Romans 14 – Preferring One Another

The sanctity of marriage. Romans Chapter 14—let’s go there quickly now. Romans, Chapter 14. For our visitors, we are continuing our study of the Epistle to the Romans. We are nearing the end. How many of you have benefited from this study of the Epistle to the Romans? Amen. Glory to God. I hope that is the case, because we have done the best we could.

I hope you realize how one can read and study the Word in a systematic, continuous way. There is so much that can be drawn from Scripture when one studies it like this, verse by verse. This is called exegesis. Exegesis of the Word of the Lord is this verse-by-verse, chapter-by-chapter study. There is much to be gained from this.

So, in Romans Chapter 14, which is the chapter before us, we studied in passing last time about making the most of our time. “Soon the night is coming,” as that chorus says; “it is time to work.” We must make the most of every opportunity, as Julie was saying. While there is an opportunity to preach the Gospel, we must take advantage of those opportunities. While doors are open, we must put on the armor of light, live pure lives, strive to cast aside everything that is not of God, make the most of our time by studying the Word of the Lord, and prepare ourselves to be useful for every good work, as Scripture says.

But now we are going to move on to another subject, because Scripture contains all kinds of subjects that are useful and edifying for the people of God. Here the Apostle Paul changes the subject. He spoke about respecting the authorities—you will remember—the importance of rendering honor, respect, and tribute to those who deserve it, and then also about making the most of our time.

Now he moves on to another subject which I believe you, as a church, will find very, very beneficial. Let us look at Chapter 14. Verse 1 says:

“... Receive the one who is weak in the faith, but not in order to quarrel over opinions. For one believes he may eat anything, while another, who is weak, eats vegetables. Let the one who eats not despise the one who does not eat, and let the one who does not eat not judge the one who eats, for God has received him. Who are you to judge another man’s servant? Before his own lord he stands or falls. But he will stand firm, for the Lord is powerful enough to make him stand. One person distinguishes between one day and another, while another considers every day alike. Let each one be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day observes it for the Lord; and the one who does not observe the day does not observe it for the Lord. The one who eats eats for the Lord, because he gives thanks to God; and the one who does not eat abstains for the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives for himself, and none of us dies for himself. For if we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you also despise your brother? For we will all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow before Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.’ So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.”

Amen. We are going to stop there, although the entire chapter is actually a single unit. But you can already see that some of you may be asking, well, what is the main point of this passage? What is the Apostle Paul actually talking about here? Of what possible use can this passage be to us?

This business about the one who eats and the one who does not eat, and the one who observes the day and the one who does not observe the day—what are we supposed to make of it? What is this man talking about?

We must remember that the Apostle Paul was referring to a problem in the local church of that time. Remember that he is writing to brothers and sisters who are just beginning in the faith, and he is writing a letter to put in order the way the church in the city of Rome conducts itself. As a man of recognized authority, he is aware of certain problems. Perhaps they have written him letters, or perhaps brothers from the church in Rome have gone to tell him that there is controversy among the Christians in Rome about certain theological and behavioral matters, and they want to hear from someone like him, who has the revelation of God, about how they should resolve this problem. What is the solution, and how should they conduct themselves?

He then answers this question in light of the controversies of that time. Today, perhaps the controversies are different. Perhaps today they are not about food or days—and we are going to see exactly what that refers to—but today there are other controversies among the people of God. Right here among us there is a diversity of denominational and religious backgrounds, and some people are more sensitive about certain things than others. Some have different opinions about certain things.

So, amid that diversity, God wants there to be harmony. God wants there to be unity, and we must seek the spirit that God desires. Paul begins by saying, “... Receive the one who is weak in the faith, but not in order to quarrel over opinions...” Then he gives an illustration about those who eat vegetables. What was he referring to? At that time, there were different religious sects that believed, for example, that one should not eat meat. Even among the Jews there were differences of opinion concerning certain foods. For example, if you read Chapter 11 of Leviticus, you will see there that the Jews received from God, in accordance with the Mosaic law, a number of prohibitions.

Look, for example, at Leviticus 11 so that you can see an example. When these people came into the Gospel, they brought that entire background of prohibitions and of being careful about this and that, and their minds were filled with cautions about whether they should eat one thing or another, and about whether, now that they were in the Gospel, it was possible to eat those things that were unclean according to Judaism—whether they could eat everything.

