Romans 14:7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
Ah my friends, it promises to be another paradise-like day, for which we should be giving grateful thanks, but many won’t enjoy it, cause we’ll be too busy resenting and fighting each other. The confusion in the church has not changed in the two thousand years of its existence, ever since the Jews and Gentiles were first brought together under the umbrella of Christ’s body. Each of them brought their own traditions, cultures and attitudes that could not fit comfortably together. They had different foods, different religious observances, different morals, hence Bruh Paul’s intervention. ‘Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.’ (Rom.14:1) According to the scholars, Bruh Paul is saying that the weak person in the faith should not be turned away, but received with grace and not belligerence. For example, someone who considers certain practices immoral, and from which he should abstain, but which practices are in truth morally indifferent; like the eating of meat to some, or holding inviolably sacred the Sabbath to others. The strong brother should accept the weak one with LOVING kindness, and not get into useless arguments that won’t change anyone’s minds, but just raise more contention and strife. We ought to receive people with diverse convictions in questionable areas with Christ-like gentleness, recognizing their differences, and not try to brow beat them into our way of thinking. We should not judge them hastily or harshly, for what does it really matter if they have different dietary standards, or one esteems a particular day, while the other considers all days alike? ‘For God hath received him…for God is able to make him stand…Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. (Rom.14:3,4,5,) Once everybody is giving sincere thanks to God, we should learn to live together with the mostly superficial differences in our lifestyles. Why? ‘For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.’ And that’s the gospel truth. For, ‘If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.’ (2 Cor.5:17) That means, once we become a believer, we can’t hold on to our old ideology, but have to conform to Christ’s rules, which basically means giving up our selfish attitudes and desires, and acquiring His selfless lifestyle. Or as Bruh Paul explains to the Galatians: ‘I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who LOVED me, and gave himself for me.’ (Gal.2:20) Ah my Friends, most of us tend to take man made laws and traditions more seriously than the laws of God, but it’s the latter that will enable us to live a life worthy of God, as believers ought. As Jesus said: ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ (Mark 12:17) And Bruh Paul continues: ‘For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.’ (Rom.14:8) End of argument people! Once we claim to be believers, then all our actions, dead or alive, (smile) resonate through Christ. ‘For to this end Christ died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living.’ (Rom.14:9) Oh my people, Jesus is the common denominator for all believers, and we desperately need to bring all our differences down to His level, else the wrangling over the petty stuff will never cease and just cause more harm than good. Can you imagine the powerful movement Christ would be leading if, from the beginning, we weren’t so small minded, stubborn and constantly seeking our own way? Wow! The enemy certainly wouldn’t have such a stranglehold on the world. And why would an unbeliever ever want to join a group who constantly fight over petty, immaterial concerns, though professing to be so interested in the greater glory of God? That’s why the Church is so fragmented and getting worse everyday. We’re foolishly allowing Lucifer and his evil cohorts to infiltrate Christ’s church and have us fight amongst ourselves rather than against his wicked minions. Oh Friends, some differences are harder than others to put aside, but we simply have to put aside the majority, which are petty, when considering the bigger scheme of things, and that’s spreading God’s Word through both talk and our daily lives. Our lives should be a mirror image of what we preach, so that others will see, hear and understand the Good News of Christ, His free offer of salvation and gladly accept Him. Oh my people, they should see the sincere, moving example of His light and LOVE shining so brightly in us that they can’t wait to get what we have. And since the best advertisement is word of mouth coupled with a living example, if we seriously desire to live for Christ, then it’s absolutely necessary we come to grips with our differences, talk to each other, agree to disagree on some, but then resolutely obey God, by spreading His Word, living a life that’s a shining example of that Word and leaving all the other consequences to Him. Oh Friends, let’s stop allowing the wily enemy to divide and conquer us as he’s been doing for so long, and instead focus on building the understanding Church that Jesus desires. I pray this over us all, in Jesus’ Name. Amen! Much LOVE!..in unity there’s strength..we need both to do Jesus’ work successfully…
