Real Life Community Church Richmond, KY

Acts Part 42 | Fence-Builders and Freedom-Walkers | Acts 21:17-26

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In Acts 21:17–26, Paul arrives in Jerusalem and is warmly received by the church leaders, who rejoice over God’s work among the Gentiles. However, tension quickly emerges as Jewish believers—who are zealous for the Law—have heard false reports that Paul teaches Jews to abandon their customs.

In order to preserve unity and prevent unnecessary offense, the elders ask Paul to participate in a purification ritual connected to a Nazarite vow. Though not required under the New Covenant, Paul humbly agrees, not because the law saves, but because love governs his freedom. By laying aside his rights, Paul models how Christians can pursue peace within the church by prioritizing unity, humility, and the mission of the gospel over personal convictions.

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If you have your Bibles, turn with me to the book of Acts. If you're new here, uh, we generally go book by book through the Bible, and we're gonna be in Acts 21 this morning. When you have it, say amen. Well, becoming a Christian does not remove conflict with other people from our lives. In fact, the Christian life often brings with it conflict, even more conflict, both in the church itself and in the world. This is what we encounter in Acts chapter 21. We're gonna be beginning today in verse 17, and in verses 17 through 25, we see conflict happening within the church. And through the following uh passages there in the chapter, uh we see um conflict outside of the church. So today, if we are going to live faithfully as Christians, we must learn not how to avoid conflict, but how to deal with it. That's what the New Testament teaches. When trouble arises in the church, today, particularly in an in the Western church, the the standard is are are you you know, generally people just leave and they'll go to another church and then they cause problems there. Come on, somebody. Um, but but here's the thing we are called to work things out, amen. And we're big on this here at real life. What are the reasons for conflict within the church? Well, there are many. Let me just name a few. Number one, the Bible says that we are brothers and sisters in Christ, which means we're what? We're family. How many have some issues in your family? All right. Secondly, we come from different backgrounds, we have different church experiences, and we we've just been exposed to many different types of worship and many styles, and we we sometimes have different cultures within the church, and that can be messy. Other times, well, here's another reason. How many know that positionally the Bible says that we are saints? But how many know we don't always act like it? Look and look to your neighbor and say, He's talking to you. Well, today in in our text, there's a particular point of contention, and it's going to be the focus of my message, and it is this it has to do with differences in convictions. All right, the Bible, to be sure, don't miss this, it lays out clear right and wrongs. All right. So there's no debate over that. You can't come to me and say, Pastor, you know, I just think that lying or adultery is okay. I'm just not convicted about it. Well, I'm sorry. The Bible clearly states those things are wrong. But there are also in the Christian life, uh, Romans, I think, 14 talks about this. There are what we might call matters of conscience. And those would be extra biblical commands that some Christians feel led to keep. There's some convictions they have that might not be shared with other Christians. And by the way, those people, there they are both groups, are all Christians. So with the risk of over-generalizing, let me just group Christians as it concerns these convictions in two different categories. Okay. Number one, we have fence builders. I think we have a picture on the screen here. We have fence builders. All right. And here's what fence builders are: they are faithful Christians who build extra boundaries to guard holiness. Okay, they are faithful Christians, that's very important, who build extra boundaries to guard holiness. And I mean that in the most positive way. And then we have this other group called the Freedom Walkers. These are the hippies, all right, of the church. And these people, they walk comfortably. They're again faithful believers who walk comfortably within the boundaries required under the new covenant. All right. So we got fence builders. Should I ask you to raise your hands? And we've got freedom walkers. And it can be challenging for fence builders and freedom walkers to worship together and to do life together as the Bible calls us to do. And here's why fence builders can often have this holier than thou attitude. Come on, you know somebody like that. They live by these extra biblical rules, and because you don't, they look down their nose at you. But freedom walkers, you know what they do often? I'll say we, because I'm a freedom walker. We flaunt our freedom sometimes. And we look at the the, we tend to look unfairly at the fence builders as kind of