For example, Leviticus 11 says in verse 9: “... These you may eat of all the animals that live in the waters—that is, fish and aquatic animals—all those that have fins and scales in the waters of the sea and in the rivers, these you may eat. But all those that have neither fins nor scales in the sea and in the rivers, whether among everything that moves or among every living thing that is in the waters, you shall regard as an abomination. They shall therefore be an abomination to you. You shall not eat their flesh, and you shall abhor their dead bodies. Everything in the waters that does not have fins and scales you shall regard as an abomination....”

Brothers and sisters, they have just eliminated lobster and shrimp for us. May the Lord rebuke the devil. Scallops, as delicious as they are, because they do not have fins or scales. So these poor Jews were very limited in what they could eat. Imagine what Caribbean people would do without pork chops, without pork. That is a punishment worse than hell for many brothers who are accustomed to their pork rinds, their pork, and their pork chops. They are like the Jews saying, “Oh, where are the garlic and onions of Egypt?”

And these Jews had received a great many prohibitions, so they entered the Gospel with this very cautious mindset about what they could or could not eat. There were also other sects, such as the Gnostics, the Pythagoreans, and the Essenes, some of whom were also vegetarians. Some believed that the soul was imprisoned in the body and that the only way to free it was by living a life of strict adherence to dietary laws and all that kind of thing. There were many different groups in the Roman, Greco-Roman world that entered the Gospel, while their minds were still filled with all these things.... It is like, let us say, die-hard Pentecostal brothers and sisters who come to Lion of Judah with the idea that women cannot wear skirts that come above the ankle, for example, or skirts that are not made of dungaree, of denim, of the material used to make mechanics’ pants and things like that, and who have been told that they cannot wear earrings—or “pantallas,” as you call them—or lipstick.

Just imagine: upon coming here, many of you would unfortunately be immediately disqualified as daughters of the devil. So they enter, let us say, a church that believes differently, and then they have their doubts. They look around and see this dear sister speaking in tongues, but she is also wearing lipstick, and they experience something like an incredible emotional shock.

There are sisters who come from traditions where, for example, one cannot go to the movies, and all these things; so this is found among us. There are sisters who have been told, for example, that they must put on a veil to pray, and we have seen sisters like that in our congregation. They look lovely too. But they have different opinions.

So these people in the Greco-Roman world came with all these traditions and entered an environment where they had been told that the Gospel does not consist of all those things, that Christ has set us free from those things. For the Apostle Paul himself had already spoken about all of this in other passages.

Look, for example, at Galatians, Chapter 4, verses 10 and 11, where Paul says: “... You observe days, months, seasons, and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain....”

And Colossians 2:16 says: “... Therefore let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding feast days, a new moon, or Sabbaths, all of which are a shadow of what is to come, but the body belongs to Christ. Let no one deprive you of your reward by affecting humility and the worship of angels, intruding into things he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his own carnal mind....”

The Apostle Paul himself had spoken very clearly that the Gospel does not consist of eating this or not eating that. In fact, the Lord Jesus Christ was even more graphic. He said, look, nothing that enters the stomach defiles a man, because a person eats it and then, He said—forgive the expression—it goes into the latrine. He says that what defiles a man is what comes out of the heart—that is, evil words, hatred, and all that kind of thing. That is what is evil.

In other words, the Gospel emerges in the world freeing humanity from bondage to religiosity, rituals, external things, external sacrifices, this and that, and the need to be so careful, because in Christ Jesus we have received freedom; in Christ Jesus, He is the propitiation for our sins. He has therefore allowed us to be freer. Now, be careful—do not get ahead of me too quickly. It does not mean that we have freedom to be licentious or to... that is not the idea. But Christ has indeed freed us from the paranoia, the obsession, the compulsion, the fear that, “I did this, and now the Lord is going to send a bolt of fire to destroy me. I did that, and now I have to....”

In Christ there is greater freedom; we can rest. We have a God who is more tolerant of those little things for which people once had to pay fines and offer sacrifices to purify themselves. If they touched a dead person, they immediately had to go to the priest, get a dove, have water sprinkled on them, and remain unclean for an entire week before they could enter their home. If they stumbled across a dead animal in the street, well, it was a terrible thing. They had to keep washing their hands ten times a day in order to be....

