Good morning. We are back in Romans. In context Paul is talking about certain things, but we are going to apply some of these verses to everybody's life. For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. We are so "us" minded. Too often we don't think about the Lord when we make our decisions. Sometimes what we do affects our testimony about the Lord. Our end goal should not be us, but Him. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. He was not thinking of Himself when He lived His life and when He died His death; and neither should we. Why do you judge your brother and regard him with contempt? Again in context this is talking about a specific issue; but it applies to us today. We are not the judge of our brothers – God is. Each of us shall give an account of himself to God. Instead of judging, determine this – not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way. Even though it may be all right for us to do something, we need to make sure it does not make our brother stumble. Paul said "I'll never eat meat again, if it causes my brother to stumble". Do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. This reminds us of Matthew where it says seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. The word translated "and" can also sometimes be translated even or namely. So I believe that Matthew should be translated seek first His kingdom, even His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. His kingdom is His righteousness. Back to Romans: so then let us pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. We should not be tearing down one another like you see so much of in the body of Christ. He died for them too; just like He did for us. Father continue to bless the reader; continue to heal him/her. Help him/her to seek Your kingdom, even Your righteousness every day.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners

  Good morning. So, was the law a bad thing? We know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully (not to control people, as some were), realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane…, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the Blessed God, with which I have been entrusted. I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer etc. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. Formerly Paul was good in the eyes of the law, but unrighteous in the eyes of God. Despite that, God was more than able to use him in a magnificent way to bring the gospel to the Gentiles. Father thank You that Your Grace is gre...
Read more

Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me

  Good morning. Paul then gives a list of a lot of things that he has gone through as an apostle. I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. There could be many people that you listen to either in church or through the Internet or other means; but there was only one person (as a general rule it was a person) that lead you to Christ. Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me. He was saying that just like a child imitates his or her father, they were to imitate him. He says that again seven chapters later. Since it is easy to forget some things about people we have not seen in a while, Paul says that he sent Timothy to them to remind them of his ways which are in Christ, just as he taught everywhere in every church. Some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. I shall find ou...
Read more

Philip, who was one of the seven deacons, went down to the city of Samaria and began preaching Christ to them.

  Good morning. Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word. Philip, who was one of the seven deacons, went down to the city of Samaria and began preaching Christ to them. This is the area where Jesus had the discussion with the woman at the well. Remember from Acts 1:8 that after Jerusalem, Samaria was mentioned. Samaritans were looked down upon by the Jews and considered more or less half Jews. A lot of the Jews of the northern kingdom were taken away and replaced by others who were not Jews. They intermingled with the Jews that were living in the northern kingdom. Even though Samaria was not far away, the disciples had not come there to preach the word before this. The disciples may have even thought that it was impossible for them to get saved, just like the Gentiles. The crowds with one accord were giving attention to what was said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing. Even though he was “just a deacon”, God worked throug...
Read more