Romans 14
14:1 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2 One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master [8] that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. to God.
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I feel that many in the church, including myself, may be guilty of quarreling over opinions rather than having grace and Godly tolerance of eachother - but when should we demand that we have the truth? When should we take the word of God and wield it as a sword? Perhaps the point of discernment here is that the sword is used against our enemy, which is sin, and not against our brother, which is man. The Love of God draws man out of his sin, first through forgiveness and continually through patient exhortation. We are called to live in community following the same pattern, first to forgive eachother, then to patiently exhort eachother to a better life in Love.
1 comment:
good question. when is it time to speak the truth in love? when is it time to bring another brother along to exhort someone? or bring a trusted third party advisor ie. like your pastor in to the mix? well paul gives the example of those in the community who were vegetarians. its sounds like he is talking about a difference that is not harmful to oneself or others around, or that is not in direct violation of scripture. so for example if there was a friend who was sleeping with his girlfriend but yet was in fellowship and community with believers - it would not be ok to just let that go without lovingly and humbly addressing the sin. fornication is a direct violation of the will and law of the lord. not just b/c of health reasons, but b/c of the multitudes of problems that it introduces into families, future children, marital relationships etc.
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