Christ said, no, true faith is not like that. So Christianity moved in that freedom, but brothers and sisters would come who had converted to the Lord and still had certain cautions in their hearts about certain things. There was then conflict between those brothers and sisters and the others in the Christian congregations. Some were extremely liberal and felt free to eat. They would wolf down two pork chops and keep right on going—and if there was a third, they would dig into that one too. They wanted to make up for all those years when they had not eaten pork.

Others, however, would look at them and remember the former prohibitions. Others, for example, had been freed from the matter of having to observe the Sabbath with all the meticulousness with which the Sabbath was observed in Judaism, or the other religious days belonging to other cultures and religions. They had been freed from all of that and felt free. To them, they were not enslaved to one particular day. Others, however, still had that concern, you know, just as there are many Christians, for example, to whom you had better not even mention doing anything on Sunday, whether going to work or whatever else, or going shopping, because that is a sin. Other Christians are a little freer—sometimes far too free. They go overboard, and Sunday means nothing to them, nor does Monday either. The problem is that no day is for... they go to the opposite extreme.

So, in reality, what matters to us is not so much the specific situation to which the Apostle Paul was referring at that time. Nevertheless, there is a principle to which the Apostle Paul alludes, and that is what is important. There are two or three things that we must remember in a community as diverse as ours. And it is this: What do we do with the diversity in our congregations? How should we treat one another when there are differences of opinion concerning things that we consider important?

For example, again, among us there is not so much of this matter of eating or not eating, observing days or not, but there are plenty of other things that divide us. For example, there are brothers and sisters who think that going to the movies is a sin, but mind you, they buy themselves a good video and watch it at home. But they think that going to the movies is a sin.

Others do not; they go to the movies every chance they get. Some think that having a little glass of wine with a Valencian paella is not a problem, while others see that as something sinful—drinking alcohol, drinking wine—because perhaps they were raised in another tradition. Some think, for example, some sisters think that wearing pants is no problem, right? And sometimes they also go too far, and those pants are so tight they could give them gangrene. Other sisters think that only a skirt is appropriate and that one must wear a skirt that covers one’s charms as much as possible.

There are conflicts, and so what happens? In those kinds of environments where there are differences of opinion, what is the tendency? Each person looks at the one who does not think the same way with contempt or judgment. The person who is conservative in some area looks at the more liberal person judgmentally and says, ‘That person cannot be a Christian. Look at him drinking that glass of wine; he is carnal, he is a sinner. How dare he, when it is perfectly clear that one must not drink alcohol?’ And so he judges him; that is, he judges him as though he were not one of God’s people.

Now the person who feels comfortable drinking his little glass of wine looks down on and ridicules the other one: ‘Look at that self-righteous person over there, thinking the truth of Jesus Christ has not dawned on him. Christ has already set us free from sin, and now we are under the Lord’s grace, and all this...’ And so he looks down on the more conservative brother. Then there is conflict in the church, and we criticize one another and split into camps.

There are groups in the churches who say, ‘Pastor, let us pray because there is a lot of sin in the church. We must pray because the devil is on the loose at Lion of Judah; we have to bind the devil,’ and so on.

Other brothers and sisters are over there like little lambs, leaping all over the place and happy, their minds clear, with no problem at all; and at the same time, they ridicule the others for being so rigid, so conservative.

And the Apostle Paul says, ‘We should neither ridicule nor judge one another; we must respect one another in our diversity.’ How many say amen to that? We must learn to tolerate one another and understand that as long as we are on earth, there will be differences of opinion.

I believe, brothers and sisters, that when churches and pastors try to put people into a straitjacket and make them holy in our own image and likeness, sooner or later we unleash a host of problems in the church. Let me tell you, we do more harm than good. That is why you walk into many churches and they are like a little army, right? All the sisters are dressed the same way, sitting in the same section; the men are off to one side, also dressed exactly alike with their ties, no facial hair of any kind or anything. But what happens? The devil is on the loose in other ways, and there are scandals, and things happen, and this and that. Because, brothers and sisters, the flesh cannot be locked in a cell. Monks have tried it throughout the centuries and have not succeeded. The flesh is something rebellious that will only be... when God glorifies us. And as for diversity of thought, dictators have tried to put countries into a straitjacket and have not succeeded, because human nature is creative and dynamic and always tends to move in different directions.

