“Don’t tear apart the work of God over what you eat. Remember, all foods are acceptable, but it is wrong to eat something if it makes another person stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else if it might cause another believer to stumble. You may believe there’s nothing wrong with what you are doing, but keep it between yourself and God. Blessed are those who don’t feel guilty for doing something they have decided is right. But if you have doubts about whether or not you should eat something, you are sinning if you go ahead and do it. For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.”
Romans 14:20-23 NLT This passage of scripture isn't giving us the authority to change truth according to our personal desires. It is dealing with trivial, cultural matters of difference. Trivial matters often turn into controversy because of personal understanding. Each one of us have different backgrounds, personalities, preferences, and views of life. This presents a challenge. How do we all come together under the Lordship of Jesus? Simple: Let God's Word be the basis of our belief and practice. Let's be willing to lay aside our personal views and preferences and examine the scripture concerning matters. Are we willing to let our views be challenged by The Word Of God? Furthermore, we must recognize the maturity of each believer. We all aren't on the same level of scriptural understanding. Some may be in spiritual high school. Others may be in spiritual elementary school. We all have our own growth needs. Being able to recognize the needs of other brothers in Christ, rather than tooting our own horn, allows us to walk charitably. We must be conscientious of our brothers and sisters in Jesus. We must think how our lives are affecting them. We must think about how our lives help others come closer to Jesus or not. What we see so often is someone who wants to win an argument more than win a soul. We can be "right" in our position but completely wrong in our practice. It is just as important to represent Jesus well as it is to be knowledgeable in matters. No one likes an arrogant person. God hasn't called us to win arguments and walk in arrogant pride. He has called us to win souls and walk in humility. Do you walk in humility toward others?
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Author
![]() Rev. Curtis Norris Archives
March 2020
|