Worshipping While Differing

Romans 14:5-12
[5] One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. [6] The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. [7] For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. [8] For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. [9] For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

[10] Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; [11] for it is written,

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,

and every tongue shall confess to God.”

[12] So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
DEEP SHEET: Sermon Study Questions
1.   What makes Christ’s ownership/lordship so central to Christianity?
2.   What does this passage teach about the conscience? Why should we not act against conscience?
3.   What does it look like in practice to consciously live to please the Lord? What changes can you make to pursue this way of life more actively?
4.   How does gratitude function as a test for right conduct? How does it grant freedom to the Christian?
5.   How does Paul relate our discipleship to Christ’s death and resurrection in this passage? How do his words encourage Christians in the face of death?
6.   Have you given much thought to standing before God’s judgment seat? How is Paul using future judgment to motivate his readers?
References: Colossians 3:17; 2:16-17; Galatians 4:10; 2 Corinthians 5:15; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Colossians 3:23; 1 Timothy 4:4-5; Isaiah 45:23; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 3:13-15; 2 Corinthians 5:8-10; Matthew 7:1-2.