What we must learn to do is how to handle diversity. Moreover, I believe that diversity is also beautiful when we respect one another, when we love one another, when we learn to enrich and cross-fertilize one another through an exchange of ideas and models; that strengthens the people of God.

And we learn from one another. The conservative little brother who is afraid of everything learns, ‘I can relax a little; I can let my hair down a little and be all right. God did not send a lightning bolt to destroy me. How wonderful.’ And he loosens up a little and grows in his faith, in his trust in the Lord, and in the grace of Jesus Christ. And the other person who is too liberal and too loose tightens up a little as well and says, ‘Wow, the truth is that I should learn to pray a little more and fast a little more, and perhaps this shortcoming is harming me. These pants are too tight; let’s loosen them a little. And perhaps sneaking off to the nightclub every Saturday is not doing me any good because it is not contributing to my spiritual health, and perhaps I should seek more of God’s holiness and greater devotion to the Lord. And even if it is not a sin, I should seek out more places and environments where God’s presence is found instead of contaminating myself with environments where nothing is going to edify me.’

Then we mutually enrich one another, mutually strengthen one another, and help one another. Among the people of God there must not be that mutual contempt, that criticism, that judging of one another, that murmuring. When churches split into factions and groups of the holy ones and the liberals, each side taking shots at the other, with special-interest groups and divisions, that is not from God.

We must learn that as long as we are on earth, there will be a diversity of opinions. We will understand the Word in different ways, and we must be aware that we are part of one body and that we have to respect one another’s space.

An image came to me as I was thinking about the Christian life of a church, a congregation, as a kind of dance. Forgive me for using this image—not that I have ever been in a place like that—but have you ever gone to a nightclub or somewhere people dance? There are many people dancing, many couples, and everyone is dancing with his or her partner, very absorbed in the dance and in what they are doing with their partner, but they are also aware of the others around them, so as not to step on their feet or shove them. One is aware of two things: what is happening in the inner dance, between oneself and one’s partner, but also the larger dance of all those bodies turning around one another and occupying an enclosed space. And the mind is focused both on the immediate and on the surrounding environment.

And I believe that this is how it should be in the Christian life: each person should be convinced within his own being about what he believes and what God has spoken to him, but one is also aware that one belongs to a community, right? That we are all members of one body and cannot step on one another’s corns, because if I become so caught up in my dance that I step on the feet of someone who is six feet eight inches tall, he will probably give me a whack on the head and spoil the whole party for me. So I have to be careful not to move too broadly either, because I must respect other people’s space.

And I believe that this is how it should be in congregational life. No one, as someone has said, is an island. We are all members of a continent, of a whole. And I believe that wise is the Christian who is aware that he is part of a family in which not everyone thinks alike. We must show respect for others; we must be aware of the models offered by different brothers and sisters, examine everything and—what?—hold on to what is good.

And the more careful, more conservative person, the one more devoted to matters of holiness and reverence for the divine, should remain within that and at the same time be aware of people who are not as inclined to emphasize those things and see what he can learn from them. And the same applies on the other side, because I tell you, I learn so much from Pentecostal brothers and sisters who are more devoted to the Lord. I wish that some of our young people had that kind of zeal—and some do—that more of them had that zeal for the Lord, and that our congregations were more devoted to fasting, prayer, holiness, and other things that have been a great blessing to my life as I have reflected on them and learned from those brothers and sisters. And those people should remain as they are, and hopefully they can also learn to loosen up a little and give the Spirit freedom in other, different ways.

But Paul is talking about that: we must not quarrel over opinions. At the beginning he says, ‘Not for the purpose of quarreling.’ The Gospel, brothers and sisters, is not for fighting with one another. The Gospel is not for arguing, ‘My interpretation is better than yours,’ and this and that, always splitting hairs over every verse of the Gospel. The Gospel is peace, says the Apostle Paul; the Gospel is love; the Gospel is joy; the Gospel is unity; and we must work toward those things that contribute to the unity of the people of God.

We cannot look down on one another or judge one another. On the contrary, we must respect diversity. Now notice that there is something that helps Paul in this process, and it is the awareness that I am not my brother’s owner. Who is my brother’s owner? The Lord. Who is my brother’s judge? The Lord, just as He is also my judge.

John is not my property, for me to be watching him every moment—whether he did this, whether he did that, whether he called, whether he ate, whether he drank, whether he went somewhere. He has... his conscience belongs to God. He belongs to God; John’s Lord is the Lord Jesus Christ, and He is my Lord as well. I cannot presume to watch him, judge him, and determine his course as though I were his Lord.

