So then each of us
shall give account of himself to God.
Therefore let us not
judge one another anymore,
but rather resolve
this, not to put a stumbling block
or a cause to fall in our brother' s way.
I know and am
convinced by the Lord Jesus
that there is nothing
unclean of itself;
but to him who
considers anything to be unclean,
to him it is unclean.
Romans 14: 12 -- 14
Peter and
his first epistle gave an account that the brothers and sisters in Christ are
not to live as they may have done in the past, that is, to live fleshly. Peter tells us that we have spent enough
time in our past doing those things that contradicts to the will of God; i.e.,
walking in lewdness, drunkenness, loss, revelry, drinking parties, and other
abominable idolatries; (1 Peter 4: 3).
Then he says to us and to those who have lived in such a way as to be
outside the will of God that they will:
"They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the
dead" (1 Peter 4:5). The
apostle John in the revelation states:
"Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face
the earth and they haven't let away.
And there was a found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and
books were opened. In another book was
opened, which is the book of Life. And
the dead were judged according to their work, by the things which were written
in the books. You see gave up the dead
who were in it, and death That And Hades delivered up the dead who were in
them. And they were God, each one
according to his works" (Revelation 20: 11 -- 13). Christians so often
speak of this time when they will give an account for the life they lived while
on this earth. The question that needs
asked of each person is whether, or not they actually believe God will judge
them according to how they live this life.
It seems that so often the cares of the woes and the pleasures of this
world take higher priority and overshadows this fact that God will give judgment
to those whom my report and give an account of their life. Paul here is telling us that every one of us
shall give an account of himself to God.
We are not going to give an account for others, and they are not going
to give an account for runs. How have
we spent our time, how have we improved our opportunities, what have we done,
and how we have done it. What we must
do is judge ourselves. We must do that
which God has commanded an ASP was.
What has been asked? We are to
study to show ourselves approved workmen unto God (2 Timothy 2: 15). We are to prepare ourselves to be able to
give it to friends or are we (1 Peter 3:15).
God has called us to be His witness about His Son. We are to be the ambassador's (2 Corinthians
5: 20) of Jesus Christ because our citizenship does not have the priority in
this life no matter where we live, no matter what country, no matter what
state, or city, yes we are citizens of the land where we live, and yet, our
citizenship resides in the heavens (Philemon 3:20). Therefore, we must take heed of those things that we say or those
things that we do especially are we to take heed of those things that may cause
our brother to stumble or fall. Let us
take an example that may help us to understand our responsibility towards
others: let us say that we are going to invite people over for dinner, people
from our church, a great time to have fellowship at a time to get to know in a
more intimate way our brothers and sisters.
What should we do? Our
responsibility is to asked him some important questions: e.g., do they drink
alcoholic beverages? Maybe it is that
you like wine with your dinner and yet they find this to be repulsive to them
so then are we to judge them as being wrong?
Are we judging it according to what they have decided as unclean? Or are we to ask so that we know what not to
present even though it may go against what we have no problem with. The goal is not to prove what we believe,
rather to enjoy a fellowship time with our brothers and sisters and should
allow nothing to come in between that fellowship. Maybe they have certain analogies that need to be taken into
account. Maybe it is that they are weak
in their faith therefore we must not put something in front of them that would
be a stumbling -- block, a hindrance, and discouragement, we must not make this
medication for them to fall. We lead by
example, and buy influence, so that without any satisfaction about his or her
Christian liberty, cause them to act against their own conscience even those things
that we believe the lawful. We are not
to assert our Christian liberty so that we lord it over another because this
would be nothing more than some form of virtual pride, and self --
preference. Let us be careful not to
abuse our liberty by the improper use of lawful things. Did not Paul tell us that one person
considers something unclean and another clean, that one person is deemed one
day above another, and another as things everyday alike. We do not live up to ourselves before we
live to Him who died for us. We are
instructed to walk in love, the Greek word here is agape, God's principled
love, for Paul does not say to love Phileo, that is love of a friend or
friendly love rather we are to love is God loves and God loved us so much that
He came Himself to pay the debt owed to Him, Himself. Yes the one who was sent to this earth, the very Wisdom of God,
Emmanuel, God with us, but God/Man Jesus Christ, God in flesh, for you and I:
so why are we not willing to deny ourselves and follow him as his ambassadors,
as one of his children? Paul goes on to
say this for us: "yet if your
brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in
love. Do not destroy with your food the
one for whom Christ died. 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"
(Romans 14: 15 -- 17). Another
question for us to answer for ourselves is who are we serving, our desires, our
likes, or that which is of God? Paul
as: "for he who served Christ in
these things is acceptable to God and approved by men. Therefore let us pursue the things which
make for peace and the 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: 18 -- 20).
It takes
courage to be a Christian, it takes strength to stand against the wiles of the
devil, and those wild come to us by others who disagree with our Christian
faith. Will you be strong? Will you be courageous? Will you allow the strength of God to lead
you as you walk in this life and prepare to stand before God and hear him say: "His lord said to him, ‘Well done,
good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will
make you ruler over many things. If
you're into the joy of your lord’" (Matthew 25: 23).
With him are wisdom and strength,
He has counseled an understanding.
Job 12: 13
Be lead by God and not of yourself
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