Hey, good morning. Good morning. Welcome to Coffee and devotion. It's so good to have you this morning. Let's go ahead and jump online here. Make sure that Erica is about joining us live. send out text message sharing
Wonderful. Well,
good morning. Good morning. Welcome to Coffee and devotions is here every day you and I to get together a little bit coffee to get into God's word and we will add love for the Lord together in this year 2022. We'll make it from the book of Acts to the Book of Five Lehman. Today we're at the first point we're in this chapter 13 Let's have some coffee.
We're praying to God
Father, we thank you so much for this thing. What a blessing it is. That each day we get to come to you to get our due to hear from the Word. God pray that you would instruct us today. Holy Spirit. Please apply these words to our hearts and uses. Romans chapter 14 Verse 13 verses receive one who is weak in the faith but do not just use over doubtful things. For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables, but not him who eats despise him who does not eat and what not him who does not judge him who eats for God has received Him Who are you to judge another servant? To his own master, he stands for false indeed he will be made distinct or God is able to make him stand. One person is named one day above another. Another seems another called everyday life. That each be fully convinced in his own mind. You observes the day observes visit to the Lord and He who does not observe the day to the Lord. He does not observe it. He who eats eats the Lord, for He gets things and he who does not eat to the Lord he does not eat and gets things for none of us lives to himself and no one dies to himself. Or if we live, we live to the Lord. And if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we don't think the Lord's For to this end, Christ died and rose and live again. Then he might be Lord of both dead and living. Why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt? For your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, as I live says the Lord. Every knee shall bow to me and every tongue confess to God. So then each of us shall give account of himself to God Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this not to put a stumbling block or to or to fall in our brothers way. Well, I really fun passage we need to ask ourselves a What is this about the what's the best verse to summarize this and see, what are we called? To do in response to this? It's what's this passage about? Well, you have Jews in the church. You have Gentiles in the church. You have weak consciences and strong consciences. You have principles, opinions, and convictions. And so what's what happens? With this? Well, there's a temptation that happens, that those people who have a stronger conscience could mock those people with a weaker conscience. And those people with a weaker conscience but have a strong conviction can actually become judgemental against the people they think are being blacks. And so in this passage prophecy, whoa, hold on. You gotta realize that, that people are going to have different convictions and opinions and stuff like that, even in the church about some pretty serious things. The first part about this is with me, we might think Well, hold on. Let me just tell you, there's quite a few people in the church today if you go into the cities you're gonna find some people who are vegetarians. And they have moral convictions about that they have strong opinions about
that. Don't mock them, okay, whatever. And people who love to eat bacon, even love
when the historical context here I mean, this is a pretty serious thing. So Roman people have a real problem, right? Hold on.
I can't, can't eat that, that meat. Because I remember what it was like to go and sacrifice that knee.
I had the Temple of Apollo that they remembered what it was like for all the religious underpinnings of how that meat was actually provided into the market isn't in their conscience. It's like, you know what, it's better for me to be a vegetarian because I don't want to eat meat that hadn't been sacrificed to idols. And the Jewish people have a different conviction, right? They're like, well, I got a problem because that's not kosher. And I've never eaten unclean stuff like that. This isn't wrestling with this. And so they both have different convictions and different things going on here and the Lord saying, don't judge each other about this. And there's a theological word for this. It's called Adi offer of things in different this is something that what do you wear a tie to church with? You know, it's how do you offer Alright, it's a thing indifferent. If it's conviction to you do it, that's fine. Don't be judgmental, and don't look down on people. Do it with Thanksgiving unto the Lord, but don't be judging your brother about. The next part is interesting when it talks about different days. And there's a commentary here I actually want to read to because it's very helpful. I thought this is got it but the heart of what's going on in this passage. This commentator says Rome had numerous festivals, days and omens and every eight or nine days regular market days, Romans knew that different peoples and cities in the empire had their own special festivals and holy days. Many Roman Gentiles, however, either specifically respected or detested the Jewish Sabbath. Those who detested it considered Jews lazy for taking a day off from from work every week. Some Jewish groups, divided from other Jewish groups overprecise days on which to celebrate festivals, but all Jews agreed on the weekly Sabbath. Although the