That is why he says here in verse 4, ‘...Who are you to judge another man’s servant? To his own lord he stands or falls. But he will stand firm,’ he says, ‘because the Lord is powerful enough to make him stand....’

That is very important, brothers and sisters. It helps me to know that even though I may not entirely agree with a brother or sister’s way of thinking, the Lord who called her is powerful enough to bring her to where He must ultimately take her. My calling is to pray for her, bless her, respect her, and thank God that she is in church instead of sleeping or behaving disgracefully out there on the street. At least she is here seeking God. Glory to the Lord for that.

Look, if someone is sitting next to you and is asleep and snoring, do not take offense and say, ‘Oh, how dare this person do that while the pastor is preaching?’ Leave him alone. It is better for him to sleep in church than to sleep shut away alone in a room somewhere. Bless him. That young fellow over there doing something... look, it is better for him to be in the bosom of God’s people, listening to praises and receiving the warmth of men and women who are seeking the Lord. Perhaps one day the Lord will touch him. There is a greater chance that God will touch him here in church than on the street. So let us bless him. Let us try to help them; let us discipline them, but let us thank the Lord that at least they are in the house of God, because the Lord is faithful, and one day the passion of the Gospel will dawn upon them, and they will become men and women filled with the Holy Spirit, serving the Lord. Amen.

So I believe that is it: there is a brother who is struggling with this or that and who falls from time to time and gets back up. Look, bless him in the name of the Lord. One day the Lord will lift him up, strengthen him, and set him firmly on his feet forever. The Lord is powerful enough to make him stand firm.

And when I know that my brother belongs to the Lord, that the Lord has a plan for his life, and that the Lord has an appointed journey for him or her, it is not my place to interfere in God’s dealings with a person, brothers and sisters. Even as a pastor, I have learned that every individual has a treatment plan that God establishes when that person enters the ways of the Lord. And spiritually speaking, God calls that person over, sits him down, and says, ‘Look, here is the plan I have. This is what is going to happen to you. You are going to go through this and that, and I am going to deal with you in this way. I am going to break you here, cleanse you there, and do this with you over there. It will take you ten years, but in the end you will be clean and ready to come with Me when your time comes.’

And I have learned that the only thing I can do as a pastor is manage that process a little, facilitate it, and help. I am like a midwife who cannot pull the baby out, who cannot put her hand inside the woman and pull the baby out, but who tells her, ‘Push, breathe, do not give up, keep going.’ And when the little head is coming out, she helps a little and facilitates the process, but there is a part that only nature, the child, and the mother can do. Yes or no? Then that is how we must be with one another.

There is a part in which we can edify one another by counseling, admonishing, helping, and encouraging one another along the path of faith, but there is an 80 percent that belongs only to God and that person. And I must have sufficient awareness of Christ’s lordship in that person’s life, and of God’s sovereign and unique plan for that person, to step back and say, ‘Hey, Lord, I am not going to interfere here, because that is not my business.’

As Christians, we must know when we may put our hands into something and when we must step back and respect what God is doing in a person, because God does not work with every individual in the same way. Each person has his own way of reaching the place where God wants to take him. Some fish are caught with one kind of bait, others with another, and still others with yet another; and God knows which bait He will use to bring each person ultimately to the feet of Jesus Christ.

And so we have to be so conscious of Christ's presence in the life of each of His children, of His dealings with each one of His children, and of His elaborate, meticulous, specific plan for each one, that we learn to respect them and give them space, even if they do not think as we do, even if they do not see things as we see them, and be convinced that God will bring them through, because God is powerful enough to make them stand firm in the end.

And that, then, enables churches to live in harmony, so that we can love one another and bless the dear brother who thinks differently; the dear sister who wears only skirts can bless the other who wears only pants, and the two can bless each other and go out to eat after the service and bless and counsel each other until the Lord convinces them of exactly where they need to be. The Lord is powerful enough to make them stand firm.

There is something else Paul says here that is very interesting. He says in verse 5, “...Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. Whoever observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and whoever does not observe the day, does not observe it for the Lord...”

