October 15, 2024

Romans 14:1-12  (HCSB)
The Law of Liberty
14 Accept anyone who is weak in faith, but don’t argue about doubtful issues. 2 One person believes he may eat anything, but one who is weak eats only vegetables. 3 One who eats must not look down on one who does not eat, and one who does not eat must not criticize one who does, because God has accepted him. 4 Who are you to criticize another’s household slave? Before his own Lord he stands or falls. And he will stand. For the Lord is able to make him stand. 5 One person considers one day to be above another day. Someone else considers every day to be the same. Each one must be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 Whoever observes the day, observes it for the honor of the Lord. Whoever eats, eats for the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; and whoever does not eat, it is for the Lord that he does not eat it, yet he thanks God. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 Christ died and came to life for this: that He might rule over both the dead and the living. 10 But you, why do you criticize your brother? Or you, why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand befre the tribunal of God. 11 For it is written: As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to Me, and every tongue will give praise to God. 12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Kim Ivey
The main idea for this week is Surrendering Our Rights. For many of us, just hearing that phrase, “surrendering our rights,” puts our defenses on alert. In this case, though, it’s not meant as a punishment but rather an opportunity to encourage fellow believers in Christ. When Paul speaks of the one who is “weak in the faith,” he is referring to the new or the young (not in age but in maturity) Christian. Remember, the Jewish people are used to keeping laws about what and what not to eat.  The Gentiles are used to sacrificing animals to a multitude of gods and goddesses and the meat from those sacrifices is off limits. The mature believer, the person who has walked with Christ faithfully, spent time in His word, and developed a close relationship with the Lord realizes the freedom that he has in Christ to eat ALL the meat; the new or young believer, however, may struggle with the conviction that some things are still off limits. Here’s the application: it’s not the mature believers place to convince the young one to eat the meat. Nor is it right to laugh at them or be critical of their young faith. For one thing, as followers of Christ, it should be against our very nature to look down upon a younger believer; for another, being a Christian does not exempt us from judgment. We will one day stand before the seat of Christ and answer for the manner in which we represented Him.