Therefore do not let
your good be spoken of as evil;
for the kingdom of
God is not eating and drinking,
but righteousness and
peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
For he who serves
Christ in these things
it's acceptable to
God and approved of by men.
Therefore let us
pursue the things which make for peace
and that things by
which one may edify another.
Do not destroy the
work of God for the sake of food.
All things indeed are
pure, but it is evil
for the man who eats
with offense.
Romans 14 -- 20
Paul writing
in Chapter 14 gives great council by using by means of an illustration about
eating and drinking foods and about observance of days that have become points
of contention among the Roman Christians.
This contention, at least in some manner, exists in the churches
today. It is not wrong to examine
things that are being purported as being of Scripture and insisting that those
things followed without us taking time to examine Scripture to ensure that this
is indeed fact. What must have first
priority in our life is our service to the Lord Jesus Christ. The kingdom of God's is not about eating or
drinking, rather it is about peace, and joy and we must remove from ourselves
those things that would harm or hinder our peace and joy and our service to the
Lord Jesus Christ. Paul is telling us
about our need to pursue things that make for peace and joy for if we do not
all that done is to destroy the work of God.
How often is it that we put in for some things that are personally
pleasing to us, or things that we have come to accept as being better than
other things, when in actuality there is no validity to those things that are
personal desires and beliefs. In every
congregation, there are men and women who are at different levels in regards to
their faith. This is due to the fact of
their upbringing, the environment that they may have been raised, and the
culture that exists within that environment and are now having the need to
remove themselves from such past history.
Sanctification is not something that envelops us when we have converted
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, God does
not justify as by his grace, we are sanctified in his sight, and this is why
when we die we are able to go to heaven to be with him. Justification is one thing, and sanctification
another even though both occur at the time of our conversion, this progression
of sanctification is necessary for us to grow in our fate and this may mean
that we must remove from us, or it pleased not allow things that we hold dear
to be a stumbling block to others and to us.
As I have pointed out in previous blogs, the Romans were very
traditional as to what should be eaten and when things should be eaten. If we try to impose how we eat and live in
this life against that which the Romans actually did then were going to
misunderstand why Paul used eating and drinking and special days of
observance. Paul uses these things to
teach us that it is how we are serving Jesus cries for the sake of the work of
God and not to allow things to hinder this work. Paul adds these things:
"It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which
your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak" (Romans 14:21). How often we try to impose our beliefs upon
others or to say to ourselves and even to others, "well I have faith and I
can do it as I please for I'm not offending God." Yet, this is exactly what is being done that
is, we are an offense to God and are a stumbling block to others if we try to impose
what we'd believe, those things that are matters of in difference according to
salvation, as this is all okay with God.
It is not! Paul is speaking
about faith and how we are to exercise our faith: "Do you have faith? Have
it to yourself before God. Happy is he
who does not condemn himself and walked he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if the east, because he does not
eat from faith; for what ever is not from faith is sin" (Romans 4 team: 22
-- 23). There it is in a nutshell: "What
ever it is not of faith is sin." We live in a world today in which the
culture has changed from a time in which we suspect, and common decency, has
little or no effect. In fact, so often
said of us who have lived from the 40s until now that we are in some ways
relics, or old -- fashion. We live in a
society when people want to do things their way, to be autonomous, even to live
in antinomy, no rules, everyone has their truth, and their truth is much truth
as anyone else’s truth. It seems as
though the need for such things as "empowerment," a need to please ourselves
as of this life is all there is in heaven is something that is possible but not
really believe actually occur. While
the books of the Bible have chapters and verses, the original letters did not
for those separations are man -- made and are to it in some sense and able to
help us to learn. Paul continues to
write: "We then who are strong on to bear with the scruples of the
week, and not to please ourselves. Let
each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to the edification. For even Christ did not please himself: but
as it is written, "reproaches of those who reproached you that fell on
Me"" (Romans 15: 1 -- 3).
We are
being formed into the image of Jesus Christ's, not for sometime in the future
when we die and go to heaven although that is true, it is rather come to be
formed in the image of Jesus Christ to become His witness to the world. It takes courage to be a Christian. It takes courage to stand against the
culture of this world that is in opposition to God. Sunday is coming; are you preparing to worship with your brothers
and sisters, and fellowship with them?
Are you willing to set aside time to encourage other brothers and
sisters 80 each of you to grow in your faith and your devotion to God? If so, then you are helping yourself and
others to be courageous. This is what
is needed today, courage and the willingness to set this day, Sunday, as the
day simply set aside for God. Are you
courageous enough to do so? I pray that
it is so!
The heart is deceitful above all things,
and
desperately wicked;
who can know it?
I, the LORD, search the heart,
I test the mind, even to give every man
according to his ways, according
to the fruit of his doings.
Jeremiah
17: 9 -- 10
Live in the joy of the Lord
No comments:
Post a Comment