"The one who observes the day does it for the Lord. The one who eats, eats for the Lord because he gives thanks to God, and the one who abstains from eating abstains for the Lord, and he gives thanks to God." Rom. 14:6 (NET)
Let me start by thanking all of you who have been following this journey of mine for all of your encouragement. I have been blessed by those who have told me that this blog has helped them on their walk. That anyone cares about what I have to say enough to read this absolutely astounds me!! I am the least equipped to teach anyone anything, but God sees fit to work through the least of these. I know that it's been almost a month since my last post. In truth, I have battled and struggled over the content of this one.
The Grey areas...dun, dun, dun...
The subject matter is very controversial...in the church body, in my own family. What do you do with the issues of conscience (as the header in my Bible puts it)? Those subjects of conviction that can cause families to divide, churches to split, judgmental attitudes to soar, and people to act downright mean to each other. For newbies, "grey areas" are things not marked out in scripture as clearly right or wrong.
In the time of Paul, the early church members were arguing over eating meat vs being vegetarian and what day is the right day to observe Sabbath. Both were hot topics as there was a mixture of converted Jews and Gentile believers in the body at this time. The infighting was so awful Paul states, "Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food." (vs 20).
Oh, do we do this today too! We judge each other all day long over the grey areas like music preferences, whether women should wear pants or makeup or teach men, if you mow your yard on Sunday or rest all day, and the most controversial one....whether or not to drink any strong drink aka alcohol. If we don't do these things, we can get a "holier than thou" attitude. If we do do them, we can get an attitude of superiority because we live in freedom from legalism. Both which break God's heart!
Let's break down the whole chapter to see how we are SUPPOSED to treat each other regarding these convictions:
vs. 1-10- Don't argue over differing opinions. If you are convinced that it is wrong, then don't do it. If you are convinced it is not, then do it. Whatever you do, do it for the Lord. Quit judging each other! That's God's job and we will all stand before him one day and give an account of our lives.
vs. 14- Nothing in itself is unclean (or wrong), BUT...if it is your conviction that it is, then to do it is sin.
vs. 15- If you use your freedom in Christ to hurt another brother, you are wrong.
vs. 16-17- If you do not have the same conviction as another, do not let them call it evil. God's kingdom isn't about these trifling things but about living in the Spirit.
vs. 18-19- You are acceptable to God when you respect each other. Pursue peace and edification of the body.
vs. 20-23- Keep your eyes on the goal...the work of God. Be careful what you press on others. The Holy Spirit will convict you on what areas of your life you need to lose and those you need to keep. Pressing what is free for you to do onto one who has an opposite conviction is wrong and could lead them to stumble before God.
The bottom line is this:
No matter what the grey area is
1. Stand by your convictions. They are your plumb line with the Lord. If you are easily swayed to change them...they aren't convictions.
2. Don't press your convictions on another brother or sister. That's their business with the Lord.
3. Listen to the Spirit's lead on the areas you need to put aside. Things that are free for you to do but to help a weaker Christian, may need to go away for awhile. For more on this, read II Cor. 9.
It's all about setting your mind to put others before yourself. The Golden Rule. Simple, huh??
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