THOUGHTS FROM ROMANS 14

THOUGHTS FROM ROMANS 14

“Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only
vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers everyday alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before god’s judgment seat. It is written: ‘As surely as I live,’says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’ “
So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall. So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.” Romans 14 NIV

It is refreshing to hear someone be more concerned about what might offend another person than about themselves. We so often hear the old song, “Do whatever feels good to you,” and we seldom hear of those who care more about others than about themselves. There are those in the 21st Century who might say it is an unhealthy self-image which seeks to put others ahead of themselves, and that this will surely lead to physical and mental poverty of one form or another. Yet God’s Story from first to last is one of Self-Sacrifice for the sake of others. The One Who made us all and paid for our redemption with His own bodily death has set an example for us to bear each other’s burdens. In so doing, we show by the self-sacrificing love that we display that we are disciples of Christ. Although Jesus is the Righteous Judge Who will one day judge the world in perfection, Paul here cautions us against judging our brothers, because they are someone else’s servant--that is, Christ’s. Why shouldn’t we judge? Because our brothers are a work in progress, today is not judgment day and we are not wise enough to be impartial and perfect judges. He says they will stand because Christ is able to make His servant’s stand. This is important to remember because we also are told to help each other to stand, as for example, when we assist our children in learning to walk, speak, read, write and drive. But we never actually MAKE them do these things. We only assist them in learning to do these things for themselves. Christ is able to make them stand and many other things as well, because He is our Creator. Just as any parent knows, it is by our good example and our assistance that our children are able to develop into responsible adults. In this same way, we are to help each other to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. With the Holy Spirit’s help, we are able to obtain righteousness, peace and joy and if we choose to serve God and our fellowman in this way, we are pleasing to God and will be approved by men. Paul then exhorts us to do whatever is necessary to promote peace and instruction which helps us all to know God better. And certainly, we do not want to place anything in front of our brothers which would cause them to stumble—this is the very least we can do as brothers. As we all learn together, we fulfill the command of Christ to go into all the world and make disciples.

Mark Overt Skilbred