up congregations.

and hid the truth. And if it didn't break up congregations, it weakened them.

So he had to write to the Galatians: who's bewitched you? You began in the spirit, now you're in the flesh. Did I work amongst you in vain? He went right at them, and he was successful. Paramount is truth.

unto correction, unto cohesion. There's supposed to be a connection between these things. We don't just have doctrine so we can boast about another that I know the Bible better than you. We are supposed to strengthen the save. to reach the lost, and to resist the darkness.

That's why we want to learn the Bible. We're not paranoid.

Well, I hope I get to heaven. I better learn more of the Bible It's the finished work of Christ gets you there. The thief on the cross, what did he know? About Messiah.

Well, we're not told, he might have known a lot. Actually, I should not have picked brought that one up. To his own master, he stands or falls. Let God be God, let him rule. He's not applying for the job.

Faith. grabs hold of that. Faithlessness resists it. And seeks to justify it. Oh, yeah, well, if God is so powerful and loving, then why this and why that?

He continues in verse 4: Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

So, Paul is saying, stop judging one another. God sustains us. You're not the only one that believes, you're not the only one that's sincere. Your church is not the only right church unless you go here.

Well, come on, we know it. Kidding, kidding is a visitor's thing. How dare you say that? Uh verse 5. One person esteems one day above another.

Another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully. convinced in his own mind.

So now we come to days, having dealt with diet. Another Judaistic favorite device for dividing. More of Moses' law. Overruling. The laws of Christ.

Holy Days. Let's use holy days to divide the church. to bring unholiness to the surface.

So the law of Moses required the Jews to observe Sabbaths. and Jewish festivals and new moons. But Christ Who those things spoke of. Who are types of the coming Messiah? After he came, and finished his earthly work, uh on the cross Those things Fell away.

Galatians four.

Now remember. Galatians, Romans, Hebrews are all dealing with Legalism, Judaism. The lack of trusting in the new covenant. And it was running wild in the days of Paul. Galatians 4, he says to them, but now after you have known God, or.

rather are known by God. How is it? that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements to which you desire again to be in bondage You observe days and months and seasons and years. He goes on to say, Did I do my work in vain with you? That's pretty heavy stuff.

He's saying, why are you still Going to Sabbath. Why are you still behaving like Jews when your Christians is no longer Jew nor Gentile? Slave nor free, Scythian or barbarian, but all in Christ. Ethnically, yeah, you're a Jew, but spiritually, you're Christian now. And it really was a hard thing for them to learn.

It's a hard thing for some people to learn even now. They put a lot of confidence in becoming uh legalistic And it will get you to be un-Christ-like very quickly, if not careful. He says: another esteems here in Romans 14, verse 5: another esteems every day alike.

Well Jesus gave us the table. With the bread in the cup, He gave us the water of baptism. Outside of that, We don't have to do anything. As far as recognizing a specific moment in time. on a regular basis.

Men gave us ash Wednesday. Things like that, Good Friday. Lent It's Lent, but I think of Lent. I just who doesn't? Easter.

You're free to celebrate those things. You're not free to demand them. You're not free to demand others to. Colossians chapter 2. These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom and self-imposed religion, false humility.

the neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgences of the flesh. When it comes to dealing with sin, they're blanks. They can't stop it. They just have this appearance. And he's not saying.

that all these things can be just turned against. He's saying you don't have to do them. And in some cases, you must not do them, which is what the Hebrew letter is. Don't you go down to that temple offering a bull, Christ has paid it. You will not find mercy if you do that.

Incidentally, Easter is named after Ishtar, The Babylonian goddess, a Babylonian goddess. I prefer to call it Resurrection Sunday. No. But you know, the culture is really over time put layers on us, so we have to be careful. You come across a Christian that says, you know, happy Easter, don't go slamming them.

I don't worship Estar, you pagan, you.

So you have to understand, it's not that simple. You're dealing with human beings. And Paul knew that. And you can't just snap your fingers and say this is the ideal, but you can pursue the ideal. And there's that's where the work gets done.

And we'll come back to that. He says, let each be fully convinced in his own mind. Moses could never say that about the laws of Moses. If you gathered sticks on the Sabbath you were stoned. You couldn't say, well, you know, it's up to you.

But the New Testament does have these kinds of liberties. And the apostles were quick to say: don't use your liberty as a cloak for evil. There's still such a thing as righteousness. There's a great difference between uniformity and Yeah. Uniformity is cold.

and it's lifeless. how I'm going to present it. and unity as vibrant as living and as warm. And here's what I mean. One church may say, we want you in a coat and tie.

All right, that is their right in Christ. There's nothing sinful or wrong about that. But another may say, no. You can just come casual, but do wear clothes. The uniformity is not essential.

One church may allow you to drink, to bring water into the sanctuary. We'll have none of that. You can make an hour without water. I promise you can. Let me just give you a little bit.

