by Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\tI. I remember the shock I had a number of years ago to learn that Wayne Gretsky, the hockey\nplayer, was younger than I was. Somehow, I always thought that sports heros were older\nthan me.\n A. Oh, we know we are growing older, but sometimes all the ramifications of\nmaturity doesn’t hit us.\n
B. We tend to think of everyone as being like ourselves.<\/p>\n C. Christians are not immune to this attitude. We often assume everyone’s maturity\nin the faith is just like ours. It surprises us to find that while everyone is maturing,\nwe are not all maturing at the same rate or even in the same way.\n
1. Rom 12:3 – Each of us have different measures of faith.<\/p>\n
D. Rom. 14:1 – Paul instructs the strong to receive the weak, to a limit<\/p>\n
1. Tolerance should be shown, but not to the point that sin is tolerated.<\/p>\n
2. II Tim 2:23 – We are to avoid questions that cause strife.<\/p>\n
3. Tit. 3:9 – Some questions are just not profitable to discuss.<\/p>\n
II. The question comes up when discussing Romans 14, who are the ones weak in faith?<\/p>\n
A. Somehow, few people view themselves as weak.<\/p>\n B. Rom. 14:2 – The weak brother restricts his diet, though the strong recognizes that\nanything may be eaten.\n 1. Notice first that both the weak and the strong brother are acceptable to\nGod. This is not a matter of right or wrong.\n
2. Heb 13:9 – Concerns about food do not build up spiritual strength.<\/p>\n
3. I Tim 4:14 – Every creature is acceptable for food.<\/p>\n C. Notice the difference between the two. The strong will eat anything, since God\nhas allowed it. The weak eats what God allows, but artificially restricts himself.\n
1. Why would any one restrict themselves? <\/p>\n 2. A person weak in the faith, still has growing to do. He has not learn the\nfull counsel of God.\n
3. When people are not mature, there is more strife – I Cor. 3:1-3<\/p>\n
4. Unity comes when we come to the measure of Christ – Eph 4:13<\/p>\n
III. God decides what is acceptable – Rom 14:3-13<\/p>\n
A. The key point is serving God. Does God find it acceptable?<\/p>\n
B. Don’t condemn, just because it is different. Too many assume different is wrong.<\/p>\n
1. This implies study and learning what God has taught on a subject.<\/p>\n
2. This the process of growing.<\/p>\n
C. The weak is not to remain weak<\/p>\n
1. Eph. 4:14 – Grow in faith<\/p>\n
2. Heb 5:12 – Grow to clearly discern good and evil.<\/p>\n D. Even with study, a person learning that God accepts more than he originally\nthought may still have qualms doing so himself. That is alright, growth takes time.\nDo not do anything until you are fully convinced of the rightness of an action –\nRom 14:23.\n
IV. Paul then turns his sights on the strong brother – Rom 14:14-22<\/p>\n A. Sometimes, when a person knows they are right, they insist on their rights to\npractice all that God allows and they do not consider the impact of their actions on\nthose who are still young in the faith.\n B. We are suppose to be concerned about every other Christian. Their needs must\ncome before our own.\n 1. If a brother has just come out of the Jehovah Witnesses, don’t go holding\nbirthday parties until you are sure they attend without feeling\nuncomfortable.\n
2. Don’t offer a recently ex-Jew a ham sandwich.<\/p>\n C. If we truly love each other, then we avoid situations may cause another to sin —\neven a sin due to a lack of understanding.\n 1. I Cor. 8:1-13 – There is a difference between knowledge (I know this is\nright) and love.\n 2. How much is a soul worth to you? Would it be worth an inconvenience on\nyour part, if it keeps a brother out of sin?\n 3. I Cor. 9:22-23 – Paul adapted himself to the abilities and knowledge of\nthose around him so that many might be saved.\n
V. The problems come when we let our pride interfere with our service – Rom 15:1-7<\/p>\n
A. We are not here for our own pleasure.<\/p>\n
B. We must seek what is good for others – I Cor. 10:23-11:1<\/p>\n
C. Jesus is our example – Phil 2:5-8<\/p>\n 1. Think about it: Why should Jesus accept us? Even the strongest among us\nis a pale weakling besides our Savior.\n 2. Why does God put up with our constant sins? Yet he did! He has brought\nus hope.\n
D. Can we not do the same for our brethren?<\/p>\n
1. When one is overtaken in a fault, we need to gently restore – Gal 6:1-2<\/p>\n
2. The next time it could be us.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I. I remember the shock I had a number of years ago to learn that Wayne Gretsky, the hockey player, was younger than I was. Somehow, I always thought that sports heros were older than me. A. Oh, we know we are growing older, but sometimes all the ramifications of maturity doesn’t hit…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[120,456],"class_list":["post-63524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-romans","tag-unity"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":58059,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/marks-of-maturity\/","url_meta":{"origin":63524,"position":0},"title":"Marks of Maturity","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 19, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Steven Harper Every serious disciple of Jesus Christ desires to attain spiritual maturity, of this there should be no argument. Many faithful disciples spend their entire life striving to reach an ever-higher level of maturity, and even babes in Christ have that fervor that drives them to not remain\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/OlderCouple.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":93966,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/becoming-a-mature-christian\/","url_meta":{"origin":63524,"position":1},"title":"Becoming a Mature Christian","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 15, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Garry Floyd Text:\u00a0Philippians 3:15-21 Introduction: Introduction: Spiritual Maturity Defined What Spiritual Maturity is not Suppression as Strength: Mistaking the avoidance or bottling up of emotions (stoicism) for \"emotional management\". Surface-Level Adulthood: Confusing the trappings of adulthood-like having a high-paying job, living alone, or buying a home-with internal emotional maturity.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39221,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/spiritual-maturity\/","url_meta":{"origin":63524,"position":2},"title":"Spiritual Maturity","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 31, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Philippians 3:8-17 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0What is your goal in life? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Life is short. You don\u2019t have time to accomplish everything that is available to you, so what do you desire most to obtain? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0For Paul it was to be like Christ and obtain heaven - Philippians\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42496,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/expecting-the-impossible\/","url_meta":{"origin":63524,"position":3},"title":"Expecting the Impossible","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 18, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 19:16-26 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0With God, all things are possible - Matthew 19:26 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Even the saving of a wealthy man, if he desired to be saved. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Yet, we must understand that some things are impossible for even God \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is impossible for God to lie -\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28663,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-you-marry-someone-who-is-four-years-different-from-your-age-or-who-goes-to-the-same-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":63524,"position":4},"title":"Can you marry someone who is four years different from your age, or who goes to the same church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 30, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I am in love with this girl at my church. We're four years apart; however, we decided to be friends and go out later. In the future is it possible to marry her? Is it okay to marry someone that goes to your church? Answer: Let's see, Abraham\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2272,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-we-become-perfect\/","url_meta":{"origin":63524,"position":5},"title":"Can we become perfect?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 12, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What is perfection? Can we, as Christians, obtain perfection? If so, how do we obtain it? Answer: The Greek word translated as \"perfect\" is the word\u00a0teleion. It means something that is complete, perfect, whole, full-grown, ripe, mature, or adult. Thus, becoming perfect is just another way of saying you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63524"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63524\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}