legalistic fuddy duddies, right? It's like get with the program. I will tell you this. It is difficult to pastor a church like this that is made up of both fence builders and freedom walkers. Let me just give you a silly example. There are some of you in here who have made it very clear to me that you are convicted about what people wear to church. All right. So some of you say, and you you put that on me, you say, Well, I think a pastor should wear a suit. Others of you, hippies, all right, you tell me, well, if you wear a suit, you're gonna be irrelevant to the younger generation. People don't wear suits generally anymore. So this is what you get. Fence builders, you better be happy that I'm wearing a jacket and a nice shirt today. And I just want to point you freedom walkers to my stylish blue jeans. Come on, somebody. All right, and sometimes I wear tennis shoes with this. So, so you know, you you fence builders, you go, oh good. Uh, and then you go, uh, you know, actually you say uh twice in the in the freedom walkers, you know, you you you get the the jeans and the shoes, all right? So this is difficult, and in church life is messy in part because of this. By the way, side note, you you know what the Bible says uh about dress, not just for pastors and on in the New Testament, it it talks about modesty and and modesty not in the way we generally think, but it says we we shouldn't dress ourselves up to the point. I mean, nothing wrong with dressing up and looking nice, but you know, if I come up here, you know, with the big gold cross chain on me and a Rolex and my bright colored suit, what it can do is is separate classes between the money people and the not money people, and it can detract from the from the glory of God. So my position is this dress in a way, don't dress so sloppy unless that's all you have, that that's gonna detract from the glory of God. Don't dress so nice that it's gonna detract from the glory of God. I I don't want you to see me this morning. I want you to see the cross. I want you to see the Lord Jesus Christ. All right, so here we go. Our text in in chapter, uh, if we go back one chapter to chapter 20, you might remember Paul and his missionary team, they are on his third missionary journey, and they start making their way to Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit, Paul says, is leading me to go to Jerusalem. Well, I will suffer. He says, But I want to be obedient to the Holy Spirit. So in chapter 21, verse 17, the the team finally arrives after many stops. They port in many different cities, you know, they're traveling by sea, they finally arrive in Jerusalem. So let's read verse 17. Luke says that when we, Luke is with Paul here, had come to Jerusalem, the brothers, these are other Christians, Jewish Christians, received us gladly. On the following day, Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. And after greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified God. And they said to him, You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who believed. So here's what I want you to see first off. Things start off when when Paul arrives in Jerusalem, things start off really well. He receives a warm reception from the Jewish believers. I mean, they're glad to see him, they embrace him. And then the following day, uh, Paul and his team they connect with James, who is the leader of the Jerusalem church. And this is James, by the way, the half-brother of Jesus. No pressure, right? And then along with James, here in this meet and greet, are the elders or the pastors. There's a plurality of pastors, just like in Ephesus, in the church in Jerusalem. And they're all meeting together. And Paul begins celebrating or sharing with these leaders of the Jerusalem church all that God has done throughout his ministry. Many pagan men and women have come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Thousands upon thousands, myriads of men and women have been saved. And here's what happens: these Jerusalem leaders they celebrate with Paul and they glorify God for what's being done. And then James and the pastor say, Paul, man, that's so great. Let me tell you what God's doing here in Jerusalem. And it says, thousands of Jewish people have now received Christ. And there's just this moment of great celebration and rejoicing. Now I call this the honeymoon period. All right, let's think about marriage for a minute. You know, two people first get married, and there's this season of bliss, right? Husband and wife are smitten with one another. You didn't experience that? Yeah, okay. Husband and wife are smitten. You know, they feel the goosebumps, right? I mean, they can't wait. Every time one of them walks in the door, it's just like, oh my goodness, goosebumps, and they're so happy. They only see the good. The spouse can do no wrong. So it is when you first get saved, right? You connect to a new family. I mean, I watched this happen time and time again. You can't wait to get to service and you think, wow, I know that no one's perfect, but these people come pretty close. I mean, they're the most loving, the most spiritual people in the world. And you think, oh, that