Passage
Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. On one hand, all things are clean. But on the other hand it is evil to the man
who eats for the sake of causing offense.
It is good to not eat meat nor to drink wine nor to do that in which
your brother is offended. You have faith
according to yourself; have faith in the presence of God! Blessed is the one who does not judge himself
in which he approves. But if the one who
is contentious should eat he has been condemned because it is not out of
faithfulness. And all that is not out of
faithfulness is sin.
Thoughts for Today
First Thought:
Paul tells us to not destroy the work of God, especially not
for food. When Paul speaks about food,
he’s speaking both literally and using an analogy. Paul is telling us that the things of this
world and our habits and our traditions are nothing in comparison to God. We should be primarily, ultimately, and
finally about doing God’s work.
How focused are you on God’s work? Do you have anything in your life that
hinders the work that God is doing in you?
Second Thought:
Paul talks about some ways that we are condemned in this
passage. We are condemned when we cause
offense to other people. We are
condemned when we do things that we are convinced are wrong. We are condemned when we think highly of
ourselves because we do what we already approve of doing. The overarching point is that we are to
consider our actions before others. We
are to consider how our choices, words, and actions influence the people around
us and then act accordingly.
How much do you consider others when you are looking at your
own actions? Who do your actions influence? What do you do that you know is wrong? Why do you continue to do them?
Third Thought:
The second half of the last verse of Romans 14 is incredibly
challenging. All that is not out of
faithfulness – or faith – is sin. Paul
is very clear in the Greek. Everything
is sin unless it proceeds out of faithful obedience to God. This isn’t Paul trying to say we have to
spend 24 hours a day and seven days a week in church. Rather, what Paul is saying that we need to
find ways to be about our life in ways that are faithful to God. There’s nothing wrong with having hobbies,
going on dates with one’s spouse, going to one’s child’s sporting events. But when we do those things, we need to find
a way to be obedient to God while we are doing them. We are to be His representative in all that
we do. When we do something and fail to
be His representative, we are sinful regardless of what the activity is.
Looking through this lens, where are you sinful in your
life? Where are you successful at being
God’s representative?
Passage for Tomorrow: Romans 15:1-3
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