What does it mean for each person to be fully convinced in his own mind? Look, if you believe that not drinking alcohol is the only way for a Christian to behave, then, look, be sure of that, and do not keep looking over your shoulder at what the dear brother is doing or thinking, goodness, should I really have a little drink? It would taste so good with this meal.... Do not sit there turning it over in your mind. If that is what God has told you, look, stand firm, believe it, and live with complete assurance that this is what God has revealed to you and that you are fine there.

And if you believe that having a little glass of wine does no harm, then, look, do it, and do not keep wondering either, Lord, am I really pleasing You or not? Is this from God or not? Am I condemning myself or not? No, do it, entrust yourself to the Lord, entrust yourself to the grace of God, and be convinced in your way of understanding Scripture.

Now, even within that inner conviction, that part of the inner dance, also be conscious of the larger dance, of the fact that there are others who do not think as you do. How beautiful it is when, among God's people, there are people who are convinced of their point of view but are also capable of respecting the diversity of opinions among God's people. Then there is harmony in the house of the Lord; there is joy; there is blessing.

I prefer a church with a diversity of opinions to a church artificially forced into a straitjacket, with people who appear very holy but are burning inside with all kinds of thoughts and things. It is an outward, pretentious religiosity—ultimately a dishonest one—because there is no legislation that can truly enslave the human mind. What I can do is persuade; I can teach; I can instruct; I can inform. Through the preaching of the word of the Lord, I can touch hearts; I can give people texts and material so that they can form their judgments. I have to speak the word of the Lord, and I am going to preach it as the Lord tells me to and as I interpret it. Now, I hope that you receive that there in your mind and remain open to what the Lord is telling you. Do not be resistant either. If you are hearing something from God, receive what God is telling you.

Another thing I believe is important regarding this is that at no point are we saying, brothers and sisters, that anything goes, that each person can say, well, if I am convinced this is all right, then amen. There are things in the Bible that are very clear, where no means no. Okay? We are not saying, for example, that getting drunk and losing control is acceptable. That is sin, and alcoholism, any dependence on alcohol, and even the excessive use of alcohol that impairs your judgment and your ability to think correctly or act responsibly—that is sin. That is not from God, and the word of God is very clear there. It says, “Do not get drunk on wine, but instead be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

There is clarity regarding that. There is another passage, for example, that tells women to dress decorously. It says that, does it not? In other words, a woman of God should display a certain decorum and give some thought to how she dresses, so that she can present the image of a sober-minded woman, a woman of God who is not stirring up evil thoughts in those of us who already have quite enough evil thoughts anyway. Why create more problems, right?

So the daughters of God should indeed dress in a way that is decorous and pleasing. Moreover, the Apostle Paul speaks about not wearing ostentatious clothing, extravagant hairstyles, or things intended to attract so much attention. In other words, there is also a call to moderation. There are values....

What I tell people is this: look, if you want me to tell you whether listening to secular music is good or not, I am not going to tell you that it is good or that it is not. Sometimes people seem to want someone to control their minds. People want to be controlled; people do not want to have to think or deal directly with the Word themselves and develop maturity. You know that the Bible says that ministry is for those whose senses have been developed through use. A Christian must wrestle with the Word, must read the Word, must struggle with those texts that spur him to develop his spiritual muscles and his ability to interpret so that he can learn how to deal with situations. That is better than having a pastor sitting there in a chair so that people can come and ask him, Pastor, should I do this or should I do that? Should I go here? Should I go there? Should I move over there, or...? Should I marry so-and-so? Should I go to such-and-such a city? That is not what a pastor is supposed to do. The pastor informs, the pastor teaches, the pastor instructs, the pastor counsels, but ultimately you must make the decision in your conscience before God. And it will be up to you to learn the word of God so that, when the pastor is not there, you can make the decision directly with God.

So, for example, someone asks me, “Can I listen to secular music or not?” Well, I will say, “Brother, where does listening to that music lead you?” If the music leaves you edified, enriched, with a better understanding of life and of noble, profound, and sublime feelings, then, brother, listen to it. But if you are going to listen to a married man sing about being in love with another woman, about how she is driving him crazy, how he cannot sleep, and how he does not know whether to shoot himself, slit his wrists, or... whether to sleep with her or not, how does that edify you, brother? If you already have enough trouble remaining faithful to your wife, why keep playing a song over and over in your head that will only contaminate your mind and add yet another front on which you must fight? What blessing is there in that? Am I right or not?