pastor, man, you know, you hear a new preacher and you think, wow, he can really preach. I don't know you said that, but generally that's what happens. And you can't wait to get to church each week. I mean, you're up early chomping at the bit to worship with these people. But the trouble with honeymoons is that they don't last. Because in marriage, eventually the scales fall from your eyes, right? And this is what you get. Some of you, this is like describing exactly what you went through last night. Ladies, you realize all of a sudden your knight in shining armor leaves the toilet seat up, the cap off the toothpaste, his clothes on the floor, and for some reason doesn't hear most of what you say. And certainly, if he does hear, doesn't understand it. It's like you're speaking Greek. Men, you realize that the woman of your dreams, most beautiful woman in the world, has morning breath. And you realize this, she can't make decisions, especially when it comes to where you're gonna go eat. Can I get a witness? And then, worst of all, you learn about these things called hormones. Don't respond, men. And just like that, the honeymoon comes to a screeching halt. And so it is in church. Eventually the novelty wears off, and the people that you perceived as being close to perfect, you realize they're kind of annoying. And by the way, they're as messed up as you are. That's what you realize, if you're honest with yourself. And you realize that the wonderful church has flaws, and of course it does. You start complaining and grumbling, and you see all the negative instead of seeing the positive. And this is what's happened, the honeymoon period is over. Tragically, a lot of people, when that happens, they just go to a new church where novelty is there again, something new and exciting. Tragically, that's what happens in marriage sometimes, too. The goosebumps have worn off, so you leave and you just go find somebody else. Oh, how tragic. Well, this is what happens in Jerusalem. Paul enjoys a honeymoon period that lasts for like three verses. And look at verse now, the second part of verse 20 and verse 21. So these elders in James said to Paul, You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who believe. And then he says, This is where the trouble starts, they are all zealous for the law. Now, what's he talking about? What law? This would be the Mosaic law, the law of Moses that we see in the first five books, the Torah of the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, there are anybody know how many commands there are? 613 commands in the Old Testament. Now, these commands were binding upon the Jewish people. And you could make, the Bible doesn't really make this distinction, but I think it's really fair. Many scholars make this distinction within the wall, within the law. You have first the moral law, which would encompass the Ten Commandments. And then you have the civil law, which is used for governing the nation of Israel. And then you have what could be called the ceremonial laws, which involves the sacrifices, the holy days, the purity rituals, etc. Now, the New Testament clearly teaches that as Christians, we are not under the law. Let me just read you a couple of verses. Romans 6, 14 says, For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under the law, but you are under grace. Anybody grateful for that this morning? Galatians 3, 24 and 25. By the way, these are both written by the Apostle Paul himself. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under the guardian. So, beloved, but my point is simply this Christians are not under the law, but I want to give one caveat here. I doesn't mean we just do whatever we want. The moral law of God is still binding upon believers. It's not how we're saved. We're not saved by keeping the Ten Commandments. But you can say it like this: the law is under us. Meaning that when we are saved, one of the evidences that our uh salvation is real is that our hearts are now bent towards following God's law. Because in Jeremiah, I believe, 35, the prophet said, When the Messiah comes, when this new covenant comes to pass, the law will be written on our hearts. So we don't have to carry around the tablets or put a poster on our wall because the Holy Spirit indwells within us and we want to obey God. Nine of the ten um ten commandments, nine of those commandments are repeated in the New Testament. You know, it talks about adultery and lying and you know, only worshiping our God, so on and so forth. Does that make sense? We're not under the law, but but we will, as believers, desire to follow the moral law of God. So we're not required to keep the ceremony and the civil laws. Now, what's it mean that these Christians are zealous for the law? That's a good question. Here's what it means: these Jewish Christians, they themselves are not bound by the Old Testament ceremonial laws. I think they're still under the civil law here because they're still part of Israel and the temple and all of that. But they are still, though they're not under these ceremonial laws, they are still convicted to keep them. I mean, this is their heritage. So circumcision is really important