1Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.
2One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only.
3The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him.
4Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind.
6He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.
7For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;
8for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.
9For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
10But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.
11For it is written,
"AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME,
AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD."
12So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.
13Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this--not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way.
14I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
15For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.
2 comments:
Here is where I get confused....I'll have to gather my thoughts on this one and write more later.
v1 Don't bring in a new brother that may be weak in faith just so you can make yourself feel better that you are more "mature". It is not that we accept their weakness forever; it is that we accept that there is a maturing processes and perhaps right now, they are weak but they are working towards growing.
v2-3 There are some that, due to Judaism still being very much present in the culture, would not eat certain foods. Some chose to only eat veggies; others chose to eat only another subset of foods; yet others chose to even eat everything. This issue of course is now just a personal preference since we remember the vision that Peter had with the sheet that had a large spread of previously unclean foods that God now stated were clean.
Since there is no actual restriction placed by God, you can chose whatever you prefer as long as you are "fully convinced in your own mind" that it is best in is service to God (verses 5 & 6)
Paul uses the example of celebrating certain days as special as also falling under this criteria. As long as God has not condemned it outright & you can't comprehend how it could be seen as wrong, then it should be fine.
Now if I want to celebrate "Gay Day" at Disney World, I could say God never said celebrate "Gay Day" but I cannot deny the fact that the "other clues" in the Word show me that this would not be something God would want me to support. The challenge is to be unbiased when you try to deem whether a food or day or whatever is appropriate. Family, friends, personal preference, & social influence make being unbiased difficult.
So do not judge the other as being immoral because "who are you to judge the servant of another?" and "for not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's".
You are not my servant; I am not your servant. Therefore, who are you to accuse me of not only being an immoral person but also tell me that I do not deserve salvation. v10-12 prove to us that the job of judgment and consequently, sentencing is not our job. Our job is verse 13, to not become a stumbling block for our brother to live his Christian life & get to heaven. Verse 15 For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.
Destroying is not your job. Loving is your job.
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