Ah my friends, it promises to be another paradise-like day, for which we should be giving grateful thanks, but many won’t enjoy it, cause we’ll be too busy resenting and fighting each other. The confusion in the church has not changed in the two thousand years of its existence, ever since the Jews and Gentiles were first brought together under the umbrella of Christ’s body. Each of them brought their own traditions, cultures and attitudes that could not fit comfortably together. They had different foods, different religious observances, different morals, hence Bruh Paul’s intervention. ‘Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.’ (Rom.14:1) According to the scholars, Bruh Paul is saying that the weak person in the faith should not be turned away, but received with grace and not belligerence. For example, someone who considers certain practices immoral, and from which he should abstain, but which practices are in truth morally indifferent; like the eating of meat to some, or holding inviolably sacred the Sabbath to others. The strong brother should accept the weak one with LOVING kindness, and not get into useless arguments that won’t change anyone’s minds, but just raise more contention and strife. We ought to receive people with diverse convictions in questionable areas with Christ-like gentleness, recognizing their differences, and not try to brow beat them into our way of thinking. We should not judge them hastily or harshly, for what does it really matter if they have different dietary standards, or one esteems a particular day, while the other considers all days alike? ‘For God hath received him…for God is able to make him stand…Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. (Rom.14:3,4,5,) Once everybody is giving sincere thanks to God, we should learn to live together with the mostly superficial differences in our lifestyles. Why? ‘For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.’ And that’s the gospel truth. For, ‘If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.’ (2 Cor.5:17) That means, once we become a believer, we can’t hold on to our old ideology, but have to conform to Christ’s rules, which basically means giving up our selfish attitudes and desires, and acquiring His selfless lifestyle. Or as Bruh Paul explains to the Galatians: ‘I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who LOVED me, and gave himself for me.’ (Gal.2:20) Ah my Friends, most of us tend to take man made laws and traditions more seriously than the laws of God, but it’s the latter that will enable us to live a life worthy of God, as believers ought. As Jesus said: ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ (Mark 12:17) And Bruh Paul continues: ‘For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.’ (Rom.14:8) End of argument people! Once we claim to be believers, then all our actions, dead or alive, (smile) resonate through Christ. ‘For to this end Christ died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living.’ (Rom.14:9) Oh my people, Jesus is the common denominator for all believers, and we desperately need to bring all our differences down to His level, else the wrangling over the petty stuff will never cease and just cause more harm than good. Can you imagine the powerful movement Christ would be leading if, from the beginning, we weren’t so small minded, stubborn and constantly seeking our own way? Wow! The enemy certainly wouldn’t have such a stranglehold on the world. And why would an unbeliever ever want to join a group who constantly fight over petty, immaterial concerns, though professing to be so interested in the greater glory of God? That’s why the Church is so fragmented and getting worse everyday. We’re foolishly allowing Lucifer and his evil cohorts to infiltrate Christ’s church and have us fight amongst ourselves rather than against his wicked minions. Oh Friends, some differences are harder than others to put aside, but we simply have to put aside the majority, which are petty, when considering the bigger scheme of things, and that’s spreading God’s Word through both talk and our daily lives. Our lives should be a mirror image of what we preach, so that others will see, hear and understand the Good News of Christ, His free offer of salvation and gladly accept Him. Oh my people, they should see the sincere, moving example of His light and LOVE shining so brightly in us that they can’t wait to get what we have. And since the best advertisement is word of mouth coupled with a living example, if we seriously desire to live for Christ, then it’s absolutely necessary we come to grips with our differences, talk to each other, agree to disagree on some, but then resolutely obey God, by spreading His Word, living a life that’s a shining example of that Word and leaving all the other consequences to Him. Oh Friends, let’s stop allowing the wily enemy to divide and conquer us as he’s been doing for so long, and instead focus on building the understanding Church that Jesus desires. I pray this over us all, in Jesus’ Name. Amen! Much LOVE!..in unity there’s strength..we need both to do Jesus’ work successfully…
SCRIP-BITS 