seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Romans 14:1 Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister[a]? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written:
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will acknowledge God.’”[b]
‘every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will acknowledge God.’”[b]
12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.
19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.
22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.[c]
Footnotes:
a. Romans 14:10 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a believer, whether man or woman, as part of God’s family; also in verses 13, 15 and 21.
b. Romans 14:11 Isaiah 45:23
c. Romans 14:23 Some manuscripts place 16:25-27 here; others after 15:33
I got the verse "when in Rome" stuck in my brain as soon as I started reading this chapter. Now I'm going to find out just how close I came to getting it.
This is from the easy English site.
Paul urges the ‘strong’ Christians to think about their actions. These actions will affect their Christian brothers and sisters. Some Christians thought that to eat meat is wrong. Some Christians thought that they ought to obey the Jewish food laws. They thought that some food was unclean (not acceptable for Christians to eat). Jesus had shown that all food was clean (acceptable) – Mark 7:19. Paul himself, as a Christian, felt free to eat any kind of food. But one Christian’s freedom to act might hurt another Christian’s conscience. To respect another Christian’s conscience in situations like this would be to show him love. A good reason to show him love is that Christ died on his behalf. Every person is valuable to Christ.
However, if someone forced that ‘weak’ Christian not to obey his conscience, that Christian’s faith would become even weaker. His faith was already weak. So other Christians ought to encourage that person. They ought to care about him, because God loves him.
Christians must not cause trouble for someone else because of their own personal opinion. They must not think that food and drink are more important than God’s kingdom. To be a member of God’s kingdom is not about food and drink. It is to be in a right relationship with God. Then the Holy Spirit will give a person peace in himself. He will give a Christian the power to have a calm and content relationship with other people. A Christian will show sympathy for another person’s opinion. A Christian will have joy when he makes other people glad.
I don't know..... "when in Rome" seems to fit..... another little verse that would fit might be "live and let live". I think we all need to believe and if I do something or say something that makes someone else to question..... then maybe I should consider how important that thing is to me. {Notice I said important to me.... not God.... me].
So the questions goes back to.... Do people have to be circumcised to be a Christian? Do people have to eat fish on Friday to be a Christian? Do people have to eat only particular meat to be a Christian? Do people have to quit cussing before becoming a Christian? Do people have to quit smoking before becoming a Christian? Do people have to quit drinking to become a Christian? Do people have to dump their pagan family before becoming a Christian? Do people have to memorize a set number of Bible verses to become a Christian? Do people have to bring a set number of non-believers to "visit" before becoming a Christian? Does someone have to adorn them selves in certain attire to become a Christian? Does someone have to stop drinking coffee to become a Christian? Does someone have to pay a certain fee in cash, or check, before becoming a Christian?
Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
The Disciple Paul was saying..... don't insist that someone conform to a rule that humans made up before sharing faith with them. Christians today seem to insist that a Christian must be a pure, clean, in control human...... who conforms to each of the 10 Commandments.... who goes to church on the right day... sit's in the right class.... opens the proper Bible [not just any translation but the proper one]..... has had their circumcision at birth [the hospitals do it now as a common thing] and they dress and smell proper before sitting their assigned place where they sing with the correct bravado....... perfect humans.... perfect Christian..... Can't you hear them now? "That man that sat by me today.... he stunk of booze and cigarettes.... and his clothes were working clothes... not the finest suit in his closet..... who let him in here anyway.... this is a church after all... not a saloon".Paul was saying live and let live..... in Christian Faith.....
When in Rome.... the rules made up by men may be countless and differ from another city...... but when in Rome.... Christians are only governed by two rules..... Love the Lord God with all your heat, soul and mind.... and Love your neighbor as yourself..... if these two simple rules are followed all the time.... then it doesn't matter if a human is in Rome or New York City or Atlanta or London or Dubai...... those two simple rules are not offensive to anyone.....
IMHO we can remove the 10 Commandments plaques from the wall....... they are totally obsolete. Jesus said there are only two rules..... and they work everywhere and in every event.
So it's not "When in Rome" or "Live and Let Live"...... it's "Love God and Love One Another"..... that's the key here.
