ROM. xiv. 8.
“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.”
THESE great words were suggested by a comparatively
trivial thing—the scruples which Christian Jews brought
into the Church. They were “weak,” but the strong were
in danger of insisting too much on their liberty, and thus
grieving the weak. How does Paul decide?
I.—1. He refuses to each side the right to judge the
other.
2. Next he asks the strong and the weak to give each
other full credit for perfect conscientiousness and loyalty
to Christ.
3. He reminds them of the one supreme principle that
should govern the life of every servant of Christ—the con-
sciousness that they did not belong to themselves, but to
Jesus Christ.
II. This fact does not depend on our recognition of it.
We may be unmindful of it, but none the less will He ask
of us an account of our stewardship.
III. No reservation is made. Our business as well as our
Sunday service belongs to Christ. Our amusements be-
long to Him as much as the rest of our life. Is it right to
go to a theatre, ball, and so on? It is for Christ to decide
these questions, and if we honestly ask Him, He will settle
all such difficulties very quickly.
IV. The ground of this is, that Christ has bought us.
We are bought with a price. Those who have seen men
and women bought and sold in the slave-market would
understand this with a readiness we cannot. The highest
obligation and the highest honour of a Christian is that
he is a slave of Jesus Christ. G. S. Barrett, B.A.