-

 Romans 14 - Aim for Harmony and Build Each Other Up

Christ died and rose again so that we could belong to Him so that He could be Lord of both the living and the dead (14:9).  We are His.  He has accepted us as weak as we are.  We belong to Christ through faith - we have this in common with our brothers and sisters who are alive and those who are dead.  That is a lot of people.  Amazingly, God knows each of us - millions and millions of souls who love and trust Him.

Don’t condemn other believers in Jesus.  That’s what this passage says.  We will all stand before the judgment seat of God.  Every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess allegiance to God.  That’s the promise to believers.  God will judge and reward each believer.

The Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but living a life of goodness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.  It’s easy to get tied up in Baptist legalism.  I can default to that.  Yet that is not the mark of a Christian.  We are to be unified as citizens of heaven.

Heaven is not American.  Or Chinese.  Or, God forbid, French Canadian.  It is not solely Baptist or Anglican.  It is not vegetarian, or meat lovers only.  God’s Kingdom is His alone and He will fill it with those who know Him, trust Him, obey Him, and who fulfill His requirements of God’s law - the Royal Law of faith in Jesus and loving others.  He offers this gift of faith to every person.

This passage reminds us to be convicted and sober about the freedoms God gives us.  God may say clearly to you that alcohol is not for you.  Or that you have the freedom, like Peter, Paul, and the early church, to eat and drink everything God declared clean.  But do not act in a way that will cause another believer to stumble.  And if you do anything you believe is wrong, you are sinning.  Stop it.  The more we know God, the more we gain common sense and good judgment.  Let’s get closer to God today so we may gain conviction.

Lord Jesus, show us your way today.  Make my convictions rock solid.  And help me to be considerate of other believers.  Help me to work in harmony with others - not stealing a high note for myself.  Amen.


The boys - when we lived in Florida (circa 2011)


Comments

Post a Comment

I'd love to hear your comments, and if you have questions email me at dcbell1111@gmail.com.

Popular posts from this blog

-
Image
 2 Timothy 3 - Are You a Christian, Christian?           Early in my legal career (I'd been practicing about five years and about five years into my Christian walk) I had an interesting encounter with the CEO of one of our firm’s clients.  It was 2001 and technology companies were thriving.           My neighbors in S.W. Calgary were Lebanese immigrants and faithful members of their mosque.  They were some of the best neighbors we’ve ever had.  They owned a bakery that made Pita bread.  I’ll never forget the day we took possession of that house.  As they often would in the eleven years we lived there, they brought me a big bag of fresh bread.  We shared many good conversations with them over the years.  I love them and I pray God blesses them.           My neighbors had a friend from the mosque who was the CEO of Wi-LAN - a publicly listed tech company that held patents for technology that was key to the Blackberry - and later many other mobile phones.  Wi-LAN made many in the mosq
Read more
-
Image
 Hebrews 2:1-5 - Signs and Wonders - Miracles and Gifts I can shock myself at my inability to learn simple lessons.  They say just showing up is 90% of success.  Well, I’m confident inattentiveness, waffling, and ambivalence are keys to failure. In this passage, we hear yet again a warning to “listen very carefully” to God’s message or we run a real risk of total failure - drifting away from God (2:1).  With responsibility comes consequences.  Just ask any sentry, goaltender, place-kicker, or pilot.  You have a job to do - if you don’t do it well the results are clear.  So, let’s do it well. It’s the same as we develop and grow as Christians.  We have to make a decision to grow.  I've been reading about growthmindset lately and I think God is finally getting through to me.           It will not come as a shocker to any dad hooked on porn, a mom who has dabbled in an office romance, or the pastor who’s craftily swindled money from the church.  Christians can’t just casually li
Read more
-
Image
 Hebrews 6 - Faith and Endurance These next two chapters of Hebrews are incredibly encouraging for the Christian.  God gives us confidence and courage to do what we must.  When the whistle blows, be ready to go.  God in Heaven is developing your character; He’s preparing you to fight His battles.           We are responsible to grow.  We know that God repays people for the wrong they have done (Jeremiah 50:24).  And that God uses whomsoever He chooses as His instruments of justice (Jeremiah 50:20).  “For the LORD is a God who gives just punishment; he always repays in full” (Jeremiah 50:56). Thinking of God’s character is sobering, and good.  We know Jesus is the King, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.  In the next few chapters, we hear the truth about who Jesus is and our responsibilities to Him. Nearly 2,000 years after the death, burial, and resurrection of our King we are reminded that there are false teachers today - those leading people astray for power and greed - just as there
Read more