The fulfillment of the law is love. But, what does that love look like?
Love welcomes the weak in faith.
It does not quarrel over opinions.
If one person believes he can eat anything while a weak person only eats vegetables, the one who eats should not despise the one who abstains and the one who abstains should not pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him.
Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another?
It is before his own master that one stands or falls.
He will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
Wow.
This passage, Romans 14, tells us not to let petty arguing hurt our relationships, cancel-out our fellowship, or hinder our faith.
It is not our place to pass judgment over little things.
People will have different perspectives.
One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.
None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself.
If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. To this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
The key, then, is the motivation behind the perspective.
It is the faith in the Lord.
That is the mistake the Flash makes today.
Although it is unusual, Flashpoint seems to turn the hero into the villain.
He wanted to change one thing. One. Selfish. Thing.
It might seem selfless or loving, caring or just. But, the baseline is the same: Barry Allen went back in time and saved his mother. This caused a horrendous outcome. It changed the world in ways that he never could have seen coming. He put his faith in his cause, in his moral, in himself.
Instead, he should have been able to trust in God. He should have known that the world is the way it is for a purpose. There is a reason why things happen the way that they do.
He found out the hard way that there are somethings that you can't change... It's just a waist of energy...
So, why do you pass judgment on your brother? ... Why do you despise him? ... We will all stand before the judgment seat of God... giving an account of ourselves to God.
Let us not pass judgment on one another any longer.
We should decide to never put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.
We should not be a cause for their doubt.
We should be loving, caring, as Christ is to them, a brother.
Paul was persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks of it unclean. If your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. Do not distract them by becoming a hindrance to them.
Do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil.
The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So, let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
Do not, for the sake of food destroy the work of God... It is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to... do anything that causes your brother to stumble.
The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God.
Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
It's the motivation that matters.
What motivates you?
***Here's a bonus video for the week.
***This study is on Romans 14.
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