We place a lot of emphasis on the teaching of the word, and so we try to remove distractions as best we can. And if you have a room full of people, and just say five of them bring in a bottle of water. And one takes a swig, and another takes a swig, and the next thing you know, here a swig, there a swig, e-i-e-i-o. It's a distraction. You're sitting next to somebody and you're saying, Come on, I'm listening to this.

So But if another church wants to do it, that is up to them. We don't have to lockstep together on those non-essential things. Personal convictions are not always the same. As God's commandments. We have to know that.

Maybe you have this conviction where maybe you say, for instance, Maybe my conviction is in life, I think it is my duty to eat as many Twizzlers as I possibly can.

Now if that's my conviction, I can't put that on you. Because then we got to talk flavors. But anyway. Verse 6: He who observes the day observes it to the Lord. He who does not observe the day to the Lord, he does not observe it.

He who eats, Eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks. And he who does not eat to the Lord, he does not eat. and give God thanks.

Well, if one wants to celebrate bifocal day, fine. I don't see. Where I've got to do it. Verse 7. If those kind of dad jokes irritate you, it's a bonus for me.

Yeah. Verse 7: For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. Verse 8, for if we live, we live to the Lord. And if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.

Now, remember, these letters would be read out loud. And were there people in the congregation? Seething. with anger How dare you say these things? Or were they submitting?

Well, if we can measure them by us today, probably both. There are people that come into the church and they hear things they don't like. And they bristle and double down, even though the scriptures read right there, like that one I just read about. You can eat anything you want.

Well, here he is saying in verses seven and eight. Behave yourselves because there is such a thing as accountability to this Lord. Jesus. You're gonna stand before him. and have to Face.

your behavior. Before him. Galatians 6.4. And so here's the antidote. to being wrong.

or helping against it. But let each one examine his own work. and then he will have rejoicing in himself, and not in another. 1 Corinthians 11, 31. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.

And that's in the context of the communion table. But it Fits everywhere else, too. Fix it. The Holy Spirit says, I'm giving you a chance to fix this. Because you're able to fix this.

You're smart enough. You have the resources, you just have to apply yourself. Avail yourself of what I've given. And I've not only given you the scriptures, I've given you the Spirit. Remember, Jesus said to the apostles?

Well, he didn't say, He breathed on them. He did say, receive you the Holy Spirit. Verse 9. For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

Well, Christ died to deliver me from judgment, not to judgment. He's talking about Christians here. Christians. We will stand before Christ. Not for our eternal state, that's settled.

But it's a matter of, well, how'd you do? I planned to be absent that day. I'm calling in sick or finding a stunt double. I just want to be in heaven, Lord. If you have a problem with me, it's too late, I'm here.

Maybe you can mail it to me. I don't know how, you know, it whatever God's going to do, it's going to be right, and I know it. And I know I say this a lot. I just hope when we get to heaven, there's not Receiving. You know, like for the rookies.

You gotta go through orientation. I don't I hope when you get to heaven, it's like, okay, here's all the rooms you can't go in. And here's another thing. I don't want that. I hope we just have impart, I believe we will, I'm sure we will, have imparted to us.

All we need to know. All right, well, that's my little. fun at that.

So coming back to verse 9. These type of Christians that like to argue over rules that are more opinion and less commandment. They relish Delivering judgment. They relish, it seems, criticisms. They make a crying scene out of every failure.

instead of treating the wounded with truth and love. Ask yourself when you are faced with a Christian who fails. Do you rope off the area as a crime scene? Or do you look to treat the wounded? Do you look to keep Satan from making things worse?

Do you look to be part of the solution? Maybe you can't do much, but you can say, look, this is wrong, but I will keep you in prayer. Or do you browbeat them? I think it makes a difference.

Well, and Jesus does too, and he gave parables about those who received mercy but did not show mercy. It's again You're either going to show up as a policeman or an EMS. Playing with the two toys as ambulances and police cars as a kid, I always thought the ambulances were kind of boring, and I liked the police cars and the fire trucks. And even now, I'm more attracted to that unless I'm sick. Then I want the EMS.

And all I'm saying is there might be just this natural. Thing towards that which is thrilling and exciting, but where does the work get done? And that's what the Christian has to ask themselves. And the EMS gets things done. When you're the victim, when you're the one in need of the tourniquet or whatever, the splint, whatever it may be, that first aid.

He says that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living, demonstrating his deity. Verse 10: But why do you judge your brother, or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

So he's staying on this judgment. He's moved from the diet and the days.

Now he's dealing with judgment. And he knew that there were those there that were holding others in contempt for their lifestyle when Christ did not hold them in contempt for those lifestyles. They were smug.

Well, the question to us is. When is it good? To be smug. And for the Christian, the answer is never. It's the face of pride.

