Page 73 in the church in Rome; the other was in the church in Corinth. Let us look at both. I would then like to extract from these two scenes some enduring principles that I believe will deliver us from splitting the Body of Christ over matters of personal conscience. The first has to do with the problems in the church in Rome. Here are some excerpts from Romans 14 and 15 where Paul addresses the issue: Accept Christians who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. For instance, one person believes it is all right to eat anything. But another believer who has a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables. Those who think it is all right to eat anything must not look down on those who won’t. And those who won’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. Who are you to condemn God’s servants? They are responsible to the Lord, so let him tell them whether they are right or wrong. The Lord’s power will help them do as they should. In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. Each person should have a personal conviction about this matter. Those who have a special day for worshiping the Lord are trying to honor him. Those who eat all kinds of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who won’t eat everything also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God. For we are not our own masters when we live or when we die. While we
Though every other world religion teaches it, and there are many false churches under the guise of Christianity that are willing to accommodate it, the Bible knows nothing about earning God’s favor. The reason is because we can’t. God is so perfectly holy. He simply can’t accept an ounce of sin in His presence. He’s not looking to bestow eternal life on those who think they are righteous as some sort of a reward. He’s looking for those who acknowledge their own rebellion and look to Him to receive His righteousness as a gift by running to Him for complete rescue.
Randy Smith