Sabbath was redeemed from creation in Genesis chapter two, before its incorporation in the Law of Moses, it was difficult to observe for slaves and those who worked for others. Jews could honor the day within their communities. But many Gentile believers did not have the same opinions. So you see there's there's tension even here between Gentiles and Jews. And this is the whole point of the book of Romans is how do these two become one and all justified? unpriced so what do you do with this? How I remember when I was living in Chicago, and there was a Christian guy, and he was a messianic Christian, who's Jewish his whole life and in his backyard. I remember one time I walked out there to the community garden, I walked out to our garden, and in his backyard, he had a booth set up. Why? Because he was celebrating festival booths. He had always done that ever since he was a kid. This is a religious for the day for him. It wasn't that he didn't believe that the sacrifices were finished or anything like this, but he needed to remember that he was a pilgrim on this earth. So he's still celebrate that see, it was part of even his Christian faith. Now, I have no conviction about that. So do I judge them for it? Or does he judge me because I don't have I'm not sleeping in a tent outside? No. Right? This is what it's getting as if there's in Rome, the Gentiles had all these different special holidays and things that they would do. Jewish people had their whole ceremonial stuff with with different days that weren't important special to them. And the question is, were they doing it unto God for Thanksgiving? Were they living and dying under Christ? And here's the principle of the thing. All of us are going to stand before the judge and the judges meet. And the judges view the judge isn't the carrot in the back view of the church. Right now. Well, hold on. It's Jesus Christ is Jesus Christ. To whom what is what does it say here in verse 11. As I live, says the Lord every knee shall bow to me, at every tongue shall confess to God and then it's what I have underlined will just be the best first year what's the best first? I have 12 and 13 underlined in my Bible, so then each of us shall give account to God or himself. Therefore, let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolved is not to put a stumbling block
or the cause to fall in a better way. So what are you called to do?
Have you been judgmental, in your convictions? In your practices? Have you mocked other people because of something that they do because they see it as highest? I'm not talking about making up idolatrous things and adding to the work? I'm saying? Somebody really struggles with something. They do something that that they think it's under the law or they do it with thanksgiving. So it's a matter of how the offer what do you want to church? Just workflows that go with a fully convicted conscience. Who thank God maybe for you, you got to conviction about maybe there's things I know that there there are many well meaning Christians, very strong convictions about things especially when they first become Christians. And they can actually become judgmental and everybody who doesn't agree with our special conviction on this practice. If it's a thing of indifference, we need to let people go. We knew live not mocking them more judgmental towards others. But do we love them because at the end of the day, I got an answer to Christ. You have to answer. So you're doing that a part of Thanksgiving and we're doing it to build others up. Are you putting stumbling blocks in people's there's any stumbling block, it should be Christ is the only stumbling block let's not let it be our our opinions are things that can difference. Worry about this is especially true in the church. So many churches have gotten wrapped up in wild about stuff like this. You got to do it. Do we do the offering before the last song or do we do it after the sermon? Or do we do it earlier in the service? Did the deacons have to come up and do this or that do we should we even do offerings should offering be in a box in the background from the biblical evidence
but you know, one on
one on here should the carpet be you know, should it should it be red or should it be blue? Should the windows have stained glass you know? Again, I'm not saying that. I'm not going too far here. I'm not saying that you stop preaching the word this let people stare at the glass when they're going back to the Middle Ages, but do put some some color in the glass or do you use frosted glass or do you use clear glass?
I can't tell you how many people fight over this stuff. It's like do hold on here. Are we missing the point? Do you know what I mean? Churches split and break up because a building projects because of things in different because people have strong opinions about stuff.
That's not good stumbling blocks as to all things that are conscious living before Christ knowing that our King is going to come back and change.
Father, we thank you so much for your grace, Lord, we confess to you that we are strong, opinionated people. Or we we want things we often stops looking down at people and you disagree with them. And Father, we are often filled with judgmental spirits, thinking that our word is the last word rather than recognizing that there are other Christians that are not our servants but that we have one more than one master and you are bothered that you would teach us to walk in humility and in Jesus's name. Amen. Lord bless you today. Man you walk in the grace and peace of Jesus Christ. And you enjoy him today. And I'll see you tomorrow.
Bye
Transcribed by https://otter.ai