It's the It's the stature of pride. For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

Now, again, judgment for our deeds, not our destination. The sinner saved by grace is saved by grace. That's done. But again, there are the deeds. Revelation 11:18, The nations were angry, and your wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that you should reward your servants, the prophets and the saints, and those who fear your name, small and great.

and should destroy those who destroy the earth. The Lord will, he is the destroyer of the destroyers. Second Timothy, finally, Paul says, finally. Is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, You have to love that. Will give to me on that day, and not to me only.

But to all who have loved his appearing, all who have loved him, 2 Timothy 4:8. This verse, verse 10, in Romans 14. Shows Jesus in the seat of God as judge because He's God the Son. This is the judgment seat of Jesus. It's repeated in other letters by Paul.

Exclusive to deity. You cannot see the judgment seat of Michael the angel. You cannot see the judgment seat of Paul. The judgment seat of Moses, those don't work. You have to be self-existent.

to be able to judge. created beings. John 5:22, for the Father judges no one but has committed all judgment to the Son. Yeah, and across is going to be a big part of it. Judgment seat here in the Greek.

is a a single word, two words in our English Bible's judgment seat, one in the Greek BEMA. the beam of seat. our equivalent would be the judicial bench. the bench within a courtroom. And from there official business was conducted.

John 19, when Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus Out. and sat down In the Bema seat, Pilate sat in the judgment seat to judge Christ.

So the choice of words fits the generation that these scriptures were written. And um But take 2 Corinthians 5. we must all appear before the Bemis seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, According to what he has done, whether good or bad.

So Paul telling the Christians, hey, watch your step. There is accountability. We're all going to be judged. You're not the judge. Christ is the judge.

We have the scripture. And yes, we can judge based on that. If someone is going around stealing things, they can't say to you, Oh, you don't judge me, brother. No, I will judge you. I can judge you.

Overt actions and what comes out of your mouth, that allows us to make judgment. But not on the hidden things and not on those doubtful things as he mentioned. Uh the believers Will stand before this Bema seat, the unbelievers stand before the great white throne. Verse 11. For it is written, As I live, says Yahweh, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

Now, Paul is not quoting himself from Philippians. In fact, he's not even written the Philippian letter yet. He's quoting Isaiah the prophet. And Isaiah the prophet uses Yahweh's name. As I live, says Yahweh.

And of course, Yahweh is God of the Old Testament, is Jesus in the Old Testament. And he is applying it here to Christ. He is saying that verse from Isaiah 45, 23 is fulfilled in Christ.

So the Bible teaches that Jesus Yahweh, who is in the Old Testament, equal with God belonging to the Godhead. John chapter 1, all things. were made through him and Without him nothing was made that was made. Not made not created Begotten, that's Jesus. He was not made.

He has no birth date. He does have an incarnation. We don't know when that day is probably the same day as my birthday, I would guess. You can't prove them wrong. Anyway.

As for Christ, he is not made, he is not created. As the Athanasius Creed, Athanasius' creed goes, but begotten. Verse 12.

So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. This would be terrifying. Were it not? Um God had made it very clear. That his mercies anew every morning.

That he is a God of love. That he loves us, that he died for us. The sovereignty of God without love would make him a tyrant. It would terrify me. But the fact that he is sovereign means his love is undefeatable.

And uh for those who receive him ultimately. And so, in looking at some of the judgments in Scripture, we have the judgment of sin on the cross, of course, in John 12:11. We have the self-judgment of the believer, as I already read from 1 Corinthians 11:31. There's the judgment seat of Christ that we've been talking about, the Bima seat of Christ for the righteous. There will be the judgment of the nations when Christ returns, as he talked about in Matthew 25.

There's the judgment of Israel. That's in several passages. Ezekiel 20, 37 also highlights that. There's the judgment of fallen angels. In Jude 6, And then there's the judgment of the wicked dead at the great white throne.

of God Revelation 20 verse 12. Everyone conceived will meet Jesus Christ. Every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess some willing Willingly and delighted to be there, and others at the condemnation, at the judgment, but every need will. Not get away from the fact that he is Lord. And so we close with this, John 3, verse 18.

He who believes in him is not condemned. But he who does not believe in him is condemned already. Because He is not believed in the name. of the only begotten Son of God. By only begotten means Self-existent.

From far. Not created. Not made. but coming from the Father. God has many sons, but only one begotten.

Uh But Thanks for joining us for today's teaching on Cross Reference Radio. This is the daily radio ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Virginia. We're currently going through the book of Romans. If you're in need of hearing this message again or want to listen to others like it, head over to crossreferenceradio.com. We encourage you to subscribe to our podcast too, so you'll never miss another edition.

Just go to your favorite podcast app to subscribe. On our website, you'll be able to learn a little more about the ministry of Cross-Reference Radio, so make a note of it, crossreferenceradio.com. That's all we have time for today, but thanks so much for listening. Pastor Rick will be back next time in the book of Romans here on Cross-Reference Radio. Uh