to them because it's a sign of the Abrahamic covenant. So they want to circumcise their children, they're convicted about eating kosher. They want to keep Jewish festivals and the Sabbath, and they still participate in temple worship. Uh, as a matter of fact, the you know, you got 3,000 people, men plus women and children who are saved at Pentecost in Acts chapter 2, remember? And then in Acts 2, 42, I believe, it says that daily they went to the temple. So these Jewish Christians, they still so love their Jewish heritage. Now, the important distinction here is that these Jewish Christians did not believe that those ceremonial practices, those ceremonial laws saved them. But but what those laws do is they point us to Christ, they remind us about Christ. So when they would uh celebrate Passover, they reminded what the Passover Lamb truly pointed to, that the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. And so here's what these zealots are they are fence builders. In other words, they follow practices beyond what the New Testament commands Christians to follow. Now, we're Gentiles, most of us, if not all of us, most of us aren't convicted to follow the civil impurity laws, except as we talked about last week, maybe tithing. But we Christians, there are many who are fence builders like these zealots. And let me just give you a few examples. That means that some of your consciences are seared by things not explicitly commanded or forbidden in the New Testament. Are you with me? Smile at me. All right. Let me give you some examples. So some of you feel compelled to refrain from tattoos. Some of you are convicted about even having one sip of wine. Some of you are convicted about going to the movies or listening to certain types of music. Some of you are convicted about wearing certain types of clothes, you know, particularly ladies sometimes that particularly in this area, feel like they should wear you know long skirts and not wear makeup and all of that. And again, some of you feel led to live by the civil law of tithing. And all of these are personal convictions. And let me say this in as much as fence builders. Use these convictions to honor God and not to merit salvation and not to make themselves holier, there is nothing wrong with them. Our holiness comes from Christ. But these are acts of just personal devotion. And listen, those of us who are freedom walkers, we ought to have such a great respect for the fence builders. Can I get a witness? Now, Paul still himself observes some of the Old Testament laws. But I think Paul is essentially the verses I just read, I think he's a freedom walker. Look at verse 21. These zealots don't like the apostle Paul's freedom walker message, right? He says, This is what the elders say to Paul, they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs. I mean, this is an outrageous accusation. You tell them not to even think about Moses and the law. Now, is that a fair charge? No. Paul taught the Gentiles that they did not have to circumcise their children because they did not have to become Jews in order to be part of God's family. That was settled by the Jerusalem church, by the way, in Acts, what is it, chapter 15? Is that right? He did not forbid the Jews to circumcise their kids. Never. Matter of fact, remember in Acts 16, Paul uh he recruits Timothy, this young um believer whom Paul likely led to the Lord. And Timothy is half Jew and half Greek, and Paul tells him to be circumcised because Timothy would be going to help minister to the Jews, and he didn't want him to be an uncircumcised believer because it could risk being a stumbling block to them listening to what Timothy had to say. So this was not about theology, it was about method. So Paul loved his Jewish ancestral tradition. Matter of fact, do you know why he wanted to get to Jerusalem so quickly? Do you remember? He wanted to be there for Pentecost, one of the Jewish festivals. Paul went to the temple. Paul, every Sabbath day possible, he went to the synagogues. The point is this that the charges brought against him are absolutely bogus. And why did this happen? Look again just at the first part of verse 21. They, these Jewish Christians, have been told about you. This is hearsay and it's assumption. Oh church, how often are we guilty of this? You know what? One of my favorite teachings on love, obviously, 1 Corinthians 13, but the the part I love most is this. 1 Corinthians 13 says, Love hopes all things and believes all things. Do you know what that means? It believes we give each other the benefit of the doubt. It means that we don't automatically, if somebody passes you in the hallway and doesn't smile at you, you don't automatically think they hate your guts. And I'm telling you, the the Western church is full of babies who automatically get their they get their feelings hurt all the time and they assume the worst of motives and people. Here's what's practiced in the church. It's not innocent until proven guilty, it's guilty until proven innocent. So how many times have have you heard something secondhand and instead of going to the person and clarifying it, you just believe it and then you spread it. This