So the question is: What does it do? How does it affect me? How does it align with the values of the Kingdom of God? How does it edify me? How does what I am doing contribute to my spiritual growth? That is the question. It is not a matter of bluntly saying that you should or should not go to the movies: “No, you cannot go to the movies.” Well, what are you going to see? Does it edify you and bless you, or does it contaminate you, complicate your mind, and leave you worse off than when you went in? Why do we need to be watching certain things? Television—is it wrong to watch it or not? Do not ask me; what are you watching? Are you watching a soap opera that fills you.... With all the problems you already have, it leaves you with even more problems in the end. And you come back ten years later, and it is at the very same point it was at when you stopped watching it, with the same situation, the same struggles, the same tragedies, the same sorrows.

Brothers and sisters, how does that help you grow in your faith and become the woman or the man God wants you to be? In other words, that is the idea, brothers and sisters: principles; seeking the eternal values of the Kingdom of God that help us navigate those small problems of life. What matters, once again, is that we respect one another, live convinced of what God has told us, and also measure our actions by the eternal values of the word of the Lord. We must not judge one another or look down on one another. We must learn from one another, regard ourselves as members of one another, and appreciate the good in the other person instead of looking only at the bad.

What do you think? Is that not good counsel from the word of the Lord? Glory to the Lord. May God grant that we, as a church, may always remain in harmony, brothers and sisters. That is beautiful, beautiful.

The word of the Lord says, “Behold, how good and how delightful it is for brothers to dwell together in harmony.”

I believe that one of the most beautiful things God has given us as a church is our diversity. When I stand here, I see different races, different nationalities, different ages, different socioeconomic levels, different educational backgrounds, regions from different countries, different languages. Glory to the Lord. How beautiful that is, with everyone in love with Christ and everyone heading in the same direction: toward the heavenly homeland. In the meantime, we love one another, respect one another, cherish those principles from the word of the Lord, and encourage one another along the path of faith. Walking is difficult. We need companions in the trenches, and we need people who, even if they do not believe exactly as we do, will encourage us, respect us, and affirm us in our desire to reach the goal. So glory to the Lord.

Let us bow our heads for a moment and make a covenant with God and with our brothers and sisters that we will be agents of blessing, that we will be agents of encouragement to others, and that we will respect the mystery of that God who calls us and says, “Do not worry, My daughter, My son; I am going to walk with you. I know there are things that need to improve, but I am going to deal with you, and perhaps it will take longer than others would like, but I am with you. I will bring you through.”

Let us be a church that gives others space, a church that respects the mystery of God's dealings with His children, the diversity of humankind, and the God who is not satisfied with just one flavor but delights in different temperaments and styles. And let us agree to be a church of love, a church of mutual respect, a church of reverence toward one another.

Thank You, Father; thank You for what You have made possible among us. Many things remain unresolved, Lord, many loose ends remain to be tied up in this message and in this Word that we have read this morning. But thank You for what You have already added to our store of knowledge. We ask that You enable us always to move in the love of Christ. That Jesus who, though He was God, was so respectful of human diversity and so respectful of the mysteries of a Zacchaeus, a Samaritan woman, a Peter with all his problems and difficulties; of those who did not want to receive Him, upon whom His disciples wanted to call down fire, and with whom He was so gentle; of Nicodemus, who hid from the others so they would not see him when he spoke with Jesus. And He had compassion and mercy on them all.

We want to have that same spirit this morning. Help us to have the right balance, Father, between passion for Your holiness, Lord, fierce adherence to Your commandments and Your ethics, and also knowing that You have healed us, set us free, and forgiven us through the blood of Jesus. We do not have to live with fear and dread, because You have made us free; and when we sin, when we fail, when we miss the mark, we can come before You and ask for forgiveness, and You receive us, heal us, set us once again on the path of faith, and do not reject us.

Teach us that balance, Father. Teach us Your balance, Lord. Thank You for this people. Thank You for this Word You have given us this morning; send us out from here in peace. We bless Your people, and over them we declare, Lord, the nutrients of Your Spirit upon the families, the young people, the children, the workers, those who work in offices and in different professions, the students, the teachers, and our communities. We bless them, Lord, on this day. Thank You for dwelling among us. In the powerful name of Jesus, we thank You. Amen and amen.

Brothers and sisters, we bless you in the name of the Lord. Greet one another; show one another the peace of God. Amen and amen.