Bible Blog: Romans 14:5-23 - August 24, 2007

How to Behave: Part IX

Romans 14:5-23

5. One person decides that one day is better than another, while another person decides that all days are the same. Each one must be fully convinced in his own mind. 6. The one who observes a special day, observes it to honor the Lord. The one who eats, eats to honor the Lord, since he gives thanks to God. And the one who does not eat, refrains from eating to honor the Lord; yet he, too, gives thanks to God. 7. For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8. If we live, we live to honor the Lord; and if we die, we die to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9. For this reason Christ died and returned to life, so that he might become the Lord of both the dead and the living. 10. Why, then, do you criticize your brother? Or why do you despise your brother? For all of us will stand before the judgment seat of God. 11. For it is written, "As certainly as I live, declares the Lord, every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will praise God." 12. Consequently, each of us will give an account of himself to God. 13. Therefore, let us no longer criticize each other. Instead, make up your mind not to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in and of itself. But it is unclean to a person who thinks it is unclean. 15. For if your brother is being hurt by what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not destroy the person for whom Christ died by what you eat. 16. Do not allow your good to be spoken of as evil. 17. For God's kingdom does not consist of food and drink, but of righteousness, peace, and joy produced by the Holy Spirit. 18. For the person who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by people. 19. Therefore, let us keep on pursuing those things that bring peace and that lead to building one another up. 20. Do not destroy God's work for the sake of food. Everything is clean, but it is wrong to make another person fall because of what you eat. 21. The right thing to do is to avoid eating meat, drinking wine, or doing anything else that makes your brother stumble or become upset or weak. 22. As for the faith you do have, have it as your own conviction before God. How blessed is the person who has no reason to condemn himself because of what he approves! 23. But the person who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not act in faith; and anything that is not done in faith is sin.

This is really an expansion on yesterday’s topic… more of how to avoid conflict and what is right. It also confirms one of my long held beliefs as being something God wants me to do… I had a teacher in high school tell us that our rights end where someone else’s begin. What he meant by that was simple, if a person’s health was in jeopardy because of your actions, your actions are wrong… if someone’s well being would be at risk because of your decisions, you have a responsibility to protect the other person’s interests before your own. I like the GNB version of verse 13 the best “So then, let us stop judging one another. Instead, you should decide never to do anything that would make others stumble or fall into sin.” It is the same thing my teacher had been telling us, but with a spiritual emphasis. If you know a friend has trouble with lusting after women, don’t go around swimming pools where women are wearing bikinis… if you know a friend has trouble with overeating, don’t take him to an all you can eat buffet… the practical application of this is endless.

The verse that REALLY caught my eye in all of this was verse 23b, “and anything that is not done in faith is sin.” Anything not done in faith is sin. The Greek word used for faith here is “pistis” which means moral conviction or religious truth. So anything we don’t do because we are convicted that it is what God wants us to do is sin. That’s a lot to digest right there… I’m going to go selah on that one and see if I can’t figure out how to make it mine.

Hugs & Love