is why churches split. You know, one of the seven deadly sins is those who sow discord. The devil places people in every church, or let me not even say place, the devil uses sometimes well-meaning Christians to split a church through discord. I've seen it happen over and over and over and over. Some of our issues which he's uh uh which he with each other are gonna be true and they need to be addressed. One of the things that you could do is write down everything that angers you and just think to yourself, you gotta be honest, like this is hard to do, I have to do this. Which of these complaints are petty? Where do I just need to grow up? And which of these are serious? And then the ones that are serious, you need to address them. Okay, that that's the biblical pattern. And so this stuff happens in the church. I just want to tell you today, guard from making rash judgments on people. Let your heart be and mind be bent towards believing the best of intentions. And sometimes people's intentions are not going to be the best, but I'd rather err on the side of grace, wouldn't you? And oh, I've made the mistake before of doing the opposite. So let's look at the leadership's response to this issue. 22 through 24. What then is to be done? The elders ask. They will certainly hear that you've come. They don't want a mob to come for Paul, right? That's the last thing I want is an angry church crowd running, you know, following me after church. That's why sometimes I hide, okay? Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow. Take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what you have done that that have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law. So to help bring peace between the Jewish Christians and Paul, they devised this plan. And he talks about uh the elders talk about four men being under a vow and shaving their heads. Like, what's going on here? Anybody confused? All right. This is uh the the elders here are talking about what's called in the Old Testament the Nazarite vow, and it has nothing to do with being from Nazareth, okay? This is a special voluntary time of intense dedication to the Lord. And in your um small group discussions, I encourage you to read uh Numbers chapter six, which really draws this vow out. The Nazarite, um this vow is derived from the Hebrew word Nazar, which simply means one who is separated. All right. Now there were three main requirements. You'll see this in number six for the Nazarite vow. Number one, you could not drink during this vow wine or strong drink, no beer, uh, no bourbon, and uh no wine, okay? You you and by the way, it wasn't just that, it says also that you could not even drink grape juice or eat raisins, nothing from the vine, which by the way shows there was a distinction between juice and wine. All right, so no, no wine, no grapes, nothing. Switch to orange juice. There's also no cutting of the hair, so you had to let your hair just beautiful locks flow, right? And uh, by the way, Samson, remember he had the long hair, he was a lifelong Nazarite. And then at the end of that, they would burn their hair at the or I'm sorry, that one more requirement. They would have no contact with the dead. Listen to this. If a parent or brother or sister, some family member passed away, if you're under this vow, you could not attend the funeral. Because the, you know, the dead body represented impurity. And so during this vow, you couldn't attend a funeral. Matter of fact, if you were walking with somebody and they dropped dead and you accidentally were around a dead body, your vow starts over. My luck, that would happen on the last day, right? At the completion of the vow, you would shave your head, you would offer sacrifices, and then you would burn your hair at the altar. All right, now I don't have time to get into why all this happens, but that's the Old Testament, all right, for you. Christians in the New Testament are never instructed to make such a vow. Holiness is no longer marked by external vows, but it is produced by the indwelling of the spirit. All right, so this consecration doesn't just happen for a certain time period, but in the spirit we are consecrated, sanctified day in and day out. But the New Testament also, as far as I can tell, never forbids the Nazarite vow. So here's the plan. Four men, four Jewish Christians have taken the vow, which is coming to completion. And so the elders say, Paul, listen, I think I think we've got a great plan. These people think you've done away with the whole Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament. So here's what we think you should do. We think you should take these four men to the temple, that you should go through purification rituals yourselves, some of these ceremonial laws. And you know what, Paul, would be really great if you would just foot the bill for their sacrifices and for them to have their heads shaved. So they're not paying for a barber fee. That's not what it is, all right? Along with uh, remember, along with the shaving of the head, you had to offer sacrifices. So you had to buy the animals that were going to be sacrificed, which commentators tell us was very costly. Part of me thinks the the Jewish leaders just didn't want to pay for it. They say, watch this, we'll get Paul to pay for it. All right. So that's the plan, so that the Christians can see. Listen, Paul's for the law, we misheard. And Paul agrees to it in verse 26. Let me say this. So some commentators say, Well, Paul was wrong in this. I don't think so, even though the plan does backfire. This is not weakness on Paul's part. You know what it is? It is an act of humility aimed at fostering unity and to avoid being a stumbling block to the Jews. He writes about this in 1 Corinthians. He says, this, for though I'm nine, uh, this is chapter 9, 19, and 20, and then skip down to verse 22. For though I'm free from all, he's talking about the law. I have made myself a servant to all that I might win more of them. To the Jews, I became a Jews. That's exactly what Paul is doing here. To win the Jews. I've become all things to all people that by all means I might save some. Paul recognizes that he's no longer under these purification laws because we, friends, are made pure in the Lord Jesus Christ. Those laws have been fulfilled in Jesus, and yet he respects Jewish Christians' right to observe such traditions. Paul, the freedom walker, here he works to foster unity in the church. And I think that's what we're called to do. And I believe, church, that we like Paul must strive to foster unity, which takes great humility. Romans 14, 19, Paul himself writes this, and it's in the context of these personal convictions. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. What if we just made that our mission in the church amongst each other, just to pursue peace? How wonderful would that be? There's a lot that rides on this. Let me tell you what's at stake quickly, three things. Number one, if we don't strive for peace, the glory of God is at stake. Romans 15, 5 through 7, may the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another. See, this takes God's grace in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may be with one voice, that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. So when we worship God today, when we sing to God and listen to his word and take communion, God does not want fence builders on one side and freedom walkers on the other, you know, sneering at each other and then trying to sing. No, he wants the family to be together. The glory of God is at stake. Number two, our witness is at stake. In John chapter 17, we find Jesus' priestly prayer. And here's what he prays. He asks the Lord to make us one. He's talking about his disciples, but then he says, I don't just ask for these only, not just the disciples, but also for all. That includes us. Jesus is praying for us who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. Just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, and in here, that you also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. Listen, you know what people do out there when there's disagreements? They grumble and complain and they talk about each other and they walk away from each other. But there's this unique beauty in the church that's supposed to be a sign of the coming kingdom, where Christians can have disagreements. But we we stand together, we love each other, we forgive one another. It's a beautiful thing, and that is a witness to the world. A third thing that's at stake is our own spiritual lives. Matthew 5, 23 and 24. If you're offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there. First, go be reconciled to your brother, then come and offer your gift. And some of you know this. If you come in mad and frustrated and holding something against uh somebody, it is hard for you to even sing. And if you do sing, you think, man, I don't know what these people are feeling, but the Lord is not here. The problem is your heart is hardened. Go be reconciled and come back and then worship. So that's what's going on here. We've got to strive for unity. So, how do we quickly, how do we foster unity within the church? Number one, you need to know this. How do you foster unity in the church if we're gonna pursue this? Number one, you keep the main things, the main things. I love the well-known Christian maxim. Often um people say that it's attributed to Augustine, but we don't know for sure. Here it is in essentials, anybody know unity in non-essentials, liberty in all things, charity or love. One more time, in essentials, unity, in non-essentials, liberty in all things, love. Here's the essentials, it's the core doctrines, the gospel that Hunter talked about. There's no room for disagreement, the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the authority of Scripture, and so on. Then there's essentials of the moral law. We stand together against what the Bible explicitly forbids: drunkenness, sexual impurity, lying, stealing, cheating, so on and so forth. And then there's the non-essentials. Doesn't mean that they're not important, but they're they're not worth dividing over. That would be secondary doctrines like modes of baptism or views on end times or thoughts about spiritual gifts. Then there's secondary practices, these personal convictions, or styles of worship. How many people divide over styles of worship? How silly. Let me just give you a news flash. The music we sing is not about you, anyways. It's not about me. You think I like every song we sing? These young people haven't had me singing songs that I would never in a million lifetimes listen to on the radio. I'm just telling you. Caitlin, where are you at? In all things. So we got unity, we've got liberty, and then in all things, regardless of this, regardless of disagreement, here it is. Love is mandatory. So that's what we've got to do. We've got to focus on the main things in order to foster unity. Number two, fence builders, let me talk to you. You've got to live and let live. Those of you who feel compelled to practice extra biblical rules, the Bible says you ought to live by those convictions. Romans 14, 23, for whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. Here's the meeting. Uh, and this is what the Bible teaches. If your conscience is seared by a particular act that the Bible does not forbid, if you do not follow that conviction, to you it is sin. Let me just give you an example. You you I'm I don't believe the Bible forbids, and there are many reasons not to drink. So please don't take this as me telling Pastor Chris said I should go have a drink today after church. Please don't. But the Bible does not forbid a sip of wine, a glass of wine, all right? It forbids drunkenness. But some of you are hyper-convicted about it. Could it be that you're prone to alcoholism and you don't even know it? That the Lord is stopping you from going down that road. So you've got to live by those convictions, but you've got to live and let live. If you're convicted about tattoos, here's what you do. You ready? Lean in. Don't get one. Well, blue hunter's mind. Here's what you've got to guard from those fence builders. Do not make your convictions other Christians' obligations. I have dealt with this through my whole childhood and ever since I've been a part of this denomination with great intention. Okay, making extra biblical convictions are obligations. Living by extra-biblical rules, hear me, it is not legalism. You know what legalism is? When you make your extra biblical convictions my obligation. That is the very definition of legalism. I've done it, you've done it, probably. We've got to guard from that. Freedom walkers, how can you foster unity? Here's what it is, and I have an entire message online on this, so I'll just briefly mention it. Freedom walkers, we must foster unity by prioritizing love over liberty. Romans 14, 13, therefore, and he's talking here about matters of drink and food. Therefore, let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. Freedom walkers do not be a stumbling block. Let me just go back to drinking for a moment. We've got recovering alcohol. Alcoholics in this church. Some have been somebody just shared on Wednesday night. They've been clean for seven years, seven years. The last thing you would ever want to do if you go out to eat with them is get a glass of wine because you're free to you feel free to do so. Because that one act might cause that brother or sister in Christ to stumble and go back down a very dark and dangerous road. You're free. But prioritize love for your brother and sister over that freedom. Okay? So important. Don't flaunt your liberty. Don't flaunt it. Flaunt it. Fostering unity between fence builders and freedom walkers, it's not easy, is it? And again, often what happens is you have churches full of fence builders. You know, everybody in there looks the same, they have the same convictions. And often we, you know, those are your kind of holiness churches. And then you've got the non-denominational churches that are the hippies, right? The the uh the freedom walkers, right? But you know what I love about this church? Real life consists of both fence builders whom I love so much and respect so much, and freedom walkers. Do you know? Even amongst our elders, we've got one or two fence builders, and then we've got a lot of freedom walkers. How do we how do we manage that? Well, it's an awesome thing. I think it helps us shepherd a church which is full of both. So here's what I want to leave you with to do. Here's what I want to ask you to do. Just respect those who may not share the same convictions as you. Let's just have a mutual respect. Is that fair? Remember, your extra-biblical standards don't make you any more holy or any less holy. These extra-biblical standards. Don't complain and grumble about others in the church who are different than you. Believe the best in people. So let me just ask you, I'm this is a true question. I want you to raise your hand. Honestly, if you're not here yet, that's fine. How many of you will strive to glorify God by pursuing unity with those whom you may disagree on non-essentials? Just raise your hand. I'll strive to produce unity where there's disagreement. If you don't agree to that, raise your hand. We're gonna practice uh love in all things today. So as we look to Christ, may the fence builders and the freedom walkers of real life community church pursue unity for our good and God's glory.